A Discovery of Witches

A Discovery of the Witches "It begins with absence and desire. It begins with blood and fear. It begins with a discovery of witches..." The Discovery of the Witches is the most fascinating book I have ever read. My God, the amount of knowledge one must possess to be able to write a such complex story. It's not an easy read and don't go in hoping that it is. I think, that in order to completely enjoy and appreciate the story for what it is, and it is a piece of art, in my opinion, you have to have at least some basic knowledge about some of the significant historical events, old books or manuscripts, a little about biology or/and science. You don't have to know the exact details of the events or context of the manuscripts, but you need to at least have heard about dem. The rest is explained. If you think that the chromosome might be some kind of rare plant, that grows in the Amazons, and the DNA is a new boy band, fighting for the spotlight with One Direction, this book is not for you! The story starts with a witch, Diana Bishop, going out and about with her day, doing her research in Oxford's Bodleian Library, going through her everyday routine, but this time, she discovers a very rare manuscript (which actually exists in real life, or existed, to be precise), by accident (?). She is a historian and young scholar at the university, and the descendent of witches. She knows she is a witch, she have known that her whole life, but she refuses to use her magic, because of what happened to her and her family in the past. She wants to be normal. She is aware that the vampires and daemons exists. She can feel them, but refuses to acknowledge dem. The moment she touches the manuscript weird things start happening. Suddenly, she can feel every eye of every witch, vampire and daemon on her. And here is when we meet the vampire and the professor, Matthew de Clairmont. There is a lot of mystery surrounding de Clermont. Even though he is an employ of the university, he doesn't lecture or take on the apprentices. He is known for his studies of neutral mechanisms and prefrontal cortex (whatever the hell that means :-D), and his studies and publications on wolves. Which explains nothing about why he decides to approach Diana Bishop. And that's why Diana decides to dig around for information about him. Why the sudden interest? The more she discovers about him, the more suspicious he looks. But the thing is, Diana have enough secrets of her own. The most amazing thing about this story is the way author describes witches, vampires and daemons. She describes them based on her research, as a historian, and the tales that we (humans) have been passing on to the others, from generation to generation. There are a lot of actual facts. Regardless, if you believe that such creatures exists or not, there were times when people did believe that they did exist. Another thing that amazed me was the way author used historical events, the breakthrough scientific publications and well know classic literature, to twist/super-naturalize it, for it to suit the story, and make me believe that all I knew about it was not as important as I thought it was. It made me believe, that all that, was only a small pieces of the puzzle, of the bigger picture, in the Diana Bishop's and Matthew de Clairmont's story. It was mind blowing. It reminded me a lot of the move The da Vinci Code. That is the only thing that I can compare this book to. In the movie, at the end, outside the church, Tom Hanks says to what's-her-name "You know, we never actually found any evidence that Jesus was a "he" and not a "she."". Movie ends and you left thinking "WTF?!". That is pretty much how this book made me feel. It made me doubt everything that I know :). Usually, when I read a book in this genre, I adjust my expectations to sustain degree. I know that there will be either vampires, witches or daemons, that the story is fictional and that anything is possible. But with this story, it was hard to tell where the actual truth ended and the fiction began... This book can be analyzed from many different angles. One might think that it's about forbidden love and overcoming the obstacles. Others might think that it's about more important things like finding the answers to the questions like "Who are we? Why are we here? What's our purpose?". For me, it's about all of the above. The thing that makes this story so realistic is that witches, daemons and vampires are asking the same questions as we, humans, have been asking for centuries :-D. I don't blame those who gave up on this book halfway through. The first half of the book is slow-paced. Not as in it's boring, but there is not a lot of action going on (fighting, killing, sex and so on). The author goes into a great details explaining things that Diana Bishop comes across or remembers. This book focuses on the fact that knowledge can be just as powerful as the physical strength (Learning, planing, strategizing, then striking). But it suits the story. You can't rush when you are asking such an important questions, right? :-). It have to be properly explained. There are a lot of secrets surrounding two main characters, the mysterious manuscript and supporting characters as well. That is why the story can't be rushed. Even though the book was a 600 page brick and it took me a while to finish, I enjoyed it quiet a bit and can't wait to start the Shadow of Night. " Comperi, Comperi' she said. 'Merces amb tot meu cor' he said quietly. Al rebeire. Mefi. T'afortissi."

