NNO Book Club: A Darker Shade of Magic

This is the in-person event. There is also an online version of this event scheduled for 7:30 pm this same date.
I have frequently said we are not so much a book club with a leader per se, as we are an autonomous collective. Though perhaps I am fooling myself and we are a dictatorship, a self-perpetuating autocracy…Okay, that’s enough quoting Monty Python and the Holy Grail. ANYWAY – we happily take member recommendations for books and that’s just what we are reading this month. This one had been on the “possibles” list for quite a while but a single member rec is all it took to get it into the schedule for this year. So – ahem – if anyone else would like to throw out some suggestions, I would be thrilled to do the leg work of checking if there are adequate library copies etc. On to this months book – A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab.
***Book summary from Goodreads***
Kell is one of the last Antari, a rare magician who can travel between parallel worlds: hopping from Grey London — dirty, boring, lacking magic, and ruled by mad King George — to Red London — where life and magic are revered, and the Maresh Dynasty presides over a flourishing empire — to White London — ruled by whoever has murdered their way to the throne, where people fight to control magic, and the magic fights back — and back, but never Black London, because traveling to Black London is forbidden and no one speaks of it now.
Officially, Kell is the personal ambassador and adopted Prince of Red London, carrying the monthly correspondences between the royals of each London. Unofficially, Kell smuggles for those willing to pay for even a glimpse of a world they’ll never see, and it is this dangerous hobby that 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 take her with him for her proper adventure.
But perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save both his London and the others, Kell and Lila will first need to stay alive — a feat trickier than they hoped.
***This month's restaurant selection***
We will be trying a new restaurant this month - Taco-Quila Mexican Kitchen and Cantina. Their menu can be viewed online here: https://www.tacoquilamexicankitchen.com/menus/.
***Not sure about book club or never been to one before? ***
Read the book (or some of the book). Come to the Meetup. Eat yummy food and chat with folks about what you thought about the book. REPEAT!
***Not sure where to get the book? ***
All books we select have a decent number of copies (at least 3-4 across all formats) at both the Hillsborough and Pinellas County Library. And, of course, you can always buy a copy.
***Didn’t finish/hated this book?***
Come to the Meetup anyway! If you didn't finish - just be aware, there will be spoilers. If you hated it, come and rant! In my experience, the books that generate the best conversations and the books we really love are rarely the same books.