4.5⭐️
This was such a great ending to The Charlatan Duology! Thief of Night picks up right where book 1 left off with Charlie being the new hierophant and Vince or “Red” having no memories. That was a wild ending to the first book so I was very excited to jump right in and see what would happen.

Overall I loved this book! We get another great mix of mystery, darker fantasy vibes, amazing characters that we learn so much more about, and more of this dark and gritty world. Charlie goes through so much in this book and we really get to see her constant struggle with fitting into the world of magic and the wealthy. Especially while being tethered to “Red” who is now supposed to become Remy Carver, a wealthy party boy. I really enjoyed seeing Charlie deal with this. It made her seem more relatable and gave her so much more dimension. She’s honestly one of my favorite book characters! Plus her and Red in this book were incredible to read about. Now that we know Vince was really the shadow Red the whole time it’s almost like meeting a brand new character. He’s dark and dangerous but also very protective of Charlie. Although Charlie never restores Red’s complete memories from before I loved how their story ended up.

Again this had great mystery with romance as a supporting feature. I loved the story and how Holly wrapped things up. I’m going to miss these characters and really hope we see more from this world!

Thief of Night was a fantastic read. The characters shone and the mystery was intriguing. It was a fantastic sequel, maybe even better than the first book!

I loved the character development of Charlie and Red. Their forced proximity relationship and how it evolved was very believable and I was whole heartedly invested in seeing where it went. Charlie got to evolve a bit as a character, while still keeping true to her nature. I enjoyed that it followed up with the side characters from book 1 and included some of them more in the main plot.

The mystery unfolded as Charlie figured it out or got tangled up in it and it worked well for the pacing. Charlie was in the center of the mess and I think we got to see her criminal skills shine again, even a bit more than before.

I very much enjoyed this book and highly recommend it if you even remotely liked the first book in the series. It was a fantastic read and kept me hooked from beginning to end.

Loved this. The first one was more so so to me but I tore through this. I've generally enjoyed Black's YA works most, but this was fantastic.

Loved it. It was excellent. 5 stars.
I love Holly Black and her writing. This book did not disappoint.
I liked this better than the first book.
The action in this book - top tier! I could not put it down.
The world-building was, as always, perfect.
The characters - I just love these characters, and I am so sad the story is over. This is one of those duologies that I wish would end up being a longer series because I love the characters so much.
Charlie & Red... just.. no words. I adore them.
The love story - so twisty, sweet, and romantic.
To see the characters grow and to dive more into their world, wonderful. I can't say enough.
I do not want to give anything away, so I will get to my opinions on the technical aspects of the book.
The characters are extremely well-developed. You feel their story.
The plot is extremely well-structured, and the pace is perfect.
I know I keep saying it, but this book is so good, it is one of my top books so far this year.
Holly Black is magic.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and Holly Black for the beautiful opportunity to read and review this ARC!
Add this immediately to your Fall TBR! You will not regret it!
Happy Reading!

I've always loved Holly Black's writing style. It is expressive and detailed and her characters are always full of life. Thief of Night is a fantastic continuation to Charlie Hall's story. The plot was exciting and I felt like everything was wrapped up in a satisfying way. The romance throughout was a huge highlight and I was very happy with how it played out. This is a very well-written and action packed ride with a unique world and interesting characters. I'm eager to see is this author continues writing Adult Fiction because she definitely excels at it.

The Thief of Night by Holly Black is a dark, dreamy follow-up that pulls you deeper into a world of twisted fae politics, romance, and danger. It picks up where Book of Night left off, with Charlie still trying to outrun her past and control powers she barely understands. The story is moody and magical, with Holly Black’s signature mix of grit and enchantment. If you like morally gray characters, shadowy secrets, and love that hurts a little, this one delivers.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this read. All opinions are my own.
Picking up right where Book of Night left off, Thief of Night follows Charlie Hall as she steps into her role as the Hierophant. She's now tethered to a blight named Red, who she once knew as Vince. Vince/Red, formerly the shadow of Edmund "Remy" Carver is being reestablished in the world as his former human, brought back from the dead. Does he even want this, or even know what he wants from a life? Charlie is, of course, finding ways to make life complicated for herself and her sister while trying to learn more about blights, investigate a group suicide, and keep up with shady tasks assigned by shadier people. She also wants Red/Vince to be given a chance - at what, is unclear at times. I would like to visit her bar and try one of her signature drinks, but I don't usually keep the hours she does. Amidst all of her goings-on, I find myself concerned with Lucipurr and his well-being. Does he get enough attention with everyone gone from the house at all hours?
This is a great continuation of the first book. I re-read it right before starting this one and was glad I did to have the context.

