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katvou's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, Physical abuse, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Drug abuse, Miscarriage, Child abuse, Drug use, Infertility, Rape, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
jowould's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Pregnancy, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, and Torture
Moderate: Rape and Sexual violence
theespressoedition's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Reading The Book of Life was such an interesting experience. My opinions about it went up and down, inside out, and backward before I came to the end.
Going into it, my mind was so open because I was looking forward to learning more about Matthew and Diana, now that they were back in the present day. So much had happened in Shadow of Night and knowing that this was the trilogy's finale, I figured it would begin to wrap things up relatively early on.
Instead, we were met with a ton of crazy twists, character additions, and new storylines right at the beginning, which totally threw me off. Opening the book with Em's death made me feel completely blindsided. I loved Diana's special relationship with her, and it broke my heart that right after Diana came home and was hoping for some normalcy, she's instead met with news of her aunt's death. That's just awful! From that point on, I held everything much more loosely.
I'm a quick reader. I know that about myself. It takes me an average of about three days to finish a book - even relatively long ones. However, The Book of Life took me well over a week to complete! When I reached the 30% mark, I looked at my progress and felt winded. So much had happened and yet there was still so much book to get through. Because of the slow pacing of these novels, I began to feel bored. I wanted more action, less description.
I messaged a friend of mine who just adores this series and began to talk with her about my feelings. It wound up being incredibly helpful, talking with her, because I was able to uncover the elements I really enjoyed - like the character development for Gallowglass, Marcus, Sarah, and Diana. Diana especially came into her own in this book, after learning so much about her magic in Shadow of Night. It was really neat to see that incredible growth in her, not only when it came to her skills, but even in the way she began to relate with Matthew.
Additionally, one of the things I learned is that these are the kind of books you need to set aside time to read. Instead of trying to squeeze them in, you need to really dwell on them and let yourself just be absorbed in the story. Allow it to take you to all of the places it's trying to go and you'll appreciate it much more. Don't attempt to rush through it like I originally did. After chatting with my friend, I found myself excited to get back into the world, and over the next couple of days, I really focused on my reading. It made the ending so much more satisfying than I could possibly express.
There are a lot of really gruesome moments in this particular installment in the trilogy. I've been sitting here, trying to figure out how to talk about them without giving away spoilers, because they include characters that simultaneously are and aren't a major focus in the other books. That sounds confusing, but once you begin reading, you'll understand what I mean. The vampire killer in London is a large part of this book. And their story is incredibly saddening and even a bit angering. It's also very bloody. In addition to that, you'll learn about another member of Matthew's family, who happens to be an incredibly graphic torturer and sexually abusive individual. This subject matter was really challenging for me to read, and I did skim parts of it because of the really gory nature. Please be aware of this going into the book. I do wish there had been content warnings for these things and unfortunately, there were not.
If I had to give the entire series a rating, I would probably say it receives 4 stars. It's a wonderfully-written trilogy with well-rounded characters and tons of world-building. If you ever wanted to feel like "creatures" were real, this book will accomplish that. The research that went into it made it feel so much more realistic than any other supernatural/paranormal series I've ever read. The ending was great but did leave me wanting to learn more about certain characters. I hope Deborah Harkness continues to write about them as the years go on.
Going into it, my mind was so open because I was looking forward to learning more about Matthew and Diana, now that they were back in the present day. So much had happened in Shadow of Night and knowing that this was the trilogy's finale, I figured it would begin to wrap things up relatively early on.
Instead, we were met with a ton of crazy twists, character additions, and new storylines right at the beginning, which totally threw me off.
I'm a quick reader. I know that about myself. It takes me an average of about three days to finish a book - even relatively long ones. However, The Book of Life took me well over a week to complete! When I reached the 30% mark, I looked at my progress and felt winded. So much had happened and yet there was still so much book to get through. Because of the slow pacing of these novels, I began to feel bored. I wanted more action, less description.
I messaged a friend of mine who just adores this series and began to talk with her about my feelings. It wound up being incredibly helpful, talking with her, because I was able to uncover the elements I really enjoyed - like the character development for Gallowglass, Marcus, Sarah, and Diana. Diana especially came into her own in this book, after learning so much about her magic in Shadow of Night. It was really neat to see that incredible growth in her, not only when it came to her skills, but even in the way she began to relate with Matthew.
Additionally, one of the things I learned is that these are the kind of books you need to set aside time to read. Instead of trying to squeeze them in, you need to really dwell on them and let yourself just be absorbed in the story. Allow it to take you to all of the places it's trying to go and you'll appreciate it much more. Don't attempt to rush through it like I originally did. After chatting with my friend, I found myself excited to get back into the world, and over the next couple of days, I really focused on my reading. It made the ending so much more satisfying than I could possibly express.
