Book of Night
- Downloads：2912
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-05-30 11:22:03
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Holly Black
- ISBN：1250850126
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Cecilia
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3。5 I spent the whole book deciding if I really liked it or really didn’t
Caitlin Bryant
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4。5 ⭐️There were parts of this book that were very much world building and explaining the magic but once you understood what was going on I loved it！ This sets up for more books which is super exciting！
Lisa
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 **This review contains spoilers**I loved this book！ It’s definitely slower-paced and character driven， but I loved the characters so it worked。 Charlie is awesome， and Vince， and I loved watching the whole story weave together。 It was so well written， and had one of the most unique magic systems I’ve read in a long time！ I don’t *love* the open-ended ending， but I am 100% choosing to believe she does， in fact， steal his heart back。 I just wish there was another book so I could see it happen！ And **This review contains spoilers**I loved this book！ It’s definitely slower-paced and character driven， but I loved the characters so it worked。 Charlie is awesome， and Vince， and I loved watching the whole story weave together。 It was so well written， and had one of the most unique magic systems I’ve read in a long time！ I don’t *love* the open-ended ending， but I am 100% choosing to believe she does， in fact， steal his heart back。 I just wish there was another book so I could see it happen！ And she’s got to be one badass hierophant， would love to see it。 I know they’ll make an incredible team。 Fingers crossed for a sequel someday！ 。。。more
Kate Woeste
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This book made my jaw drop。 So many little details from the beginning and middle of the story tie together at the end。 It’s beautifully written and I couldn’t put it down
Eileen Emerson
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It took me a little longer to get into this one than most of Holly Black’s other stuff， but the last half was really solid。 I did see some of the twists coming but still thoroughly enjoyed the ride。
Diana Starr
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⭐️⭐️-I will preface this review by saying I am not a fantasy fan and was looking to expand my reading horizons by reading this book。 That being said， this book was really not for me。 Charlie lives in a world where shadows are their own entities。 You can change them and trade them。 Charlie is a con artist just trying to survive in the world。 As for the rest of the plot？ I’m honestly not sure because I kept wondering off。 I didn’t like it and if you are trying to read this to get into fantasy then ⭐️⭐️-I will preface this review by saying I am not a fantasy fan and was looking to expand my reading horizons by reading this book。 That being said， this book was really not for me。 Charlie lives in a world where shadows are their own entities。 You can change them and trade them。 Charlie is a con artist just trying to survive in the world。 As for the rest of the plot？ I’m honestly not sure because I kept wondering off。 I didn’t like it and if you are trying to read this to get into fantasy then maybe start with a different book。 I read this because it was compared to The Night Circus and I loved that book and it’s nothing like it。 。。。more
Joni Lobdell
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I had a hard time getting through the first half of this book and almost set it as DNF。 But， I was so excited for this book by Holly Black that I knew I had to stick with it。 And once again， HB did not disappoint。 I read the second half of the book very quickly。 I love Charlie and Vince and I love the relationship between Charlie and her sister Posey。 I'm not sure I like the ending however， there are worse scenarios Black could have gone with I had a hard time getting through the first half of this book and almost set it as DNF。 But， I was so excited for this book by Holly Black that I knew I had to stick with it。 And once again， HB did not disappoint。 I read the second half of the book very quickly。 I love Charlie and Vince and I love the relationship between Charlie and her sister Posey。 I'm not sure I like the ending however， there are worse scenarios Black could have gone with 。。。more
Kate
