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tualha's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
For fans of The Ninth House, A Deadly Education, or Robin McKinley's Sunshine (and not necessarily fans of Black's YA titles).
Holly Black's twisty adult debut follows Charlie Hall, a "reformed" thief and con artist. A slow burn for a mystery, it's got bad romantic decisions, tense family dynamics, and plenty of gory violence. Though it was a bit formulaic in terms of a mystery, folks who enjoy unique systems of magic and female anti-heroes will likely be at home.
Holly Black's twisty adult debut follows Charlie Hall, a "reformed" thief and con artist. A slow burn for a mystery, it's got bad romantic decisions, tense family dynamics, and plenty of gory violence. Though it was a bit formulaic in terms of a mystery, folks who enjoy unique systems of magic and female anti-heroes will likely be at home.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Child abuse, Gun violence, and Alcohol
betweentheshelves's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
3.5
Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Books for an advanced copy of this to review! I think almost everyone knows Holly Black from her young adult books, but this is her first foray into adult fantasy. For the most part, I'd say that it is a success! Especially if you enjoy dark, atmospheric fantasy.
One of the things I enjoyed about this book is the unique magic system. Literally using shadow magic makes for an interesting magical world. Even if at times, it gets a little gruesome, since blood is often needed to make the magic work. In general, I think Holly Black is great at writing magic systems, and this is definitely on display in this book. Honestly, I wish most of the beginning had been focused on how this particular magic works instead of giving us so much of Charlie's backstory.
However, the first half of this book is definitely pretty slow moving. It takes the plot a long time to get going, so much so that it's difficult to see where the plot might even be going at first. Once you get about halfway through, the plot starts to pick up, with more twists and action. The overall tone and pacing is quite different from her YA series, in my opinion. Those are easy to fly through, while Book of Night takes its time.
Don't let that turn you away if you're a Holly Black fan, though! Even if the beginning is a bit slow, if you're a fan of her writing, you'll probably still enjoy this book. Just go into it knowing that you won't necessarily get that might action from the get go.
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If you like Holly Black, you will probably like this! It's dark, it's twisty, it has morally grey characters. But there were just a few things that made it not necessarily hold up for me. Stay tuned for a full review!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Alcohol, and Death
Moderate: Drug use, Gore, and Sexual content
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, and Addiction
melaniereadsbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Thank you to Netgalley and Tor Books for an arc of this book.
Charlie Hall has lived her life making cons, but she's trying to ride the straight and narrow. When she sees a shadow tear another man apart, she gets dragged into her old life of gloamists and danger and stealing.
This was so highly anticipated for me because I absolutely love Holly Black! This was a great debut into adult writing and if you've read any reviews of this yet, you'll know everyone is wondering if there will be a sequel. If not--that was a bold ending!
The writing is really good and I seriously love Charlie. She is such a compelling main character and her motivations are so interesting to read about. I also really enjoyed Vince, though I wish he was in it a bit more--I feel like his character could have been developed better.
I think knowing if this is going to have a sequel or not would really affect my rating. Right now, I'm basing this assuming it is a standalone, and it left a little to be desired in the end. Hopefully there will be more Charlie to come!
Charlie Hall has lived her life making cons, but she's trying to ride the straight and narrow. When she sees a shadow tear another man apart, she gets dragged into her old life of gloamists and danger and stealing.
This was so highly anticipated for me because I absolutely love Holly Black! This was a great debut into adult writing and if you've read any reviews of this yet, you'll know everyone is wondering if there will be a sequel. If not--that was a bold ending!
The writing is really good and I seriously love Charlie. She is such a compelling main character and her motivations are so interesting to read about. I also really enjoyed Vince, though I wish he was in it a bit more--I feel like his character could have been developed better.
I think knowing if this is going to have a sequel or not would really affect my rating. Right now, I'm basing this assuming it is a standalone, and it left a little to be desired in the end. Hopefully there will be more Charlie to come!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Alcohol, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Drug use, Gun violence, Gore, Sexual content, and Abandonment
Minor: Drug abuse, Child abuse, and Self harm
kerrigor's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
3 Stars for Potential
(ARC provided by the publisher)
One Sentence Review:
This book has a very interesting premise, but it should either have been much longer or much shorter, and I’m not sure which would have been better.
