Book of Night follows Charlie Hall, a cynical bartender and retired a con-artist trying to make ends meet and protect the people she loves. She lives in a world where people's shadows can be controlled, whether for cosmetic purposes or as a means to wield power and influence. The tone of this book was very dark and twisty, which was fun to explore. ***Check content warnings for this book, because there were some pretty gorey descriptions.

While the magic system in this book is intriguing and has a lot of potential, it wasn't explained very well, which made it hard to follow the plot. There were also a lot of side characters who were introduced and I felt like their connections to the main character and/or the plot weren't made clear enough.

I did enjoy the slow build and big twist that came at ending of the book, which pulled some loose strings together and had me flipping the page eagerly. While I didn't LOVE this book, I enjoyed it enough and am intrigued by the potential of the world-building that I'll keep my eye out for the sequel.

Thank you MacMillan-Tor/Forge and #NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my review.

The nitty-gritty:  Lovely writing and eerie ambiance couldn't quite make up for a confusing plot and magic system.

Book of Night was not at all what I expected (something I’ve heard from other reviewers as well) and that may have impacted my reading experience. When I think of Holly Black, my mind conjures up fairies and magic and intricate worldbuilding, and despite the mysterious, ethereal cover design, the book reads more like an urban fantasy heist story than anything else. With a slow and sometimes confusing plot, an overabundance of characters to keep track of, and a magic system that’s more head-scratching than magical, Book of Night didn’t blow me away like I was hoping it would. Still, I loved Holly Black’s writing as well as the dark and dangerous ambiance of her story, so ultimately this was a mixed bag for me.

In the world of magical shadows, Charlie Hall used to be a thief. Raised from a young age to be a pickpocket and a safe-breaker, Charlie finds herself embroiled in the dangerous world of shadow magic, even though she has no magic of her own. Hired by gloamists—those whose shadows have “awakened”—to steal old and valuable books and texts with detailed shadow magic techniques, Charlie was good at her job and sought after for her skills. But now she’s retired from the business, after one too many brushes with serious injury. She works as a bartender, lives in a small but cozy apartment with her sister Posey, and has a considerate and sweet boyfriend named Vince, who even contributes to her rent..

But when Charlie inadvertently witnesses a murder, she finds herself thrust back into the “game,” forced to locate a mysterious book called the Liber Noctem, a book that a gloamist named Lionel Salt is dying to get his hands on. Why does Salt want the book? And what is Vince’s connection to Salt? If Charlies wants answers, she’s going to have to get her hands dirty and try to stay alive long enough to solve the mystery.

The story focuses on the present and Charlie’s attempts to locate the Liber Noctem, interspersed with flashbacks to her tragic and unconventional childhood. We also get a glimpse into Vince’s backstory, which is very important later on. I found these “past” chapters almost more interesting than the chapters that take place in the present, for some reason.

As for characters, I really liked Charlie, despite the author’s determination to portray her as a horrible human being:  “Crooked from the day she was born. Never met a bad decision she wasn’t willing to double down on. Had fingers made for picking pockets, a tongue for lying, and a shriveled cherry pit for a heart.” For me, Charlie was simply misunderstood and is often thrust into bad situations simply by virtue of the world she lives in. She has a hard-scrabble life, barley able to make ends meet, and she works her ass off in order to keep a roof over her sister’s head and even saves money so Posey can go to college. She has an air of innocence to her as well, even though she’s been around the block a time or two and has seen all kinds of awful things in her years working as a thief for dangerous gloamists. Charlie gets caught up in yet another scheme, even though she’s trying to stay out of that business, but she’s doing it for the money and not because he “wants to get into trouble.” The bottom line was, I just couldn’t picture Charlie as a “bad girl.” Her heart, at least in my opinion, is nothing like a shriveled cherry pit, lol.

I also enjoyed Vince’s character, and in fact I thought Vince was the most interesting character in the story. I can’t really tell you why, because I don’t want to spoil things for you, but I loved the mysteries surrounding him.. Vince is unique because he doesn’t have a shadow, which in this world means someone has stolen it. The truth is, Charlie doesn’t know a whole lot about Vince, but she’s OK with that, at least until some truths about his past emerge, and then, of course, she becomes curious. In one of the flashbacks, we learn how Charlie and Vince met and how they were instantly attracted to each other. It was a sweet moment that made me root for them as a couple, even though you know bad stuff is coming.