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Charlie Hall doesn't have the best of luck。 Even though she's tried to get out of the business of conning and thievery， and she has a steady boyfriend named Vince， trouble just seems to find her。 And now she's in deep。 When someone asks her to steal a famous book about shadow magic and she witnesses a murder， she knows something big is going down in the occult world， where shadows can be severed from their owners and controlled by gloamists。Book of Night reminded me a lot of Holly Black's Curse Charlie Hall doesn't have the best of luck。 Even though she's tried to get out of the business of conning and thievery， and she has a steady boyfriend named Vince， trouble just seems to find her。 And now she's in deep。 When someone asks her to steal a famous book about shadow magic and she witnesses a murder， she knows something big is going down in the occult world， where shadows can be severed from their owners and controlled by gloamists。Book of Night reminded me a lot of Holly Black's Curse Workers series in how it was plotted so well， almost like a heist movie， and how the magic worked。 The magic in this world mostly revolves around shadows with hints at New Age type occult， like tarot cards， and most of the knowledge is hidden even if it is clearly true。 I really loved that the setting is western Massachusetts， because I have a sense that there's a large Wiccan community there。 Even if Charlie has a lot of flaws， she was still really likable， wanting to protect her sister and caring for Vince。 There were plenty of twists at the end that I didn't see coming。 The ending is left open just a crack for a possible sequel。。。 I'd definitely be interested！ 。。。more
Nicole
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More like a 3。5/5。Gonna start this off with a bit of context: this was one of my most anticipated releases of the year， as I have read most of Holly's Young Adult work， and was really excited to see what she would do with an adult release， since that's what I primarily read。 I consider Holly to be my favourite Young Adult author， and the main reason I still have hope for the Young Adult section of the book store。 So my views on the book are probably going to be fairly different from someone who More like a 3。5/5。Gonna start this off with a bit of context: this was one of my most anticipated releases of the year， as I have read most of Holly's Young Adult work， and was really excited to see what she would do with an adult release， since that's what I primarily read。 I consider Holly to be my favourite Young Adult author， and the main reason I still have hope for the Young Adult section of the book store。 So my views on the book are probably going to be fairly different from someone who hasn't read her work before。To say I went into this with high expectations would be an understatement， but that's how I go into most of her work。 I expect great things because she's delivered them before。 So let's get into what I thought was good: - The magic system was unique and felt really well integrated into the world， while feeling familiar to what Holly normally delivers in her more urban-fantasy style works （like Curseworkers or The Coldest Girl in Cold Town。 If you've read those two， this will likely feel very familiar to you）。 This is something she tends to pull off very well， so the magic system felt really good and fleshed out。- It's always fun reading a morally grey， messed up protagonist， and Charlie really fits that description。 （Again， another Holly Black staple）。 Charlie has some interesting motivations， and is quite fun to read。 I particularly liked learning about her backstory。- Vince was great。 I really liked him。- The villain was sufficiently creepy。 Always a bonus。- The plot twist （if a bit predictable） was satisfying。 What knocked the book down: - I have a love of complex and well thought out politics in fantasy， but this really didn't hit it for me。 There's a strong gang/shadow politics side of this book， as there tends to be when there are shady organizations in Urban Fantasy。 The problem is， by the time I got to the end of the book I still had no damn idea what each branch of this government did。 I understood the Heirophant （because it's the position with the most explanation， and I still didn't really understand it until about two thirds-three quarters of the way through）， but other than that， I didn't have a clear understanding of how the cabal worked， what their purpose was， how it all functioned， etc;It all got explained very vaguely and very early， but it never felt like it got fleshed out - and considering the fact that Charlie is somewhat involved in the world of the cabal， even tangentially， I really feel like this should have been fleshed out better。 I feel like the sequel will go into it more， but as it was I found it frustrating to read and feel like I was constantly in the dark about what was going on， though it was evidently something I should have been able to follow without any trouble。- There were a few scenes that felt。。。weird， for lack of a better way to put it。 （view spoiler）[ The one that stands out to me is when Remy is given ketamine and gets possessed by Red。 That entire scene felt so sudden and abrupt， without any buildup of dread or suspense。 It was just a sudden "I'm giving you Ketamine now， boy！"， and that was that。 I didn't feel any dynamic between Remy and Salt， or any weight to the moment， which is a shame。 （hide spoiler）]- Miscommunication/ refusal to communicate in a relationship might be one of my most hated plot beats in any story。 It's rarely done in a way that doesn't feel like a lazy attempt at breaking up a couple or forcing a shift in dynamic。Enough said。- There's only so may times you can read a variation of "Charlie Hall， ultimate screw-up who always ruins her life" before it gets grating。 