Overall Review:
A good setup for a series, Charlie Hall and her family (chosen and unchosen) present a fascinating story that definitely has potential. The characterization is a bit too weak for a first book, so it often leaves the reader wondering if they missed whole chapters of the story, because so many characters are introduced and then either left behind entirely or they become extremely important but with no background as to their motives, powers, or relationship to Charlie, it is frustrating at times. The magic system and world-building are definitely different from traditional “magical worlds” and obviously provides the author and reader many different possible outcomes or story paths, but again, the reader is left feeling like they don’t have enough context to fully understand the limits, rules, or the world enough to fully connect with the suspense and danger. I will probably read the book next in the series, but if that one is just as mediocre, I probably won’t continue the series (if there’s more after that).
Characterization
Charlie Hall, the main character, is very well-developed. She’s certainly a frustrating character because you want her to make the right decisions but she doesn’t. There were times that I felt like her character was a bit too wishy-washy about herself, her family, and her situation, but it certainly wasn’t enough to detract entirely from the story. The characters of Vince and Posey were just as fascinating but less well-developed. I found myself wanting to spend more time with either or both of them as they dealt with Charlie and the world closing in on them. Also, there felt like there were an overwhelming amount of characters, it became difficult keeping straight who was who and why the reader should care about those characters, if at all.
World-Building
The world-building of Book of Night was probably the weakest point of the book. The magic system itself is an amazing concept and is certainly not overdone by authors. Even in this book world, the magic system is proposed to be relatively new (in the sense that people are collectively aware of it), which again could allow for some very interesting cultural growing pains within the plot. It is also an interesting look at how an “outsider” may come to see and learn about a magical system. However, it seems there is already an entire society/culture built around the magical system, and that society isn’t really mentioned until halfway through the book, and not really a plot point until near the very end, and at the end the reader is faced with suddenly a lot of different magical activities that they didn’t even know was possible. It also weakens the character of Charlie Hall, because for a thief as good as she is proclaimed to be, she sure doesn’t seem to know a lot about the magic around her and her clients. It is hard to really get into the suspense of the plot if the boundaries and rules of the magical system are not really provided.
Romance
The set up of the romance, like most other parts of the book, is very interesting. It definitely is not the same formula as other romances, and there are some particularly fantastic plot points within the romance that could make it one for the ages. But that’s something that will hopefully come in later books. In this book, the reader is left feeling like the romantic plotline is a certain percentage of importance, only to discover it is actually a completely different size of importance to the plot. I found myself wishing that the romance line either wasn’t there or was developed differently because it wasn’t clear how important it was to the plot.
Plot
The premise of this book, as I’ve said, is amazing. The possibilities are seemingly endless and the reader seemingly can’t rely on most previous magical systems as “background knowledge.” However, parts of the plot weren’t introduced until quite late in the book, and for a plot-driven book, the first section being spent almost entirely on characterization is certainly a choice that was made. I feel like the plot of this book could have been a novella prequel to whatever plot is next in the series. There is a line to walk between plot, world-building, and characterization and this book fell hard into characterization and left plot and world-building far behind.
Writing Style
(As a reminder, I read an ARC, so I’m not taking into account typos or other possible writing changes that could occur before official publication.) The style of Holly Black’s writing is a bit like the plot of the book: wishy-washy. The last 50 pages or so, I was sucked in. But the first 200 pages, I could have stopped reading the book entirely and not felt like I had missed out on something. While the book is definitely plot-driven, it didn’t really feel evenly done, and at times I felt like I either missed whole chapters, chapters were possibly out of order, or some chapters weren’t really necessary to the book, and considering I already felt like the book was either too long (if the point of this book was setting up just Charlie as a character) or too short (if the point of this book was to build a complete world/magical system). The way the book ended is questionable to me as well, it felt like a lot of the plot came undone on the last three pages, even though it felt like Charlie (possibly) grew as a character in that time as well.
(ARC provided by the publisher)
One Sentence Review:
This book has a very interesting premise, but it should either have been much longer or much shorter, and I’m not sure which would have been better.
Overall Review:
A good setup for a series, Charlie Hall and her family (chosen and unchosen) present a fascinating story that definitely has potential. The characterization is a bit too weak for a first book, so it often leaves the reader wondering if they missed whole chapters of the story, because so many characters are introduced and then either left behind entirely or they become extremely important but with no background as to their motives, powers, or relationship to Charlie, it is frustrating at times. The magic system and world-building are definitely different from traditional “magical worlds” and obviously provides the author and reader many different possible outcomes or story paths, but again, the reader is left feeling like they don’t have enough context to fully understand the limits, rules, or the world enough to fully connect with the suspense and danger. I will probably read the book next in the series, but if that one is just as mediocre, I probably won’t continue the series (if there’s more after that).
