Shadow of Night: A Novel

For those of us who have read and reread the first two of Deborah Harkness' All Souls Trilogy novels, I am guessing that like me, you yearn for the third in the series and check her website often. But that kind of quality cannot be rushed so we wait and some of us reread them. These novels are packed with details and character depth that they warrant rereading. I hardly ever reread a book no matter how good the book, nor how bored I am. But there are always exceptions to the rules and I do love those exceptions. Even if you do not like novels with witches and other creatures, even if you would never read Tolkien's books or Harry Potter or anything with magic in it, make an exception and read these. She has an amazing understanding of people (for what does it really matter if a character in a book is somewhat different as her characters are; we are all different in some manner). And she has a way of finding the healthy and loving solutions we would all like in our lives and rarely find in our reading. Deborah Harkness has created a world within our world which is intricate, and exciting; with in-depth characters you love and those you do not; but all of them are believable. As you read you will find that the species of her characters is much less import than their ability to love even when it is difficult and to face their fears and desires. This novel picks up exactly where the last ended and I was lucky for it was available when I finished Discovery or Witches. In this one there are more and delightful characters added. Together they make a whole and set the stage for the third and last book. If you have ever found yourself less than happy with who are, if you have ever known great joy or fear or deep sorrow, if you struggle to master yourself or have problems loving yourself or trusting others, you will find the same struggles within the novels' characters and even better: the hope and joy we all want. In fact, Harkness writes so well that they are more than characters; you may find yourself or friends within her pages. I enjoy historical novels with some mystery within them. There are many authors I can recommend but none do as wonderful a job. Deborah Harkness is an historian and a very, very gifted writer. No wonder she needed to branch out into novels. While I liked historical settings, until these books, I never realized what wealth history can add. These books are not just set in an historical time, they involve real people who she threads through her stories; albeit she takes some artistic license with a few of them yet still gives us something believable. Her approach makes it all the more enjoyable. She writes so well that I actually bought one of her history books. History can be fun if told by an excellent storyteller and Deborah Harkness is that. I should know for I am a story teller and a poet and very difficult to please. "It began with absence and desire, it began with blood and fear, it began with The Discovery of Witches", which is the title of the first book. Long ago, I wrote poems about the same forces in life for desire, blood and fear are central concerns no matter what else comes our way. Oh and few more notes: aside from her first novel debuting at #2 on the New York Times Best Seller list, being named one of the best books of February 2011 by Amazon, and selling in at least 34 countries another tidbit which may interest you is that Warner Bros bought the movie right and hired David Auburn (Lake House) to adapt the stories. And you can bet those of us who have loved her novels are anxiously awaiting the first movie. Check out You Tube for more on that.

4.5 stars This book was full of things to love! Adventure, intrigue, history, magic, and of course some romance. I absolutely loved the first book, it was an easy 5 star rating for me. I read the first one super fast and was eager to start the next book. But I have to admit I didn’t read this one as fast as I had hoped and I admittedly didn’t like it as much as I liked the first and here is why. The time travel angle was a fun plot twist and I thought it added a lot to Matthew’s character that we were missing in the first book. However, I felt that by moving the plot to a completely new setting and period called for more world building. This book introduced a host of new characters and a completely new period in history…..and a lot of time was spent world building and creating back stories etc which was necessary but for me, slowed down the momentum of the overall series a bit. That’s not to say that this book was any less entertaining and fun to read, it just slowed things down in a way that I wasn’t expecting. I did love meeting some new characters though. I don’t want to giveaway anything away for people who haven’t read the books but let’s just say, I loved meeting more of the Clairmont family. In the first book, there was a lot of romance and the focus was really on Diana and Matthew. It was nice in this book to focus more on the ‘adventure’ part of their story and get back to finding the book and solving the mystery of the book etc. However, I did want a little more ‘romance’ in this book. For me it just wasn’t as ‘romantic’ as the first book, though there was more sexual contact and professions of love but it lacked romance for me. I can’t wait to read the conclusion and find out what happens to Matthew and Diana next! A wonderful installment to a fantastic series, but wonderful in a different way.....different than I was expecting.

Boa continuação do primeiro livro e deixa um gancho muito bom para o segundo. Excelente continuação, e deixa o leitor afoito para ler a conclusão. Série muito boa, adorei. Abordagem muito singular sobre criaturas. Excelente.

Deborah knows how to mix up fantasy romance and historic facts into one great amusing story. Nice twists here and there.

"Shadow of Night" è un viaggio affascinante e immersivo che porta il lettore in un mondo dove storia, magia e romanticismo si intrecciano con maestria. Deborah Harkness dimostra ancora una volta il suo talento nel tessere una narrazione ricca e avvincente, elevando la trilogia All Souls a un livello superiore con questo secondo capitolo. Il romanzo riprende da dove ci aveva lasciato A Discovery of Witches, portando Diana Bishop e Matthew Clairmont indietro nel tempo, nella vibrante epoca dell'Inghilterra elisabettiana. L'ambientazione storica è incredibilmente dettagliata e realistica, segno dell'impressionante ricerca svolta dall'autrice. Ogni scena trasporta il lettore nelle strade affollate e nei salotti intellettuali del XVI secolo, offrendo un'esperienza di lettura quasi cinematografica. Uno degli aspetti più apprezzabili di Shadow of Night è la capacità della Harkness di bilanciare i vari elementi della trama: c'è la tensione romantica, l'intrigo storico, l'avventura e, naturalmente, la magia. Il ritmo è ben calibrato, con momenti di azione che si alternano a riflessioni più profonde e a dialoghi brillanti. Se siete fan del primo libro, questo sequel non vi deluderà. Shadow of Night espande il mondo di All Souls in modi sorprendenti, preparandoci a un finale che si preannuncia epico. È un romanzo che cattura il cuore e la mente, perfetto per chi ama le storie che mescolano storia, fantasy e romanticismo in un mix irresistibile. Consigliatissimo!

I really loved reading this book and took my time to read it as well because I enjoyed reading it so much and wanted to grasp every detail. Deborah Harkness woves her words together wonderfully and draws her characters interesteringly and with depth and passion. It is a joy reading her work and getting a glimpse into her imagination. I often had goosebumps reading it.

Part of the all souls trilogy.. am hooked