Though the story as a whole is concluded adequately, a few matters are left open-ended. The biggest issues I have with this final volume are threads left dangling. There’s an actual villain, rather than a vague idea of “many people won’t like this, they might get organized and become a problem.” But, alas, for all its successes, The Book of Life is not perfect. Mysteries are at last being solved instead of multiplied. There are improvements in the layout–the aforementioned multiple perspectives, as well as sections divided by blurbs about the zodiac signs that foreshadow the next chapters. The plot and characters are more exciting. It’s one thing to wander in the darkness because you know no different, but it’s quite another to enjoy the light only to have it taken from you.” Matthew won’t be able to stay away for long. He’s got more progress to make, but he’s proving that it’s possible and he’s working toward it. Matthew is getting his protectiveness/dominance under control.Instead of hundreds of pages of thoughts and planning, the events of this book move adeptly from one plot point to the next in constant forward motion. The pacing has increased–by which I mean, no more long descriptions of wine and food and furniture.Again, all of the significant characters are back, and Matthew and Diana are finally sharing center stage in a way that’s beneficial to the story as a whole. Diana and Matthew are still the main focus, but we see their piece of the story as one part of the whole. Every conversation is rife with discord and excitement that unfolds in delicious banter.
All of the important characters from every scattered time and place that Diana and Matthew have been are coming together.
The dialogue is more abundant, and more excellent.Here are some of the reasons this book seems so superior to its predecessors: I hear you, even when you’re silent.”įirst, I want to take a break from the complaints I’ve had about these books and say that this was the story I’ve been waiting for since I opened the cover of book one. “I see you, even when you hide from the rest of the world. If they don’t find the manuscript and secure enough support by the time the twins are born, the births may be a death sentence for them all. Diana, pregnant with twins, is more vulnerable than ever, but while Matthew settles matters regarding the future of his family she must seek the book alone, both of them simply hoping against all odds for the best. With tyrannical Baldwin nosing into affairs as the head of the de Clermont family and Marcus taking lead as the grand master of the Knights of Lazarus, Matthew must follow orders instead of give them. Phillipe’s blood vow that marks Diana as a de Clermont must be recognized by her adoptive siblings or be lost forever in insignificance. More secrets are uncovered, threatening to divide even trusted friends. No spoilers for book three in the review below, but please read both A Discovery of Witches (book one) and Shadow of Night (two) before continuing below.Ībout the book: Matthew and Diana are running out of time–the Congregation is closing in, their enemies uniting, and the Book of Life seems more impossibly lost than ever. I’ve been (voraciously) reading Deborah Harkness’ All Souls trilogy this month, and now I’ve reached the end of the final volume: The Book of Life.