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A review by mariedaniella
Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.25
The excitement and fondness I had from reading the first book definitely decreased. I wouldn’t say this is a bad read as I enjoyed some parts of the book but I found most of it lackluster. I thought most of the book was a bit of a let down and disappointing in fact, more so because I thought that there were obvious possibilities to deliver much more than it did but it just (consciously, I believe, too) did not.
The premise is exciting. A time travel adventure, learning more of witchcraft, perhaps a bit of a love triangle with the romance aspect of the plot, and uncovering more of the mysteries they had started learning more of in the first book. The story did fulfill these promises but I just thought that they weren’t the main focus. It only touched and delivered it on surface level and instead focused more on starting new sections of the plot that often felt dragging and unexciting.
Still, I liked a few things in Shadow of Night. I continued to like Matthew’s character with the developments. I also liked the expansion of the world Deborah Harkness has built, especially her take on magic. The amount of details didn’t feel as unnecessary long as it did in the previous book, too.
On my blog: Listed and reviewed in my Books I Read in May post!
The premise is exciting. A time travel adventure, learning more of witchcraft, perhaps a bit of a love triangle with the romance aspect of the plot, and uncovering more of the mysteries they had started learning more of in the first book. The story did fulfill these promises but I just thought that they weren’t the main focus. It only touched and delivered it on surface level and instead focused more on starting new sections of the plot that often felt dragging and unexciting.
Still, I liked a few things in Shadow of Night. I continued to like Matthew’s character with the developments. I also liked the expansion of the world Deborah Harkness has built, especially her take on magic. The amount of details didn’t feel as unnecessary long as it did in the previous book, too.
On my blog: Listed and reviewed in my Books I Read in May post!