Bookworm Corner discussion

Happy reading


Kell is one of the last Antari—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black.

Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see.

Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they'll never see. It's a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.

After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.

Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they'll first need to stay alive.

Thank you Aja 👍

Surya wrote: "Thank you Aja 👍"

Ofc

Chapter 1-5 - I love the setup and the general idea behind the book. The thought of skipping between different kinds of a same city sounds really cool. Kell, even though is considered dangerous by people in his own Red London, still feel like a nice person but also smart. I really loved the exchange he had with that Ned, it was so good. Kell, feels like an collector, I don't know whether he has any ulterior motives yet but he seems genuine. Holland though, seems sinister. I'm not sure whether he's really interested in Rhy or just manipulating him to do something later on in the story. Even though people respected Kell at the marketplace, I feel like there's something more to that than just respect. It felt like they were wary of him and feared him. Which wasn't the case with Prince Regent. He's a genuine contender for a bad guy in this book lol. There's too many explanations given in few chapters about some simple thing, I hope it gets watered down with next chapters. I still don't know what will go wrong but it's too early to tell anyways. Can't wait for next chapters

Chapter 6-10 - These five chapters were a major improvement from the last five. I really loved reading about Lila Bard. Lila and Kell does share some characteristics. Both are prone to collecting things, even though they have different motives to that act. Eagerly excited for these two to meet somewhere in the book.

Kell's past is intriguing. First I didn't know he was offered to the King and Queen by his parents. The relationship does feel parental between Kell and (King & Queen) but I do sense something more than that. Kell's power is extreme, like what can't he do ? I think people's fear or worship of Antari is justified when you think about the unlimited power they have in the world. I'm excited to see how White London looks in the next chapters.

White London's story is tragic. I don't think it's more tragic than Black London ( which I believe suffered worse ? ) but I don't understand why the King referred to White London as their strong neighbour. From all the description we learnt so far, it has to look worse than atleast Grey London, maybe there's something more to the poverty that's prevalent in White London. The story is moving slowly for my liking

chapters 1-5

i completely agree. i love the fact that each london is different and i can’t wait to explore them more further in the book. i do feel kell seems like a good person but it was clear in the marketplace that he was feared, maybe because of the magic he holds? or maybe he has a reputation?

I think it could be bit of a both. Like so far, he doesn't seem like the sort of person who needs to be feared ( he seems kind doesn't he ? ) but also the fear is justified because he holds that much power, powers that would make anyone tremble. I'm surprised at how easy he can move around people in different Londons, none of them knowing how powerful he is. Reputation could be a reason too, you'll know about that in the next chapter.

chapters 6-10

so we got to meet Lila which was cool, i’m assuming she’s going to meet up with kell at some point and i’m excited to see how that goes down. i will say i prefer kell’s pov more than lila’s, but we haven’t seen much from her so that’s probably why. i’m interested to see what will happen with that map. i also have a feeling something sketchy happened to kell’s parents like maybe the king and queen killed them. idk just my hypothesis for now i suppose.

Wow, I didn't even think about that. Maybe the King executed them both and might have forcefully separated Kell from his birth parents when he was five and then did the spell on Kell to make him forget about those five years. I also noticed that he only saw the mark in his hand ( which signifies that his memory had been erased before ) when he was 12, even though he's been living with them for 7 years already. It was a weird detail to throw in there. I mean, doesn't everyone know about their body, scars on their bodies before that age ? I am not sure about which city's map Lila has, I hope it's black 😂

omg yeah i hope she has the map to black london so they could explore it.

Omg, I thought the same thing 😂

so i feel like not a whole lot happened rlly during these chapters but the lady he met that handed him the payment disappearing like that was interesting i wonder if she’s just quick or if there’s more to that. i’ve noticed a theme in kell and lila being that they’re both aware of the type of danger they attract but don’t rlly know how to operate any differently.

Chapter 11-15

I agree, not a lot happened in these chapters other than the description of Dane Twins, White London and we get to learn something about Holland. The twins makes me scared, the way they handle themselves, the way they go about their wishes absolutely terrifies me. The part where Athos asks Holland to make a cut in his hand was just awful and perfectly done by the author.

I had the same feeling about that women who gave Kell the letter. If she can do magic and act on her own, then she might be an important part of the story, especially since she lives in White London and everybody there are bound to Dane Twins's wishes, even Holland. I think we will see more of that women in future or not 😂

You are right, Lila and Kell does share that theme. I think that's a nice thing to add since they are both good people and they have something in common even though they live world's apart. The pacing is still slow, which is bothering me but the story is rich, so I'm not minding it, but I don't want to read another 100 pages of just description 😂

yes i feel you lol it is slow paced, but still i like the overall concept.

chapters 16-20

so that debacle kell found itself in was very entertaining compared to the last chapters. the stone that the lady gave to kell was pretty cool, him and lila finally got to meet so i’m excited do see what they’ll do in the next few chapters. i feel like most of it might be them getting to know each other but still that could be interesting to see if maybe kell or lila mention something about themselves that we haven’t learned yet.

