“There’d always been something wrong with Charlie Hall. 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.”

“Book of Night” by Holly Black is an adult fantasy that will make you want to flip back to the first page immediately upon completion to reread and piece together all the clues and details discreetly and expertly layered into the plot. You know the kind of story I’m talking about – the small and unassuming details hidden in plain sight, laughing at you and mocking you for overlooking them from the start, and when you finally notice them they cause an “a-ha” moment. Holly Black proves chapter by chapter why she’s an expert at her craft.

CHARACTERS
If you’ve read any of Holly Black’s other stories you’ll know that her characters are complex creatures, and those in Book of Night are no different. Charlie Hall is our protagonist, but she’s definitely not a hero. While the narrator’s descriptions of Charlie lean more toward the sinister and dark, she is actually a likable character. Practically destined for trouble since childhood, we meet Charlie as an adult trying to turn over a new leaf and follow the straight and narrow.

“She had a job – with a timesheet, even – and a stolid brick of a boyfriend who paid his share of the rent. Her gunshot wound was healing nicely. Little successes, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t proud of them.”


Charlie lives with her sister and her boyfriend Vince. They live a simple life trying to scrape together a somewhat honest living. Charlie bartends. Posey does tarot card readings and psychic services via Zoom. Vince cleans hotel rooms after a crime had been committed or something too gruesome for other housekeeping companies. Think of Amy Adams and Emily Blunt in Sunshine Cleaning.

PLOT – SHADOW MAGIC

Manipulating something mundane into something creepy is one of the most successful ways to get me to wig out. If any of my readers are Doctor Who fans, you’ll know that the scariest villains were those born from normal and harmless ideas: the weeping angels and the double-shadowed Vashta Nerada from “Silence in the Library”. The ideas behind the villains are tame in real life but give your imagination permission to stretch slightly and the results become fear incarnate. It’s no surprise that Holly Black’s work follows the same pattern and creeps me out just as successfully.

“Book of Night’ embraces the idea that, for some people, your shadow could be a sentient counterpart. For some in Charlie’s world in Massachusetts, after something significant or traumatic happens in their lives, a person’s shadow could essentially wake up and start acting independently of the person it’s shaped by. Of course, there are some innocuous shadows and disciplines, like cosmetically altering a shadow.

However, there are also darker alterations: using them to “trigger emotions so strong they could be addictive”, remove pieces of a person’s subconscious. There were also those who could send their shadow out to do their bidding. Along with shadow magic comes an entire underworld of crime, power struggles, and greed.

“The shadow finger reached toward her and Charlie braced. When it brushed her skin, she had the sensation of something cold and a little electric, as though she was being touched by a storm. She stiffened, stumbling back as a wave of fear crested over her – too great and too paralyzing to be her own.”

Ultimately, Charlie is pushed back into her old criminal ways. She takes on a job for someone who has her between a rock and a hard place, tasked with finding a book that has been stolen. The missing book supposedly has dark and dangerous secrets regarding Shadow Magic experiments that go further than others have gone before. Having that information in the wrong hands could be detrimental to society.


FINAL THOUGHTS
“Book of Night” would be especially great for anyone who enjoys world building, dark academia, and other authors like V. E. Schwab, whose prose builds slowly at first and then sets the table for an epic meal and climax at the end of the story. Holly Black is a chess master when it comes to plot. She takes the time to set up her pieces inconspicuously, and then strikes while you’re unprepared.

Holly Black’s “Book of Night” will make you think twice about casting glances at your own shadow. Sit down and make yourself comfortable. You’re in for chilling ride.

I was very excited for this book after having read the description months ago because I've had pretty good experience with Holly Black's books in the past and I was excited to see her foray into adult fiction. But after having read it my opinion is that, if I had not received a free copy from NetGalley to review, I likely would not have finished Book of Night.

The original description about shadow worlds and the seedy underbelly of what a world like that could entail was pretty interesting. Unfortunately it was not. The world building was incredibly lacking and every time a character gave more details about how gloaming/shadows worked I got even more and more confused. It just didn't make sense. There were both too many rules for the characters to follow and yet not enough description for how it worked for me to understand.

