Reviews

Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

anna4ce's review against another edition

3.0

This second book just didn't do it for me. I'll get the third, but this one threw me. I didn't like the sudden onslaught of characters in historic England, although maybe Harkness was doing it to mimic Diana's sense of overwhelm. Anyways, I didn't like it. It set a bad tone for the rest of my book and I didn't enjoy it as thoroughly as a whole. There were still some really great points to the story that I enjoyed.

slortzbaird's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

summonzozo's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-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? No

4.75

barelytolerable's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

lasabea's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

4.25

abirej's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny tense slow-paced

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

3.75

Historical fiction, but make it Halloween. Same pacing problems as book 1, though I found the story more interesting in the way it played with time. 

eap157's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious fast-paced

4.0

Had no idea until the end of the first book that they’d be time traveling! Enjoyed this one more than the first. Especially loved the times with both fathers: Phillippe in France and Stephen in London. Enjoyed that there was less political congregation drama. Half the characters in the first book were plotting assholes. This was full of friends and found family. Goody Alsop, Henry Percy, and Gallowglass were standouts.

andadeen's review against another edition

4.0

Great follow up book! It has the same flavor of story while being distinctly different! Absolutely love it!

beeol's review against another edition

3.0

3.5 stars, but I'm still torn about this decision.

Pros:
- I grew attached to all the characters, both Diana and Matthew as well as all the new ones: they feel genuine, with deep real feelings.
- Elizabethan London is awesome, and Harkness is able to describe its atmosphere in such details that you can't do anything but admire it.
- The last about 100 pages threw me into a whirlwind of emotions, main reason why I was almost about to rate it 5 stars.

Cons:
- About two relevant things happen in this book (

Spoiler

Diana learns to use her powers and gets pregnant

), and less than half the pages would have sufficed for this.

- The scifi reader deeply rooted within me is sorry but couldn't stand the inconsistent time travel. I tried to ignore it but it has given me a weird sense of unease throughout the whole book.

staceyfenton's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

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

2.5