This book started out slow, but then started clicking about 40% in and did not stop. For my fantasy lovers, this one delivered all the world building and plot twist we love. I just wish the point of view had been better.

As a huge fan of The Folk of the Air series I was so excited to venture into this adult world and it did not disappoint. It had everything I loved from F0tA- amazing details, strong female mc, twists and turns- and so much more. The magic system surprised me as I was figuring it would be close to FotA but this universe was just as intriguing and developed. I can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy of this work!

I wasn’t the right audience for this book. It leans in a more thriller/horror direction than I can handle. It would be worth researching trigger warnings for other more sensitive readers. Rating this in the middle as I didn’t read far enough to get a sense of the story quality.

I would give this about 3.5 stars but I’m rounding up to 4. It was a very slow start for me and I was bored most of the way through the book. This lacked a lot of the expected excitement I had when opening up a Holly Black book. But I’m interested to see where she takes this world!

Nice intro for me to get into these magical stories. I thought Charlie was worthy of a sequel.

Good reading.

Book of Night is like a maze, leading its reader through the main character Charlie Hall’s life. There are different layers of the characters that are unveiled over time, so that it makes previous chapters become more clear.

The main character Charlie is intriguing. The book made me constantly want to know more about her. Charlie is used to living on the edge, until something happens to her to make her reevaluate her life choices. But something keeps trying to keep her in this realm.

I think this is a book you will want to read multiple times, because you will pick up something new each time. The relationships in the book seem genuine and easy to imagine; Charlie and her sister Posey especially grew on me as the book went on. I was surprised by some of the twists in the book, especially at the end.

My main issue with the book is the description of the magic. It was a bit confusing to me and hard to follow. But perhaps with multiple readings it would become more clear.

Thanks NetGalley for the arc! #netgalley #bookofnight

4.25 Stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Tor Books for an arc of this book.

Charlie Hall has lived her life making cons, but she's trying to ride the straight and narrow. When she sees a shadow tear another man apart, she gets dragged into her old life of gloamists and danger and stealing.

This was so highly anticipated for me because I absolutely love Holly Black! This was a great debut into adult writing and if you've read any reviews of this yet, you'll know everyone is wondering if there will be a sequel. If not--that was a bold ending!

The writing is really good and I seriously love Charlie. She is such a compelling main character and her motivations are so interesting to read about. I also really enjoyed Vince, though I wish he was in it a bit more--I feel like his character could have been developed better.

I think knowing if this is going to have a sequel or not would really affect my rating. Right now, I'm basing this assuming it is a standalone, and it left a little to be desired in the end. Hopefully there will be more Charlie to come!

Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Alcohol, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Drug use, Gun violence, Gore, Sexual content, and Abandonment
Minor: Drug abuse, Child abuse, and Self harm

Holly Black has done it yet again with another otherworldly story of magic in our world and adventure. Holly black has done an amazing job with setting up a magic system that immerses us as readers into the full magical realism of this story.

Not to mention, Holly Black makes the flaws in her characters a priority which I really enjoyed and not something to be completely resolved at the end of the story, but something that is simply a part of the characters story and journey.

If you like and have read Holly Black's other worlds and stories, you should definitely pick this book up!

Charlie certainly hasn't had the easiest life. When she was young, she was trained to con people, and she continued to use that training as an adult. In this magical world, shadows can take on powers--powers that can prove fatal for some--and there are plenty of people who want to learn and harness that power. Charlie doesn't really have an interest in that power herself, but she's more than happy to make money off of getting rare instructional books for other people.

She's now at the point where life is good. She doesn't have to con people, she has a steady job and a reliable boyfriend, and is working really hard to get her sister in college. However, she still manages to get sucked back into the world of cons, magic, manipulation, and death.

Book of Night is a slow burn--it took me awhile to feel hooked by the story and characters. It wasn't until about a third of the way through that I was making it a priority to read this book rather than others. For readers who like A Deadly Education and Ninth House, here's another creepily dark fantasy for their to-read list. There seems to be space for a sequel, but nothing announced from Black.

