Book of Night

By: Holly Black

Narrated by: Sara Amini

Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

"Award-winning YA author Holly Black has created an imaginary masterpiece yet again with her first foray into adult fantasy, narrated with perfection by Sara Amini." -AudioFile (Earphones Award Winner)

In the vein of Neil Gaiman and Erin Morgenstern, #1 NYT bestselling author Holly Black’s stunning new audiobook is a dark fantasy of betrayals and cabals with a dissolute thief of shadows at the center of it all.

Charlie Hall has never found a lock she couldn’t pick, a book she couldn’t steal, or a bad decision she wouldn’t make.

She's spent half her life working for gloamists, magicians who manipulate shadows to peer into locked rooms, strangle people in their beds, or worse. 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 has been hiding things from her. When a terrible figure from her past returns, Charlie descends into a maelstrom of murder and lies.

Determined to survive, she’s up against a cast of doppelgangers, mercurial billionaires, gloamists, and the people she loves best in the world—all trying to steal a secret that will give them vast and terrible power

"Dark, strange, thick with mystery and twists—a story so believable in its magic, you'll be keeping one eye on your shadow as you turn the pages." —Leigh Bardugo, New York Times bestselling author of Ninth House

"If Neil Gaiman channeled Stephen King, the result might be this book...scintillating prose, whiplash twists, and a voice of character that demands to be heard from again.”— ames Rollins, New York Times bestselling author of The Starless Crown

“Heart, soul, and a bit of kink—The Book of Night is smart, decadent fun.”—Kelly Link, Pulitzer Prize Finalist

A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Books.

©2022 Holly Black (P)2022 Macmillan Audio

It is Different… But a Good Different!

I have been a huge fan of Holly Black since I was probably around 5-6 when I read Spiderwick. I love pretty much everything she ever writes, so I was, of course, ecstatic when I saw that she was coming out with her first novel geared more toward adults (which is, unfortunately, what I am). While it is different than what I know and love from her (spoiler: there are no fairies), the writing style, the character development, and the world building is the same Holly we know and love. Readers (or listeners) who are expecting a romance the likes of what we saw in the Folk of the Air series only more… adult(?) will probably be disappointed in this books romantic escapades, but the main character has a similar feel to Jude, only more grown up and grittier. The world Holly builds is familiar and foreign all at once and makes you want to take a look at your own shadow a little more closely. All in all, I loved it and devoured it in two days. Definitely not disappointed, and I will definitely be reading through it again soon!

LOVE IT!!!!!!

unputdownable!!!!!!!! 1st Holy black book will not be my last!!! I can't wait to find my next.

Book Boyfriend to end all book boyfriends

I liked Vincent from the get-go (an introverted, dependable Good GuyTM with a delightfully deadpan sense of humor), but by the end of the novel, I would fistfight the moon for this boy. I need to sequel YESTERDAY.

Why is it over?!

I started this book not that long ago and now it is over. Holly Black has a way of drawing you in and not letting you go. Tithe will always be my favorite, but this story was so good. You love and you hate and you want for her characters. And I think it is worthy of the listen or read. There is one heck of a cliff hanger I hope there is a sequel! Thank you Ms. Black!

Holy moly I’m speechless

Holly Black is more than capable of creating quite a vivid story with likable/disturbing characters, worlds that were clearly real (at least in my opinion), and just such an enjoyable read that I was so glad to have decided to listen to!

There were often times where the scenes lost me, and I was confused- but it all came together quite well. This book was quite fun to listen to from the narrator, they were incredibly helpful in keeping my attention.

Read this if you like dark magic, love of partners and family, heists, cons, and fantasy! So much more but it’s late here.😅

All in all, I’ll definitely read or listen again!

Needlessly convoluted

It wasn’t a bad story. Charlie, our protagonist, wants you to believe that she is a bad person, and her actions would seem to suggest she is, but she spends the entire novel doing things that aren’t exactly “bad”, maybe just necessary for her impossible situation.

Apart from this, the world the author paints is interesting, but a bit confusing with people stitching shadows to their feet (how?) and feeding their shadows blood or emotions (again, how?) and terrorizing others with their shadows (by forcing them to do it against their will for the most part, by means of… bribery with blood?). It’s not a bad or unworkable setup, but it’s also not as fleshed out (ha!) as it could be. There’s a whole cabal of shadow-wearing glooms that becomes ultra-friendly all of a sudden towards the end of the book, which seems very uncharacteristic of them. Maybe this book hits the bestseller list because of the sexy bits between some characters? Dunno.

In the overall world of contemporary fantasy, this is a decent outing. I enjoyed the mystery aspects. The con artistry and thievery described are pretty fun. Charlie’s background is entertaining. I expect the author to return to these characters with a new novel in the future, based on how things are left at the end, even if they’re tidy enough to wrap up this one book, and I’d possibly give that read.

fine I guess

Even after finishing still not sure if I didn't like the main character or the writing, maybe both. the story was fine and the characters were fine and the ending was fine, a bit hard to get through at some points but fine overall.

Amazing

I'm a super picky reader. Even worse when it comes to audiobooks. Too many years of reading the same old tropey material had completely burnt me out, so when I landed on this book and got a little curious, it meant something. I tend to enjoy dark urban fantasy with just a sprinkle of magic. I like it gritty, blunt and fast paced. This book was awesome. Loved the broken main character, loved the spin on an established couple, loved the low key magic system and the not too overwhelming world building the author did. I finished this audiobook in 2 days. Thats super impressive for me. I would recommend this book 100%.

Loved it

Great story and I can’t wait to read the next one! A fun world to escape into for a few hours!

Insert meme about Pepe Silvia here

Holly Black is my comfort author. I adore her. She can do no wrong in my eyes.

This narrator was good, not great. I do like her voice for the shadows though. They are creepy af.

I know this book had a lot of wayward, negative reviews... but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think if you go into this book looking for the feel of her Folk of the Air series, you will be disappointed. I took this book slow, much slower than I read any other book ever and honestly, it was the smartest decision.

This book reads like an extended crime drama with fantasy elements. It is a murder mystery/crime lord drama with a nefarious girl being both hero and villain. Charlie is an anti hero. She is the cat woman of this book. She does good through bad and looks out for herself mostly, but if she loves you... then you are under her protection and she uses her bad for good. This story takes places through a couple alternating timelines from Charlie's past and her present as well as the occasional past POV from another important character.

There is a TON of information in this book. I recommend taking it slow and ensuring you know the names and the relations of the character. Reading this book will make you feel like that meme from It's Always Sunny in Philly but instead of Pepe Silvia its' Remy and Red. Read the book, you'll understand.

The ending of this book and THE CLIFFHANGER???? Make everything in this book worth it. Black's writing style is phenomenal. Although, I DO wish there had been even more elements of horror within these pages. I think that would've turned this book into a 5 star for me.

I am on bended knee BEGGING for the next book, and I pray that she delivers the horror crime romance novel of my dreams.