Bossy Italian Book Review: Shadow of Night (All Souls Trilogy) By Deborah Harkness

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I just loved A Discovery Of Witches, and so loading the next book onto my Kindle was practically a no-brainer. I devoured this book just like I had the first one. This book does differ a little from the first one because the time and place are entirely different, but I LOVED it.

Matthew and Diana are still just as furiously in love as they were in the first book, and this book just builds upon that momentum. Here we have them back in Elizabethan times and Matthew's many identities start to reveal themselves. We learn much more about Matthew in this book, and his journey over time. We get to meet many more people in his life that we only heard about in the first book, and I enjoyed every second of it!

Diana's magic is also unfolding. Diana comes to realize many more things about herself as a witch and there are many twists and surprises about her true identity that come forward in the course of the book.  The sense of danger is ever-present as she tries to hone her craft and learn about all the things that compose her being.

Another great feature in the book are the history flash points, which are really entertaining. Harkness's use of historical characters like Christopher Marlowe and Sir Walter Raleigh were fantastic. It helped that I was familiar with this time period already, and that really added a certain something to finding characters in the book that I could draw upon my own knowledge about. If you aren't as familiar with Elizabethan history, though, it would be just as good, just from a different point of view.

It also coincided that I was in Scotland when I was reading portions of the book, which was magical given the setting in points of Europe and especially the UK. When they were talking about the Scottish witch trials, I was like "What do you know? I'm here!"

Again, the writing is sophisticated and gripping. Of course this is a trilogy, so I was left hanging at the end. The story of Matthew and Diana is destined to continue and become even more wonderful. Alas, I and all the rest of us will have to wait as it isn't even written yet. *sigh* I am DYING over here, Ms. Harkness, and I can't wait to finish this remarkable trilogy. Can. Not. Wait.