It made me want to roll by eyes by the time the end of the book came around。 If it had been once or twice， fine。 But by the end， I was getting really annoyed by it。 - As much as I enjoyed the villain for being a legit psycho， he did get a bit over the top by the end for me。 （view spoiler）[ The art on his walls was a bit too much and overt， which I tend to not like。 （hide spoiler）]- I don't know why this book was written to be adult。 Weird complaint， but here's the thing: it really doesn't go into any mature topics or themes more than Holly's YA work。 Yes， there was stronger language/violence and more sexual references， but aside from the age of the protagonist， it didn't really feel super adult。 Again， it feels very much like her more Urban Fantasy YA。 Not that that's a bad thing， but I expected。。。more， I guess。 Overall: I'm torn。 I wanted to love it， but something just feels hollow and missing。 I'll still read book two， of course。 I'm curious to see where the story goes next。 But for now， this sits at a solid 3。5/5 for me。 。。。more
✦BookishlyRichie✦
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I love Holly Black！ The Spiderwick Chronicles is one of my favorite series of all time， but this was a miss for me。 I felt like this was something that should've come out in 2007 and I don't mean it in a bad way。 It just feels dated like those mass-market adult urban fantasy paperbacks that were all the rage years ago。 I just wish it were more exciting and dark。The audiobook is what actually got me through otherwise I would've DNF'd a lot earlier。 If you've been interested in this one， give it a I love Holly Black！ The Spiderwick Chronicles is one of my favorite series of all time， but this was a miss for me。 I felt like this was something that should've come out in 2007 and I don't mean it in a bad way。 It just feels dated like those mass-market adult urban fantasy paperbacks that were all the rage years ago。 I just wish it were more exciting and dark。The audiobook is what actually got me through otherwise I would've DNF'd a lot earlier。 If you've been interested in this one， give it a go。 But if you're kind of iffy about it， I'd say skip it， you're not missing much sadly。 I definitely won't be reading the next book。 - R。 。。。more
Jessica Bright
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Hmmm。。。 I'm conflicted。 I definitely expected more from Holly Black considering how much I loved the Cruel Prince trilogy。 I found the magic system/characters to be a bit confusing in this one so I was getting distracted while reading because I wasn't following everything。 I will say that I definitely enjoyed the last 30% of this more than the rest of the book。 It had a pretty slow start， the beginning reminded me of Ninth House with it being just slow and tedious in the beginning。 The major plo Hmmm。。。 I'm conflicted。 I definitely expected more from Holly Black considering how much I loved the Cruel Prince trilogy。 I found the magic system/characters to be a bit confusing in this one so I was getting distracted while reading because I wasn't following everything。 I will say that I definitely enjoyed the last 30% of this more than the rest of the book。 It had a pretty slow start， the beginning reminded me of Ninth House with it being just slow and tedious in the beginning。 The major plot twist （view spoiler）[of Vince being Red （hide spoiler）] I had guessed early on into the story but I sort of forgot about that theory until it came true。 I liked how the story ended and I see potential for a sequel which I would be interested in reading because of where the second story would go （view spoiler）[hopefully gearing more towards a romance with Charlie and Vince working together but being enemies （one sided） at the beginning。。。 and then Charlie trying to get him to fall in love with her。。。 Yes that would be amazing （hide spoiler）] 3 stars！ 。。。more
Claudia
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I really really really enjoyed this read！ it gave me ninth house vibes。 charlie hall is such an intriguing， interesting character who you can't help but root for。 the shadow world is captivating and kept me entertained。 my one complaint is there were a lot of characters and names which left me confused at times and difficult to follow the story along。 I really really really enjoyed this read！ it gave me ninth house vibes。 charlie hall is such an intriguing， interesting character who you can't help but root for。 the shadow world is captivating and kept me entertained。 my one complaint is there were a lot of characters and names which left me confused at times and difficult to follow the story along。 。。。more
Genevieve
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DNF @ 105 pagesThis breaks my heart， but I just do not care， and found myself picking this up twice only to reread a few sentences and putting it down again。 I really enjoy a lot of Holly Black books， but this adult debut felt like a more boring ripoff of Leigh Bardugo's Ninth House。 I'd rather read that equally dark （so many trigger warnings）， but more interesting， book than finish this。 I'll wait for the next Black title。 DNF @ 105 pagesThis breaks my heart， but I just do not care， and found myself picking this up twice only to reread a few sentences and putting it down again。 I really enjoy a lot of Holly Black books， but this adult debut felt like a more boring ripoff of Leigh Bardugo's Ninth House。 I'd rather read that equally dark （so many trigger warnings）， but more interesting， book than finish this。 I'll wait for the next Black title。 。。。more
