As one of my most anticipated debuts, this book blew me away. I loved the Jewish representation and the mythology interwoven into the story. the old Yiddish theater setting was super interesting as well. I loved the characters and the alternating POVs made the story so engaging. I didn't really know a ton about Estries and I think they're such a unique part of Jewish mythology. This story had romance, fantasy, and a bit of horror and I loved it all. The world-building was incredible and I just want more. Clara, Molly, and Boaz all had lovable qualities and I loved each of them individually and together. I absolutely can't wait to read more from A.R. Vishny as this was an incredible debut!

would like to extend my thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins Children's for providing me with an Advance Reader's Copy (ARC) of Night Owls.

The novel is intriguingly told from multiple points of view, offering diverse perspectives on the unfolding events. I found Boaz to be the most compelling character, as his chapters were particularly engaging and well-structured. The pacing of the book was deliberately slow, which initially made it challenging for me to immerse myself in the story. However, as the plot developed, I found myself drawn into the narrative. The disappearance of Molly's girlfriend, Anat, and the looming threat posed by the Prince of Demons set the stage for a complex and compelling storyline. As Clara defies conventional norms, Molly fights for her love, and Boaz confronts the spectral entities and their insatiable desires, the narrative unfolds with a sense of urgency and emotional depth.

#BookReview #AdvanceReadersCopy #HarperCollins #NightOwls #PlotTwists #CharacterDevelopment #EmotionalDepth #PageTurner #NarrativeDepth #BookRecommendation

Clara and Molly are estries, vampires that can shift into owls. They are sisters that have been alive for a century living together while hiding what they really are from the world. Clara is the ultimate rule follower. At the top of the list of rules is to never fall in love. Trouble starts when Molly breaks the rule by falling in love with her girlfriend Anat. Clara also is beginning to feel things for their annoying but sweet employee Boaz. He also has his own secret, he can see ghosts.. When Anat goes missing the girls and Boas must join together to find her.

I had a good time with this. I am not familiar with entries in folklore. I found the world and characters all interesting. I found the pace to be slightly uneven. But I do look forward to seeing what AR Vishny does next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collings for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I can honestly say I’ve not enjoyed a book this much in a long time. It may well be it has a lot of what I love in one package. Vampires, shape-shifting owl vampires, mythology and folklore, fantasy, horror, supernatural, sapphic romance and so much more. It’s hard not to love it. It’s not only the foundations that are fantastic but the writing is beautiful as well and the characters are wonderful.

The writing is so beautiful yet so simple. It transports you to the supernatural and wonderfully founded world by Vishny. The world and characters are so real you have to wonder just if this is a real account of the shadowy world of Yiddish folklore interwoven with wider fantasy themes. I haven’t read such a good romance in a long time, especially a sapphic one. There are elements of horror too which was just perfection.
I have to say that for a debut novel I was blown away. I am sure, and really hope, we’ll be seeing a lot more from Vishny in the future. Her writing is beautiful, her knack for storytelling is laced with passion and care and I cannot wait to see what tales she weaves in the future.

As always thank you to Harper360UK and Netgalley for the copy to review. My review is always honest and truthful.

Fantasy AND horror AND paranormal romance?! Vampires AND demons AND ghosts?! My oh my does this book contain so many of my favorite things. And theater! And phenomenal Jewish representation! It's primarily set in an old Yiddish theater in NYC. As I write this review I'm beginning to wonder if A.R. Vishny somehow peered into my soul and captured all the things I love into one book?

I finished Night Owls days ago and yet my brain keeps wandering back into the tale. Vishny created such a full fantasy world, such well developed characters, that I think some part of my subconscious thinks it was all real? I'll be going about my routine tasks and suddenly I'll wonder, how are Clara and Molly? What's Boaz up to? Oh, wait...the book ended. I was so engrossed in this story that my mind has not yet caught up to the fact that no matter how much more I want, it's over.

And if it isn't clear, I LOVED Night Owls. It is magical in every sense of the word. What an incredible debut novel. Vishny is a talented storyteller and gosh I cannot wait to read whatever she writes next.

All the stars! Night Owls will be out 9/17.

I didn't like the pacing and after trying a few times to get into the book, I had to give up and abandon it.

Clara and Molly Sender are sisters bonded by the same ancient secret: The two women are hundreds of years old estries, female owl-shifting vampires from Jewish folklore. Together, they run the Grand Dame movie theater, a building steeped in decades of Jewish history and culture.

Clara is a rule-follower. Molly wants to be in love. And Boaz, the ticket office attendant, is trying to make peace with all the ghosts in his life... Except for his missing father, of course.

When Molly's girlfriend, Anat, vanishes into thin air and the Prince of Demons threatens the living world, Clara must break the rules, Molly must fight for the love she desires, and Boaz must face the ghosts and their hunger.

I cannot tell you how much joy it fills me with to be able to write a review for a Jewish YA fantasy novel with sapphic representation and ZERO focus on WWII/the Holocaust. Vishny has ignited New York City with not only Ashkenazi joy but Sephardi strength. I have never been a big fan of the city, but suddenly, too, I want to walk around the park with a bag of challah. I had so much fun learning about Jewish history and submerging myself in the legend of estries, which I had never heard about before this novel!

