Book of Night

By: Holly Black

Narrated by: Sara Amini

Length: 12 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

"Award-winning YA author Holly Black has created an imaginary masterpiece yet again with her first foray into adult fantasy, narrated with perfection by Sara Amini." -AudioFile (Earphones Award Winner)

In the vein of Neil Gaiman and Erin Morgenstern, #1 NYT bestselling author Holly Black’s stunning new audiobook is a dark fantasy of betrayals and cabals with a dissolute thief of shadows at the center of it all.

Charlie Hall has never found a lock she couldn’t pick, a book she couldn’t steal, or a bad decision she wouldn’t make.

She's spent half her life working for gloamists, magicians who manipulate shadows to peer into locked rooms, strangle people in their beds, or worse. Gloamists guard their secrets greedily, creating an underground economy of grimoires. And to rob their fellow magicians, they need Charlie Hall.

Now, she’s trying to distance herself from past mistakes, but getting out isn’t easy. Bartending at a dive, she’s still entirely too close to the corrupt underbelly of the Berkshires. Not to mention that her sister Posey is desperate for magic, and that Charlie's shadowless, and possibly soulless, boyfriend has been hiding things from her. When a terrible figure from her past returns, Charlie descends into a maelstrom of murder and lies.

Determined to survive, she’s up against a cast of doppelgangers, mercurial billionaires, gloamists, and the people she loves best in the world—all trying to steal a secret that will give them vast and terrible power

"Dark, strange, thick with mystery and twists—a story so believable in its magic, you'll be keeping one eye on your shadow as you turn the pages." —Leigh Bardugo, New York Times bestselling author of Ninth House

"If Neil Gaiman channeled Stephen King, the result might be this book...scintillating prose, whiplash twists, and a voice of character that demands to be heard from again.”— ames Rollins, New York Times bestselling author of The Starless Crown

“Heart, soul, and a bit of kink—The Book of Night is smart, decadent fun.”—Kelly Link, Pulitzer Prize Finalist

A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Books.

©2022 Holly Black (P)2022 Macmillan Audio

I love Holly's work

I hope there is a sequel this was amazing story. please keep doing what you do

dark....dark

So we'll written but the girls inner monolog is so dark and depressing I feel depressed listening. the author the need some counseling. and now so do i

Very underwhelmed

I am a huge fan of Holly Black. The Cruel Prince series was a masterpiece. Her other books are fantastic as well. I have been waiting for this book for so long. I was expecting something with the chemistry and poetry of her past books with a little spice. This book just fell flat. Its unremarkable and unmemorable. Charlie was okay. she didn't have the same development or intensity as Jude. Vincent was one dimensional. He wasn't loveable or even present for most the book. There was one good plot twist that took me by surprise. But other than that, there was NO spice. The language was probably the only "adult" thing about the story. The story was okay. I wish we could have seen a character with ambition and goals, not just a conartist who works at a bar with no character development. I just feel so let down. I'd have been happier with an addition to one of her other stories rather than this.

It was okay but narrator is fantastic!

I’ll be the first to admit I’m not the biggest Holly Black fan out there. I liked the Cruel Prince well enough but I struggled with some of the themes. When I heard she was releasing an adult novel I figured I’d give it a shot.

I’ll start of by saying the magic system in this book is incredibly original and decently well thought out. It was a refreshing read from that aspect and I really enjoyed learning more about her take on shadow magic.

What I struggled with is the main character. I realize this was meant to sort of be an anti-hero or reluctant hero journey but I honestly couldn’t find a single likable or relatable thing about her.

I felt zero connection to any of the characters which made listening and engaging in the story extra hard. It just seemed like we spent half the book listening to the MC be upset she couldn’t go back to her “old ways” and the other half was spent listening to her complain about her past and how her old ways got her into trouble.

The depressed anti-hero MC is definitely a niche genre and it’s preferred by quite a lot of people but I’m just not one of those people I guess.

With that being said I must give credit to the amazing narrator Sara Amini. Her performance is brilliant and a large part of why I continued to listen to this. She has some extraordinary talent and I was beyond impressed!

Unexpectedly loved it

Don’t ask me why, but this book slaps. Excited to hear where the story goes next.

I loved it

Great read! I have been a fan of holly black since tithe and she has only gotten better the last 20 years!

the story was good, the narrator made it worth it

This was a very easy read for me. I understand that some people thought this book dragged but I don't think I had that issue due to the narrator. I think if I was reading the book physically I would struggle a lot more. The narrator was really able to capture a lot of the different characters very well. I really enjoy all the different voices and I really think they made this book shine. The story was pretty good; I think there could be some improvements as far as pacing and some of the cringey ways that Charlie has dialogue, but overall the world was well thought out, the characters weren't annoying, and even though I got caught in the weeds some with the way magic works in this world, I still thoroughly enjoyed it.

Not bad

Better than I thought it would be, at first listen the narrator’s voice is what attracted to this book but after being a few chapters in I was taken by the storyline.

Ummm what

This just wasn’t what I expected at all and I love the Folk series so I wanted more fantasy and fighting and that’s not what I got. The story was very well written and I still love Holly black but this book isn’t for me.

Good story, great reader

Ok. Loved the story and the main protagonists. My five star review is contingent on this damn well better be the first book of a series. If not, the ending is just... NOT. In other words, Holly, bring us more Charlie!!! Terrific character, great world building.