It's rare to find a book that you think about even when you're not reading it and whose world you're more involved in than your own. But that's how it was for me with Deborah Harkness' A Discovery of Witches - a book that's pure magic to me (no pun intended). It's now in a three-way tie for my all time favorite book (with Jennifer Lee Carrell's Interred with Their Bones and Anne Fortier's Juliet, in case you were wondering). The very fact that I wanted to read it again right away and was actually sad to have to return it to the library says a lot. (I've since purchased a copy from Amazon of both the hard back and audio book.) The story centers on Diana Bishop, a 30-something historian who specializes in Medieval alchemy. When researching at Oxford, she accidentally calls up a long-lost, spellbound manuscript, Ashmole 782. She senses something strange about it and opens it, but doesn't read it. Although she's descendant from a long line of witches, she wasn't trained to use magic and so doesn't realize the impact of her ability to break the spell. She returns the manuscript just like any other book. That's when a host of vampires, demons and other witches start following her every move, all desperate to unlock the mystery of Ashmole 782, even if it costs Diana her life. Along the way she discovers she does indeed have magical powers (something else those otherworldly creatures are interested in) and forges an unlikely bond with vampire Matthew Claremont, an alliance that will both threaten and change her life in ways she could never imagine. I've seen this book described as "Twilight for the academic set." That's like comparing foie gras with a hot dog. Yes, they both have controlling vampires. That's where the similarities begin and end, in my opinion. Twilight was a teenage love story with nothing more at stake (seriously, no pun intended) than Bella's life and heartbreak. This book is about the interaction of witches, humans, vampires and demons (which could be seen as an analogy for racial tolerance), evolution and the future of all of their kinds. It's about magic and mystery and their place in a scientifically dominated world. I'd say the stakes are a little higher here. I had no idea there were vampires in this book when I picked it up. It contains three of my very favorite things: ornate libraries, an old, mysterious book, and magic (the Wiccan kind, not the Harry Potter kind), so I was hooked immediately. Even if that doesn't do it for you, the mystery surrounding the manuscript of Ashmole 782 will. I'm a huge fan of character-driven fiction and a Discovery of Witches excels in character development. You learn so much about them from their day-to-day lives and interactions with each other. Some are likeable, others are not, and there are a few you don't know if you can trust. Diana is by far my favorite, but then again, I relate to her on a number of levels, including her love of history, old books and unfortunate propensity toward panic attacks. For some odd reason, I was captivated by Diana's hobby of rowing (sculling to be precise) and plan to take that up myself as a result of having read this book. Matthew, despite being the main love interest, doesn't make me fall in love with him. I like him as a character, but I think it's my inability to trust him that keeps me at a distance. My favorite character is Marthe. Somehow, her mix of humor and down-to-earth wisdom is the perfect foil to Diana, Matthew and Ysabeau, all of whom can be too serious. The world, writing and plot of this book are also handled with expertise. I've never been to any of the locations, nor had I ever seen sculling before, but thanks to Harkness' evocative descriptions, I could see and hear it all. And all of the meals and wine that were described kept me hungry and in need of a drink (in a good way)! I especially love the Bishop House, which really is a character unto itself. It gave the book some much-needed levity. A Discovery of Witches seems to be a love it or hate it book, judging from the number of one- and five-star reviews on Goodreads. It's a very layered story, and if you only take the time to focus on one point, you're going to miss a lot. This is a book that should be savored. But that doesn't mean it's not without its flaws. There were some plot points I didn't believe and others that I felt deserved more explanation, but I'm trusting Harkness has her reasons for handling things the way she did. That's one of the problems with not being able to read a series all the way through. A lot of times the author does things a certain way that will make perfect sense once you can see the story as a whole as she does. But as readers, we don't have that option along the way (at least not until all the books come out). (This is the short version of my review. If you want to read my long, spoilery, very passionate review, you can find it on Goodreads under Nicole Evelina - but I would suggest reading the book first because I touch on almost all the major plot points.) PS - If you get the chance to listen to the audio book, Jennifer Ikeda does an incredible job as the narrator.

