☆☆☆½
(rounded down due to the rating system)
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What drew me to the book: The author.
How long it’s been on my TBR: Since I first found out about it.
My expectations: A good Urban Fantasy book with interesting characters and magic.
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My thoughts whilst reading: Honestly I was a little bored, I wasn't that intrigued by the magic or what was happening.
How long it took me to read: 5 Days.
Overall: I was pretty underwhelmed by Book of Night, I didn't care much for the characters, I found the magic / shadow system only 'okay' & the romantic relationship didn't have a lot of focus which would've been fine if it weren't one of the more interesting features of the book. I ended up guessing all of the plot twists bar the one that happened right at the very end whilst it was a good twist it didn't keep me drawn in enough to want to read the sequel.
Miscellaneous: None.
Did it meet my expectations: Not really.
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Favourite character: Vince.
Favourite scene: Looking back at it despite the fact that I finished it within the last 24 hours I can't think of one.
Favourite relationship: Charlie & Vince's
Favourite quote: "I'm a good enough thief to steal a shadow from a tower,... I can steal back your heart."
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Why I rounded the review down*: I just don't think it was worth 4 stars.
Do I regret reading it: No because I wanted to get it read.
Will I be reading the sequel: Most likely not.
Will I be keeping my copy: Maybe.
Do I recommend it: If you want a book of shadows, mystery, morally grey characters & a messy relationship then yes.
*(for rating systems such as Goodreads)
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Thank you so much to Netgalley for the ARC.

I was originally tempted by this book because it's Holly Black, and it's her 1st adult book, plus I heard it was a bit dark, but I ended up finding this extract boring.

Beautifully written, as all Holly Black books are!

The pacing feels a bit slow in the beginning, but I got really invested at some point. Can't wait for more.

I've been putting this one off for the longest time and I just don't think I'm ever going to get around to it.

I love Holly Black but I've heard so many mixed reviews about this one that I'm scared to read it and I don't want to hate it. I think I'll read it in the future when I've managed to forget all the reviews.

I'm so sorry!

I'm not generally a big holly Black fan and was certainly one of the minority who did not enjoy the Cruel Prince series but I enjoyed this one much more. There was nothing spectacular to identify this as adult vs her other young adult tiles.
For me, it has the slow meandering plot of dark academia - no plot just vibes. Im not sure if i will continue in the series but I'm glad I read this one.

Book of Night was a true disappointment.
First of all, it should be an adult book but feels like a ya with some more mature themes or older character, but there are no elements othere than these two and they are not enough.
The plot was there... it wasnt' very interest and the whole book dragged on without sould. Not impressed, i think the whole concept is the best part of the book but it's not well developed.

I feel terrible as I did not get a chance to read it as it reached the archive date. First time happening to me on Netgalley. I'll be extra vigilant next time.

I loved Holly Black's YA series The Cruel Prince, but have since moved on to read a lot more adult fantasies and a bit away from YA, so I was quite excited to hear that she'd come out with this adult novel! Unfortunately, The Book of Night felt to me like a YA book with a slightly older character who nevertheless still reads like a young teen, and the plot just felt so predictable that I could not muster any enthusiasm for this book at all.

This sampler did not interest me enough to make me pick up the full book. The writing was good, but I was not invested in the plot or characters.

Riding the Folk of the Air enthousiast wave, I was ectatic to read this excerpt of Holly Black's recent adult publication. However, the writing was so distincly different that made me realise I was attempting to relive The Cruel Prince's magic in a completely different setting and under a very different set of circumstances. Might have set myself up for disappointment here, but it is often the case when we readers expect authors to essentially write the same book in order to evoke the same emotions. In the spirit of picking up The Casual Vacancy after having finished the Harry Potter books.
I'm not convinced the protagonist was intriguing enough for me, however I may give this a second chance in the future.

Holly Black is an auto-buy for me - and my god this one was simply incredible !! It's different than her usual ones, but I really enjoyed Book of Night !

I thought I was requesting the whole book when I asked for this so sad that it's not BUT it definitely sounds like it's my kind of thing so looking forward to reading the whole book after this delicious sneak peak!

As soon as I seen Holly Black was releasing a new book I new I had to read it fast! This book lived up to my expectations and I only read an extract! it is such a good start to her adult fantasy journey. The world building is utterly beautiful. This is a dark book and I can not wait to read the rest!

This was an extract so i can only review the first few chapters. But it has a great start and I’m very intrigued by the shadows and how they all work. I can not wait to read more and hopefully enjoy the rest of the book.

“Too often, people acted like her curves were some engraved invitation.”

“Charlie stayed wrapped up in her blanket. She didn’t want to go back into that claustrophobic room, air thick with her own mistakes.” #HollyBlack #BookOfNight

Books: 1 /2

Genre: #Mystery #YA #Fantasy

After finishing this book, my first thought was: “What’s wrong with me?”. I always say that I’m not reading over-hyped books, but then end up picking them.

This book was not my cup of tea, there wasn’t anything I liked about it, but then again, I wasn’t a huge fan of #TheAirFolk , enjoyed the first book though.

I know it’s YA and I shouldn't've expected much, but this book is literally for people under 16, despite the fact that main character is older. There is so many puberty problems, most of the reading I spent with this expression....

Okay, the plot... Charlie Hall is a thief with a lot of traumas and love problems. She starts dating “perfect guy” with his own skeletons in the wardrobe.

She lives in the world where shadows can be manipulated, fed on blood and bad emotions. There are people who seek the power of the shadow and they are ready to do nasty things for that power.

There is a belief that by finding ancient book, you can bring your shadow form back to live, everyone seems to be after it.

The concept of the book is fairly interesting, but I was bored. I find that author is pouring a lot of water with unnecessary descriptions. Happened the same in the Air Folk...

Conclusion... HB isn’t my author, but if you like easy, slow-paced reads with personal thoughts give it a go. :)

I wasn't too sure what to expect from this as Holly's first venture into Adult Fantasy, I enjoyed it but definitely not as much as her Young Adult works.

I just really did not enjoy this book. I have read the entirety of The Folk of the Air series by Holly Black and that had such good world-building and vibrant characters. The characters had chemistry with each other and I wanted to keep reading more. Alas... characters in this book felt flat and I did not really care for the mystery. There was only one character I cared about and they were not in the book as much as I wanted them to be.
Overall, I don't know if I would be excited ti read any sequels.

I’m pretty intrigued. What’s with the changing shadows? How ingrained is the magic in this world? A tasty teaser!

Didn't realise when I requested this that it was only a sample of the first few chapters. It has caught my interest and I have now purchased the book to read it all

I dont think I understood this was a sample as I sat down to read this book and realized its just a few chapters. I do not think it worked because it was dreadfully boring and the amount of characters being introduced and not developed felt like an overload. I also think the chapters chosen for this sample were the wrong ones as they were not exciting or written in a way where you want the rest of the book. I think i will wait for this to be an audio book and try again