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A review by siglerbooknook
Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
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? No
4.5
This was a very engaging book full of important little details. Harkness does a great job of pulling all the pieces together so they are believable and entertaining.
This book does a great job building both our main characters and several of the side characters from the first book, as well as introducing new characters that feel like real people.
I must say, I enjoyed the side characters even more than Matthew and Diana.
I found Matthew's brooding a bit taxing as the story went along. It felt like growth between Diana and Matthew took a bit too long and it did get frustrating, however the side characters were loveable enough to make up for it.
I love Harkness's way of weaving useful information in with the desires and personalities we've already come to know of Matthew and Diana. They didn't feel like completely different people despite their circumstances.
She also does a wonderful job of making the story feel complete, letting the reader see little snippets of detail like the ripples a choice causes in time. I don't understand how this book could feel so beautifully finished and yet leave me so tense and ready for the third book. I can't wait to see how this trilogy will end in the next novel.
This book does a great job building both our main characters and several of the side characters from the first book, as well as introducing new characters that feel like real people.
I must say, I enjoyed the side characters even more than Matthew and Diana.
I found Matthew's brooding a bit taxing as the story went along. It felt like growth between Diana and Matthew took a bit too long and it did get frustrating, however the side characters were loveable enough to make up for it.
I love Harkness's way of weaving useful information in with the desires and personalities we've already come to know of Matthew and Diana. They didn't feel like completely different people despite their circumstances.
She also does a wonderful job of making the story feel complete, letting the reader see little snippets of detail like the ripples a choice causes in time. I don't understand how this book could feel so beautifully finished and yet leave me so tense and ready for the third book. I can't wait to see how this trilogy will end in the next novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility, Miscarriage, and Abandonment
Moderate: Child death, Drug use, Torture, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Addiction, Animal death, Homophobia, Infidelity, Self harm, Sexual content, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, and Pandemic/Epidemic