This story works so freakishly well as a standalone tale that I kind of hope Black doesn't do a sequel. At the same time, the magic system of this world and the characters are so fleshed out and interesting, that I desperately hope she writes a direct sequel. Charlie, the lead, is so deeply flawed, but in a way that you want to love and protect her, even though she would push you away for trying. The moving pieces of this novel click together so fantastically that It feels like you should see each twist coming, but only after it happens. It's a fantastic mystery thriller, even if some of the deductions go from guess to fact a bit quickly.

Fantastic book with plenty of twists near the end to keep readers guessing. The alternative, punk heroine is a welcome change, and the shift to an adult themes is well done.

QUICK TAKE: it's good. Is it great? no. It's Black's first adult novel, and it reads exactly like that. I had a little bit of trouble understanding the world-building and rules around shadows, and I kept comping this one to BOOK OF M, which used a similar idea and I thought was much better executed.

Book of Night is Holly Black's first adult novel.
Charlie Hall is a thief that always seems to make the wrong decisions. She lives in a world where a person's shadow can be a source of power, magic, and influence. Charlie lives with her sister Posey and boyfriend Vince. However, when a person from her past appears, she's thrown into a world filled with magic, murder and secrets.
This was a really solid adult debut. Black does a great job of setting up the world in bits and pieces to avoid one long info dump. I don't know if this is going to be a series, but I hope she does continue in this world because this book is a great start.

I had high hopes for this one and it was honestly just okay. There was a ton of build up. Like 85% of the book was build up and then things get a little crazy and now we’re left wanting book 2 obviously. I would have loved some more world building or maybe a different approach to it because I was bored a lot of the time. The premise is very Inter though and the writing is good so I think as this series develops there will be some growth.

Rather interesting story...very different from the YA titles of Black's I've read in the past. I did find it a bit slow in the beginning but that only lasted a short time. I loved Charley, she was so smart and Vince was a bit surprising.to say the least. I also liked the chapters alternating between the past and present allowing for a lot of backstory to fully flesh out the characters. The mystery in the story had lost of twists and turns I was not expecting that made me want to smack myself in the head when they were revealed. Overall a very enjoyable read even if the very end was unexpected.

I love Holly's YA works, so when I heard she was writing an adult book I was pumped! Unfortunately Book of Night ended up being a little bit of a disappointment. The concept is interesting enough: shadows are magic, but not everyone's shadow.

The pacing was super slow. I kind of guessed the twist before it was laid out. I ended the book with more questions than answers and I don't know if there's a sequel planned. I'll likely read it is there is one, but I'm cautious because of how meh this book was.

I was really hoping to adore this - I thought Holly Black and adult fantasy would be a winning combo - but ugh, I didn't enjoy it at all. I read the entire book and still have almost no understanding of the ...magic system? Worldbuilding? in this book. The concept of...sentient shadows? Is cool? But even as I type that I'm not sure I've got it correct.

Charlie was a good character, and I liked reading her perspective, but there's something about how dirty and gritty this book was that made me feel icky. That sounds so STUPID but it kept emphasizing how she didn't shower etc etc. I also feel like when characters are being pursued, they're under extreme threat, and yet we read their perspective as they calmly go to sleep, it makes me jump out of the story because I can't help but think about how I wouldn't be able to fall asleep LOL.

All of those elements sound SO dumb, but they added up to me simply not enjoying this book.

Very dark,not at all what I was expecting. I'm not even sure what the genre is. Definitely not YA. Probably adult fiction,horror or fantasy.

*SCREAMING ABOUT THAT ENDING*

Holly Black's first adult fantasy has everything you might hope for -- really cool worldbuilding, a compelling and morally grey protagonist, and a plot that keeps twisting all the way to the end. It also has one of the worst cliffhangers I've ever read, and now I'm going to have to wait who even knows how long to resolve it! But I really did have a blast reading this, and I'm looking forward to the next book, whenever it comes out.

Holly Black has crafted a truly magnificent book for adult readers. This gritty fantasy is a master of world-building and magical characters. This is perfect for fans of Naomi Novik and Leigh Bardugo.

