Book of Night
Ratings124
Average rating3.4
Holly Black’s Curse Workers series was my guilty pleasure back in the day. I’m well aware of all its shortcomings — the sometimes thin world-building, the occasional pacing issues — but I loved it anyway. There was something irresistible about the blend of noir, crime, cons, and magic that hooked me, and I tore through those books like they were made for me.
Recently, while going through my shelves, I found my old Curse Workers books and got curious about what Black had written in the years since I stopped keeping up with her releases. That’s when I discovered Book of Night, the first in a new series, with a sequel set to release in 2025.
With a tagline like: “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,” how could I not pick it up?
Reading Book of Night felt like stepping into familiar territory, but with a darker, more mature edge. Like Curse Workers, Book of Night leans into noir elements—dangerous magic, crime, and a protagonist who can’t quite escape her past. Charlie Hall is a con artist, a survivor, and someone who’s spent most of her life making bad choices. She reminded me a lot of Cassel Sharpe, though her world is darker, and her mistakes feel heavier. Instead of curse magic, this world revolves around shadows—manipulating them, stealing them, and binding them in ways that feel both fascinating and horrifying.
The pacing here is slower than Curse Workers, more atmospheric. It’s heavier and leans more into psychological tension than action. The mystery unfolds in layers, and the story plays with trust and deception in ways that feel quintessentially Holly Black.
For most of the book, I was all in. I enjoyed Charlie as a protagonist—she’s reckless, sharp-witted, and haunted by her past in a way that felt real. I liked the way she navigates a world that constantly tries to swallow her whole. The world of shadow magic was intriguing, even if some of the mechanics felt underexplored. The plot had that classic Holly Black twisty, con-game feel, and I was fully invested in where it was going.
And then... the ending happened.
I can’t talk about it without spoilers, but I will say this: a choice was made that left me deeply uncomfortable. Not because it was a bad narrative decision—it made sense within the world, within the stakes—but because of what it says about love, power, and control. I understand why it happened. I even understand why it might have felt like the only option. But that understanding doesn’t make it sit any easier with me.
Book of Night is gripping, clever, and exactly the kind of dark urban fantasy I expected from Holly Black. It has all the elements I loved in Curse Workers—the morally gray protagonist, the magic-infused crime world, the tension between love and deception—but with a more adult, unsettling edge. I’d recommend it to those that like urban fantasy and noir, but with a caveat: this book lingers in ways you might not expect.
I’ll be reading the sequel. But I’ll also be watching closely to see how Black handles what comes next—because some choices aren’t so easy to undo.
P.S. This book also has a cat in it. Don’t know if you care about that, but you should. Holly Black writes cats really well. They always feel like more than just background animals—they have personality, presence, and a way of making their scenes feel lived in. Similar to Barron in Curse Workers, Lucipurr in Book of Night adds just the right touch of attitude and charm to the story.
This book wasn't really my cup of tea.
I read it because I liked the cover and I was part of one of the Goodreads challenges.
I didn't mind the action/mystery plot, however I found the book difficult to get into and boring in places. It felt longer than it was.
Also, knowing this was the first attempt for Black to write adult fiction, I sort of expected more adult themes.
(Review Imported from Goodreads)
I wanted to give it 3 stars at first because i have found the writing quite blunt at times and the plot didn't ramp up as fast as i wanted it to. It felt like i couldn't quite get invested by the story by half of it. Nevertheless i still give it 4 stars because i really love the concept of the magic system, the setting it is in and the plot twist. I kind of had a feeling for the twist way before the reveal but I feel like it was intended to be thought of earlier on. I am not sure if i like that, but i also didn't mind it. I really liked the last few scenes. I'm not quite fond of the ending, but i do find it clever and fitting/realistic for the story.I also personally don't like when romance is the main plot line. I'd rather have no romance in stories like this or just a minimal role - like it is here. I'd rather give it 3.5/5. I'll see if that changes ones I gobbled up more books this year :D
not great. incredible boring and uninteresting book, hard to get motivation to pick up
Incredibly fun and exciting, until you get hit with a cheap hook for a sequel. I'll be generous and give it two stars for interesting beginnings.
2,5/5⭐️
Wat een raar boek was dit. Concept wat heel erg cool, maar mijn verwachtingen waren hoger. Het einde was wel echt cool. Er waren wel goede delen van het boek, maar de rest was echt zoooooo langzaam dat het vervelend werd
I enjoyed reading this book a lot more than I'd expected. Initially, I'd assumed it to be like most YA Fantasy novels as the characters and writing seemed very much like that.