There are a lot of really gruesome moments in this particular installment in the trilogy. I've been sitting here, trying to figure out how to talk about them without giving away spoilers, because they include characters that simultaneously are and aren't a major focus in the other books. That sounds confusing, but once you begin reading, you'll understand what I mean. The vampire killer in London is a large part of this book. And their story is incredibly saddening and even a bit angering. It's also very bloody. In addition to that, you'll learn about another member of Matthew's family, who happens to be an incredibly graphic torturer and sexually abusive individual. This subject matter was really challenging for me to read, and I did skim parts of it because of the really gory nature. Please be aware of this going into the book. I do wish there had been content warnings for these things and unfortunately, there were not.
If I had to give the entire series a rating, I would probably say it receives 4 stars. It's a wonderfully-written trilogy with well-rounded characters and tons of world-building. If you ever wanted to feel like "creatures" were real, this book will accomplish that. The research that went into it made it feel so much more realistic than any other supernatural/paranormal series I've ever read. The ending was great but did leave me wanting to learn more about certain characters. I hope Deborah Harkness continues to write about them as the years go on.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Murder, Rape, Torture, Gore, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Pregnancy, Death of parent, and Grief
Minor: Sexual content
beaudoindani17's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Grief, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Stalking, Sexual violence, Rape, and Pregnancy
fionac326's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
2.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Gore, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual content, and Torture
solinel7's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Loved this conclusion to the All Souls Trilogy. Although there were a lot of talks about alchemy and genetics that I didn't always get, I couldn't put it down. The author's way of writing is captivating 'cause even what you don't understand you're interested in learning more aboutthe charactersand the world they live in. Wouldlove to see more of this world. This is one of my favorite Trilogies/ Sagas to date.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Torture, and Violence
christinecc's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
An extra half star because of all the work that must have gone into this and the mounting levels of absurdity the book attained, 2 stars on a personal level because reading this book felt like an exercise in futility.
Our protagonists are back from the Elizabethan era and ready to find the Book of Life! Except we also need to identify the DNA of all the creatures, and we have to deal with another pregnancy, and then a major character death (but don't worry, we'll sweep that under the rug because WHY DWELL ON A TRAGIC LOSS, I guess?). Urgent matters come up, we think the characters will launch themselves into action, only to find them furnishing a house, walking around, or taking on some brand new issue in the next scene.
Essentially the book is a series of events with very little forward momentum except whatever the reader is willing to bring to the table. My momentum ran out... like, halfway through the book, at which point I had to drag the book behind me and hope for a quick release. It would have been nice had the romance between Matthew and Diana made my heart go pitter-patter, but honestly it did not, and I am borderline shocked that they have any kind of functioning relationship. All I can tell you about Diana is that she sometimes stands up to Matthew, and Matthew (in turn) sometimes acts a little less condescending to Diana than usual (but always condescending, because why would a vampire view women as social equals? I ask you, why?).
I guess I signed up for a slightly more straightforward story about a vampire and a witch having adventures with magic, academia, and history while falling in love/ being bonded by trauma (potato, potato). Instead, I got... this thing. And no, I still don't know what the Book of Life is or why it was made the way it was. Or why that thing happened to it at the end. I don't know. I just don't know.
Recommended if... umm... you want to finish the trilogy. For reasons. Honestly, I'm looking forward to watching the tv series after this, because it looks like the TV writers had to squish it all into a comprehensible story, and I NEED to see how they manage it. Plus Matthew and Diana are fun in the show! Imagine that.
Our protagonists are back from the Elizabethan era and ready to find the Book of Life! Except we also need to identify the DNA of all the creatures, and we have to deal with another pregnancy, and then a major character death (but don't worry, we'll sweep that under the rug because WHY DWELL ON A TRAGIC LOSS, I guess?). Urgent matters come up, we think the characters will launch themselves into action, only to find them furnishing a house, walking around, or taking on some brand new issue in the next scene.
Essentially the book is a series of events with very little forward momentum except whatever the reader is willing to bring to the table. My momentum ran out... like, halfway through the book, at which point I had to drag the book behind me and hope for a quick release. It would have been nice had the romance between Matthew and Diana made my heart go pitter-patter, but honestly it did not, and I am borderline shocked that they have any kind of functioning relationship. All I can tell you about Diana is that she sometimes stands up to Matthew, and Matthew (in turn) sometimes acts a little less condescending to Diana than usual (but always condescending, because why would a vampire view women as social equals? I ask you, why?).
I guess I signed up for a slightly more straightforward story about a vampire and a witch having adventures with magic, academia, and history while falling in love/ being bonded by trauma (potato, potato). Instead, I got... this thing. And no, I still don't know what the Book of Life is or why it was made the way it was. Or why that thing happened to it at the end. I don't know. I just don't know.
Recommended if... umm... you want to finish the trilogy. For reasons. Honestly, I'm looking forward to watching the tv series after this, because it looks like the TV writers had to squish it all into a comprehensible story, and I NEED to see how they manage it. Plus Matthew and Diana are fun in the show! Imagine that.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death, Body horror, Blood, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, and Torture
radreadswithrachel's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Trafficking, Violence, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Gore, Child abuse, and Child death
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