Holly Black gives us a fantastically dark, action-packed and chilling adult contemporary fantasy debut that you will not want to miss. Protagonist Charlie Hall is clever and relatable, but “never met a bad decision she wasn’t willing to double down on.” This novel takes place in a world of shadow magic, in which “gloamists” are shadow magicians who can manipulate, steal, and powerfully wield shadows to their ends, and a person missing their shadow, like Charlie’s mysterious boyfriend Vince, may be missing part of their soul. This atmospheric, contemporary fantasy is perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo, V. E. Schwab, and Alix E. Harrow.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

It took me a little while to really get into this book (I was about 25% in before I became totally absorbed), but that might have just been because I was impatiently waiting on winter break and wasn’t in the right headspace for reading.

When it did pick up, though, the story was quite good. The twists were fun, if not wholly unexpected, and that ending? Heartbreaking. I’m going to need a sequel, please.

I’ve been reading Holly Black’s books since I was about 11 and in middle school, so my excitement for her first adult novel was uncontainable. The Book of Night was better than I had ever hoped for and left me with the sense that I won’t find another book for a long while that I like so much. The concept of shadow magic and shadow alteration was such an incredible idea!

I really really liked enjoyed this book! Great world building. Loved the idea that our shadows have the potential to be magic, and when abused and manipulated to much, they take a turn towards vengeance.

Holly Black dives me up the wall! She’s always so so close to having a great book. She has imagination, she has wit, but she doesn’t have follow-through. This is such an interesting concept for a book - the magic system is so cool. Ultimately though, I thought the book failed to live up to its potential - I didn’t feel like Black was invested in the story as much as she has been in the past, and she didn’t appear to think the magic system she invented is as intriguing as I do.

Ultimately, I liked the book okay, but it is missing the extra 10% to make this book great.

Char and Vince 🥺

No spoilers, but they deserve so much better 😭 I really hope we get a sequel, short story, or spin off of some sort because I’m not okay.

Charlie is a master thief, having learned the art of deception and sleight of hand from a con artist mentor (of sorts) as a teen. She’s perhaps the best thief in the city but has hung her hat and become a bartender with the intention of leaving that life behind. Enter Vince, a super hot guy who’s also really quiet and reserved and keeps his emotions buried deep inside. They start dating and he moves in with Charlie and her sister Posey. Posey feels like something is super wrong with Vince because he doesn’t have a shadow and she heard that if you lose your shadow you lose your soul. Yeah, people can lose their shadows, they can also get them altered to look like whatever they want, and they can also feed them blood to turn them into killing machines. Charlie is pulled back to the dark side after witnessing a very strange murder and then asking the wrong questions to the wrong people about what happened. Some dangerous players don’t want her snooping around so the only way to save the lives of herself and everyone she loves is to get back in the game and pull off an impossible heist.

This story for me didn’t truly pick up until around the 70% mark but then I was so invested in the relationship between Vince and Charlie that I didn’t mind that I didn’t care much for the rest of the story prior to that point. Their romance was definitely my favorite part but we don’t get much of it, unfortunately.

Overall, I’d recommend this book to anyone who thinks they would enjoy a real world heist story with a magical realism element, no smut and lots of decoding clues and wonderfully descriptive language that paints the scene in your head as you read.

Holly Black’s debut Adult novel is a dark sci fi fantasy about bad decisions and their consequences. Featuring a lot of shadowy imagery and internal monologue. I liked it but I’m not sure I loved it, unlike her other books which I mostly adore.

I was very excited to see something marketed as adult because I thought it would mean more mature themes and content. But aside from a few swear words, there’s nothing in this book that hasn’t been in her other books, ex mentions of drugs/ alcohol/sex etc. Even the violence was less intense than some of her YA books (Coldest Girl in Coldtown).

The main character would go in circles in her internal monologue which felt a bit tedious and made the story drag in parts.

I enjoyed the shadow magic premise and enjoyed seeing that all come to life throughout the story. Wish there was more of that present in the story as it’s mostly observed from a distance. Felt like a missed opportunity.

The end felt a bit too empty and lacking for my taste. But I also think that’s in part due to my own expectations.

I love the style of writing. The way Black writes and describes, and builds a world and it’s characters is beautiful.

I would definitely recommend this book to those who enjoy a shadowy story akin to Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo. This story unfolds rather than races. Which isn’t a bad thing.

Holly Black books are hit or miss with me. This one started out as a miss, stared making it’s way toward hit about halfway through, and then refused to make it there. The idea was good but the execution wasn’t the greatest. A lot of predictability, some weird dialog choices, and some parts that never really went anywhere. I did appreciate the choice of ending though.

Just awesome! So glad I was pick for this one!! I would say to go in it quite blind, so I will be brief, but it's totally addicting and very engaging. Just read it!