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A review by justkarlah
Book of Night by Holly Black
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This is one of those books that took me a long time to get to, but once I actually started reading it, I actually enjoyed. It's different from the usual Holly Black books we're all used to (especially if you only read her fae books). Still, the idea of magic existing through our shadows was interesting and felt pretty unique.
The pace picked up pretty quickly for me, only took a couple chapters of explanations and backstory to get the plot going. I did find that some of the flashbacks got a little boring later on in the book, but I get that they were included to give us more context on people's decisions. There are things that definitely could have been explained by weaving them into the story instead of going back and forth between the past and the present though.
Some of the twists were predictable, but it was still a surprise to read about them.The little hints throughout the beginning that hinted at Vince being "different"? Loved it.
I love the morally gray characters that Holly Black comes up with. Sometimes I want to read about a person who's not always doing the right thing, a person who does things for themselves and wouldn't be considered a hero most of their lives. Makes them feel more realistic.
With that being said, Charlie was not as interesting as a character as Vince was.I'm hoping Vince gets more of a main spotlight in the sequel. From what we got at the end of the book, his personality reversed to a different version of himself once he was tied to Charlie, so I hope we get to see his personality grow as he gets to know her again.
I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would! It's definitely different, and there are things that I wish would have been expanded on more/had more written about them, but all in all, it was a good read. I'm looking forward to the sequel!
The pace picked up pretty quickly for me, only took a couple chapters of explanations and backstory to get the plot going. I did find that some of the flashbacks got a little boring later on in the book, but I get that they were included to give us more context on people's decisions. There are things that definitely could have been explained by weaving them into the story instead of going back and forth between the past and the present though.
Some of the twists were predictable, but it was still a surprise to read about them.
I love the morally gray characters that Holly Black comes up with. Sometimes I want to read about a person who's not always doing the right thing, a person who does things for themselves and wouldn't be considered a hero most of their lives. Makes them feel more realistic.
With that being said, Charlie was not as interesting as a character as Vince was.
I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would! It's definitely different, and there are things that I wish would have been expanded on more/had more written about them, but all in all, it was a good read. I'm looking forward to the sequel!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Death
Moderate: Violence, Alcohol, and Gore
Minor: Addiction and Stalking