Joined in 2023 
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Why would any latent crave that much a magical object that would only destroy them? I didn't get the whole artefacts thing. In their Gollum-Delirium they think the object will give them power… but at the same time they know they will die if they accept it… so why isn't the first instinct of any latent to run far away from any possible magical object? Marwood empties himself on behalf of those not worthy of his loyalty and faithfulness, and in so doing he descends into darkness, is used up in the wash cycle of power. My favorite quote in the book was "I had found my way to the heart of power, only to discover that the heart was rotten to its core." I won't write any spoilers here to tip off what his journey was about specifically, but it was satisfying. There was one other very satisfying character development loop alongside this one, but I can't say more without spoiling it. Late 16th century London was one of the literary peaks in the capital's history; an era which saw Shakespeare and many of the greatest English Renaissance writers at the height of their fame and accomplishment. But some of these authors were said to have an additional form of connection than just their profession. Many notable figures, including Christopher Marlowe and Walter Raleigh, were rumoured to be members of The School of Night, an underground society whose work allegedly included explorations of alchemy, as well as the discussion of atheism. At the time, the expression of atheist beliefs was not only illegal; people were burned at the stake for it. This was so GOOD!! I had no idea what to expect when I started reading this, I don't think I've read a book with a similar setting. But wow, this book dELIVERD! The magic is so interesting and the mystery around the latents and their origin is so well done, you just want more more more. The characters are amazing, I love them all. Dom is lovely, his relationship with everyone at Kempthorne & Co is nice which makes it fun to read. I can't wait to learn more about Hollywood and Kempthorne! Those two were my favourite. I loved Dom's dynamic with Hollywood! I'm so excited to see what Nash has in store for them in the second book! ☆
When he first arrived in London, W.P. Brown rallied the police force who arrived at the church in time to stop Frankie, but inexplicably they didn't disarm or shoot the gangster who was pointing a gun at Joe. Because of the serious nature of the crime in progress, the chief had even passed out pistols to his men. This was the ridiculous era of unarmed cops. After Frankie fired, then the cops wrestled him to the ground. I started reading the book expecting to find a dominant, alpha jerk. But I loved this version of a Love Interest much better. Please, let him be the REAL love interest. Hollywood is booOOooring. Joe is now living in a posh loft above his antique shop and woke to noises downstairs where he surprised a burglar who left behind an odd radio before she rushed out the door. The radio, a red Roberts radio, was turned on and the volume increased. When Joe reached for the dial he was instantly transported to London in 1963, in his pajamas, holding his iPhone. Believing this to be the notorious work of W.P. Brown, Joseph suspects the old cane-toting time traveler just couldn't take no for an answer. The first part of this didn't go smoothly for me *for reasons* but also because it just felt chaotic. The world building by AN is normally outstanding but here there was a lot I didn't understand, and it had me questioning instead of settling into the story. Honestly, that might have just been because I was so damn cranky but I genuinely stayed distracted by the things I didn't get. This was possibly because Dom himself was confused by a lot for much of the story.Which leads me to the other main element in the story – Charles II’s ruthless pursuit of a penniless young Frenchwoman half his age, aided and abetted by his own chief minister, the French ambassador and the King of France himself. The poor woman didn’t have a chance. There was no #MeToo movement to come to her defence. In a London that's littered with dangerous, magical artifacts, and latents who can use them to boost their own magical powers, tensions run high, and someone is pulling the strings behind the scenes. Someone or some thing is lurking in the shadows... and has Dom in their sights. It shouldn’t matter that Kempthorne’s world is full of deadly secrets. It shouldn’t matter that the billionaire is sexy as sin, and it really shouldn’t matter how there’s an American agent stalking Dom, an American who knows more than he should about Dom’s case, including the real reason Alexander Kempthorne hired Dom.
Amy reminds Joe how as a kid she misquoted the Star Wars saying. “ May the forks be with you!” And it's still something she'll say when out to dinner with her friends.
All of us bunking under the same roof meant secrets were hard to keep—unless your name was Kempthorne. He hoarded secrets like the rest of us hoarded the office pens. Yeats was caught up in one of the craziest moments in this secret society's history. At a meeting headed by the poet in London in April 1900, a former member of the Golden Dawn named Aleister Crowley burst into the society's premises in Blythe Road, threatening members with knives and attempting to take over the building. The resulting chaos led to the police being called and matters being taken to court. This didn't put Yeats off — he remained a member of the Golden Dawn until the 1920s when the society splintered into a number of different organisations. What I loved about this book was the element of mystery and intrigue. Yes, the romance was kinda cute, but there wasn't a lot of it, which frankly, was ok with me. I don't know how much more of Hollywood; a trigger happy, latent-killing, blonde, I could handle. :3 I particularly liked how the romance played out. Specifically: a) it's a series, so there's no HEA at the end of book 1, yay!, and b) it's not even definitive who the love interest is. A story that doesn't doggedly adhere to formula! Yes! *insert happy dance here* I do disagree with a friend who said in her review that there's a love triangle. We must define that term very differently, because imo there is no love triangle here AT ALL. There's just a guy who's long had a seemingly-hopeless crush on one man, and is attracted to another man who's actually available. I adore not knowing in advance how the relationship side of things will play out. 😍😍😍 The last couple of books in this series have been enjoyable but had rather lost their focus. This was much more tightly plotted, with some important character developments and interesting reflections on the great and the good.
In a thrilling twist, Joe discovers that the victim is critically important to the future and what starts out as a straightforward mission soon becomes a race to unravel a mystery—one that threatens the very timeline he fought so hard to protect. Joe must dig deeper than ever, master his newfound skills, and save the woman before the past catches up with him for good.The whole dynamic between the latent and the rest of the population reminded me of the X-men movies a little bit. Latents are supposed to get registered and tested every year to make sure that they are still stable and pose no threats, but the general population is afraid of them and even despises them. Frankie isn't entirely convinced and decides on more proof by shooting the angel (Joe) with his shotgun, reasoning that a real angel would be immortal. Apparently Joe would have died, (probably did die that December night in 1962), but W.P. Brown was also sent on a mission to London that same night and the only thing it seems Bill could think of was to leap in front of the gun just as it fired, taking most of the blast. Bill's mission was to save Joe and he did, but Mr. Brown lost his life in the process. Molly the antique shop's manager made tea for Other Joe with plenty of milk and sugar, but Joe was a coffee man and couldn't stomach her sweet and milky concoction. My thanks to HarperCollins U.K. for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Shadows of London’ by Andrew Taylor. I combined reading with its unabridged audiobook edition, narrated by Leighton Pugh. Some of the novel is told from Cat's point of view and then it switches to Marwood. However, there isn't much of a gap, so at times I got confused as to who was narrating. Not all of it is set in London, with the story moving up to Euston (not the London one based on the distance) and the Newmarket area.
Whilst this is set during Charles II's reign, the atmosphere of the book generally doesn't feel like that - it almost feels like London anytime up to the Victorian era, there is nothing to really make it stand apart. There's the odd thing thrown in such as the Great Fire of London or mentioning Christopher Wren, but I'd like more atmosphere. Maybe even mentioning Charles II instead of 'the king' would help with setting the time.The MCs and side characters were great. Dom has to be one of my new favourite leads now. He was so likeable, sweet at the right times and fierce at others. I'm still unsure who's meant to be his love interest - between Kempthorne and Hollywood, they are so vastly different (and neither deserve him, but they're growing on me). Andrew Taylor offers us a completely convincing portrait of life in the city and at court in Restoration London. An absolute delight in a series that goes from strength to strength.” - S.G. McLean, prize-winning author of the Seeker series
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