V.E. Schwab Books in Order
The master of the morally grey antihero — Schwab writes characters you cannot root against even when you absolutely should, in worlds you don't want to leave.
About V.E. Schwab
V.E. Schwab has a particular gift that is rarer than it looks: she makes you love characters who do terrible things, and she does it without cheating. Her antiheroes aren't secretly good people underneath the violence — they're genuinely morally compromised, driven by selfishness and pride and old wounds, and Schwab never lets them off the hook. What she does instead is make their interiority so vivid and their humanity so present that sympathy becomes impossible to withhold. The Shades of Magic trilogy introduced her adult audience to Kell and Lila Bard, and those two characters have lodged themselves in readers' heads with the permanence of old friends. Her prose has a precise elegance to it — she doesn't waste words — and her world-building prioritizes atmosphere and character texture over encyclopedic detail. She's equally fluent in standalone novels (The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is a modern classic) and long-form series, and everything she writes rewards re-reading.
V.E. Schwab Books in Order
- 1
A Darker Shade of Magic
Shades of Magic, Book 1
One of four magicians who can travel between parallel Londons smuggles a dangerous stone between worlds — and picks up a knife-wielding thief who will change everything.
- 2
A Gathering of Shadows
Shades of Magic, Book 2
A magical tournament draws competitors from across the worlds — Schwab uses it to deepen every character relationship while the real threat operates in the shadows.
- 3
A Conjuring of Light
Shades of Magic, Book 3
The trilogy's devastating conclusion — Schwab doesn't soften anything, and the emotional payoffs are proportional to how much she's hurt you along the way.
- 4
Vicious
Villains, Book 1
Two brilliant college students discover how to manufacture superpowers — then spend a decade plotting each other's destruction. A perfect antihero novel with no true protagonist.
- 5
Vengeful
Villains, Book 2
The sequel introduces a new player — a woman who survived death and has plans of her own — while revisiting the fractured relationship at Vicious's core.
- 6
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
Standalone
A woman makes a deal with a dark god to live forever, cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets — until she meets the one person who remembers her. Schwab's most literary and emotionally devastating work.
If You Like V.E. Schwab, Try:
If Schwab's morally grey antiheroes appeal, Abercrombie is the natural next step — the First Law trilogy does to fantasy heroism what Schwab does to the superhero myth.
The Folk of the Air shares Schwab's knack for protagonists you shouldn't root for but absolutely do — political scheming, sharp prose, and a world that delights in consequence.
Six of Crows is the closest comparison to Schwab's Shades of Magic in tone — ensemble casts, morally complex characters, and world-building that rewards exploration.
Frequently Asked Questions
Get weekly fantasy recommendations delivered free.
New picks every week. No spam, ever.
Join the List