Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

**This review was originally written on July 27, 2020**

Gah! I can not put into words how much I this series. Shadow of Night just brings more life to the characters on the trilogy and it introduces one of my favorite characters, and not just in the series, but one of my favorite characters across all books.

(Source: Kelsey Darling)

Diana and Matthew have time walked back to 1590 in hopes of giving themselves some time for Diana to learn about the powers she holds and find out about Ashmole 872. However, returning to the past has many unseen consequences that neither Diana or Matthew could have thought about. One of those consequences is Matthew having to reunite with his long dead father, Philippe. Another is the return of Matthew’s sister, Louisa, who is extremely unstable. And the longer they are in the past, the more they affect the future. Will the return to 1590 be worth it, or will the consequences be more than  Diana and Matthew can bare?

Okay, so lets talk about Gallowglass! Gallowglass is Matthew’s nephew from his brother Hugh, who has been deceased for quite some time. And he is a Scotsman after my own heart. He is a loving, daring, free spirit who would gladly fight for his loved ones. I think the thing that makes me love him the most is the fact that he spends his entire life from 1590 on waiting for Diana to be born (since they aren’t allowed to say when they are from), and then watches over her, protecting her, and cheering her on from afar. In the first book, Diana makes reference to feeling a vampire watching her occasionally as a child, and now it clicks that it is Gallowglass watching her, making sure she safely makes her way to Matthew. He also falls in love with Diana, but knows that he can never have her. This is a tragedy fit for Shakespeare, who makes an appearance or two in the book. Gallowglass is right up there with Sirius from Harry Potter and Carswell Thorne from The Lunar Chronicles for all-time favorite characters.

(Source: Giphy)

Now that I’m done swooning, lets get into the book. One thing that is hard each time I read this book is that it is based in the 16th century with primary characters from the 21st century and so each time Matthew acts like a pretentious ass because it’s expected or Diana can’t do something because it would give them away, I get so frustrated. But Harkness does such a brilliant job of placing the reader in 16th century France, London, and Prague by not only discussing the beauties of the time, but the horrors of it too. I do not know enough about any of the people from the past she brings in to the book to know how much liberties she took with writing them into the book, but with her being a historian, I trust her word. And like I said in the last review, if she wrote history books the way she wrote a novel, I would have done much better in history class in high school. But man, I would not have survived for long in the 16th century. In the lower classes, I would have to worry about a young death from some illness, and in the upper class I’d have to worry about observing stupid niceties at court and would probably be beheaded because I couldn’t keep my mouth shut.

(Source: Giphy)

There is extreme growth with Matthew and Diana in this book. I believe they spend about five months in 1590-1591, but they grow so much as individuals and as a couple that they are completely different people when they return to the present. I believe a big part of that is that they are forced into seeing Philippe. This is extremely painful for Matthew since he was the one who had to take Philippe’s life in the end. Philippe is able to figure this out, but doesn’t know why his son had to do this. Philippe forgives Matthew and makes Diana a blood sworn daughter, giving her protection and making her a de Clarmont twice over. He also gives them a beautiful wedding ceremony. While Philippe shows each of them the terrible sides of Matthew, like his blood rage, he does it so that Diana knows exactly what she is in for, and when she embraces all of Matthew’s hidden darkness, and Matthew embraces his darkness, he knows that the two are really meant to be together. While it hurts in the beginning, it helps more than they ever could have known.

Diana also makes great strides as a witch. There are a few mishaps with some witches in Woodstock and Sept Tours, but once they get to London, Diana finds a coven and is able to really learn about her magic. It turns out that Diana is a weaver, and therefore makes spells instead of using others spells. It is for this reason that her aunts spells never worked for her. Diana also has a familiar, a fire drake named Cora, who has been with Diana since she was a child and only just now recognized. The more Diana learns about her magic, the more she learns about and embraces herself. Being a witch was always a bad thing in her mind because it lead to the deaths of her parents, but she is learning now that being a witch, especially a weaver, is extremely powerful. However, with that power comes responsibility and fear from others who cannot do what she can. Diana’s growth is really empowering to read, and it makes me love her as a character even more.

(Source: Giphy)

It’s bitter sweet to start the last book. I am not ready to part with the characters again, but I know how wonderful the ending is and I cannot wait to read all of it again and pick up new details that I missed last time. And there’s more Gallowglass.

Rating: 10/10
Author: Deborah Harkness
Series: All Souls (Book 2 of 3)
Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Romance, Paranormal
Dates Read: May 10-15, 2020