Shadow of Night Book Review

Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

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Blurb:

Picking up from A Discovery of Witches' cliffhanger ending, Shadow of Night takes Diana and Matthew on a trip through time to Elizabethan London, where they are plunged into a world of spies, magic, and a coterie of Matthew's old friends, the School of Night. As the search for Ashmole 782 deepens and Diana seeks out a witch to tutor her in magic, the new of Matthew's past tightens around them, and they embark on a very different - and vastly more dangerous - journey. 

Review by Brittany:

This is the second novel in the All Souls Trilogy by Harkness, and because I enjoyed the first one, I decided to pick this one up.

This second novel did not work for me in the same way as the first one did. I felt like there was a lot more history review than action to move the plot of the book forward. The spurts of action were enjoyable, particularly as Diana learns more about her magic and what she can do. Her experiences in the first book were indicators of what she finds out about herself in this book, and I am looking forward to reading more about Diana's experiences as she grows in the third book.

I'm also curious about how Diana and Matthew's presence in the past is going to alter the present and future. Because this entire book took place in the past, I think it will be interesting to see how the present is doing when they return in the third book.

I also have curiosities about Ashmole 782 - what does it mean and how will it be used in the third book? I'm hoping that there will be some kind of big reveal about the manuscript in the final book because I still don't feel like I truly understand it's role in the trilogy at this point.

I did like that Matthew and Diana experience some relationship development in this book. Their romance was one of my favorite things about the first one, and although I am no longer as in love with Matthew after this one, I do want to see how their relationship will change after developments and discoveries in this book.

Overall, I don't have too many comments on this book. For me, it was very much the filler second book in the trilogy. There was just enough to move the plot forward, but mostly it left me feeling like I needed to read the third book for something to happen. In that way, this book did its job.