A review by keepcalmblogon
Book of Night by Holly Black

dark 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

5.0

Holly Black has been an auto-buy author of mine for close to two decades. I have literally grown up with her books, so of course, at 32, I had to read her debut adult fiction novel. Leading up to the release, ARC readers did not seem to jive with Book of Night, but I firmly believe in establishing my own opinions and remained wildly excited for the book release. When I finally cracked the spine on Book of Night, I met Charlie and was immediately intrigued by her morally grey character and related to her broken sense of self-worth. Honestly, Book of Night was five stars for me. 

The idea of shadows quickening and having, essentially, minds of their own, in a world that was basically ours before this magic was discovered, comes at a time when our world seems to be overflowing with shadows: the shadows of impending disaster, between wars, genocides, polution, climate change, etc. It struck me that this book released around the same time as another prominent author’s that also explored shadows in her book. Deep beneath the visage of fantasy fiction, we have artists calling out to the world to address our shadows.
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