Julia
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Amazing fantasy novel that， once hooked， there was no turning back， only the turning of pages until the back cover。 I don’t want to say too much because I enjoyed ‘Book of Night’ immensely， and I don’t want to give anything away。 I will say that Black cleverly includes a story within the story on pages 178-180， ‘The Shadow’ by Hans Christian Andersen， about a scholar whose shadow escapes him， only to return years later and ends up deceiving him。 Even though this directly plays into a central par Amazing fantasy novel that， once hooked， there was no turning back， only the turning of pages until the back cover。 I don’t want to say too much because I enjoyed ‘Book of Night’ immensely， and I don’t want to give anything away。 I will say that Black cleverly includes a story within the story on pages 178-180， ‘The Shadow’ by Hans Christian Andersen， about a scholar whose shadow escapes him， only to return years later and ends up deceiving him。 Even though this directly plays into a central part of the novel， don’t skip ahead to this。 Rather， read chronologically。 It’ll make more sense why it’s there， and further sense once you’ve progressed beyond it。 。。。more
Lorelei Fae
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Interesting but underwhelming。 A pretty standard fantasy heist novel。 I'm glad to see Holly Black writing adult books， as an adult who loves her work， but this one is not her best。 In particular the world building was just really disappointing compared to some of her other urban fantasy worlds。 I hope she continues to write and publish more in the adult realm， but unfortunately this book was nothing remarkable。 Interesting but underwhelming。 A pretty standard fantasy heist novel。 I'm glad to see Holly Black writing adult books， as an adult who loves her work， but this one is not her best。 In particular the world building was just really disappointing compared to some of her other urban fantasy worlds。 I hope she continues to write and publish more in the adult realm， but unfortunately this book was nothing remarkable。 。。。more
Roz
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3。5 ⭐️ 5 🎧 I’m so disappointed right now 😭 it took me about a week to listen to this （and if you know me you know I finish audiobooks from 1-3 days max…） I found it interesting at first but the farther into it I got the more bored i was。 I found my mind drifting off so， at times， I had to pause it and come back to it a different day。 The middle （majority of the book） was honestly ehh。 The end though is where it started picking up again and that’s when I really started paying most of my attention 3。5 ⭐️ 5 🎧 I’m so disappointed right now 😭 it took me about a week to listen to this （and if you know me you know I finish audiobooks from 1-3 days max…） I found it interesting at first but the farther into it I got the more bored i was。 I found my mind drifting off so， at times， I had to pause it and come back to it a different day。 The middle （majority of the book） was honestly ehh。 The end though is where it started picking up again and that’s when I really started paying most of my attention。 I still don’t like cliffhangers though😭 whyyyy I have a feeling I read something VERY similar… if I figure it out I’ll let y’all know。 I’m so sad though， this was one of my most anticipated 2022 reads :（ 。。。more
Jessica
，
Really bad。
Taylor Kane
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10/10 — quite possibly the best book I’ve read in 2022 — shadow magic and horror and mystery all tangled into dark romance that’ll never work。 what a masterpiece。
Emma
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3。75⭐️
Stacia
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Took awhile to get going， but I'm rooting for Charlie。 Would read more， would read a book from another character's POV too。 Took awhile to get going， but I'm rooting for Charlie。 Would read more， would read a book from another character's POV too。 。。。more
Mariah
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One of my most anticipated books of the year！ I loved the dark turn this took throughout。 Give me morally grey characters and I'm happy。 The shadow magic and world building was so unique。 I loved figuring out what was going on alongside the character and can't wait to see where it goes。 The ending was 🤯I will say that I didn't love it as much as I thought I would， it was a bit slow paced and took me some time to get into it。 I wasn't super invested or really knew what was going on until halfway。 One of my most anticipated books of the year！ I loved the dark turn this took throughout。 Give me morally grey characters and I'm happy。 The shadow magic and world building was so unique。 I loved figuring out what was going on alongside the character and can't wait to see where it goes。 The ending was 🤯I will say that I didn't love it as much as I thought I would， it was a bit slow paced and took me some time to get into it。 I wasn't super invested or really knew what was going on until halfway。 But then it picked up！ I was debating between 3 and 4 stars but I just think the story was so unique it deserves it。 。。。more
