Shadow of Night
Author: Deborah Harkness
The second book in the All Souls trilogy, Shadow of Night, feels quite different from the first one. This time, the story leans more toward the “vampire” side - darker, slower, and full of secrets from the past.
In this part, Diana and Matthew travel back in time, which adds a fascinating historical twist to the story. They meet some key figures from both their pasts (and futures), including Diana’s parents, and we start to uncover a bit more of what the entire saga is really about. There’s definitely more magic here - and yes, some of the special effects would look pretty funny on screen - but I actually found Diana’s witch training sequences quite visually striking and well imagined.
What I especially enjoyed were the references to real historical places and events. Harkness, being a historian herself, weaves them naturally into the plot, so you feel like you’re getting a tour of Elizabethan Europe through a magical lens. It’s one of those books where you can both enjoy the fantasy and pick up bits of history along the way.