Book Review: Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness PLUS WIN A SIGNED COPY!!

Shortly after Diana Bishop and Matthew Clairmont timewalk to London, 1590, they discover that the past may not provide a safe haven after all. Reclaiming his former identity as poet and spy Matthew Roydibm the vampire falls back into step with a group of radicals known as the School of Night who share dangerous ideas about God, science and man. Many of his friends are unruly daemons- the creative minds of the age who walk the fine line between genius and madness- including playwright Christopher Marlowe and mathematician Thomas Harriot. Matthew himself is expected to continue to spy for Queen Elizabeth, which puts him in close contact with London's cut-throat underworld.
Together, Matthew and Diana scour the bookstalls and alchemical laboratories of London where they follow the elusive trail of Ashmole 782- and search for the witch who will teach Diana to control her powers.

Shadow of Night is the second book in the All Souls trilogy by Deborah Harkness. I read the first, A Discovery of Witches last year and really enjoyed it so I was looking forward to seeing what Deborah Harkness would do with the story next.
Shadow of Night begins exactly where A Discovery of Witches left off. I would highly recommend reading the books in order so you can get a full grasp of events so far.
Matthew and Diana have travelled back to Elizabethan England, the year 1590 to be precise. Here Matthew is Matthew Roydon, a spy for Queen Elizabeth and a member of the School of Night. Other members and friends include Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Harriet and Sir Walter Raleigh. I found this aspect of the book completely fascinating. Deborah Harkness brought these famous historical characters to life on the page; her background as a historian is evident and her attention to detail cannot be criticised in any way.
Matthew and Diana are in danger from the very beginning. There are only so many people that they can be completely honest with so it is vital that Diana can pass as an Elizabethan woman of the time or suspicions will be raised . Matthew and Diana have two main problems to solve during this book. They must find the text Ashmole 782 which is how their story began and they must also find another witch who can teach Diana how to harness her magical powers.
Shadow of Night is lengthy at 768 pages but I found that I flew through it. Deborah Harkness creates a fantastic pace, her descriptions are extremely vivid and she reveals a lot more about Matthew's past. I felt myself turning more and more pages as I wanted to know what was going to happen next and whether Diana and Matthew would get what they came for.
These books are wholly fantastical but I love the story that Deborah Harkness has created. She has added paranormal edge to historical fiction and in doing so has created an enchanting trilogy that will appeal to a wide variety of readers.

Dot Scribbles Rating 5/5

Many thanks to Headline for sending me a copy of Shadow of Night to review, it is published on 10th July.  Here is a video that Deborah recorded for bloggers and she gives a little teaser about some of her new characters.

The lovely and very generous people at Headline have offered me two signed copies to give away to the lovely readers of Dot Scribbles. All you have to do is leave me a comment by midnight on Thursday 12th July and I shall pick two names out of the hat. This competition is open to UK residents only. Good luck! 

Book Review: Out for Blood by Alyxandra Harvey

Hunter Wild, vampire hunter and star pupil at a top secret slayer academy has a crush on a guy called Quinn. He's tall, dark and very handsome. He's also a vampire, and one of the infamous Drake brothers at that.

As if forbidden love wasn't bad enough, something strange is also happening at the Helios-Ra academy. Vampire attacks are increasing, students are mysteriously falling ill and the teachers seem completely clueless. It's up to Hunter and her friends to put things right... that is, if she can get a certain immortal out of her head long enough to think about anything else. 

This is the third in the Drake Chronicles series by Alyxandra Harvey. I wasn't that big a fan on the second one but Out for Blood has reaffirmed my belief that this is a great series for young adults.
I loved the character of Hunter Wild, she is extremely feisty and has such a lot of responsibility and expectations placed upon  her. When things start to go wrong at the prestigious slayer academy that she attends, she knows that she has to step-up and find those responsible for hurting her friends. Whilst doing this she has to enlist the help of Quinn Drake, he is a member of the head vampire family and Hunter has been trained to stake vampires on first contact. However, staking is the last thing on Hunter's mind when she is around the delectable Quinn. Alyxandra Harvey builds up the tension  between these two characters so well. It reminded me of Bella and Edward in Twilight, they both know it's wrong but they just can't help themselves.
Out for Blood has a great pace to it, there was so much to find out that you can't help turning the pages. The next book isn't out until November 2011, I know that I will not be the only one grabbing a copy to find out what happens next.

You can read the first chapter of Out for Blood by clicking here.

Many thanks to Bloomsbury for sending me a review copy, it was published yesterday so look out for it in the shops!

Book Review: Dracula's Guest, A Connoisseur's Collection of Victorian Vampire Stories Edited by Michael Sims

Before Twilight and True Blood, vampires haunted the nineteenth century, when brilliant writers indulged their blood thirst imaginations, culminating in Bram Stoker's legendary 1897 novel, Dracula.

Acclaimed author and anthologist Michael Sims brings together the finest vampire stories of the Victorian era in a unique collection that highlights their cultural variety. Beginning with the supposedly true accounts that captivated Byron and Shelley, the stories range from Aleksei Tolstoy's tale of a vampire family to Fitz James O'Brien's invisible monster to Mary Elizabeth Braddon's rich and sinister widow, Good Lady Ducayne. Sims also includes a nineteenth century travel tour of Transylvannian superstitions, and finishes the collection with Stoker's own Dracula's Guest- a chapter omitted from his landmark novel. 

This book is a fantastic treat for anybody interested in this genre. Michael Sims has put together a brilliant collection of stories and I loved being able to read more about the author's and the origins behind them.
I think that vampires are always going to be popular within the world of fiction, the Twilight phenomenon has brought them to the fore again but they are a creation that allows so many different themes and ideas to be explored in one story. Bram Stoker's Dracula is one of my favourite books so it came as no surprise that Dracula's Guest was my favourite story within this book. There is something about Bram Stoker's writing that entices you in even though you know you are probably going to come across something that is pretty scary.
Bloomsbury have produced a stunning book to look at, I completely fell in love with it. This would make a brilliant present and I know that it will be sitting on my book shelf for many years.

Dracula's Guest was published on 30th October, many thanks to Bloomsbury for sending me a copy for review.