Christy Wahl
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Pretty good， but I am not as happy with the book as a whole as I expected to be。 The plot from about a third of the way through was too transparent and the dancing around that Ms Black did to compile the whole story was showy without adding substance
Allison
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Well， that was disappointing
Camille Herrera
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it was all right！！ but not amazing。 i feel like it just took an unnecessary amount of time to be interesting。 i saw another review that perfectly summed up my experience。 these are the main points- lots of side characters that were hard to keep track of-for being Holly Blacks debut adult novel， i would argue cruel prince has more spice。 -Charlie’s inner monologue doesn’t show us how she’s bad and rotten， it just tells us over and over。 -i wasn’t hooked until the last 50-ish pages and up until th it was all right！！ but not amazing。 i feel like it just took an unnecessary amount of time to be interesting。 i saw another review that perfectly summed up my experience。 these are the main points- lots of side characters that were hard to keep track of-for being Holly Blacks debut adult novel， i would argue cruel prince has more spice。 -Charlie’s inner monologue doesn’t show us how she’s bad and rotten， it just tells us over and over。 -i wasn’t hooked until the last 50-ish pages and up until then， it was hard to get through。 -im still not sure what a hierophant is！i loved the premise and was very excited but just felt left down considering the potential 。。。more
Roelia
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Holly Black has been on my TBR-radar for a while already。 Her "Cruel Prince" series is patiently waiting on my Takealot Wishlist since forever。 But then again， "Book of Night" is her first "adult" book so I also didn't have any pre-conceived ideas going into this。 The "Book of Night" will draw you into a dark and atmospheric world - filled with secret societies， anti-heroes and stolen shadows。 It was a bit of a slow burn for me （almost too slow）， but the mystical and magical aspects in the story Holly Black has been on my TBR-radar for a while already。 Her "Cruel Prince" series is patiently waiting on my Takealot Wishlist since forever。 But then again， "Book of Night" is her first "adult" book so I also didn't have any pre-conceived ideas going into this。 The "Book of Night" will draw you into a dark and atmospheric world - filled with secret societies， anti-heroes and stolen shadows。 It was a bit of a slow burn for me （almost too slow）， but the mystical and magical aspects in the story kept me going。 The later half of the book was more eventful - with plot twists and a cliff-hanger ending that left me wanting more in the end - so we know that there will be a next one？ The theory is that "Book of Night" is setting the scene for more thrilling and fantastic things to come。 Thank you to Penguin Books SA for the opportunity to read this book， in exchange for a honest review。 。。。more
Zoe Nepolello
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I’m not much of a Holly Black fan， but BOY did I absolutely love this。 I’ve heard a few people say this is for fans of Ninth House， and it’s absolutely true。 I loved Charlie， I loved Vince， I loved the world and the plot and the ENDING。 This is definitely an urban fantasy with a magic system that slips through your fingers， hard to grasp like a shadow， but still amazing and unique and overall fun to try and learn about。 I’m so excited for the next book。
Jess
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Book of Night is the kind of book that shouldn't have worked for me。 I was vaguely aware that Holly Black's adult debut was releasing this year， but I didn't hear a whole lot about it， when I did read the blurb it didn't really grab me， and I'd seen enough talk across social media to know a lot of Holly Black fans hadn't particularly enjoyed it。 While I am typically drawn to books that have con artists at their centre， I didn't find the idea of a world with shadow magic that enticing either。 The Book of Night is the kind of book that shouldn't have worked for me。 I was vaguely aware that Holly Black's adult debut was releasing this year， but I didn't hear a whole lot about it， when I did read the blurb it didn't really grab me， and I'd seen enough talk across social media to know a lot of Holly Black fans hadn't particularly enjoyed it。 While I am typically drawn to books that have con artists at their centre， I didn't find the idea of a world with shadow magic that enticing either。 Then a space for an Illumicrate subscription opened up and I found myself in possession of a copy。I've been a little slumpy recently and didn't have any intention of picking this book up soon， but then I opened it up to try the first page。。。 