Finished: Shadow of Night (Harkness) The second book in the All Souls Trilogy (i.e., the sequel to A Discovery of Witches). A good continuation of the story of witch, Diana Bishop, and vampire, Matthew Clairmont, who fall in love in the first book and realize at the end of that book, they must travel far back in time to find the ancient manuscript (Ashmole 782) that supposedly holds the key to their origins. And, also while there, they must seek out a witch who can help unbind the spell Diana's mother put on her before she died to keep Diana from realizing her own witch powers, to keep her safe. So, in this second book, Diana and Matthew travel back in time to Elizabethan England. The book starts off a bit slow. (I must admit, these books are not a fast read for me at all...not page-turners, so it's taking me so long to read each one.) Anyway, they travel back in time where the Matthew de Clairmont of the 1500's hangs with the likes of true historical figures Walter Raleigh, Christopher Marlowe, Henry "Hotspur" Percy, and even Queen Elizabeth herself. We meet some new characters, like a vampire nephew of Matthew's, Gallowglass, who is loyal to both Matthew and Diana. Basically, the married couple continues to go through the trials of being married to another "kind". They also get pregnant, but lose the baby, but then get pregnant again by the end of the book. Diana does finally meet a powerful witch, Goody Alsop, who helps her discover that she's not only a witch who can time travel, but she's also a weaver, which is very rare, meaning she can weave spells that deal directly with life and death. Diana discovers her "familiar" is a firedrake. And, both Diana and Matthew see and interact with their fathers who are deceased in modern times. Matthew's father is a very powerful vampire, Philippe de Clairmont, and though he objects to her at first, he comes to respect and love Diana and adopts into his family officially (after throwing Diana and Matthew a legitimate wedding) so she will always have his protection. Diana's father, Stephen, had been killed when she was only seven, but he was also a time-traveler, so when they run into him in 1500's England, he realizes he's meeting his grown daughter, and they have some very poignant moments together. After Diana's binding spell is broken, and she learns how to come into her own power...and...after they finally get their hands on the Ashmole 872 to see what it's all about, Diana and Matthew realize they must go back to their modern time to be with the families they left behind and fight the battles that were begun there with the Congregation, who were dangerously opposed to the union of witch and vampire. At the end of the book, Diana and Matthew arrive back at Sept-Tours, the de Clairmont home in France, and are reunited with Matthew's mother Ysabeau, his son, Marcus, and Diana's aunt Sarah, along with the other friends and family who had gathered at the fortress in preparation for the coming war with the Congregation. Oh, and Diana is carrying twins. :-) I will definitely read the third book of the trilogy, but think I'll take a little break with some other books in between first!