Synopsis
IT BEGAN WITH A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES.
Historian Diana Bishop, descended from a line of powerful witches, and long-lived vampire Matthew Clairmont have broken the laws dividing creatures. When Diana discovered a significant alchemical manuscript in the Bodleian Library,she sparked a struggle in which she became bound to Matthew. Now the fragile 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...
My Thoughts
Well it took me just over two weeks to work my way through this installment of the All Souls Trilogy. It wasn't because I didn't enjoy it, because I did, it was because there was a lot going on for me and I took my time reading it.
Shadow of Night picks up where the first book in the series, A Discovery of Witches, leaves us. Diana and Matthew have traveled back to 1590 in the hopes that Diana will get the help that she needs in regards to her magic and that they will find Ashmole 782 while they are there.
In all honesty, I found the first 20% of this book a bit slow. I was very excited to begin it as I desperately wanted to know where Diana and Matthew ended up in time. After I got through that first 20%, I was hooked!
Shadow of night is extremely rich in history. Deborah Harkness has an amazing ability in being able to transport you right in to her stories. I felt like I was right there with Diana and Matthew. The writing was very descriptive, and I had very vivid images of the people and places throughout time in this book.
I know that I am late to the game in reading this trilogy. For any others out there that have yet to give this series a read, I suggest that you give it a go! It's rich with historical people and places and has a very mature feel to it. It's a refreshing change from the New Adult genre that I seem to be reading so much of lately!
My Rating
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