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lisa_m's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I like the mystery aspect of it and also the reveal at the end! The whole revenge aspect of it was quite satisfying to read about as well.
This book wasn't the most fun time but it was definitely entertaining. And I think especially people who like their books a bit more brutal will like this.
I do have to say that I am quite confused by the worldbuilding still. I don't quite understand what exactly it is that shadows do and what they are? Also the magical powers seemed quite random. You can just do what you want? Also what are Cabal and Carapace and all those important people? Why do you need a Hierophant? Why did no one check if the Shadow took over?
Well anyways I have loads of questions and I really hope they will get resolved in book 2. (Oh and I hope it's a Duology because I feel like the story should have been a standalone and I hope it won't just be stretched out..
I think mainly what I didn't like where the flashbacks. Not because they were bad but because I didn't like the things that happened. It was great because that way we got to get to know the characters but still.
I really dislike Charlie's mum and I have to say I don't particularly like her sister either.. I did really like Vincent though but oh well hahah
The ending was great though. I saw a few things coming but definitely not all of them! If I could I would start reading the second book immediately! So I'm absolutely going to pick it up when it comes out :)
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Classism
martharosen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Violence and Blood
Minor: Drug use, Gore, Sexual content, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
readwithria's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I really wasn’t vining with the writing style for the first 70-80% of this book, but the climactic scenes were quite a wild ride. With books this short I usually with there had been more, but with Book of Night I actually think it could have been shorter. The beginning really dragged, the main plot didn’t seem to start until about 50% of the way through the book, and the magic system doesn’t really get explored until even later. The concept is cool, but the execution was lacking.
I will likely read the sequel from the library, but this book won’t be getting added to my personal collection. 3 stars.
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, and Alcohol
infergnome's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Gore and Murder
Minor: Gun violence
carlyoc's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Charlie Hall used to be known as Charlatan, the thief. She's trying to put that life behind her and not screw up the stability she's built with a steady job, a good boyfriend named Vince, and funds to just barely put her little sister Posey through college. But Charlie can never resist a little bit of danger.
Besides, Posey doesn't want to go to school; she wants to figure out how to join the ranks of Gloamists, the people who can consciously manipulate their shadows to become corporeal and act independently from their bodies to various degrees.
Meanwhile, there's a reason Vince never ever talks about his past. Charlie is keeping secrets from him, too, but the truth will out.
Charlie is hired to find a mysterious book from the collection of rich and cruel Lionel Salt, which allegedly contains a ritual for a shadow to rid itself of its human controller and be fully autonomous. She must pull together different threads of clues to out-smart everyone hoping to watch her fail.
The structure of the novel alternates scenes from Charlie's perspective in the present storyline with vignettes from both Charlie's and Vince's pasts.
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Domestic abuse, Sexual content, and Car accident
I included Toxic relationship to refer to the emotional neglect Charlie and her sister experienced from their mother as children.elizajaquays's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and Murder
kingrosereads's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.25
This is a new adult urban fantasy with very minimal spice (mostly just hot and heavy scenes) and cursing.
Let’s recap: Charlie Hall is a morally grey character who’s a con artist and thief. She was trained to be one since she was about 12 years old and when magic turns out to be real, her job turns into stealing books with magic related secrets in them. Her sister, Posey, is obsessed with magic and tries to awaken shadow magic within her. Shadow magic is the magical system in this book. People’s shadows will “quicken” and then they’re able to manipulate their shadows to steal things or kill people (it becomes an extension of the person). After her own pettiness nearly gets her killed, she pulls out of the con game and becomes a bartender. She meets shadow-less but kind, Vince, and they live together. Vince is a good boyfriend, albeit mysterious and possibly void of a soul. Because he’s shadowless and that means someone stole his shadow which is apparently a piece of your soul. Posey reads tarot online as a job and spends most of her time looking up videos and articles about how to quicken her shadow. Despite Charlie’s efforts to stay out of the thieving business, shit hits the fan when an acquaintance gets involved with locating the Liber Noctem. It’s a well sought after book that allegedly contains secrets about Blights and was written by a Blight. A gloamist is someone with a quickened shadow and they must feed the shadow their own blood and dark emotions to keep its energy levels up. Too much power and blood, and too many dark emotions and you’ve got the recipe of creating a sentient shadow, known as a Blight, that will tear itself from its gloamist when they die. Then the Blight can roam the world and kill people.
Here comes the spoilers, darling.
So trauma is the key to quickening your shadow and when a Blight comes after Charlie when it thinks she has the Liber Noctem, her shadow quickens. She also discovers that Vince is not the mild mannered man he seems to be and he seems to be tied up with the murders and secrecy surrounding the Liber Noctem. Enter Lionel Salt, billionaire gloamist who attempted to kill Charlie when she was trying to con him as a child (though he doesn’t remember her). Charlie wants revenge and Salt wants to hire her to find the Liber Noctem. She plays along and discovers that Vince is Salt’s allegedly dead grandson, Edmund “Remy” Carver. Salt’s responsible for several deaths but has gotten away with it. He’s stolen his quickened shadow so he can become a gloamist and hopefully be voted on the gloamist governing body, the Cabal.
Charlie learns that Remy’s shadow had quickened when he was a child, which is much younger than any other gloamist. Since he was a child, he named his shadow, Red. Naming a shadow and thinking of it as a separate being increases the likelihood it will become a Blight. And that’s exactly what Red becomes. Salt uses Remy to instruct Red to carry out his dirty work from the time that he’s 13 years old. He and Red grow up like brothers and Red is even able to temporarily detach himself from Remy.
It’s ultimately revealed that Vince is Red and Remy was murdered by Salt. As Remy was dying he forced all his blood and energy into Red thus giving him a solid form that looked exactly like Remy. Eventually, Salt’s secrets are revealed to the Cabal and it’s revealed that he had the Liber Noctem the whole time, he just wanted to entrap Charlie and use her as a scapegoat when she turned up empty handed. But she found the book in his safe and was able to entrap him.
Salt’s then killed by his stolen shadow and the Cabal imprison Vince. The Cabal has decided that Vince will be tethered to a gloamist and become their new Blight hunter controlled by the gloamist. Charlie is able to convince them to tether Vince to her instead. Once Vince is tethered to Charlie he reverts to his shadow form and has no memory of her or what happened to Remy. This is where the book ends, setting up for the sequel.
Okay, done with the spoilers.
Just a few things about this book. It had a lot of potential and I love a protagonist that isn’t likable all the time and has questionable morals. The shadow manipulation is interesting, but I don’t understand the magic system at all. It seems all that they can do is change their shadow’s shape, sneak into places, kill people, and steal things. Like what else is there? I don’t really understand the history of the magic either or the gloamist hierarchy. I mean gloamist get automatic high standing in society for having magic but literally all I’ve seen their magic do is harm one another and whatever poor sap gets caught up in gloamist rivalry. The book is also incredibly long for what happens in it and the pacing is very slow. It didn’t really catch my attention until a quarter of the way through but then it just started to drag again. It gets really interesting by two-thirds of the way and I was actually able to read the book all the way through. Before then, I was just reading one chapter at a time because it was boring and confusing.
Like I said, there were a lot of parts I liked and there was a lot of potential in the book. I did laugh and cry and even had me on the edge of my seat for a scene or two. I’m not sure if a sequel is even necessary but I hope that Holly Black does a better job in the next book.
Moderate: Gore, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Gaslighting
pellepanda's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Death, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Kidnapping, Murder, and Abandonment
Minor: Torture and Vomit
cgp1234's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug use and Incest
delz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Violence, Vomit, and Murder
Moderate: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Incest