3.5/5

I enjoyed this follow-up to Book of Night, although like the first book, the pacing felt weird. The gradual reveal of Red's character was well-done, and I appreciated the care that his background--full of abuse but also still love for Remy--was given. Some other relationships or characters were a bit flimsier, although nothing was a huge dealbreaker. This book makes up for some plotting and worldbuilding issues with vibes, because I was pretty immersed in the story regardless.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!

I’ve loved Holly Black since I was in middle school. Her writing is so good and so are her stories.
I enjoyed the first book in this series but felt it was lacking something - some world building or maybe more insight into what the rest of the world knows or feels about shadow magic. We got some of that here but I still felt like these characters existed in a vacuum. I really wanted more info on the cabals and what is going on in the world around the story. With that being said, I love that this book isn’t 600 pages long. Snappy writing is hard to come by in this genre.

I like Red and Charlie and really enjoyed getting to know some side characters. I hope Adeline’s helicopter crashes and Fiona is the only survivor.

I highly enjoyed the close to this story, but I will say since Book of Night was released a few years ago, you may want to reread it because this book starts off right off where BoN left off. I will say, I did not do a reread, but I was able to remember as the book went on. Since the world building was already established, I felt this book was easier to read. I also loved the relationship with Red and Charlie. It was chef's kiss! Definitely an amazing duology!

Holly knows how to deliver on flawed yet tension filled romances and honestly I stan Charlie and Red / Vince / Remy so much. I lived for all their big and small moments and I am pining for more. Especially as we see Charlie fight for her man again and again. Hall curse be damned!

I continued to really jive with the world building and the shadow magic, even if remains nebulous at best.

That said, this did feel a bit weaker than book 1, mostly because of this truly remains as a duology, then it just feels like too much is unfinished and open ended. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE duology es and I wish more authors would stick with them rather than longer series.

For example, idk what it is about Holly Black but she knows how to write damn annoying sisters and Posey here is no different. Her whiney attitude and petulance over wanting magic was grating in book 1 but in book 2 I don’t even understand what she does with the magic or honestly what her deal even is other than just freeloading off Charlie. She felt like a throwaway character that just feels like an annoying gnat and more of just an emotional driver for Charlie to keep being a thief instead of finding something else.

Next, ooof Adeline when I get my hands on you…she felt like a villain that walked away far too easily, the brief exchange between her and Charlie and Vince at the end honestly didn’t even make sense given how doggedly Adeline was obsessed with Vince. Adeline was an intriguing villain because you kept wondering about how involved she was in Salt’s crimes, but sadly this character doesn’t pay off and goes out with barely a whimper.

All in all I enjoyed this but I was surprised at some of the gaps and incredulous villains. The conflict and mystery of the heist and con didn’t feel like it was compelling and I could have done without almost all of it honestly, and instead really zeroed in on Charlie and Vince navigating their relationship.

I started this book thinking that I had read the first book already, and to my surprise… I hadnt. 😂
So what's a girl to do but go back and read the first and then immediately hop into the ARC for book 2. I love Holly’s books and was so hyped that I had even more to read! This was such a great change of pace from her other series and I absolutely loved it. I’m one of those girlies who is obsessed with anything and everything shadows, so I was so hyped about the shadow magic while reading. Charlie and Red had amazing chemistry, I enjoyed all of the characters, and didn’t want it to end!

Thank you to netgalley and Holly Black for the Arc of this book.

This was so good! Shocking to see a second book in a series be good and not disappoint.

I read book 1 and 2 back to back but if you read book 1 a while ago then deff do a re read because this picks up right where book 1 left off.

I LOVED the characters so much. It all played out like a movie in my head and dare I say this was brilliant writing from Holly. If you are expecting this to be like Cruel Prince you will be disappointed because this is a dark urban fantasy. But the FMC is badass and I loved it. Red....what an amazing character. I wish some other things were talked about and concluded like Charlie and her Moms issues.

But the overall ending was satisfying and dare I say I want more. The magic was the best part of this entire series. Something I haven't read about before and tryst me when I say Ive read a lot of fantasy books.

I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I read Book of Night when it first came out and really loved it. It was interesting, urban, and nitty gritty in all the best ways.

Picking this one up, I expected the same, and I wasn’t disappointed. The wait between books is always difficult for me, and I couldn’t find a good summary of Book of Night online, so I went into this a bit more blind than I would’ve liked. I’ve read literally hundreds of books since that one, so things get lost in my head easily.

Anyway.

