Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon my Darlings. Today’s post is a review of the new novel The Black Bird Oracle by Deborah Harkness. I am so excited to discuss this fifth installment of The All Souls Series, as I very much adore the story of Diana Bishop and Matthew Clairmont! Now, this book takes the point of view back to Diana, as we had enjoyed in the first three books, whereas the fourth was focused on Marcus.
The lore of the All Souls Universe is deepened in a very lovely way in this novel, as we get to learn much more about Diana Bishop’s paternal family. This is the family that her father, Stephen Proctor had kept from her, but as her children are nearing the time when they will be tested for their abilities with higher magic, she is also contacted by her great aunt, Gwyneth Proctor! This leads Diana to not travel to London for the Summer, as is the family tradition, instead going to Ipswich Massachusetts to get to know her father’s family.
While there Diana learns more about herself and her magickal gifts. Soon, Matthew and the twins join her at Ravenswood, Gwyneth’s home, to spend the Summer getting to know the extended Proctor family. A confrontation with Diana’s Aunt Sarah, and many family memories, especially those of Diana’s mother Rebecca, give a greater depth of understanding to the history of her childhood! There are family secrets a plenty revealed, as well as lots of fun magick, oracular work, and tons of bird familiars. It is always beautiful to see where an author can take characters even this far into the story. I think that Deborah Harkness perfectly does this, as she chose to explore areas of Diana’s past that were never discussed in the earlier novels, which focused heavily on her and Matthew’s relationship and her mother’s family. I loved getting to learn things in real-time with Diana, as this was not a novel where the main character is simply regurgitating information about her past, instead, we are on a hunt to put the pieces of the puzzle of her past together alongside Diana!
I will leave my review off here, as I want it to be spoiler-free, but I will state that if you love this series, this book is an absolute must-read! Have you read The Black Bird Oracle? Do you plan to read it? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is the book cover. I found the image on https://www.amazon.com/Black-Bird-Oracle-Novel-Souls/dp/0593724771.
LINK TO AVALONIAN ROSE FAERY MYSTERIES PATREON: https://patreon.com/AvalonianRoseFaeryMysteries?utm_medium=unknown&utm_source=join_link&utm_campaign=creatorshare_creator&utm_content=copyLink
Tarot Note: I have a page offering tarot and oracle readings for those interested in these services! I am very happy to be offering these readings to my treasured readers at White Rose of Avalon! Link to page: https://whiteroseofavalon.life/tarot-and-oracle-readings/
Further Reading
- A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
- Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness
- The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness
- Time’s Convert by Deborah Harkness
- The Black Bird Oracle by Deborah Harkness
2 responses to “‘The Black Bird Oracle’ Book Review”
I really liked it. BUT…it felt more like a book written to set up the next book. There wasn’t enough to it for me. I am really glad i read it and grateful to Hachette Australia for a copy, but i hope that the next book has a lot more to it. I will of course be reading it 🙂
Yea I know it did a lot of set-up, but it seems like she’s doing another trilogy in the universe and the first book in a trilogy is always about set-up. So that did not bother me. After all, she probably had to choose between having a book that was crazy long, or saving stuff for the next one. I do hope there’s a lot more in the next one! I’m just so thrilled that she has returned to this beloved universe. Thanks for reading and commenting!