I’m thrilled to be a part of V.E. Schwab’s blog tour for her latest fantasy for adults, A Darker Shade of Magic, presented by Tor Books! I devoured this book recently, and you can read my review here. The story centers around a magician named Kell who is one of the last of his kind, people who can travel among the three different Londons that exist in Schwab’s magical story. Red London is the seat of magic where the river runs red and everyday magic is the norm. This is Kell’s home where he spends most of his time with his family. Grey London has lost its magic, and is a harsh place full of desperate people. And White London is the scariest, a place where magic is wielded as power and those who rule took the throne by murder. By stopping here today, you’ve set foot in White London:
Scorched metal and settling ash.
A dying city, a desperate people, a defiant magic.
There is no future for the weak, and power bends only to those who take it.
The ruthless twins perch on marble thrones, their lips red with blood.
They give orders—
and a magician in chains obeys.
Victoria is doing a whirlwind tour through 36 different blogs, and each blogger got to ask her one question. Here’s what I asked:
BB&B: If you could be a character in any of the books you’ve published so far, which book and which character would you choose?
Victoria: It’s honestly a tie between Victor Vale in VICIOUS and Lila Bard in ADSOM, the reason being that Victor is my supervillain alter ego (he is the character most closely modeled on my own headspace, make of that what you will) and has my favorite superpower (I mean, come on, the ability to cause or cancel pain), but Lila is a truly aspirational character for me. She is who I WANT to be, fearless, reckless, willing to risk her life in order to feel like she’s truly living.
Here’s more about the book:
Kell is one of the last Travelers—rare magicians who choose a parallel universe to visit.
Grey London is dirty, boring, lacks magic, ruled by mad King George. Red London is where life and magic are revered, and the Maresh Dynasty presides over a flourishing empire. White London is ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne. People fight to control magic, and the magic fights back, draining the city to its very bones. Once there was Black London – but no one speaks of that now.
Officially, Kell is the Red Traveler, personal ambassador and adopted Prince of Red London, carrying the monthly correspondences between royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell smuggles for those willing to pay for even a glimpse of a world they’ll never see. This dangerous hobby sets him up for accidental treason. Fleeing into Grey London, Kell runs afoul of Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She robs him, saves him from a dangerous enemy, then forces him to another world for her ‘proper adventure’.
But perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, Kell and Lila will first need to stay alive — trickier than they hoped.
Here’s what people are saying about A Darker Shade of Magic:
Find the book: MacMillan | IndieBound | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books A Million | Powell’s | eBooks | Google Play | Kobo
In this short video, Victoria takes us on a walk around some of the places in London that inspired her to write the book!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEnDX2xnegA
About the author:
V.E. SCHWAB‘s first adult novel, Vicious, debuted to critical praise and reader accolades. Schwab is the author of YA novels The Near Witch, The Archived, and The Unbound, and the Everyday Angel series for middle grade readers.
Find Victoria:
WordPress | Tumblr | Twitter | Goodreads | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
Fun places to visit:
Darker-Shade.com – A special website for A Darker Shade of Magic that is full of information and materials for readers!
A Buzzfeed Quiz that will sort you into one of the three Londons!
Click here to visit all the stops on the blog tour for A Darker Shade of Magic!
I would like to be Lila! I like the thought of traveling with Kell! Thank you for the giveaway!
I would have to go with P.J. Stone from Dara Dyllin’s Hidden GAtes trilogy <3 She went through a lot but she has some seriously awesome surprises and she is kick ass <3
Thank you for the chance to win!
Rafflecopter name: Elizabeth Holme
You’re convincing me to read it…
booksbrainsandbeer recently posted…February Recap
I would like to be Rose Hathaway from Vampire Academy, because I would like to be strong like her. Thanks for the giveaway!
I would be some sort of male version of Nanny Ogg. Because she has so much fun.
Yikes, I don’t know because the characters I love tend to have crappy/dangerous lives!! I guess I’ll say Arya Stark. Because.
Lisa @TenaciousReader recently posted…Review: Flex by Ferrett Steinmetz
I’d like to be Suzume – she can take care of herself, she has a little bit of magic, she’s good fun – and she’s a fox!
Thanks for the giveaway.
Lynn 😀
Lynn recently posted…The Death House by Sarah Pinborough
I would love to be a werewolf shifter.
I would like to be Penelope Aislin Murray aka Poppet from Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus. I would love to be a part of the Night Circus in any way, shape, or form! 😀
Thanks for the giveaway!!