I downloaded this book on my kindle months ago in the hopes that I would read it while traveling in Europe this summer, but needless to say, that is no longer happening (thanks, covid-19)! So, while looking for some more reading material, I found this deep in my library and decided to read it anyway. At the first mention of a vampire, I had to stop and look at the book description - wasn't this a book about witches? Yes, but it's also a vampire romance. Sigh. My high school Twilight days are long behind me, but I carried on anyway. *Minor spoilers* First, I actually quite enjoyed Diana's character. She's independent, has a prestigious job, cool hobbies (rowing AND riding, also my hobbies!), and is a witch! The quality of writing really shone in the character details and descriptive settings. Harkness writes either from experience or extensive research, and it creates an immersive reading experience. I could see the walls of Oxford and feel the sway of the sculling shell. It may have started out a bit slow with a lot of this exposition-y stuff, but I actually enjoyed the early scenes of the book. Matthew's character is a bit more complicated. On the one hand, Diana is drawn to him because he's the only one who treats her with any respect regarding her summoning of the mysterious manuscript. He has surprising moments of humor, charm, and humility when they're first getting to know each other. On the other hand, he's also the stereotypical overprotective, ancient, rich, macho man who orders his minions to follow Diana around and breaks into her apartment like an actual stalker. And don't get me wrong, I do enjoy a large dose of romance within fantasy novels, but LORD this went from zero to sixty real fast. The romance started out exciting: drinking wine, riding horses. Yes, please. Two weeks later and they're professing love? I've mulled over buying a pair of shoes for longer than that! The pacing really derailed toward the middle/end of the book. Despite these critiques, I overall enjoyed the book and then went on to watch the TV series. I think the casting was very good, especially for Matthew. His masculine crazy is toned down a LOT, instead focusing on his considerable charm and thoughtfulness. The show also added quite a bit of overlapping backstory for the Congregation, which was a good move. The action sequences at the end make a lot more sense when you spend a little time each episode building up individual character motivations (i.e. Satu and Juliette). Beautifully shot in various locations, too. The show bungled some of the displays of magic and breezed over the ENTIRE "A Discovery of Witches" context despite the whole quote being displayed at the beginning of each episode. WHAT? Otherwise, enjoyable. Currently looking forward to finishing the second book. I'm still waiting for Diana to grow a pair and speak up for herself more (again, done better in the show for some reason). And really hoping this series doesn't devolve into another Twilight vampire baby scenario - no thank you! Worth reading if you enjoy lush, descriptive writing and modern fantasy romance.

I was originally led to A Discovery of Witches by a review that called it "Twilight for adults." That was enough to get me to buy it but once I started reading, I could quickly see that there is so much more to this novel than another simple girl-meets-vampire story. Author Deborah Harkness has created a brand new world that incorporates vampires, witches and daemons and it never fails to entice and engage. A history professor, Harkness incorporates her intense knowledge of and love for history into her debut novel (and what better way to do this than with a vampire who happens to be 1500 years old!). So, along with a thrilling plot involving a love affair between two species who, heretofore have been forbidden to intermingle, she introduces us to historical events which enrich the plot and characterization significantly. In addition, the locations she utilizes -- Oxford, England; Sept-Tours, France; upstate New York -- add colorful and interesting backdrops to the proceedings. Diana Bishop is a witch who has denounced her bewitching abilities so she can focus on keeping her scholarly research as pure as possible. But, when she calls up a book from the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library -- Ashmole 782 -- she is suddenly surrounded by witches and daemons and one very handsome and intelligent vampire (Matthew Clairmont). It seems everyone is intrigued by Diana's interest in this book, which has been hidden for many years, and they want to see how the magic in it affects Diana or how Diana's magic will affect the book. But, their interest in Diana and her magic puts her in grave danger so Matthew steps in to protect the young scholar. He flies her to France to keep her safe in his family's castle. There, the two can no longer deny their love for each other, which introduces an even more dangerous situation -- the threat of The Congregation (made up of witches, daemons and vampires), whose mission is to keep the three species from intermingling. But, most threatening of all is a witch named Satu who is ordered to learn just how much magic Diana has in her soul. Diana and Matthew must use their wits and considerable abilities to stay one step ahead of the dangers that threaten to end their lives...and their enduring love. I was completely swallowed up in the world created by Harkness. (And, this from a reader who has never fully embraced the fantasy or science-fiction genres!) The book includes a compelling plot that incorporates interesting moments in history but it succeeds because of the two main characters. Diana is a feisty, strong and intelligent scholar who does not shirk from danger. Meanwhile, Matthew is a powerful, smart and protective vampire whose history (and passions) run deep. Together, they are a complex pair who work through their difficulties in an intelligent, mature way. But, complicating matters are the mysteries each keep secret from the other and by the emotions that develop from keeping these secrets; this is where the soul of the book is found. This is the first of a planned trilogy of books and the conclusion of this volume has apparently disappointed some readers because of its lack of a typical conclusion. But, the ending excites me and makes me hope the second volume will be published sooner rather than later (it is planned for 2012). Harkness has introduced us to a plethora of intriguing, complicated and engaging characters who truly get under your skin! Imagining their adventures in Volume 2 promises even more fun for the reader. If you are looking for a simple love story, this book is not for you. But, if you are ready for a mature story that incorporates mature characters, deep emotions, moments in history and a wild-and-woolly plot, you should go straight to to the 1-Click button and buy it! I loved A Discovery of Witches and look forward to reading it several more times before Volume 2 is released!

