"Shadow of Night (All Souls Trilogy, #2)" by Deborah Harkness

I was pretty sure that I would like this story when I found out it takes place primarily in Elizabethan England, after all, that was bound to push all my pleasure buttons. What I got was a total immersion into a continuing story that if I wasn't such a rational person, I would swear to you was a biographical sketch of Harkness' time actually spent in that time period. You don't read this story, you breathe it in. I lost almost two nights of sleep so that I could walk beside Diana and Matthew and the School of Night while they travel through Europe searching for the knowledge they need to help them survive and face their adversaries. Harkness has weaved a story that will enchant you with the sheer beauty of its design and demand that you use your senses to do so. An EXCELLENT continuation to her first book and I CANNOT wait for the next installment. I may have to take a vacation afterwards to rest from the demands of reading it, but I look forward to the afterglow.