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Title: Shadow of Night
Author: Deborah Harkness
Series: All Souls Trilogy #2
Publication: July 10th 2012 by Viking Adult
Genre: Fantasy ~ Historical Fiction
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Google Play | Kobo
Rating: 5/5
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...
I was surprised by how much I loved Shadow of Night. Of course I thought the first book, A Discovery of Witches was really good but I've always felt something was missing and I guess I found it in the sequel. I didn't even care that this was a pretty big book with 709 pages, I just couldn't get enough of reading it.
Because Diana and Matthew travel to the past, this book mostly takes place in 1590 and 1591. So it's no surprise that I devoured this book since I'm such a history nerd. I thought the author really did great writing about this hectic era in history.
I actually think fans of Outlander will love this book as much as I did because Shadow of Night reminded me so much of it, what with the time travelling and everyone. In this book Diana meets a lot of historical figures like Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Harriot and Queen Elizabeth to name a few. Which made my historical fangirl heart so happy.
The writing was flawless, but I'm not surprised by it since it was like that also with the first book. And I still love Diana and Matthew so much. In fact, I think I'm even a bigger fan of them as a couple. And they went through so much together in this book.
I am a bit worried though that I won't enjoy the next and final book as much since it doesn't take place in the past anymore. But still I'm gonna hope for the best because I'm dying to find out how it will all end.
Overall, Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness was even better than I had thought it would be. The history, the writing, the characters — it all made this into one hell of a book. It's absolutely one of my top favorites!
Deborah Harkness is a professor of history at the University of Southern California. She has received Fullbright, Guggenheim, and National Humanities Center fellowships, and her most recent scholarly work is The Jewel House: Elizabethan London and the Scientific Revolution. She also writes an award-winning wine blog.
Title: A Discovery of Witches
Author: Deborah Harkness
Series: All Souls Trilogy #1
Publication: February 8th 2011 by Penguin
Genre: Adult ~ Urban Fantasy ~ Romance
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Kobo
Rating: 4/5
A richly inventive novel about a centuries-old vampire, a spellbound witch, and the mysterious manuscript that draws them together.
Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.
Debut novelist Deborah Harkness has crafted a mesmerizing and addictive read, equal parts history and magic, romance and suspense. Diana is a bold heroine who meets her equal in vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont, and gradually warms up to him as their alliance deepens into an intimacy that violates age-old taboos. This smart, sophisticated story harks back to the novels of Anne Rice, but it is as contemporary and sensual as the Twilight series-with an extra serving of historical realism.
I don't even know why I'm attempting to review this book because it was so epic but I'm going to give it a shot. I don't read a lot of books of this size - almost 600 pages but with A Discovery of Witches it was surprisingly easy to read and really enjoy this book.
I'm still a bit surprised by how this book basically sucked me into the story and didn't let go. I really liked Diana because she's a historian and I happen to be crazy about history and there was a lot of talk about history in this book so that was a huge part of me liking it. Matthew kind of sneaked up on me like he did Diana and got me to love him. It's not just because I adore vampires. I don't know, there was something about him.
There were a few teeny tiny things that I didn't like completely which made me give this book four stars instead of five. I liked how this was a story that moved slowly and build everything up except for the romance. When that was introduced it started happening fast. It was maybe a little too fast for my liking. There was also a bit over overuse with characters saying "it's not my tale to tell".
And also towards the end there was a lot of new information and things started getting really crazy, also a little too much. Don't let this scare you off because other than this it's been one of the best books I have read!
A lot happened in this book and I think I'm forgetting to say a billion things but yeah, I really liked this book and I think everyone should give it a try. I also heard BBC is going to make this into a tv series, which is making me all kinds of excited. I can't wait!
If you like urban fantasy, vampires, witches and well-written stories as well as forbidden love, A Discovery of Witches is the one you should read!
About the Author:
Deborah Harkness is a professor of history at the University of Southern California. She has received Fullbright, Guggenheim, and National Humanities Center fellowships, and her most recent scholarly work is The Jewel House: Elizabethan London and the Scientific Revolution. She also writes an award-winning wine blog.