and then I kept reading， and before I knew it I'd read about a third of the book in one sitting。 I love Charlie Hall， and surprised myself with how much I ended up enjoying Black's world-building， too， and how she fit the idea of shadow magic - known as gloaming - into our world。Having looked through some of the reviews， a lot of the more negative response to this book seems to be that it's nothing like The Cruel Prince。 I loved The Cruel Prince， but neither Holly Black nor her team ever said this book is anything like it。 It's not。 This is her adult debut， following completely different characters in a completely different version of the world。 If you go into this book expecting more Jude and Cardan then you're setting yourself up for failure， and it's really not fair on the book either。Charlie Hall is a con artist who's trying to go straight after a con went so wrong it left her with a bullet wound and a dead boyfriend。 She's working behind a bar and saving up to put her younger sister through college when an acquaintance asks her to find her good-for-nothing boyfriend， whose taken on the kind of jobs Charlie used to do。 When Charlie agrees， she's （not entirely） reluctantly drawn into the search for a book sought after by gloamists who'll do anything to get their hands on it。I had so much fun with this book！ Charlie is a delightful heroine who doesn't always make the best decisions， but it's so easy to understand why she makes those decisions。 She attracts trouble like a magnet， which makes her an inherently entertaining character to follow around。 Throughout the novel we get some flashback chapters showing us how Charlie wandered into her life as a con artist in the first place， and as someone who often finds flashback chapters a little boring I loved those sections of the book just as much as the rest of it。I wish I had some deep， compelling argument as to why you should pick this book up， but honestly all I can say is that I was in a slump when I picked this up and it pulled me out of it。 I'll be waiting eagerly for the next book！ 。。。more
Catherine
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I read this as part of a bookclub。 I probably wouldn't have picked it up by myself。 It was not really that different to Young Adiult， but i can see she tried。 It's also not grim fantasy， which I think it was trying to be。 If you want grim， read Joe Abercrombie。Overall， I did like the idea of the shadows and magic system。 I think a book focused on Vince/Red would have been more interesting。 Charlie was not very compelling， or that interesting。 And he had so much more history with Salt that his tr I read this as part of a bookclub。 I probably wouldn't have picked it up by myself。 It was not really that different to Young Adiult， but i can see she tried。 It's also not grim fantasy， which I think it was trying to be。 If you want grim， read Joe Abercrombie。Overall， I did like the idea of the shadows and magic system。 I think a book focused on Vince/Red would have been more interesting。 Charlie was not very compelling， or that interesting。 And he had so much more history with Salt that his trying to treasure him down would make sense。 Charlie ran away from the mansion and Salt killed someone she hated。 So not as compelling， but i suppose she was forced into it since he hired her and she wanted to survive。 She's also not really a con artist when we met her。 She's just a criminal really。 Like a great con that she hides in a guys bathroom。。。。 Anyway。I don't know why red still has a pic of Adeline in his wallet of he hates her so much。 Why did he lose some of his memories of Charlie？ What was that info drop from the heirophant that shadows were once in control？？？ 。。。more
Nicki
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I liked this book enough to finish it but I found Charlie a little stereotypical， bad girl looks hot， big boobs， enjoys a drink when things get tough。 Black hair， curvy size 14 （ I mean why did I need to know that？ ）。 Her sisters a brat but Charlie will make her life worse to make her sisters better because she has everything her sister doesn’t。 Vince the love interest and key part of the plot， we know he’s handsome in a working man， not in touch with his feelings kind of way， strong jaw。 The sh I liked this book enough to finish it but I found Charlie a little stereotypical， bad girl looks hot， big boobs， enjoys a drink when things get tough。 Black hair， curvy size 14 （ I mean why did I need to know that？ ）。 Her sisters a brat but Charlie will make her life worse to make her sisters better because she has everything her sister doesn’t。 Vince the love interest and key part of the plot， we know he’s handsome in a working man， not in touch with his feelings kind of way， strong jaw。 The shadows， the blights， the something else I’ve forgotten what they were called - there was a lot。 I liked it but it was not a smooth read， I liked Charlie a bit I guess but yes this book seems like a set up for the next one， which I would hope would make me like the characters just that bit more and the world building would be a bit smoother。 。。。more
Rebecca
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