Reviews

Book of Night by Holly Black

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earthtoamber's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

yennib's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

eswinbanks's review against another edition

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3.0

I love adult fantasy and I was very excited to read Book of Night by Holly Black. This is her first adult novel and while it didn't quite hit the mark for me, I did enjoy it. The concept of the story is unique, a world in which shadows can be altered, stolen or even take actual form if you feed them blood. Shadow magic is used to gain power and influence, but it also comes with a high price. Charlie, the protagonist of this story, is a con artist, trying to escape her past and stay on the right side of the law while also protecting her sister. But when the past catches up with her, she has no choice but to play the game she knows best. I would have wanted the secondary characters to be more fleshed out, they didn't feel memorable, but I did like how Charlie was portrayed (the likeable anti-hero with a traumatic past), she matched the mood of the book perfectly. The dark atmosphere was very appealing, though the pace was very slow in the beginning and dizzying when the flashback chapters were introduced. Halfway through, the pace picked up and i was interested to see how things would turn out

addieisreading's review

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2.0

What makes you feel safe when you go to sleep at night? Being able to check and see that your secrets are still hidden.

The saddest 2 stars I've ever given.

I mean, this book deserved better, you know? The world building is incredibly rich and the main characters have such a good dynamic together but the reasons that kept me intrigued and thirsty for more reading just disappeared in the transition between the beginning and the middle, resulting in a puzzling beginning, a good ending and a sea of boredom and pointless investigation story in between them both—which I hate to say because I really adored this world and these characters but maybe if written all over again. In a better moment. With a different plot. Maybe different author? Same author but with a different focus on the plot? Because the writing was ok, I can't understand why it didn't work for me. Who knows?

cosborn01's review

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I found the pacing quite slow and the characters hard to root for. The world was unique but confused me. I really like Holly Black, so I may come back and try re-reading it.