I had high expectations for this book after Priory and it did not disappoint.
The characters and the world were well-fleshed-out, I came to care about them deeply. There were no plot holes and it set up Priory nicely. 
The writing was beautiful, I only found that it was quite slow for me but towards the end it got better. 
Representation of everyone (gender-equality, POC, LGBTQ, etc.) was there, just like it ought to be. 
I loved the themes, motherhood, religion and duty, and how they were explored. 

This book is soooo long and the space & energy for writing a review is so short, yet I shall forge on. A Day of Fallen Night is just as incredible as The Priory of the Orange Tree - if not moreso. Although I read Priory over a year ago now, slipping into this prequel was much easier than getting into the first book. The worldbuilding and the lore came back to me quickly, prodded along by the fact that this is meant to be readable as a standalone. Sometimes that quality can be repetative when you read multiple books in the same universe, but here it was just a boon. 

A short list of things I liked about this book: 

No complaints, 100% recommend, I can't wait for the next book in this universe.

I was so incredibly excited to get back to the world from Priory of the Orange Tree. I originally read that book two years ago and was amazed by the world and the characters Shannon created. It was the ultimate peak of high fantasy that was led by the most badass of women. When I think of some of the "most popular" high fantasy, women authors and women characters are sorely lacking but Shannon is here to say "hold my beer" and puts them all to shame. 

And that is how I felt about Priory of the Orange Tree but it holds exactly true for A Day of Fallen Night, as well. This is not a fan-service sequel, this is a beautifully crafted work of art. 

If you take one thing away from my review, it would be this epiphany I had at about 70% of the book. There are four of what I would consider "major" POVs (Tunuva, Glorian, Dumai, and Wulf) and a handful of other major characters who have the occasional section. I realized I never once had an "I wish it wasn't /this person's/ POV right now" moment and not that books have bad POVs but there is always either one that is your favorite, one that is your least favorite, or one that just comes at a time when you're DYING to know what happens next somewhere else. This book? No such thing. I accepted each POV and said, "thank you, Shannon" because they were all so great and tense and moved the story along, even in ways I wasn't expecting. 

Also, with this standing at just under 900 pages, there is so much going on in this book. It feels a bit more political that Priory as both Glorian and Dumai are navigating various degrees of hostility within the courts of their respective areas. There are heavy topics and themes around womanhood and motherhood (again, within courts with expectations of heirs but also the joy of choosing motherhood which was balanced really nicely). The price of duty and loyalty (to yourself, your people, your title). There are dragons and wyrms and magic. Lots of battles. It was very intense and very gripping. I read it quite slowly, usually around 100 pages per day, but it never dragged. If anything, there were parts I wish were longer. 

My only regret? I do wish I had reread Priory before starting this one. Purely for selfish reasons because I am so curious how the events of Fallen Night are referred to in Priory and just the extra bit of context to how they lined up. But realistically, this would still act as a great standalone. 

I really hope we continue to see books in this world because I will be reading them. 

Complex and epic, stretching across so much geography and individual experiences, this is a worthy follow-up to <i>The Priory of the Orange Tree</i>. It manages to feel familiar to fans of the series without feeling like it's relying on the success of the first one to succeed itself. It stands on its own feet and feels independent but welcoming to returning fans.

This is more politically intricate than the previous tome from Samantha Shannon. I didn't personally prefer this much politics in my fantasy, but I know lots of people who enjoy political machinations and intrigue in their high fantasy so I'm sure it'll be popular for that reason. There's a lot more time spent discussing various kingdoms' relationships with one another and marriage features a lot more in this (at least to my memory of what <i>Priory</i> was like). But don't fret, there's also plenty of action and darkness.

The dragon content doesn't disappoint. It feels like it's scraped from the depths of a volcano with how intimidating and ancient they feel. We get lots of conflict with dragons in this which is satisfying because <i>Priory</i> never felt like quite enough. Samantha Shannon is generous with the drama in this book.

Women and women's love are at the core of this novel. Romantic love, parental love, sisterly love. This puts a spotlight on these kinds of relationships and over the course of the novel, they grow and change. They betray one another, they uplift one another, they love each other, they defend each other. It's great. There were some characters I felt more attached to and whose plotlines entertained me more while others were lesser favoured. Glorian was my favourite but I liked aspects of all them.

All in all, I don't think this will disappoint fans. Depending on your personal preferences, you may like this a little more or a little less than the previous, but most importantly, it's its own story with a fresh take on the world. It doesn't live in the shadow of the predecessor but right alongside that legend.