It took me a while to get into the story, the pacing initially wasn't the best. The plot line felt quite interesting though and shadow magic, the world building, the feels, it all felt like a nice blast from the past.
Can't wait for the next book in the series to be released.
Leuker dan verwacht, maar heeft zoveel gebreken. Mist serieus aan uitwerking.
Leest enorm traag en heeft weinig spanning, waardoor ik het gemakkelijk midden in een zin opzij kon leggen.
Wereldopbouw en context ontbreken. Magie-systeem is interessant, gebaseerd op schaduwen, maar wordt zo goed als niet uitgelegd.
Zelfde met de personages. Het merendeel wordt niet geïntroduceerd en zijn er gewoon op basis van één keer de naam te noemen.
Hoofdpersonage Charlie is wel ok, maar ondanks het feit dat we constant in haar hoofd zitten, kon ik mij niet echt met haar verbinden. We krijgen doorheen het boek wel wat van haar achtergrond te lezen, maar er is gewoon te veel vertellen na de feiten.
Het best opgebouwde personage is dan nog Vince.
Verhaal is best ok, hoewel ik de grootste plottwist al na 40% had geraden.
Het einde is wel een cliffhanger, wat niet was wat ik had verwacht gezien dit boek initieel als een standalone werd geadverteerd. Maar ik ben voldoende geïntrigeerd dat ik waarschijnlijk wel het vervolg ga lezen.
I recommend this for fans of urban fantasy, if you like Kelley Armstrong, Rachel Vincent, Patricia Briggs i think you would like Book of Night. Also i don't think the cover fits the book definitely gives a different feel.
Overall I liked the story but it was sooo slow and the flashback chapters every few chapters didn't help with that. If I really think about it, not much actually happened in this book until the end? The main twist I think was painfully obvious and I found myself reading just to see when that shoe would drop. I also liked the atmosphere of this book, and think this might have worked better if it wasn't Urban Fantasy because all the references to real life things just took me out of the story (NFTs really??).
Regardless of all that complaining though, I don't regret reading the book and will likely read the sequel. Something about the way Holly Black writes just makes me get invested..
A was pleasantly surprised by this book.
It had a relatively rough start - not very likeable main character and super depressing setting. And though, both of those didn't change much throughout the book, the story was good. And easy to read.
I guessed the big twist somewhat midway through the book, but to no detriment to it - I guessed it because I wanted it to happen that way, not because the author had done a bad job.
And that ending - loved it!
I took away a star because the world building was a bit rough and most of the side characters sort of blended together (which I guess is expected for a 300-page fantasy book).
2.5 stars. didn't see the twist coming. still felt pretty young adult to me - i get it, the protag's name is charlie hall. how egoistical do you have to be to be constantly referring to yourself by your own first and last name? lol.
This book was so enjoyable! I barely put it down except to sleep! It had the feel of a film noir detective story at times, and was creepy at others. I loved the non-traditional ending as well.
This did not live up to the hype. This is the second book I've read this year written by a YA author trying to move into the adult fantasy genre. The first being City of Dusk by Tara Sim. I thought that one was just ok. This was even worse. I didn't like the characters, and the magic system was terrible. I just didn't care. By the end, I was really wishing I would've put it on the dnf pile. I will not be continuing this series.
This book is slow, agonizingly so for something that is barely past the 300 page mark, but damn if it didn't hook me in those last few pages. I'll without a doubt be picking up the sequel
This was excellent. I love the magic, I love the characters, and there were twists that actually took my breath away. I don't know that I will read a second, which the author left room for, but I certainly enjoyed this one.
ok I see a lot of folks are mad at this book for its ~unlikeable woman protagonist~ and honestly I liked Charlie a lot. i love a messy magic-user.HOWEVER I confess I was a lil disappointed in this book for other reasons. I LOVE [b:White Cat 6087756 White Cat (Curse Workers, #1) Holly Black https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1358274572l/6087756.SY75.jpg 6264661] and the rest of the Curse-Workers trilogy so much, and I've spent years hoping HB would write something else like it again–a contemporary urban fantasy crime story. Which is what Book of Night is, yay! BUT, I've re-read White Cat multiple times and each time I am so impressed by how smooth the world-building is and how clearly it establishes the world's rules of magic (so that you can be impressed when Cassel breaks them). That is...not the case with Book of Night, unfortunately, which was disappointing. I feel like the basic shadow magic idea is cool and there could be a really rad book with this premise, but this one feels like it needed another pass from an editor or something. I still thought it was a fine read but just like...not as good as White Cat sadly!!!
mean girls movie voice raise your hands if you've also been personally victimized by Holly Black?