I also really liked the idea of shadow magic. In this world, some people have magic shadows but others don’t. The theory is that you can force your shadow to “quicken” by experiencing pain. The most common way to do this is to split your tongue, and I’ll just leave it at that because the tongue splitting descriptions were pretty awful. Gloamists can manipulate their shadows and use them as weapons, but on the less violent side of things, you can also have your shadow altered to have wings or a tail, sort of like getting a tattoo in order to express yourself. And because some people aren’t able to awaken their shadows but are desperate to have magic of their own, stealing and selling shadows has become prevalent. But ultimately, Black’s shadow magic fell flat for me. There’s a lot of telling and very little showing in Book of Night, and I never figured out why having a magical shadow was so important, other than as a status symbol.

The real negative of the book for me, though, is the lack of forward momentum. Book of Night took me forever to finish, and it’s barely three hundred pages long. The plot is confusing and the characters seem to be running around in circles a lot of the time. Also, there are quite a few side characters, and I sometimes found myself saying things like “Wait, who is Viceriene??” Luckily the last few chapters really picked up, and the ending was both shocking and thrilling, but I wish that tension and action had started earlier in the story.

And speaking of the ending, Black adds a few really big twists that I did not see coming, and although this book isn’t listed as a series, it’s pretty clear that there will be at least one more book coming. Despite the negatives, the cliffhanger ending makes me anxious to see what happens next.

With thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.

Unapologetic thief Charlie Hall lives in a world where shadows can be separated from bodies and be manipulated to perform acts. This well written this story will keep you wrapped up in the mystery until the pulse pounding conclusion. Great characters, great mystery and great action.

My only complaint is that the ending was not satisfying and left me wanting more!! If there is going to be another book that continues the story and answers some of my questions than this is a solid 4 star read. If this is it than I am going to have to give it 3 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

#NetGalley #BookofNight #HollyBlack

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley, Macmillan-Tor/Forge, and Tor Books in exchange for an honest review.

Content Warning: Body horror, child endangerment, physical abuse, body possession

This is a dark book about a lot of bad people doing bad things (to themselves and others). With this also being and adult fiction novel, readers should not expect this to be a similar tone to The Folk of the Air series.

Our protagonist Charlie Hall is not exactly a good person, though as a child that was groomed into being a con artist, you can't blame her. I enjoy a good morally grey character, and Charlie is definitely that. I thoroughly enjoyed that this contemporary fantasy set in the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts - a place that I've spent some time in myself thanks to college and grad school. And really, if there was anywhere in MA where it would be possible to find people that could manipulate shadows, it would be in Northampton.

BOOK OF NIGHT starts of slowly and the magical rules are kind of complex - in the sense that I didn't fully understand all the different groups and what they did. Once the action starts though the pace kicks into high gear. There where a few times that I fell victim to the "just one more chapter" because I had to find out what happened next and couldn't put the book down. I loved how all the plot pieces fit together and the last 15% of the book had me on the edge of my seat.

The ending is satisfying as a standalone, but is clearly also left open ended in order to potentially make this into a series. Which, while I wouldn't mind another book, is also annoying that EVERYTHING (especially in fantasy) is turned into a multi-book storyline. Standalone novels are needed in this genre, going into this, I thought this was one.

I was really excited for this book because of the author and the concept. Unfortunately, I found that I struggled to get through the book.

First, some positives. The world building and the way the author wrote shadow magic was really interesting and I do think this element was well done. I also found the main characters very intriguing and would have loved to explore them a bit further (note the characters do deal with a lot of trauma, make sure to check trigger warnings for this book).

Where the book didn't succeed for me was with the plot. I found it hard to follow at many points. I would have a hard time remembering back to previous plot points and the author did not help the reader at all by reminding them a detail of it. I also found that there were too many side characters to whom little things happened, which were then referenced with little context. I do admit, I am a forgetful reader, but I think that the book did not help this at all.

