A review by tallangryplanet
A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective tense

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

"I will make you proud. I am afraid. I love you, even if I do not think you love me half as much. I will never treat my daughter the way you have treated me."

This masterpiece had me crying tears of joy and sorrow, I don't think I've ever struggled so much to collect my thoughts after finishing a book. Since there's so many things I loved about it, I'll divide this review into sections in an effort to create some semblance of coherence. 

First of all, the characters!! Words cannot describe how much I loved the protagonists of this book, but numbers can. Infinite out of ten. It was so refreshing to see mature women be given a main role instead of being relegated to "mother of the protagonist" or "town baker" (which are perfectly respectable things to be, but they shouldn't be a character's single defining characteristic). The dynamic between Esbar and Tunuva, two people who love each other and have had more than enough time to figure out the workings of a healthy relationship in which there is still room for disagreement, is probably one of my new favorite romances of all time. Glorian owned my heart from the moment she was presented (and what a mother-daughter relationship hers was!), and so did Dumai. Their ability to handle the terrible hardships the world expects them to go through with a straight face is honestly heartbreaking but at the same time it made me want to better myself and make my own contribution to humanity. And Wulf, poor Wulf, always trying to figure out why he is the way he is, and why it's so hard to just be normal. Even the characters I didn't like as people were amazing characters. Canthe gave me terrible vibes from the beginning (I was pretty sure I knew who she was, having read Priory) and yet I still managed to sympathise with her at times. And the way Shannon manages to drag out the tension with Canthe's backstory and motivations throughout such a long story, without losing the reader's attention? Absolutely masterful. 

All this is to say, this book is full of deeply human characters. It's an epic fantasy story, yes, but the characters are not perfect, unreachable heroes. They're "regular" people, with responsibilities they don't always feel like handling, and complicated, conflicting feelings, making hard choices because their world pushes them to do so. They live through unspeakable pain (unwanted pregnancies, miscarriages, loss of loved ones) and yet they choose to pick themselves up every day, because there is no other way than forward. However, unlike many people nowadays, they know you cannot do it all alone, they let themselves be vulnerable and they let others help them, and I think that's beautiful. The way love and relationships with other humans are handled in this book, with a focus on family (which isn't always blood), is incredibly wholesome. 

The worldbuilding! The world of Priory becomes, if possible, even more complicated in this book. We're introduced to countries with different cultures, religions, climates, and forms of government. And every one of them feels incredibly real, the increase in quantity does not at all imply a decrease in quality. At some points I felt I could just pack my bags and go visit certain places, I suspect it might even be possible to figure out the appropriate clothing to blend in. However, my absolutely favorite aspect of this world is the magic. I love it when magic has limits for the users (both on the "good" and "evil" side), and the system here is incredibly satisfying. I'd be content just reading an in-world encyclopaedia on how the characters think their own powers work (Samantha, if you're reading this I beg you, please get us Canthe explaining all her mysterious abilities).

Of course, the story itself is nothing to scoff at. All the little threads that fit together, the pieces that suddenly fall into place when you get a new bit of information. How the author manages to keep it all straight is a mystery to me. Books like this make me incredibly thankful to whoever came up with the idea to put little glossaries or character lists at the end of books. 

And I cannot end this review without mentioning Shannon's writing. It's so lyrical and full of both heartwarming and heartbreaking quotes that hit so hard. I felt really connected to this world and its characters and a big part of why is the writing. Almost like reading an epic poem, especially in the beginning when we're still being introduced to everything. 

All in all, in case it wasn't clear yet, I absolutely recommend this book. It's the fresh take on fantasy we didn't know we wanted but we deserved all this time, it's gorgeous, it's got the found family, it's got the horrifying harshness of life, it's got the hope in humanity. What more could I ask? The only correct answer is more of this world. Run, don't walk, to get this book. Even if you haven't read The Priory of the Orange Tree, this works as a standalone, so take your pick at whichever one you'd like to tackle first. 

Infinite thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.