I would like to be Diana Bishop from the All Souls Trilogy.
Good question! I love that she’d pick Victor! I still have hope that someday he’ll get a sequel. I got Black London on the test… Which since they were kind of super evil I’m not sure what that says lol. I don’t know which character I’d be, because they all get in such life or death situations, but definitely someone with magic or super powers.
Molly Mortensen recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Book Related Problems I Have
I’d like to be Sal Paradise in Jack Kerouac’s On The Road. Thanks.
i would like to be Calaena Sardothien from the Throne of Glaas series. She’s so badass, stong, and beautiful! And… Chaol and Dorian!*—*
If I couldn’t be Harry Potter himself, I’d at least want to be Ginny Weasley. 🙂
I’m not sure what character I would like to be, but I think that I would want to make myself invisible. That way I could see danger, but it couldn’t see me.
I’d like to be Wade in Ready Player One because being in the world of OASIS is like an MMO gamer’s dream come true!
Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum recently posted…Book Review: Evensong by John Love
Arya, from the Inheritance Cycle 🙂
It would be hard to pick one character, but the one that comes to mind is Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series.
Tanya (Read. Run. Study.) recently posted…February 2015 Wrap-Up
Becky Bloomwood
I’ve read this book and it is so awesome. Havent posted my review yet but I’d like to be Lila. I’m somehow adventurous too 🙂
Nyze recently posted…Teaser Tuesday #34
there are so many characters that i’d love to be. maybe mara, from the unbecoming of mara dyer trilogy, because of her messed up powers, but also kell, because of his awesome powers.
I would like to be Cinder from Lunar Chronicles series. She is amazing character with great personality (although her whole step family betrayed her) who will save the world and kyborg with fab improvements . Plus, she´s in love with one amazing prince like a bonus 😀 🙂
I don’t think I would want to be Hermione, because that is a lot of pressure. I think I would like to be a Weasley. Ginny would be a good choice, as long as it was book!Ginny and not the horrible disservice that was movie!Ginny. I enjoy her attitude quite a bit.
I would be Harry Dresden.
The whole time I read the Blue Bloods series by Melissa De La Cruz I wanted to be Schuyler so bad haha!
I’d like to be anyone of the demigods from any of Rick Riordan’s books. There are so many to choose from and let’s be real – I’m so desperate I’d be happy with whoever I get.
I’d like to be Hermione Granger. She’s a great character and, well… she goes to Hogwarts!
I really want to be Kestrel from The Winner’s Curse! Thanks for the giveaway 😀
Catherine Siborutorop recently posted…Seven Deadly Sins Tag
Rough!
The first character to come to mind is Violet Eden. She is strong, gets to be part angel, and spend her long long life with her soul mate. How cool is that?!
Andrea @ Bookish recently posted…All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven (Review)
Mmm. This is tough. I want to be the character on every book I’m reading(mostly, that is). I’m currently re-reding KA’s fantasyland series and it would be so cool if I get be Finnie..
Yukiko from the Lotus War series!!! Or Eona from the Eon duology.
If I could be any fictional character, it would be Hermione Granger for sure!
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I would be Eragon! 😀 Well a female version of Eragon. I would get a ride to around on, flirt with elves and do sword fights!! XD
I’ve always wanted to be Hermione Granger or Ginny Weasley.
If I could be any character I would be Cath from Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. I feel like I am already very similar to her, but it would be cool to be a twin and have a really adorable boyfriend too… (:
If I had to be a book character, I’d want to be Anne from Anne of Green Gables because I wouldn’t survive a fantasy novel, and she gets Gilbert (which I should have mentioned first!).
Oh man I have thought about this so many times!! There’s a few characters I would love to be… 1. Karou from Daughter of Smoke and Bone 2. Blue of The Raven Boys 3. Remy of This Lullaby! Such great characters I would love to play!
I’d like to be Claire from Outlander, I mean, she gets Jamie, what more could one want?
Hmm. I would want to be Izzy Lightwood or Tessa Gray from the Mortal Instruments/ Infernal Devices. Also maybe Cath from Fangirl. <3
Sansa Stark!
I would like to be Mackenzie from The Archived. Seriously, she is so tough and even though she has our issues, such badassery! *_*
Thanks for the giveaway and so excited for this book!!
I would want to be America Singer from The Selection series because Maxon 🙂