Reviews with content warning for Blood - Shadow of Night

Oh God, I thought this book would never end.
For as much as the premise sounds interesting and just what I would love (magic creatures time travelling to the past), the book itself falls miserably short of anything.
First, I think I just read a book with absolutely no plot. It drags on and on and on and you really don't know what's the point of it (or rather, you know what the point is meant to be, but the book itself seems to have forgotten). Second, the two main characters became kind of insufferable. Matthew seems to be the most important man at any point in space and time, who knows everyone of importance, is involved in everything, and can influence just about anything and anyone. Diana is the most special witch to have existed, and despite knowing nothing about magic, she is also apparently one of the most powerful. Together, they go through time and meet a new historical figure every 10 pages or so. Forgetting, along the way, everything they're there to do.
So yeah, I fail to see what this book accomplished in the trilogy, as most of it seemed to be both of the main characters dressing up and going out and being dramatic about their marriage.

Content Warnings

meganpbennett's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Shadow of Night picks up immediately after the ending of A Discovery of Witches, this time in 1590. Matthew and Diane go back in time in an attempt to solve a variety of mysteries that plague the present, and find the missing book.

I'm not sure what I think. I don't really like Matthew, though he is growing on me, a bit like mold or calculus. I have issues with how he treats Diana, and how much he didn't seem willing to help her adjust to suddenly living in Elizabethan England. Or how he treats her and how he doesn't seem willing to help her when they have to go to Prague, tracking a traitor alchemist and the book.

Content Warnings

fionac326's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

2.0

Content Warnings

sarahsbooklife's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious sad tense fast-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

kpem's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

I really preferred the second book in this series to the first. There was a bigger cast of characters and an interesting setting. I was happy to get to more of the mysteries that are central to the main plot of the series, rather than some of the background information and description of Diana's initial attraction to Matthew that dominated the first book. I still felt that there was too much unnecessary, dense description at times, though with the Elizabethan setting it was often more interesting than in A Discovery of Witches. Still, it often seemed that the characters had forgotten about their reasons for coming to the past for long stretches of time as they spent no time looking for the book of life or a teacher for Diana. So much so that I often had to stop and ask myself why they had gone back in time in the first place because I wasn't sure why they were doing some of the things they were doing.

I had two criticisms while reading, though. The first is that Diana and Matthew had seemingly no worries about changing the past at all. They don't even discuss it until they meet Diana's father very late in the book, and by then they had been living in the past for months, travelled the world and interacted with countless people of the past. It just seemed really strange to me, especially when Diana is a historian with great regard and knowledge of the past.

Another thing that bothered me was the way that Matthew's "blood rage" was discussed. I worry that the text wanted us to think of his blood rage in the same way that we think of mental illness. If this is the case, I am disturbed by the way that it was portrayed as purely genetic and mostly out of his control. I also have a hard time accepting the sacrifices that Diana has to make to deal with his blood rage. I know their relationship is meant to be fated in the series, but I think it's dangerous to use that as an excuse to keep characters in an abusive relationship and treat it like it's romantic. I was particularly bothered by the couple deciding that Matthew would drink Diana's blood, making it impossible for her to keep any secrets or thoughts/experiences to herself, to calm his rage. I don't think she should have to trade away any privacy for a husband who treats her with kindness. He may have had a real reason (the blood rage) for his struggles, but that doesn't mean Diana should have to be in a relationship with no boundaries and constant struggle.

Overall this was much better than the first book, in my opinion. It was dense, long and sometimes meandering, but usually interesting enough to stick with. I still have massive issues with Matthew, though this sequel did some work in making him a bit more sympathetic. The best parts by far, for me, were the times when Diana was with the characters that were new to the series, learning more about herself and her own powers.

Content Warnings

bookedbymadeline's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

Content Warnings

More...