Reviews

Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

forever_fantasy's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

kristinhzta90's review against another edition

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3.0

I really wanted to love this book, but it was just ok. The beginning of the story had me trying to remember where the story left off at the end of Discovery of Witches, and I felt it was paced very slow. It finally picked up when they got to London.

What I loved:
1) Philippe - his strength and fortitude. The history between him & Matthew is incredible
Spoilerand how he grew to love Diana and made her a member of the family

2) Consummation - FINALLY
3) Matthew & Diana's relationship grows so beautifully
4) All the historical characters and situations woven in to the story
5)
SpoilerDiana meeting her time spinning Father in Elizabethan England

6) Gallowglass - loved his character and can't wait to see him again in the next book
7) A much more satisfying ending than the first novel

What I detested:
1) Christopher Marlowe, aka Kit, what an asshat
2) Christopher Marlowe
3) Oh, did I forget to mention Christopher Marlowe?
4) the reference to Jane Austen was distracting as it was completely out of historical context
5)
SpoilerI just can't understand why Matthew didn't kick Kit to the curb and cut him off completely. It was stated over and over again how jealous and over protective Matthew is of Diana, but it really never played out that way with Kit. He double crossed them repeatedly, and even tried to kill her, unforgivable in my opinion

giudesvaria's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

3.25

breezy610's review against another edition

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I didn't finish this one because it's too long for me to finish and i only have it for a limited time from the library. Plus, Diana was getting on my nervous. I will try to pick this up again sometime in the future. maybe when the third book comes out, but right now, i am just not interested which is a damn shame because i really enjoyed the first one.

alexandra_ninelives's review against another edition

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2.0

Are we sure this book was written by the same author as the first one?
This was a disaster of a book. The plot was all over the place. Even though they went back to study magic and get the Ashmole manuscript, we didn’t see any of that much. I mean of course sometimes we saw them but there were so much of their daily lives, it was boring.
The surprise pregnancy trope is my least favorite trope ever. And then she loses the baby, just so she gets pregnant with twins???? I hated this plotline so much.
The only redeeming quality of this book was Matthew’s vampireness and even that was written quite poorly if I’m being honest.
I won’t read the third book any time soon, I don’t want to be even more disappointed.

sunnyp's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

brittkbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous informative mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

jwingo1's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-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

4.0

dania_19's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

mmajer's review against another edition

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3.0

2.5/5 I probably shouldn’t have waited 5 years since reading the first book,as there were a few things I needed refreshers on. Aside from that, I found this to be overall more tedious than entertaining.