Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

All Souls Trilogy #2
Viking Penguin
July 10, 2012
Adult Paranormal

ACQUIRED: Library

SUMMARY

IT BEGAN WITH A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES.

Historian Diana Bishop, descended from a line of powerful witches, and long-lived vampire Matthew Clairmont have broken the laws dividing creatures. When Diana discovered a significant alchemical manuscript in the Bodleian Library, she sparked a struggle in which she became bound to Matthew. Now the fragile coexistence of witches, daemons, vampires and humans is dangerously threatened.

Seeking safety, Diana and Matthew travel back in time to London, 1590. But they soon realise that the past may not provide a haven. Reclaiming his former identity as poet and spy for Queen Elizabeth, the vampire falls back in with a group of radicals known as the School of Night. Many are unruly daemons, the creative minds of the age, including playwright Christopher Marlowe and mathematician Thomas Harriot.

Together Matthew and Diana scour Tudor London for the elusive manuscript Ashmole 782, and search for the witch who will teach Diana how to control her remarkable powers... 

From Goodreads 

REVIEW

With ease, I can give Shadow of Night 5 out of 5 stars. Deborah Harkness has done it again with the continuing story of Diana and Matthew. This story was even more wonderful for a history buff such as myself as it was history taken to a whole new level. The characters were woven into a rich tapestry of history, intrigue, and romance that was bigger than life and so very simple that it was breathtaking.

My favorite thing about the novel was the fact that the relationship between Diana and Matthew continued to evolve along natural lines. They fought. They made love. They grew apart, and grew closer again. And through it all, Diana kept her own identity. I loved that even though it is in Matthew's nature for him to be possessive toward Diana, she was able to remain her own person and to keep her own power. She doesn't succumb to Matthew's every whim and desire. Instead she fights him when there is a need and follows when she feels like it.

There is drama aplenty in Shadow of Night and more romance than you can imagine. I fell more in love with everything in the story with every single page I turned. There are so many things I would love to say about the story, but I refuse to spoil it for anyone!

It's a beautiful weaving of time, past and present, magic and ordinary.