This is just as nitty gritty as I remember the first one. I remember being angry about the cliffhanger in Book, and I quickly remembered why once I picked this one up. The plot is action packed and mysterious, with lots of death and shadows of course. There’s only a few respites from full on action here, but that’s to be expected considering Charlie is being used as an investigator in this book. I had pegged a few things ahead of time, but several were a surprise. There are plenty of twists and turns, and all the while Charlie just wants Red to have his life back, to the point of self destruction. This girl escapes death so much, and never worries about herself. She is a tragic hero, just without the dying part 😂. There is a little spice, but it is mostly closed door. There’s one scene that is spicy and steamy, but I wouldn’t even give this book a full chili pepper on the spice scale. Just lots of tension, which I’m here for.

The characters are the same from the previous book, and I loved relearning Red. Charlie is sassy and grungy as ever, but Posey has some major developments. We meet some new characters, some that are trash (not written badly, just terrible people) and some that are interesting. My favorite part of this book is 100% Red’s development, especially his relationship with Charlie.

The writing is easy to follow, and the tone is very dark, which is to be expected. It definitely sets the mood for the book. My one complaint is some of these names are honestly hilarious and remind me of Dirty Dan and Pinhead Larry, but nothing that drew me far out of the book.

All in all, this was a solid read and that ending is just diabolically perfect. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I hope she continues in the adult genre. 4.5⭐️

An amazing sequel to the first installment. I love anything Holly Black writes and this did not disappoint.

This was another 5 star read for me. Something about Charlie and her world I just love so much. It was so fun delving back in to this dark and shadowy (ha) world. This tale really keeps you until the very last page I was getting really worried there for a min at the end. I said it in my review for the first book and I'll say it in this one I would love to read more about this world and these characters I'm so glad we got more Charlie and Red. Highly Highly recommend!

Holly Black's YA series Folk of the Air is one of my all time favorite series. I liked Book of Night, but I did struggle with it a little. I remember feeling positive about it at the end. By the end of this one, I just was indifferent. The start of this book is slightly interesting, but overtime I just got bored and was ready for it to be over.

I wasn't sure about this series since it's not my typical read. However, I really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend for fans of Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil and other Urban Fantasies. The mystery around the world kept me going, and I thoroughly enjoyed the characters.

The only reason I am giving this 4 instead of 5 stars is because I didn't connect with it as much as the first because we didn't get anything new about Charlie. I love the love story, I love the dark grit of the world. I love the weird magic and how we're being shown that there's more than anyone knows in it.

This one was OK. I do feel like the end dragged on far too long especially considering at the 90% mark Holly Black did the equivalent of that sound on TikTok where it’s like “now we need to rob the bank without them, knowing we robbed the bank. And then you accidentally grab another page and the bank exploded dollar bills right down from the sky like blah blah blah”. Because after that point there’s an additional couple of chapters that just seemed to drag it out and I was reading solely to complete the book. I didn’t actually particularly care about how it ended.

I still liked Charlie and found her humor very dry and fun at times which I appreciated. her relationship with her sister got pretty contentious for seemingly no reason, but then we kind of figure it out at the end, but it’s still it felt like Holly Black was trying to make the story more intricate and detailed by just not telling you details instead of setting it up so that she could feed you small pieces and maybe you could put it together. Red/Vincent/Remi/Carver story was sad and I particularly did not enjoy, but felt for him, when we discovered what Adeline had done growing up and was still trying to do. And his conditioning to be submissive and obedient at all times, regardless of what he felt or wanted was incredibly hard to take. The main mystery/conflict of this book trying, to solve who did the massacre at that church felt disjointed, which echoes back to the main “mystery“ of book of night.

This is a small stupid thing to complain about, but if you’re going to be writing an adult fantasy novel and have there be sex scenes I think it’s expected to be a bit more descriptive instead of sort of chickening out and shying away from actually describing what’s going on. It’s not like this was a YA book. This is marketed and tagged as an adult novel. I am glad this is a duology because I do not have the interest or desire to read another book in the series if it were a trilogy.

We never got the answers to who exactly was Rose, especially the answer to did Remi care for Rose and why. There was never a replacement for knight Singh on the Cabal and I still wonder what was the tipping point for shadow Magic becoming a known entity in the world. Also, is Charlie still the hierophant? And if so, are they just not attaching another shadow to her? isn’t that the trademark of being the hierophant? Is what mahar suggested the way to quicken your shadow? And the entire scenario of if Mr. punch was supposed to be at that event or not, and when he was showing up and then how he found out he was being impersonated did not make sense. Also, what happened to Posey‘s shadow after she took on Charlie’s?

Also, that big plot twist that’s unexpected at the 90% mark felt again disjointed because at that point Charlie had solved a couple of mysteries and was at this event to save shadows, but then this character shows up and his motivations had nothing to do with the rest of the book or what Charlie had been looking into. Then once we get past all of that and we’re in the dragged out ending Charlie is separated from red inexplicably and their reunion is very quick and also chopped up along an entire evening, seemingly to set up for another book, but I do believe this is the last of the series.