Thank you to NetGalley and McMillan-Tor/Forge for the ARC.

This was my first Holly Black novel, and I wasn't disappointed! I'll admit, the novel started off slow for me -- I was immediately invested in Charlie as a character and enjoyed the world Black created, but the pacing was surprisingly slow for a heist-heavy, mysterious urban fantasy. Once I got a grip on the world, though, I couldn't put this beauty down. I absolutely loved Charlie, who is an accomplished con artist without being an unbelievable badass (I laughed out loud when she asks her sister to see if a car is following them, then admits she doesn't know how to do that but people do it in movies all the time). Vince is a mysterious but swoony love interest, and the shadowy cast of characters (pun intended) paint a rich world. That ending, too! WHEW BOY. I almost hope that there isn't a sequel, as I'm a sucker for an ambiguous ending, but I suspect this isn't the last we've seen of the Charlatan.

When Holly Black released the Modern Faerie Tales series back in the early 2000s, they sort of changed my life -- as a reader, as a writer, and (unknowingly) as a future bookseller. That's part of why it pains me to say I haven't liked anything she's written since, and Book of Night is no exception.

I was willing to let the pure banality of the Cruel Prince series pass; Black was capturing the YA market that's desperate for this (frankly abusive) relationship dynamic. We've all gotta eat! I get it. I was so excited to see Black coming out with an adult fiction book, hoping for a return to her earlier glory. Markets have changed; what once passed as gritty YA is better suited for adult fiction. Here's to hoping!

Book of Night is a mess. The magic system could be positively riveting, but it falls flat and Black allows herself to lean on the all-too-common info-dumping right away in a bar/club/theatre/etc we see time and time again in fantasy. Characters are flat, boring and eye-roll inducing. The main character is too edgy and "badass," the antagonist is too blatantly evil, the other characters fade into the background as props for the plot. Settings are dull and lifeless, despite the fact I'm fairly sure this book takes place in an area Black personally knows very well.

The entire book has the feel of a standalone -- good! we need more in adult fantasy -- until the very last bit, where Black drops us in a place with no resolution that makes me think there must be a sequel. This isn't a Kelly Link-esque slip out the back door, but instead a complete drop-off of the plot and momentum.

Book of Night could've been such a dark, interesting take on urban fantasy, as well as the theme of trauma and survival, but it falls completely flat for me. I'm giving it two stars because nothing outright offended me, but I don't know the last time I struggled this much to get through an adult urban fantasy book.

I'm off to comfort read Tithe.

The Book of Night is a quick read that is perfect for when you just want to run away and hide in a hermit hole. Which is what I did last night. I crawled into bed and read and read and read until I reached the end of the story. The novel grabs you immediately in the prologue, where we are thrown into an eerie scene of a young boy being chased by his shadow. We abruptly leave the child, and in chapter one, we meet Charlie, a young woman who is a bartender, pickpocket, and a “go-to” person for gloamists people who can control their shadows to do their bidding. We not only follow Charlie through her creepy escapades but also through flashbacks of childhood experiences whose consequences are beginning to be felt in her present-day life.
I liked this book! It was a fun read and definitely something to be put on your summer reading list.

Awesome YA book! I love Holly Black for her folk of the air trilogy, as well as her other accompanying faerie titles. I love the fantasy and romance in those books. It is lovely to see a YA novel that has a touch of romance but also a great plot and a fast paced story. I think anyone who has read the authors other novels would not be disappointed. Twist and turns romance, beautiful sister relationship, and all the fantastic elements you want!

I'll start by saying that the twist of this book took me by complete surprise. Holly, ma'am, I had to reread a few times just to make sure I had it right. Wow. I will say that it took me a good bit to really get into a groove with this book. I didn't know where it was headed and "girl working in a bar maybe magic" didn't connect with me. However once we meet Gabby and get a little background on Charlie our MC, things really started to pick up for me. I loved learning about the world we were in and it was done in a very exciting way where I still had questions that ended up being answered by the end. I read it twice before reviewing and the 2nd time through is really great to see all the foreshadowing. The twist as mentioned threw me completely and the end had me looking up to see if this was a standalone. Very fun!