Book of Night
Holly Black
Pub Date: May 3, 2022
Macmillan Tor/Forge
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.
* Fantasy *Adult Fiction
#1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black makes her stunning adult debut with Book of Night, a modern dark fantasy of shadowy thieves and secret societies in the vein of Ninth House and The Night Circus.
I devoured this book. Great read!
4 stars

Holly Black's highly anticipated adult debut follows Charlie Hall, a thief and con-artist and basically a person who's not very good at doing anything good in her life. When she's recruited to steal an incredibly coveted book, her life is thrown into turmoil, and she's suddenly got a whole lot of people who want her dead.

What can I say about this book? Well, let's start with something positive. The world-building here was pretty great. In fact, it was my favorite part of the book. However, a book cannot be a five-star read based on world building alone. I need amazing characters. Unfortunately, that's where Book of Night fell flat for me. I had a hard time caring about any of the characters, but if I had to pick one: Vince, I guess. Speaking of characters, there are so many named characters, most of whom have little impact on the story. Why? Why does every character need a name? It got really hard to keep track of everyone. The story was mostly interesting, but I did drift off a number of times. I just needed more. One thing I will commend Black for is making her main character a size fourteen. That representation is really lacking in fantasy.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC. 3.5/5 rounded up.

BTW: This is Black's ADULT debut - this is NOT YA.

In true Holly Black fashion, this is a whole lot of world building and not a whole lot of action...but as far as I can tell, it doesn't appear to be planned with sequels in mind? The world is definitely open enough for it to happen, but I was expecting more action. However, this is a FANTASTIC heist and con novel with just enough magical elements in it to make it intriguing and hard to put down.

Charlie Hall is a master thief and con artist...who also has a lot of trauma. She has a sister, Posey, who is hyperfixated on the shadow magic within the world...your shadow is LITERALLY (or can be) a sentient being. It's wild. People try to "wake" their shadows if they weren't born with the Gloamist abilities. Oh, and there are magical books. And Amherst is the center for all this shadow stuff.

Honestly, the vibes are great. I loved the conning and the heisting and the gruesome depictions of mutilated corpses; however, it lacked a direction in the purpose of the plot throughout it...and I think the plot got away in the whole Remy/Vincent/Red/Edmund debacle. It's also written in 3rd person, which I struggle with reading sometime.

I really like Charlie though. Also...I definitely bought the OwlCrate edition of this before I read the ARC. I don't think I would have bought it if I had read the ARC first...but it is truly a gorgeous edition.

This kind of hit the mark with me for Holly Black, though, and it tends to either be a OMG (e.g., cruel prince series) or meh with her.

Holly Black’s adult debut book makes you look at your own shadow a bit differently. I’m not sure about you but when I watched Peter Pan as a child there was something about his shadow that scared me. Book of Night brings that fear to the forefront again. A dark and twisting tale. Charlie is a character that feels so real and genuine with the mistakes a normal Person could make. Instead of looking behind you for someone else you should be looking at yourself and what hides in the shadows. Well done Ms. Black!

Mandy Harris - owner @ Angel Wings Bookstore

Holly Black's foray into the adult fantasy world does not disappoint. Although, Black's adult novel is drastically different from her Folk of the Air series, it is fresh and intriguing all on its own. Charlie Hall is a likeable character who is flawed in a way that leaves room for a promising character arc. There are plenty of twists and turns that left me yearning for the next installment.

An adult fantasy book by Holly Black? I immediately had to check it out! I am so glad I did.

Book of Night follows Charlie, an 30-something (ex)con artist turned bartender who is just wanting to have some normalcy in her life. She looks after her sister, dates live in boyfriend Vince who is reliable and grounded, but curiosity gets the best of her. After witnessing the aftermath of a murder, she seeks out answers. This leads her to discovering that not everything is as it seems.

Holly Black does a great job of building her world in this urban fantasy story. The premise is that shadows are magic. Sustained through energy and blood, our shadows become the source of abilities. Individuals with 'quickening shadows' have the power and notoriety. These types of shadows are envied and desired. Throw in that shadows can also be altered in shape, stolen, gained, and potentially traded, you know there is a whole lot of bad that could happen.

