As we moved my furniture back into my room last night, this was the scene on my nightstand (via Instagram).
Such a booknerd
Clearly I have some reading to do, huh?? I’m hoping to plow through most of these in the next two weeks before classes start – that’s highly unlikely, even for me, but I’m going down swingin’!
Remember back in March, when I RAVED about “A Discovery of Witches”? Seriously, one of my favorite books that I have read this year. If you haven’t read it yet, and don’t want to hear about the next book in the trilogy, abandon ship! AKA stop reading right now.
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Anyone still with me? Alright, great – let’s proceed. “Shadow of Night” by Deborah Harkness is the second book in the All Souls trilogy. This book picks up right where we left off, with Diana (a witch) and Matthew (a vampire) traveling back in time to Elizabethan England. I loved reading about London in the sixteenth century, especially since we were just there!
This book has everything in it that dad hates – vampires, witches, daemons, time travel – at least it has a good sappy love story (between the witch and the vampire)! I on the other hand enjoy a good fantasy-type novel, in the right setting. And this one is so great because it mixes fantasy with historical fiction, since Diana and Matthew are back in time!
Sometimes sequels can’t live up to the book that comes before them: they lose their novelty, the characters lose their shimmer and newness, the plot loses its intrigue. The mark of a good sequel (or in this case, a good series) is when the books continue to improve! I loved this one just as much, if not more, than the first book. Since I tend to enjoy historical fiction, this book was right up my alley. Diana and Matthew were fraternizing with everyone from Will Shakespeare to Sir Walter Raleigh to Queen Elizabeth. I enjoy getting a glimpse into what life was like for these people who have filled our history lessons and books for years!
The book finished and for a moment I was both happy with the ending and sad that it was over. Cannot wait to read the thrilling conclusion to the series when it comes out!