"Words kill just as swords do."
I had a feeling that I wasn't going to like Shadow of Night after reading the first chapter, but I persevered because I hoped it would improve and also because I struggle to DNF books and series. What a snoozefest though!
I thought I was warming up to Matthew and Diana at the end of A Discovery of Witches, but Shadow of Night brought out the worst in them.
Matthew is such a jerk. He is possessive, controlling and condescending. He treats Diana like dirt and although he keeps secrets and hides things from her, he expects her to tell him everything. If this series didn't excuse his negative aspects by claiming them as characteristics of his species, he would be problematic and abusive.
Diana is annoying and contradictory. There are a few impactful moments where she stands up for herself, but she always ends up following Matthew and hates on people who don't agree with him. This is an issue because while the narrative (and other characters) tell us that Diana is smart, logical, independent and bold, there is little evidence to prove it.
The characters feel distant because there is more telling than showing. However, the parts where Matthew and Diana aren't involved are more compelling. Give me more of Philippe, Ysabeau, Marcus, Sarah, Em and even Verin please! On an entirely unrelated note, how many more times can I use 'more' in this paragraph? *facepalm*
Matthew and Diana travel to the past to find a witch teacher for Diana and to uncover the mystery of the Ashmole 782 manuscript. The main plot points are only dealt with in the last quarter and lack depth. Instead, most of Shadow of Night deals with unnecessary side plots that add little to the main plot. There are many different aspects to unpack and there are too many unrelated events and loose ends. The story is slow, boring, muddled and all over the place. However, I started warming up to Shadow of Night in the last quarter (when the plot started going somewhere).
The time travelling aspect has weird rules that make little sense. When Diana and Matthew time travel to the past, past Matthew ceases to exist for that duration. However, present Matthew literally tells everyone from the past that Diana is his wife. What will past Matthew think when people ask him about a wife whom he has no knowledge of?
Readers who are interested in 16th century Europe will enjoy finding Easter eggs from that time and reading about historical figures and beloved characters. Harkness has done research and put effort into describing Europe in 1509. However, I found the historical details, figures and name dropping unnecessary and preferred present day events.
I wish I could have seen more of the witches and witch magic. The witch aspects, especially the weavers and familiars, are extremely interesting
Am I going to read The Book of Life? Yes. This series can only get better... right?
"In every ending there is a new beginning."