I really liked this novel. Charlie is flawed and morally ambiguous. She isn't a chosen one and Black doesn't really do her any favors. Her life and present is filled with mistakes, consequences and a whole lot of uncertainty. Charlie is her own worst enemy. Despite her flaws, she is intelligent, clever, and devoted. Her romance with Vince is interesting. While not quite a passionate romance from this reader's point of view, it is something to cheer for overall. The story is pretty solid with a great group of characters and an engaging mystery thrown in. It moves a little slow at moments, but if this is the beginning of a series, it's very understandable. To be honest, I'm really hoping this is a series. Given how the book ends, I would really like to see where things go from that point on. Fingers crossed there is more to come!

I was excited to read this first foray into "adult" fantasy from Holly Black, but to be honest I had a hard time getting into this book. The shadow magic was hard to understand and not explained well. I found the flashbacks boring, not extremely relevant to the plot, and skipped over them. And though this was marketed as adult, I feel the tone was still quite YA.

This was a great start to building a new magic world. It did take me a bit to get through the first few chapters, but I'm glad I kept going. This one was a bit more darker than her normal fantasy and feels like it's more for a young-adult (tops 17), but I still enjoyed it.

This is vintage Holly Black. It reminded me a lot of her Curseworkers trilogy, with just the layers upon layers of secrets and magic. The first part of the book is a little slow as we are introduced to our main characters, the magic system and world but once it picks up it’s nonstop action and schemes. Our main character Charlie is so interesting and complex. Her mind is constantly going, making plans and plans on top of that. I really liked her relationship with her sister Poppy and of course Vince. Vince!

The ending was exactly what I expect from Holly Black and I hope this is the beginning of more adult fantasy from her!

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book starts off a bit slow and somewhat disjointed, but if you stick with it you will be pleasantly surprised by how good it is. Reviewing ARCs is always a little hard, especially by authors I like, as I am never sure if what I am reading is the final edit or not. I certainly hope this one gets another look by editors as there were some inconsistencies and some decidedly clunky dialogue and transitions. But looking past all of that, this is a really good, dark urban fantasy that will have you checking to make sure your shadow isn’t up to no good behind your back.

I like Charlie Hall, who mostly narrates the story, although she can be abrasive and not very nice at times. She had a strange childhood, being introduced and taught by various con-artists, as well as being used in various cons by a family friend. We get all of this through chapters that describe her childhood and what led up to where she is today. She is clever and strong, but often has to fight against those who want to use her. I loved her relationship with her sister Posey, it was very realistic in that they fought, but they also had each others backs when needed.

Vinny is Charlie’s boyfriend and towards the end of the book we do get a few chapters from his point of view, both in the present and the past. I liked Vinny and I even liked him with Charlie, but there is something slightly off about him. He doesn’t express emotions well, or have a shadow.

The plot is well done, with Charlie getting dragged into a heist that she really doesn’t want to do, all because she tries to help a friend. But it does start off slow, and the world building was a little bit off as well. I never fully had the complete picture of what this shadow magic could do or why people would want it. It was interesting though, as were other aspects of this alternate world. The writing was clunky and disjointed at times, not at all what I usually expect from this author. Hopefully it did receive some polishing before it got printed. The pacing and the quality gets better as you get into the story until a really mind blowing reveal near the end. However the final chapter left me hoping that there will be a sequel, although I can find no evidence that will happen.

But even with all of the issues with pacing and writing, this is a wonderful and intriguing story of the lengths some people will go to to protect the ones they love. I also very much enjoyed the shadow magic and the creepiness of it as well. It would be weird to see my shadow moving while I stayed still, or to have no shadow at all.

If you are a Holly Black fan, then this is a book you will want to check out. If you have never read her before, I would still recommend this book to you, especially if you like dark and creepy tales.

While this book isn't YA, I felt like it was very much YA judging by the writing style and character development. I was left with a lot of questions by the end of the book. I felt like the magic system wasn't developed enough even though it was very interesting to begin with. I felt like I couldn't connect with Charlie a lot of the time even though I really wanted to like her. Plot points only started to make sense by the end but instead of having an "omg!" moment it was more of a slow understanding - it didn't help that a lot of things were predictable. I did enjoy the mystery in the book but it was a slow read. I'd recommend this book to other fans of YA fantasy.