Characterization
Charlie Hall, the main character, is very well-developed. She’s certainly a frustrating character because you want her to make the right decisions but she doesn’t. There were times that I felt like her character was a bit too wishy-washy about herself, her family, and her situation, but it certainly wasn’t enough to detract entirely from the story. The characters of Vince and Posey were just as fascinating but less well-developed. I found myself wanting to spend more time with either or both of them as they dealt with Charlie and the world closing in on them. Also, there felt like there were an overwhelming amount of characters, it became difficult keeping straight who was who and why the reader should care about those characters, if at all.
World-Building
The world-building of Book of Night was probably the weakest point of the book. The magic system itself is an amazing concept and is certainly not overdone by authors. Even in this book world, the magic system is proposed to be relatively new (in the sense that people are collectively aware of it), which again could allow for some very interesting cultural growing pains within the plot. It is also an interesting look at how an “outsider” may come to see and learn about a magical system. However, it seems there is already an entire society/culture built around the magical system, and that society isn’t really mentioned until halfway through the book, and not really a plot point until near the very end, and at the end the reader is faced with suddenly a lot of different magical activities that they didn’t even know was possible. It also weakens the character of Charlie Hall, because for a thief as good as she is proclaimed to be, she sure doesn’t seem to know a lot about the magic around her and her clients. It is hard to really get into the suspense of the plot if the boundaries and rules of the magical system are not really provided.
Romance
The set up of the romance, like most other parts of the book, is very interesting. It definitely is not the same formula as other romances, and there are some particularly fantastic plot points within the romance that could make it one for the ages. But that’s something that will hopefully come in later books. In this book, the reader is left feeling like the romantic plotline is a certain percentage of importance, only to discover it is actually a completely different size of importance to the plot. I found myself wishing that the romance line either wasn’t there or was developed differently because it wasn’t clear how important it was to the plot.
Plot
The premise of this book, as I’ve said, is amazing. The possibilities are seemingly endless and the reader seemingly can’t rely on most previous magical systems as “background knowledge.” However, parts of the plot weren’t introduced until quite late in the book, and for a plot-driven book, the first section being spent almost entirely on characterization is certainly a choice that was made. I feel like the plot of this book could have been a novella prequel to whatever plot is next in the series. There is a line to walk between plot, world-building, and characterization and this book fell hard into characterization and left plot and world-building far behind.
Writing Style
(As a reminder, I read an ARC, so I’m not taking into account typos or other possible writing changes that could occur before official publication.) The style of Holly Black’s writing is a bit like the plot of the book: wishy-washy. The last 50 pages or so, I was sucked in. But the first 200 pages, I could have stopped reading the book entirely and not felt like I had missed out on something. While the book is definitely plot-driven, it didn’t really feel evenly done, and at times I felt like I either missed whole chapters, chapters were possibly out of order, or some chapters weren’t really necessary to the book, and considering I already felt like the book was either too long (if the point of this book was setting up just Charlie as a character) or too short (if the point of this book was to build a complete world/magical system). The way the book ended is questionable to me as well, it felt like a lot of the plot came undone on the last three pages, even though it felt like Charlie (possibly) grew as a character in that time as well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Child abuse
Moderate: Drug use and Drug abuse
uranaishi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol
Moderate: Car accident, Death, Gun violence, Child abuse, Blood, Classism, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, Sexual content, and Violence
Minor: Gore, Death of parent, Incest, Medical content, and Adult/minor relationship
established_mint's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Many thanks to MacMillan Publishers/ Tor Books for the ARC!
This was the dark urban fantasy read I needed right now. Not spicy but romantic enough. It slows down in the middle and then ramps right up to a heart-stopping end. I need the sequel NOW!
This was the dark urban fantasy read I needed right now. Not spicy but romantic enough. It slows down in the middle and then ramps right up to a heart-stopping end. I need the sequel NOW!
Content Warnings
Minor: Emotional abuse and Child abuse
Stepdad is abusive. A man in the main character's life is manipulative and exploitative when she is a teen.
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