I really enjoyed Holly Black's foray into writing for adults. I liked the world she created and the magic system is really unique. Hopefully there will be more books in this world.

I've always been a Holly Black fan, so I was excited to see what her first adult book would be. I quite enjoyed it. Charlie is a fun character that I enjoyed getting to know. There is definitely the possibility of a long series here. I don't know if it is intended to be that or will wrap up in a trilogy like most of her other stuff. Either way, I'm excited to see what comes next for these characters. I liked how the backstory for various characters slowly unfolded in chapters interspersed with the present day. The interwoven stories played of each other as time unfolded. This was a good introduction to a new world of urban fantasy/horror. Can't wait for book 2.

This book was so different to anything I've read from Holly Black and I am HERE for it!! Definitely much darker and the stakes are so HIGH! I was on the edge of my seat the entire last 20%.
In this dark world where your shadow can be altered and there are people known as gloamists who can control their shadows as a separate being, Charlie Hall is a a clever con artist. You want a sketchy job done? Charlie is your girl. I loved her as a main character- she is so intelligent and brave and has not had the best childhood which made her very relatable. Charlie is a character you will be rooting for.
Then there is her super mysterious boyfriend who keeps to himself and doesn't have a shadow... dun dun dun
we are thrown into this dark and mysterious past and present narrative as Charlie has to figure out the truth while keeping herself and her family safe.

This book was not what I was expecting- it was definitely darker than I imaged but also very clever. I do wish we had more background info. because I still am not sure I fully understand the world building and shadow magic but overall the ending was WILD.

Holly Black's first adult novel, Book of Night, is sure to please fans of her previous work, and fantasy fans alike. I think many fans of Black's The Cruel Prince series will find the romance here lacking, but I actually found the love story portion of this book quite balanced.

Charlie Hall is an adept thief whose exploits started when she was just a teenager, under pressure from her stepfather to help him in a scam. She is trying her best to stay on the straight and narrow after a near death experience at the hands of one of her ill-fated love interested that she took revenge on. She lives with her sister, Posey, a tarot card reader who is envious of Charlie's borderline magical abilities, and her boyfriend Vincent, who is obviously keeping a big secret from her. When the man who killed the aforementioned step=father forces Charlie to help him locate a book and his grandson who he believes has it, Charlie's desire to keep out of her old haunts is pushed to the wayside and she is thrust back into the world of shadows and blights.

The fantasy element of this book is a bit confusing to me. I keep seeing comparisons to The Night Circus, which I think are unfounded. I don't particularly care for the Night Circus but this book is not similar in content or feel. The Night Circus is tame, and this book is gory. The Night Circus is happy magic transformed into bad things in certain circumstances and The Book of Night is dark, murderous disembodied souls. If anything, the only redeeming thing in the Night Circus is the beautiful description of magic, like how the circus comes in and out of existence, and if there was something I'd want less of in the Book of Night, it's definitely the shadows and the blights.

Charlie was a slightly unbelievable character, but I found her likeable and I rooted for her. The family dynamics here felt ever-present but somehow still underdeveloped.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read and sure to be enjoyed by fans of darker fantasy.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I was able to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
***
Book of Night by Holly Black is the author’s adult debut novel. It has a lot of the darkness and questionably likable characters that I love about the author’s work.
Charlie Hall is three bad decisions stacked on each other wearing a trench coat, disguised as a human being. Charlie sees a bad decision, recognizes it as a bad decision, and basically double dog dares herself to make the bad decision anyway. I loved Charlie.
Charlie is a thief, retired or so she says but she seems to find herself drawn back into that world pretty easily so… ya know.
When Charlie’s past comes calling, the life she’s built with her secretive but shadowless boyfriend comes into question and Charlie needs to decide what she wants to do, and how to do it. Quickly. Because in her world, where shadows can be manipulated and stolen and sometimes come alive on their own and cause mass chaos and damage, everything is suspect and dangerous. Charlie may not have magic but she’s got quick fingers, a brain that looks for the quickest way to solve a problem, and a lot of anger built up inside her just looking for a way out.

