Shadow of Night

A Novel

By: Deborah Harkness

Narrated by: Jennifer Ikeda

Length: 24 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

The number one New York Times best-selling sequel to A Discovery of Witches, book two of the All Souls Series. Look for the hit TV series A Discovery of Witches, streaming on AMC Plus, Sundance Now, and Shudder. Season Two premieres January 9, 2021!

Picking up from A Discovery of Witches' cliff-hanger ending, Shadow of Night takes reluctant witch Diana Bishop and vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont on a trip through time to Elizabethan London, where they are plunged into a world of spies, magic, and a coterie of Matthew's old friends, the School of Night. As the search for Ashmole 782—the lost and enchanted manuscript whose mystery first pulled Diana and Matthew into one another's orbit—deepens and Diana seeks out a witch to tutor her in magic, the net of Matthew's past tightens around them. Together they find they must embark on a very different—and vastly more dangerous—journey.

©2012 Deborah Harkness (P)2012 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"A captivating and romantic ripping yarn, Shadow of Night confirms Deborah Harkness as a master storyteller, able to cast an addictive tale of magic, mayhem and two lovers." (E.L. James Chicago Tribune)

"The joy that Harkness, herself a historian, takes in visiting the past is evident on every page.... A great spell, the one that can enchant a reader and make a 600-page book fly through her fingertips, is cast.... Its enduring rewards are plenty." (Entertainment Weekly)

"Fans of Harkness’s 2011 debut A Discovery of Witches will be delighted.... Harkness delivers enough romance and excitement to keep the pages turning. Readers will devour it." (People)

Historical fiction rich in historical detail!

What made the experience of listening to Shadow of Night the most enjoyable?

I enjoyed this more than "A Discovery of Witches", which I enjoyed immensely.

What other book might you compare Shadow of Night to and why?

Ellis Peters' historical fiction due to the authors' ability to make distant-past historical personalities come to life through engaging dialogue that remains faithful to historically known personality traits.

Which character ??? as performed by Jennifer Ikeda ??? was your favorite?

John Dee

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I actually felt concern for the protagonists... which is something that doesn't happen often for fictional characters.

Excellent sequel!

I thoroughly enjoyed this sequel and became even more attatched to Matthew and Diana in this book. Deborah Harkness has topped herself, expanding on her writing and this story in an impressive way! For me, my favorite part of a (multi-installment) story is usually the first part where the characters initially forge their relationship ("get together"). Most of the time, it is hard to "top" that part of the story, even in well-written, imaginative stories. However, this time it's different. I enjoyed Matthew and Diana's relationship as an already-established couple even more in this book. In a way, it felt like "coming home" to spend time with old friends. Of course, their relationship is not the only factor in this story...I felt it was very well-paced and intrigueing with all of the added characters. I did not find the descriptions or detail over-done, instead it was just enough to set the atmosphere and make me feel like I was really there. There are many added characters and scenes that make this an engrossing story. I really enoyed the homecoming to (meet) Matthew's father Phillipe and how he is actually different from first perception and he does so much for Matthew and Diana. I also enjoyed the scenes with Queen Elizabeth and the hints at her jealousy of Matthew's affections and their past relationship but the author never takes it any further. For brief moments I thought I wanted more detail into this aspect of the story, or for Diana to deal with jealousy or to at least ask Matthew about it. Then I realized that the author (under good instinct) just didn't feel she needed to spend any more time on that. It seems we are not to doubt Matthew's devotion to Diana at all. We know (as does Diana) he has a lot in his past...The narration by Jennifer Ikeda is great, as usual. She really is spot on for Diana and all the characters. I highly recommend this sequel, it is one of my favorite books of the year!

Major plot hole

If you could sum up Shadow of Night in three words, what would they be?

1) Enjoyable 2) Frustrating 3) Hopeful. I generally enjoyed the book, but I'm very irate that I spent almost two hours going back and forth through the chapters thinking that I'd some how completely missed the section where Marcus and Phobe's relationship developed, and more importantly, learn about what happened to Emily. Most frustrating experience I've ever had with a book that I'd been enjoying.

I finally figured out that I wasn't the one who'd missed something after searching the internet for answers (very strong and colourful language was used to express other people's frustration, which I mentally gave a thumbs' up to!). It just wasn't there to be found. Either the publishing company dropped an incredibly important chapter, or the author forgot to write it. Against my better judgement, I've purchased the final book in the series - I hope to get some answers, but I'll never get the two hours back of wasted time searching for content that wasn't there!

Why does Diana turn into a whiny little girl?

The first book portrays Diana as a strong educated woman. As the series continues she becomes more and more annoying - like a young whiny girl who CANNOT handle anything. She behaves like everyone should treat her like a child and she is so fragile. Meanwhile she’s supposed to be getting stronger as a witch. It was very annoying many times. I continued to listen b

Just as good if not better than the first

The only thing I was disappointed in is I have to wait for the third book to come out.

Penguin Needs a new editor

In my review of the first book in this series I mentioned the editing of the audio. There are strange cuts, pitch changes and sound quality changes in this audio track that really distracted me while listening. I really liked the book and the historical background of the book, but there were times that it sounded like I was listening to two different narrators.

AGAIN! So difficult to wait for the next book!!

I am continually chilled by the revelations, character deepening, plot twists; and the awesome performance by Jennifer Ikeda! There are a handful of books that feel like the readers where meant to be paired with the authors and this is added to my list... and Jennifer Ikeda has been added to my list of all time favorite readers. A completely natural fit with Deborah Harkness' revolutionary tale of Witches, Vampires and Demons. Thank you both for this excellant experience! #spellbound#surprised#everybook#tagsgiving#sweepstakes

just ok

it was interesting enough to finish but not much action. it felt like a filler book

Better than the First

What did you love best about Shadow of Night?

Deborah Harkness's background as a historian finally gets to come through in Shadow of Night. It was obvious she knew the life of a modern academic in A Discovery of Witches, but in Shadow of Night she moves her characters smoothly through Late Renaissance England, France and Prague, and does it without becoming pedantic or resorting to the characters having to explain everything.I rather wish the characters could have stayed longer in the past. While I'm glad the author is sticking to the trilogy and wrapping up the story, I shall miss the characters I've met.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Shadow of Night?

Meeting Elizabeth I. I've read quite a bit of history about Elizabeth and the scenes with her felt authentic.

What about Jennifer Ikeda’s performance did you like?

Jennifer Ikeda is the most amazing voice performer I've come across in audiobooks. She is able to create and manage individual voices for the myriad of characters. She is also excellent at doing male voices. Many performers have difficult doing voices of the other gender, while Jennifer easily creates male tones without resorting to becoming gruff or sounding as if she is trying to impersonate her father.

Lovely

"In every ending there is a new beginning."
Beautiful words wonderful storytelling! Can't wait for the next one.