For those of us who have read and reread the first two of Deborah Harkness' All Souls Trilogy novels, I am guessing that like me, you yearn for the third in the series and check her website often. But that kind of quality cannot be rushed so we wait and some of us reread them. These novels are packed with details and character depth that they warrant rereading. I hardly ever reread a book no matter how good the book, nor how bored I am. But there are always exceptions to the rules and I do love those exceptions. Even if you do not like novels with witches and other creatures, even if you would never read Tolkien's books or Harry Potter or anything with magic in it, make an exception and read these. She has an amazing understanding of people (for what does it really matter if a character in a book is somewhat different as her characters are; we are all different in some manner). And she has a way of finding the healthy and loving solutions we would all like in our lives and rarely find in our reading. Deborah Harkness has created a world within our world which is intricate, and exciting; with in-depth characters you love and those you do not; but all of them are believable. As you read you will find that the species of her characters is much less import than their ability to love even when it is difficult and to face their fears and desires. If you have ever found yourself less than happy with who are, if you have ever known great joy or fear or deep sorrow, if you struggle to master yourself or have problems loving yourself or trusting others, you will find the same struggles within the novels' characters and even better: the hope and joy we all want. In fact, Harkness writes so well that they are more than characters; you may find yourself or friends within her pages. I enjoy historical novels with some mystery within them. There are many authors I can recommend but none do as wonderful a job. Deborah Harkness is an historian and a very, very gifted writer. No wonder she needed to branch out into novels. While I liked historical settings, until these books, I never realized what wealth history can add. These books are not just set in an historical time, they involve real people who she threads through her stories; albeit she takes some artistic license with a few of them yet still gives us something believable. Her approach makes it all the more enjoyable. She writes so well that I actually bought one of her history books. History can be fun if told by an excellent storyteller and Deborah Harkness is that. I should know for I am a story teller and a poet and very difficult to please. "It began with absence and desire, it began with blood and fear, it began with The Discovery of Witches", which is the title of the first book. Long ago, I wrote poems about the same forces in life for desire, blood and fear are central concerns no matter what else comes our way. Oh and few more notes: aside from her first novel debuting at #2 on the New York Times Best Seller list, being named one of the best books of February 2011 by Amazon, and selling in at least 34 countries another tidbit which may interest you is that Warner Bros bought the movie right and hired David Auburn (Lake House) to adapt the stories. And you can bet those of us who have loved her novels are anxiously awaiting the first movie. Check out You Tube for more on that.