I was not a huge fan of Molly as a character (I don't think she was developed enough), but she pulled through. Clara was fierce and strong, but also dynamic in that she was fun to tease and sometimes slow on modern jokes. Boaz was an absolute trainwreck of a himbo character and I loved him deeply for it. I think there is some struggle to buy in for the romantic aspects of this book with the characters starting the book all connected, but if you're like me and the romance was the last thing on your list here, it shouldn't bother you too much.

MORE YA JEWISH FANTASY!!!

The premise of Night Owls intrigued me with its blend of supernatural elements, mystery, and romance. The idea of two undead sisters running a historic movie theater while navigating the complexities of love and survival was promising. Unfortunately, the execution didn’t hold my interest.

The pacing felt slow, with much of the story spent on exposition rather than allowing the plot to unfold naturally. Clara, as a character, came across as overly rigid, making it difficult to connect with her emotional journey. While the stakes were high, the tension didn't build in a way that kept me engaged.

The supernatural aspects, while creative, didn’t fully integrate into the narrative, leaving certain scenes feeling disjointed. I also struggled to find the chemistry between the characters believable, which made the romantic subplot less compelling.

Ultimately, Night Owls had potential, but it didn’t quite come together for me, leading to my decision to set it aside. This could be a great read for those who enjoy slow-burn supernatural romances, but it wasn’t the right fit for me.

I ADORED this book. As a lifelong New Yorker I am always thrilled when I find out that a book is set in NYC and as a nerd, finding a fantasy book set in NYC is an even bigger treat for me. Night Owls had me hooked from one of its earliest line “ It was seven in the evening and Clara Sender was already considering murder”. Come on, it’s a great way to start a book and I needed to know more! And AR Vishny did not disappoint combining Jewish folklore and mysticism, a bit of mystery, light horror and romance to create a story that made for a fast paced and engaging read. I laughed at Boaz’s antics, felt for Molly and Clara when I learned about their backstories and was frantically turning the page as I got to the epic finale.

If you enjoy paranormal romance, watching old movies, and/or are looking for your next vampire obsession you have to add Night Owls to your TBR.

I really enjoyed this debut from AR Vishny! I didn’t know much about estries, but being Jewish, I’m always interested in a fantasy inspired by Jewish folklore. I loved the world building and the setting of the historical Yiddish theater. I also really liked the 3 main characters and was rooting for them the entire time. I thought the short interludes to learn about each character/their family’s backstories from a third person POV was an interesting touch to give the reader more information without taking away from the flow of the story.

Some nitpicky things: I do wish the romances had been a little more developed. When the book starts, Molly and Anat are already dating and Boaz and Clara already have feelings for each other, so we don’t get to see those relationships develop much. I also think the pacing got a little uneven in the second half. There were also a few plot elements that didn’t get wrapped up super well (Daniel and Boaz’s father).

Overall, this is a great YA fantasy that doesn’t read too young (I’d say it’s an upper YA) with cool magic and Jewish folklore.

Exciting, inventive, thrilling, romantic, and authentically Jewish. Estries are a breath of fresh air in a world of sometimes overused Golems (as much as we love Golems) in this well written story about two Estrie sisters who run a movie theater in NYC. Perfect for fans of fantasy, theater, vampires, or romance.

I absolutely adored the way this book melded real-life Jewish NYC history with estries, a Jewish mythological creature which rarely gets featured in books! The characters were endearing, the plot was compelling, and the LGBT+ and Jewish representation was so comforting. This was a stellar debut!

AR is now one of my new faves in YA Fantasy. I loved the world building and the Estries story. I had never heard of Estries before reading this book and now I want to learn more. I love love LOVED the Jewish rep in this book. It was so amazing to see so many different “types” of Jewish people in one book and the mythology with this story was enthralling.

I absolutely LOVED this YA debut by A.R. Vishny. I had never heard of Estries, creatures from Jewish folklore that are akin to vampires or succubi, but turn into owls rather than bats, and eat bread and salt in addition to drinking blood. This was such a cool book that integrated real Jewish New York history with the Yiddish theater and the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire and the Syrian Jewish community with film history and fantasy. I loved Molly and Clara and Boaz, as well as Anat and Aunt Hila and more. I'm not a huge fantasy reader normally, but I had no trouble following the plot or getting caught up in the world Vishny created. Appropriately for a book that is so steeped in theater and film, the writing is cinematic and visceral. I also loved how Vishny dealt with antisemitism and blood libel.

When the Angels Left the Old Country meets The City Beautiful.

Estries, New York City, independent movie theaters. What's not to love?

As someone who grew up in the Jewish community in New York City, everything about this book felt so familiar. Reading it felt like coming home. I love fantasy and have always longed for more Jewish fantasy that I could see myself in. This book does that. Thank you to the author for writing such an incredible story, one that is desperately needed.

Two estries. An old movie theater. An old ring. And a portal for the Princes of Demons. What could go wrong?

Overall, I really enjoyed this novel, much more than I thought I would actually. The first few chapters setting the stage were rough, but it grew on me quickly after that. It has a appropriate pacing, an interesting story, and good characters. There were some minor parts that made me roll my eyes... "like really?!?!" parts. Then there were several questions I had upon finishing, are Boaz and Daniel still friends? How did Daniel get home from the cemetery? Did he steal the other weirdo's car? Why didn't they just take the weirdo's keys and go instead of calling Auntie Medium? Or did other weirdo flee with the keys to the car when he left? - that was just one scene that left me wondering.

Thanks HarperCollins Children's Books and Netgalley for this ARC. I look forward to adding it to the stacks upon it's release.