When Diana Bishop, descended from a line of powerful witches, discovered a significant alchemical manuscript in the Bodleian Library, she sparked a struggle in which she became bound to long-lived vampire Matthew Clairmont. Now the coexistence of witches, daemons, vampires and humans is dangerously threatened.
Seeking safety, Diana and Matthew travel back in time to London, 1590. But they soon realise that the past may not provide a haven. Reclaiming his former identity as poet and spy for Queen Elizabeth, the vampire falls back in with a group of radicals known as the School of Night. Many are unruly daemons, the creative minds of the age, including playwright Christopher Marlowe and mathematician Thomas Harriot.
Together Matthew and Diana scour Tudor London for the elusive manuscript Ashmole 782, and search for the witch who will teach Diana how to control her remarkable powers...
Genre: fantasy/paranormal
Publication date: July 2012
Mature content: yes
Review: Compelling but not always easy to read - that's the best definition of Shadow of Night I can give you. The book picks up immediately following the cliffhanger of A Discovery of Witches, whisking witch Diana Bishop and her vampire husband, Matthew Clairmont, back through time to Elizabethan London in 1590. Their mission is twofold: to find a witch who can mentor Diana in her dormant magical powers and to locate the mysterious, missing manuscript, Ashmole 782.
Like with the first book in the series, I liked the first part way more than the second. When Diana and Matthew first travel back in time we are offered with an exquisite, detailed rendering of the 1500s England and France and a seamless incorporation of real historical characters. But then, towards the end of the book, the story starts to complicate and there were places when I felt lost and just wanted things to move on. Some parts are beautifully written, while others are a bad case of "too much, too slow".
My favorite quote:
“Philippe told me that mating was destiny. Once I found you, there would be nothing to do but accept fate’s decision. But that’s not how it works at all. In every moment, for the rest of my life, I will be choosing you—over my father, over my own self-interest, even over the de Clermont family.”
(too bad that Matthew kind of only remembers this when it's convenient...)
You can view the Amazon book trailer here:
You also can't focus too much on the time travelling details, especially on (1) why would anyone travel back in time without a plan B to return "home" and (2) what would happen when Matthew and Diana returned to the present and past Mathew had to go on as if nothing had happened (how would he even explain the disappearance of a wife he didn't know he had).
Overall, Shadow of Night is a book that you need to read if you've read and loved A Discovery of Witches and want more of Mathew and Diana, but if it were a stand alone book I probably would not rate it with more than 3 stars.
At the end we get, of course, another cliffhanger and if we want to know how the story ends we need book 3 in this All Souls series...
Happy readings!
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Comments
Post a Comment