Insert main character, Kell, adopted son of "Red" London's royalty. He has always felt like a possesion and never really a family member, excluding the relationship with his brother Prince Rhy. This book really pulled me in at the beginning. Kell has a mysterious coat that has a different look and style for each of his adventures. Kell is an Antari, one born to blood magic. Antari are a dying breed and there are only two in the world. Kell and another who lives in "white" London. Kell's job is a messenger between the different Londons that exist in what I understood as different dimensions but all interlinked by doors only the Antari can access. Anyway, poor old Kell loves taking trinkets to and from different Londons although it's FORBIDDEN(You all know this is going.)
Insert Delilah Bard, aka Lila. Spunky (aspiring) pirate living in Grey London. She's just a pocket picker trying to get by in life. She is in desperate need of adventure.
Insert Kell getting in trouble, Lila having stolen a shiny magic rock from Kell, and boom their lives are forever intertwined. Lila gets her adventure, Kell gets a headache. It all works out rather well, actually.
Fear not, after that half way mark, shit starts to hit the fan. I could not put the book down and i swear my heart was racing. Despite not getting to know Rhy very well, you feel for him because Kell feels for him. You essentially get taken on a roller coaster of emotions, all depending on what Kell goes through. Lila was fun, but I didn't feel the same connection to her. Lila was aloof and fun, but it was Kell that you follow and feel endeared to at the end.
The end was satisfying, sad, and left space for another adventure. I promise it doesn't have a cliff hanger so your not left sobbing in your bed with no relief in sight. I will definitely picking up the sequel and recommend this to all fantasy lovers who like a slow build up. For those who enjoy romance, it's not really very romance, BUT THERE'S POTENTIAL!! And honestly, the book holds its own without it, that's saying a lot.