I also didn't really find the characters and their relationships that interesting and therefore didn't care what was happening to them.

Overall, not for me.

Holly Black diehards will probably love this book, the first in a new series. The suspense, magical elements, and worldbuilding are all what readers have come to expect from Black. As a casual Black reader, this one, however, fell flat for me. The worldbuilding isn't as grandiose as others she has written, the magic needs more explanation, and the plot trudges along.

I just couldn't get into this book. The story wasn't captivating and I really tried! Holly Black used to be one of my favorites, but recent titles don't grab me anymore.

Holly Black has branched out into adult fiction, and I couldn't be more excited. This book was purchased for my library (and is currently checked out). I was unable to finish this before the publish date.

2.5/5 stars

The first half of this book was a SLOG. It was so hard to get into that I nearly gave up at about 30%, but I saw other reviews suggesting I stick it out. Am I glad I did? I mean, I guess, it definitley hot more interesting and engaging. But, on the whole, it was a tough read and a bit boring for too much of it to be really a compelling read. Vince was obviously the most interesting character, I just wish Charlie had a bit more going on that wasn't just a depressing black hole of failure and self sabotage. The book was dark and gloomy and nihilistic and left me in an incredibly dark and gloomy heads pace every time I picked up the book, making it that much harder to keep going. Probably won't attempt the rest in the series as it's just not for me this time.

DNF

Unfortunately, I will be unable to finish this book and leave a proper review. I have tried reading this multiple times and even tried different formats but the writing and the plot just isn’t for me! I do look forward to what Holly comes out with in the future though.

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I enjoyed this one but I can’t say I loved it. I love Holly Black’s YA series they’re always dark and twisted so I was very excited for her to cross into the adult genre. I thought the premise was clever but it was a little slow with the chapters alternating between the present and the past. The past provided great history and rich story building however I think I was much more interested in the present mystery that was unraveling. We didn’t get to see nearly enough of it. I consider this to be a sleeper, for me it didn’t get exciting and action filled until the second half of the book. I absolutely love Charlie Hall, she’s a great antihero. She’s a skilled thief with a rough childhood, who’s at her best when she’s doing her worst. I really love how messy and self-destructive she is, but underneath her hard exterior she’s extremely caring and proactive of the one’s she loves.

Charlie’s spent half her life working for gloamists, magicians who manipulate shadows to do their biddings. Gloamists guard their secrets greedily, creating an underground economy of grimoires. And to rob their fellow magicians, they need Charlie Hall. Now, she’s trying to distance herself from past mistakes, but getting out isn’t easy. Bartending at a dive, she’s still entirely too close to the corrupt underbelly of the Berkshires. Not to mention that her sister Posey is desperate for magic, and that Charlie's shadowless and possibly soulless, boyfriend Vince has been hiding major secrets from her. When a terrible figure from her past returns, demanding she find a very dangerous book Charlie descends into a maelstrom of murder and lies, determined to survive she has to use her skills and brains against a cast of doppelgangers, mercurial billionaires, and gloamists. Book of Night ends with a major, very maddening cliffhanger, so it's a safe bet we’ll see more Charlie's adventures though I think we might have to wait some time.

Read if you like:
- Magic in modern world
- Urban fantasy
- Dysfunctional relationship/romance
- Thieves
- Flashbacks

Wow. I'm not sure if there is going to be a second title and I'm not sure if my heart can stand it. What a wonderful read. I have long adored Holly Black's YA series, but this one was even better than I had anticipated. My supernatural readers will love it!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this eBook. All opinions are my own.

What a trip! Charlie keeps secrets from her boss, from her boyfriend, and from her own sister. As a reader, some of the secrets were easy to figure out and others surprised me at the end when they were revealed. With fast paced action, the story follows a heroine you root for and also question her sanity at some times. Charlie Hall is out of the business of conning people, of pickpocketing and stealing. She barkeeps and lives with a man who she describes as "nice" and "pays his share of the rent". But, in this world, a shadow can come alive and be it's own entity. Gloamists, or glooms, use their shadows for nefarious purposes. And Charlie finds herself wrapped up in a mystery trailing with murder victims, stolen goods, and a dead man who might still be alive. I highly enjoyed this, and found myself not wanting to set it down. Fans of Naomi Novik or Leigh Bardugo will also likely enjoy this, as well as those who have read Holly Black's novels for years.

