Rating: 4/5

Summary:
A dark academia, parallel universe fantasy that will appeal to fans of A Discovery of Witches and The Da Vinci Code.

Evie remembers nothing of the fantastical world she was born into—not the whimsical beauty that inspires her art history studies, not Alicrat, the ability to manipulate threads of existence, and not her mother, who disappeared to secure Evie’s safety. But when a mysterious stranger, Charlie, returns a family heirloom—a book written in the indecipherable Alterra Lingua—Evie starts to remember.

Drawn by the hope of finding her mother and decoding the book with Charlie, she returns to her birth world. There, she navigates centuries-old clues from a legendary Renaissance artist, explores a crumbling castle archive, and meets an oracle in exile. As the danger that hunted her mother resurfaces, Evie must make a choice with implications for both worlds.

Plot & Pacing:
The plot is packed with intriguing threads, from ancient prophecies to parallel worlds, making it easy to get pulled into the story. While I found the pacing a bit uneven at times—sometimes speeding through moments that could have used more depth and slowing down where it could have picked up—the overall narrative kept me engaged. The dual-world setup added a compelling twist, and I enjoyed the mystery elements woven throughout.

The magic system was original and had a lot of potential. I would have loved to see it explored in more depth, particularly in how it was visually represented. Some of the names in the magic system weren’t quite to my taste, but that’s a minor personal quibble. I’m excited to see how the magic will develop further, as it has a lot of room to grow.

Writing Style:
The writing is beautiful, with a lyrical quality that suits the story’s dark, academic tone. However, the occasional mention of something very modern pulled me out of the fantasy setting a bit. I understand it’s part of the dual-world concept, but it felt a little jarring at times. For someone with dyslexia, the language was occasionally challenging, but the style was engaging and well-crafted.

Characters:
The characters were enjoyable, though I sometimes found their decisions puzzling. I feel there’s still a lot to learn about them, especially the main character, Evie. I wanted a bit more depth to fully connect with her on an emotional level. That said, the two brothers, Blair, and some of the side characters really stood out, and I’m hoping to see more development in the next book. There’s definite potential here for these relationships to deepen, which would add a richer layer to the story.

World-Building:
The world-building was fun, with a solid mix of prophecy, history, and dark magic that gave the setting an interesting edge. I appreciated the way the story didn’t shy away from showing the darker side of its magic. Something I also try to do in my own writing. Some real-world elements felt a bit sudden and out of place for me, but I’m curious to see how they’ll tie in as the series continues.

Cover Design:
The cover is beautiful and subtle, with an intriguing title that complements it perfectly. Together, they draw you in and set the tone for the story wonderfully.

Final Thoughts:
Overall, this was an engaging read with some really unique elements. The characters have a lot of potential, and I feel like we’re only just beginning to scratch the surface with them. I’m hopeful that future instalments will flesh out these relationships and the magic system even further.

While the writing was a bit challenging for me due to my dyslexia, it was beautifully done, and I enjoyed the overall style. I’m excited to see where the story goes next—there’s so much potential here for deeper emotional connections and an even more immersive experience.

This book is a solid start to what could be a fascinating series, and I’m eager to see how it develops!

I had the wonderful opportunity to read this book as an ARC reader through NetGalley, for which I want to express my gratitude! This review is my honest and voluntary opinion, and I am thrilled to share my thoughts.

The review is up on Goodreads on my account meltriestowriteastory
The review will also be placed on TikTok on my account meltriestowriteastory on Wednesday October 16th

Thank you to NetGalley and Sungrazer Publishing for the e-ARC of Born Into Night!

“Dedicated to myself, because I did this for me.”

Born Into Night is a dark academia straddling two worlds - one like ours, one with inexplicable magic - in a style reminiscent of His Dark Materials but with an older audience. Overall, I enjoyed reading it, but I was occasionally thrown by the frequency of constructed words for concepts and magic in the “other” world. Some of them felt natural, but too many of them felt clunky.

The magic system was interesting, the worldbuilding was sufficient, and most of the characters were likable. I liked the protagonist and a secondary character named Blair, but often felt like the characters acted immaturely in ways that didn’t seem appropriate for their age or character. One character was frequently flirty in a way that felt trite instead of attractive.

3.5/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Sungrazer Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC!
Dark Academia meets fantasy and I was here for it! This was a great read, I enjoyed getting to know the characters. The magic system was pretty unique, and the two worlds were something you don't see much in today's fantasy!

There were a lot of characters, so buckle up for that. I do wish there was maybe a map, or a glossary for a lot of the magic/world that was introduced was extremely intricate and this book was under 400 pages long.

Overall I did enjoy it and can't wait to read more from Emily Bisbach!

I absolutely loved this book. The magic system is really interesting and original, and I really enjoyed the ties with original artworks and world religions, which shows true dedication from the author.

The characters are well written, both main and side characters are quite vivid which help you get invested into the story quite early on.

I honestly cannot wait to see where this series is going.

I am honestly obsessed with this book. I love it. It's such an interesting magic system and gorgeous writing style, plus the story itself and the character development! Incredible!

I struggled a little bit with the first quarter of the book or so, but I got the feeling that it would pick up. And it did, very quickly. Once it really got moving, it never stopped long.

Just overall a gorgeous story that I really enjoyed!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read the ARC!

This book is beautifully written with a complex magic system. I however could just not get into it. By the time I hit 20% I realized I was skimming pages without retaining any information as a lot of the language was complex and just going completely over my head. I really wish my brain would cooperate, but I did unfortunately DNF. I hope to come back to this in the future!

3 stars for the writing and the originality as it is beautifully written, it just isn’t the book for me!

I really enjoyed this book, once I started reading it, it was hard to put it back down, I was so eager to find out what would happen next.

Emily Bisbach does a great job in writing a dark academia element, it had that overall feel that worked in the world. I enjoyed getting to know Evie and the rest of the characters. I thought the clue element worked and was enjoying the overall concept of this world. I thought the art element was great and enjoyed the overall feel of this world.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the arc!
Hmm, I don’t think this book is for me. Unfortunately, I had to DNF pretty early on. Here’s why:

The pace is way too fast. There is no room to breathe, or to get to know the characters. Things just keep on happening, and we have no time to linger on details, and especially details that could help make everything more comprehensible. Reading this book is like being yanked offstage with one of those wooden poles from Looney Tunes.

Because there’s no room to breathe, I don’t care about the characters at all. I don’t care about what happens to them at all. I don’t care about the plot at all. I saw on instagram that the author cut the word count for this novel in half. Maybe she shouldn’t have.

As far as I was able to read, I still found the world building to be muddled 20% in. Yes, I threw in the towel early, but I’m a fantasy reader. World building is my shit. Usually, in a better written book, I would have some semblance of the world by now. I don’t here. It’s a confusing book for sure, but not in a good way.

So, in sum, the towel has been thrown in, and I have given up. I really wish I had more positive things to say about this book, but unfortunately I don’t. I’ll give the author the benefit of the doubt in my rating, as I didn’t read beyond 21%. Still, there were just too many issues I couldn’t look past. -2.5 stars rounded up.