Shadow of Night (All Souls, #2) in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

Oct 24, 2017 Jess rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2017

More than 90 percent of this book takes place in the 1500s, and while I preferred the world built in A Discovery of Witches, this book really explores some of the central questions of the book and helps move Diana along in her development as a witch.

A few things that I found a bit problematic are time continuity/continuum and the fact that the very reason for going back to the 1500s was pretty significantly downplayed. That being said, I can't wait to get started on book 3! ...more

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Jul 04, 2012 Shannon rated it liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, supernatural

Shadow of Night, the sequel to A Discovery of Witches, was a bit of a disappointment. Unlike the first book, which introduced us to Harkness' freshly imagined take on a world populated with witches, daemons and vampires, this book read like historical fiction with a splash of the supernatural thrown in. Add to that the failure of the two main characters to be authentic and I was left wanting more (even as I read all 600+ pages).

Fans of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series might find this book intri ...more

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Sep 09, 2022 Jaime rated it really liked it

Shelves: romance-paranormal, audiobook, historical-1500s, vampires, fantasy-historical, witches-wizards-magic, read-2022

This second book picks up almost exactly where Discovery of Witches leaves off, with Diana and Matthew traveling through time, hoping to land in late 1500s London. They have two main goals -- find Ashmole 782 and a witch they can trust to teach Diana about her powers -- but these are made difficult by the need to not only dodge the existing version of Matthew, but to convince everyone around them that present-day Matthew is the one they know.

I enjoyed this, but I wish the story had moved along a ...more

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Oct 04, 2012 Kim rated it liked it

Shelves: fiction, 2012, speculative-fiction

The magic, I like. The history, I like. The main characters grew on me somewhat- I liked a number of supporting characters better- but the romance aspects were kind of annoying (we get it, vampires are possessive and controlling. Whatever). And the ending is a little abrupt and slightly confusing, unless it's partly that I'm not remember the end of book 1 clearly. But, it's not bad and I'll most likely read book 3, if for no other reason that the author gets the scholarship aspects really right ...more

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Apr 06, 2013 Elizabeth rated it liked it

I really wanted to love this book. Everything about it felt like it was setting up to be one of my favorite books ever. Diana Bishop and Matthew de Clermont heading back in time to Elizabethan England so she can learn about her magic?? Yes, please! Unfortunately, this book did not come close to what I was expecting. Nothing happened. It felt like an exercise in "look at the research I did." All sorts of historical figures show up, but dont really do much for plot. (Queen Elizabeth had bad teeth! ...more

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