Chapters 16-20
The story picked up pace ( phew, finally lol ) and I like the direction it's heading. We still don't know who is looking for that stone and now that it's robbed by Lila in Grey London, it's even more exciting, since Magic is pretty much a forgotten thing in Grey London.

I absolutely loved the first encounter of Lila and Kell. I knew she was going to rob him but I never thought both Lila and Kell would be running for their lives literally when that happened. I would like to see their relationship develop over the rest of the story.

That last chapter where the cutthroat unfroze was creepy. It feels like the stone leaves an lasting impression on the people it's used on when compared to other types of magic. The story really turned on its head and I'm excited now for how it will unfold.

Chapters 21 - 25

I loved Kell's second encounter with Lila. I don't know whether there's a romance angle there in future, but I wouldn't mind it if it were to happen. Lila not knowing how that stone worked and still making impressive magic makes me feel suspicious of her true powers. Even though the stone obeyed her wishes, I feel like she might have some affinity towards magic and maybe in red London, she can find her potential magic wise.

The story is really perfect so far, even the magical traces left on Lila and Kell before are handled with care. It makes sense since in Grey London, people have actually forgotten about magic, so any simple magic they do, it's going to leave a trace. I wasn't ready for that impressive twist though, Holland being the guy who's looking for the stone. Also I really beleived that Holland could be set free in future but it seems impossible now. I'll still hope though.

In a funny way, people are fighting over a literal black stone. Even though it seems dark right now, I feel like there could be more to that. Like Holland pointed out, we could be slave to magic or we can make a slave out of magic, so if that's the case, maybe that black stone could be used for good without lasting impression like we saw in the previous chapters with the cutthroat and today with Booth near Stone's Throw. I'm more anxious to know how the stone came to existence than to know how the Dane twins can weild it or why that women in white London gave that stone to Kell. Hopefully we'll see about those in the next chapters.

chapters 21-25

lol honesty i’m kinda hoping for lila and kell to strike up a romantic relationship i think they’d be cute together. however, idk i feel like that would happen in the second book probably like they’ll probably hint at it throughout this book and then maybe they get together in the second? idk i’m hopeful though. also the stone is kinda cool but also scary because it has so much power. i wonder if that power could go to lila’s head at some point especially if kell helps her figure out how to use her magic. but i feel like that could also be in the second book rather than this one because holland seems to be the villain of the story.

chapters 26-30

we finally got a kiss between kell and lila :) excited about that even though it was supposedly just for good luck idk i think it could blossom into something more. also i can’t believe that happened to the barron omg that was crazy, holland means business i guess 😳 i thought lila trying to steal from that guy was funny because it’s just so obviously something lila would try to do and then got caught and questioned for not knowing red london’s language. overall i’m also enjoying the conversations between lila and kell.

Chapters 26 - 30

Thoroughly enjoyed these chapters other than that Barron incident. That was scary but it still doesn't help us understand whether Holland's doing that because of the command of the twins or is he doing that because he wants to do that to get back at them or for any other purpose.

I love the interactions between Kell and Lila and I wanted them to have that romantic moment or whatever it was. I feel like they would make a really cute couple ☺️ I don't know whether the author would write them like that in future books, but I enjoyed reading these chapters because of their exchange 😁

I laughed for a full minute when Lila tried to steal. I thought she would do that and get caught lol. Kell's action at the market means he is trying to keep Lila away from his family ( king, queen and Rhy ) I don't know whether he is planning on taking Lila to white London or Black London, but I think he needs her in this adventure. I also loved Barron's relationship dynamic, about he wishes to be an anchor rather than a influencer in Lila's life. I wish he weren't killed though 😔

Chapters 30-35

The magic which is infecting and burning down people in Grey London sounds like a symbiote, like Venom in Spider-Man comics. Even though the story is focused on Kell and Lila, it's nice to read about events that are almost isolated from the main story but still adds a bit to the story at the end. After reading that Fletcher chapter, I want to know more about how Kell's childhood was, it seems like he was kinda arrogant initially 😄

Holland is straight up savage. Burning down a building was not what I expected even though he was cruel since the start of the story. I still have no idea whether these are his actions or is he bound to do them in service of Dane twins ?

Hope Kell isn't completely affected by that stone. Now that Ruby Fields is gone and Kell looks weaker, I feel like Lila will have more importance. And I really do wish she can finish off Holland when all this ends. Also is Fletcher still alive ? Who was the last person who entered the store before Kell and Lila broke in. The story kinda lost some pace here, but it's making the story a bit interesting, now that they have to take a detour and raid Fletcher's store for things that can grant them access to White London. I really hope Kell and Lila doesn't get separated while making that travel. Getting lost in Red London is one thing, it will be deadly if they get separated in White London while traveling between the world's.