Shadow of Night: A Novel

Deborah Harkness

Jul 2012 · All Souls Trilogy Book 2 · Sold by Penguin

About this eBook

The #1 New York Times bestselling second installment in the All Souls series, from the author of The Discovery of Witches and The Black Bird Oracle.

Look for the hit series “A Discovery of Witches,” now streaming on AMC+, Sundance Now, and Shudder!

Picking up from A Discovery of Witches’ cliffhanger ending, Shadow of Night takes reluctant witch Diana Bishop and vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont 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—the lost and enchanted manuscript whose mystery first pulled Diana and Matthew into one another's orbit—deepens and Diana seeks out a witch to tutor her in magic, the net of Matthew's past tightens around them. Together they find they must embark on a very different—and vastly more dangerous—journey.

“A captivating and romantic ripping yarn,”* Shadow of Night confirms Deborah Harkness as a master storyteller, able to cast an “addictive tale of magic, mayhem and two lovers”(Chicago Tribune).

Ratings and reviews

The books are a good read but sometimes can get dry. Especially with all the alchemy information and the espionage in the 16th century. They are different from the tv show bc the two main characters, Diana and Matthew have chemistry, passion, and are very strong willed. This is visibly missing on screen. The actor's portrayals in these roles are stiff, wooden, and emotional ess. If you want a true sense of the story of Diana and Matthew stick with the books.

This book suffered the curse of being second. I loved the first book so much that I had high expectations for the second and it fell short. Too many brushes with famous people and history. Not enough about the relationships beyond the romance between Diana and Matthew. Could not get into or understand the "weaving" and Diana's cords. Hope the next book weaves the story back together again with an emphasis on the relationships within and between the families.

I will keep the review short. This is a very entertaining book IF you already loved Diana and Matthew. However, in an attempt to evolve the characters while keeping them embroiled in conflicts, the book falters at times. Characters are introduced without much consequence, storylines get more tangled than the knots in Goody Alsop's spells, and worst of all, Matthew seems quite changed. I still enjoyed it all, because I fell in love with the characters in the first book, but this one was not as good.

About the author

Deborah Harkness is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the All Souls series, which includes A Discovery of Witches, Shadow of Night, The Book of Life, Time's Convert, and The Black Bird Oracle. A history professor at the University of Southern California, Harkness has received Fulbright, Guggenheim, and National Humanities Center fellowships. She lives in Los Angeles.