A review by betweentheshelves
Book of Night by Holly Black

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!
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