For her debut adult novel, Holly Black pivots from the fae tales she's so well known for, and leans into something darker. Shadow magic.
Like any novel with distinct fantasy vocabulary, I felt a little behind when learning about gloamists, those who deal in *literal* shadow magic. But once I caught on, it was easy to follow the story.
Chapters skip between the past, detailing young Charlie Hall's life of crime, and the present, where she's desperately trying to go straight. But when a powerful gloamist text is stolen and Charlie is attacked, it's easy for her to fall right back into old patterns.
It's been a long time since I've read a Holly Black title, so I can't speak to how much or little the style differs in Book of Night. But this was an engaging and exciting read with an intense and unique magic system.

Holly Black is a goddess of words. I anticipate her novels with immense joy and Book of Night was my most anticipated book this year. Also, anyone who can create anything during a global pandemic is a hero. All of that said, this one didn't resonate for me. I found myself reluctant to pick it up and continue reading. I wasn't invested in the characters or the story. I can't really describe why except I just didn't connect with Charlie, her motivations, the world she inhabits or the choices she makes. The magic system was, excuse the pun, shadowy and confusing? I don't know, this could just be a case of the wrong book for me at the moment. I will definitely recommend it to fans of her work because I think it really will just vary person to person. I hope to pick it up again later and see if it's a better read for me.

Holly Black is back (tomorrow, May 3rd) with her first ADULT novel.

Cruel Prince fans, where you at?
(note -- this book is nothing like Cruel Prince. There are no tails to be seen)

Thank you so much @torbooks for my eARC

QUICK SYNOPSIS -- welcome to a world where shadows can be altered to increase power and influence. Shadows are a second self, a keeper of their owners secrets. Shadows can be your best friend or your worst enemy. And they say to lose your shadow is to lose part of your soul.

WHAT TO EXPECT --

A badass female MC
Lots of secrets
Shocking plot twists
Unique magic
Secret societies
Hidden identities

Have you preordered this?? You have one more day to if you wanted to 😉

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5

𝙂𝙚𝙣𝙧𝙚: Contemporary fiction/fantasy
𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙩: eARC
𝙂𝙤𝙤𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙨 𝙍𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜: 3.79

𝙁𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙌𝙪𝙤𝙩𝙚:

"There'd always been something wrong with Charlie Hall. Crooked from the day l she was born. Never met a bad decision she wasn't willing to double down on.”

"There are lots of different kinds of lies. Fibs to lubricate society. Deceptions, to avoid consequences. Misrepresentations to hide behind, because you're worried another person won't understand, or won't like you, or because what you've done is bad and you're ashamed of it. And
then there are the lies you tell because everything about you is a lie.”

𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙:
Mystery, lies, and deception
Morally gray MC
Past and present POVs
Romance and love were important, but not the focal point of the whole book
Really interesting shadow magic system
Ending was sooo good!

𝙁𝙪𝙡𝙡 𝙍𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬:
I am the first person to say, I was not a huge fan of The Cruel Prince (Cardan has always been so meh to me)… but I REALLY enjoyed Book of Night! This book took me a little bit to get into, but after the first 1/3 I was hooked. I love the mysterious, haunting vibe combined with lies, deception, and a whole lot of morally gray characters. Charlie Hall, the FMC, is so flawed, but I just absolutely loved her! She has real and relatable emotions, and it made it easy to root for her. While we don’t get much of Vince’s POV, he was just so broken and mysterious and kept me feeling very curious about his true past.

One of my favorite things about this book are the changes between past and present POVs. It weaves together the story of Charlie and Vince so perfectly. When you finally reach the AHA! moments (and there are several(, it ties together beautifully and kept me turning pages so quickly. This book gave me a lot of Ninth House vibes (although I have to say, I enjoyed Book of Night more). Overall, I REALLY enjoyed this read and would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys fantasy/dark academia/mystery.

I gave this a 3.5 (again we really need quarter star increments). I'm no stranger to Black's writing and her first attempt at an adult fantasy novel went very well. I loved her shadow world she created and the idea was very original. It took me a moment to catch on to all the lingo, rules and tricks of the shadow world but once you're in you can keep up. Charlie Hall, seriously you can't help but root for her. I've heard this is the beginning of a series and I'm ready for the next one and see how the shadow sage continues.