This book is a slow build towards an exciting outcome that leaves me wanting to read more. It takes the magic combined with the real world of previous Black books and adult themes on top it. It is character driven while slowly developing a magical urban setting. Highly recommend that those are patient enough to let it play out!

I thought Book of Night was just okay. I think I went into it with too high of expectations because it’s Holly Black.

We’re following Charlie Hall, a con artist with experience dealing in the underground world of shadow trading. She comes across a dead body one night on her walk home and gets entangled in a world of secrets, murder, and shadow magic.

As interesting as the synopsis sounded to me, I felt like the story was very slow moving and the magic system wasn’t explained or developed enough. I also didn’t feel very connected to any of our characters by the end. That said, I did enjoy reading about the sisterly bond between Charlie and Posey.

A unique, urban fantasy story but unfortunately not a new favorite. I’m not sure if I’ll continue on in the series, but really glad I got the opportunity to read this one!

Thank you NetGalley for the E-ARC and all opinions are my own

Holly Black is a wonderful writer, there is no denying that. Unfortunately, Book of Night didn't work for me. The Folk of the Air series was just so good I don't know if she can top it for me. I still give it three stars, because well, it's Holly Black.

This book was just....okay. It is short, but it felt super long, which is not a great thing to say. The first 2/3 of the book were super slow and a bit of a slog to get through. Not much really happened and the main character was very edgy. This is Holly Black's first foray into the adult fantasy genre, and I don't think she quite hit the mark. The atmosphere was trying to be dark and gritty, but the worldbuilding and magic system was not explained very well, and I still feel a little confused as to how the world works. The characters were interesting enough, but very one note. The little action we got was in the last 1/3 and the plot twist was pretty obvious to me from the beginning. Our main character is very dark and mysterious and the same can be said with her love interest.

Overall, the premise of this was super interesting, but the actual execution was really dull, poorly explained, and not exciting to read.

I absolutely loved this book! I have previously enjoyed Holly Black's Ya books so I was absolutely thrilled to read an adult book by her! Would recommend to anyone who enjoys Fantasy books and Holly Black's books in general.

I struggled with this. I don't know if it was the writing style, or the characters, but this was a DNF for me. I might try again in the future, as I've heard such good things about Holly Black's books, but this was my first attempt to read her work and it didn't go well.

New Adult fantasy from a beloved fan favorite Holly Black.

In a world familiar with magic, where your own shadow can become manipulated and controlled, former thief Charlie Hall is down on her luck. Currently trying to keep a low profile, she's a bar tender at a local drive just trying to stay out of trouble. But trouble has a funny way of finding her. The dangerous shadow world draws her back in after witnessing a murder late one night. Charlie is forced to return to her thieving ways, which bring her head to head with dark magic, secret societies, and shadows of her own.

This gritty urban fantasy brings a lot to the table. There is the beginning of some clever world building within the magic structure. There's intrigue and mystery. However it often feel the attention is very plot centered, hoping the reader with skim over the lack of structure.

I almost couldn't finish this one. It's... not engaging. I found it a slog to get through. However, by the time I was about 70% done? It got really interesting. But having to get so far in to the book before I found it enjoyable, does not a good story make.

Also, I slogged through all of that, just to have an unhappy ending? Gross.

Holly Black is an incredible author and this book does not disappoint. An excited series launch and a strong transition from YA to Adult market publishing. Can't wait for book 2!

Slow start but then I could not put this down! Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.
Charlie Hall is a con artist and thief who always messes up her own life. She meets Vince who seems too good to be true. Then she gets mixed up in a grift to steal a magic book, her own magic appears, and Vince has vanished. Can she pull off the ultimate con to save them both?
Can’t wait for book 2!