FINAL DECISION: Romance, supernatural, science and history combined in an adventure story that makes the 600 pages just race by. I loved the relationship between Diana and Matthew and look forward to what happens next. THE STORY: Dr. Diana Bishop has come to Oxford. When a request for a manuscript from the library brings her in contact with a magical manuscript, she finds herself surrounded by witches, vampires and demons. For years Diana has tried to ignore her magical roots but her abilities as a witch seem to be demanding their due. An encounter with Professor Matthew Clairmont (who happens to be a vampire) changes something. Witches and vampires should repel one another, but Diana and Matthew seem to be drawn to one another. When Diana's connection to the manuscript brings danger from all sides, she turns to Matthew. But the question is what is his agenda. OPINION: This is a long and nicely paced book with a romance at the center (although the main story is Diana's abilities and the magical manuscript). I began this book with a question to myself of whether I wanted to commit to this almost 600 page book and two more, but by chapter 3, I was completely engrossed. The book is not a traditional romance but rather feels like a cross between an adult Harry Potter and Twilight (without all the annoying and whiny internal monologues). The story marries the supernatural and scientific as the story is based on Matthew's investigation of the scientific origins and perhaps extinction of the supernatural "species". All the scientific investigations are combined with Diana's interest in the historical so this is really a thinking person's book -- and there is a lot of adventure as well. I explained this book to my mom as a more sophisticated "Mummy" story. Diana is a woman discovering herself. Having been cut off from her powers and the supernatural world, she is the reader's window into the world that this trilogy introduces. She is smart and active with a nimble mind and a tragic past. Scholarly and athletic and determined to make her own way. But she is no fool. Eventually she realizes that she cannot hide from her inherent talents. I especially liked her strength and her insistence on her autonomy. Matthew is a vampire with secrets. But he is also a scientist with an old fashioned manner. The combination of the modern with the ancient makes him an interesting character. Of course, he is also frustrating (both to Diana and the reader) because he knows much that he won't reveal. The complexity of his character make him a good foil for Diana. As this book sets up the series, there is plenty going on in this book. Danger and mystery and discovery. This book sets the table for the series. Nothing is resolved and there are still plenty of mysteries to be revealed. That is one weakness of this book. It requires that the reader continue with the series to have a complete story. WORTH MENTIONING: This book is the first in a continuing trilogy so readers should know that things are not resolved in this book. CONNECTED BOOKS: A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES is the first book in the All Souls Trilogy. STAR RATING: I give this book 4.5 stars.

I'm a sucker for books about lost manuscripts. I'm obviously also a sucker for books about doomed relationships involving magical creatures that somehow have happy ever afters, so it kinda a given that one day I'd break down and spend the big bucks to buy the book everyone has been talking about for the last six months. Real life historian with a focus on Alchemists through history, Deborah Harkness obviously is writing about what she knows, when she is weaving history, alchemy, and famous English libraries into her book. Where the novel falls short is its familiar treatment of familiar settings and couplings of other famous Paranormal Romance and Y/A books that have gone before it. A Discovery of Witches is being hailed as Twilight for adults. I'd like to throw Harry Potter in the mix as well. The upside is the literate aspects of the book, (here-in called ADOW for ease of typing's sake) which discusses Evolution, famous historical characters, and surprisingly pits Alchemy against Darwinism rather than the usual religion vs. evolution war, and for that I thought it was very unique. The downside is, she didn't stretch her creative wings enough but instead chose to ride on those, others had flown with before. This author is a real, honest to god historian. She has so much to play with, I don't know why she had to create a world so familiar, but clearly it is just what the market wanted. In the past she had two books published (probably through her college) that received a total of 5 book reviews. The books were well received critically, by her fellow historians but nobody else bought them. And then she wrote ADOW, a long winded Paranormal Romance and became famous. ADOW has about 1100 book reviews on Amazon. It has been written about in everything from People Magazine to the New York Times, and is going to become a movie. The reviews seem to fall into two camps; those who are madly in love with it, and those who absolutely hate it. I disagree with both. I thought it was at times brilliant and at times a massive disappointment. The disappointment is not for what it is so much as what it could be, and isn't. She is an excellent writer, she could have come up with something more creative then the following scenario, upon which much of the bones of the story hinges upon. 1.A witch who was orphaned at a young age, whose parents were murdered by a powerful wizard who was threatened by their power. They sacrificed their lives to protect the protaganist and she has been raised by her Aunt. The parents do something with Magic to protect her before they die. She may turn out to be the most powerful wizard (oops sorry...) I mean Witch, ever. 2.A much older male Vampire who meets her at school, is obsessed with a female who (while not a human like in Twilight) is still much more frail then he is and so he must always be on his guard with her. He knows he should stay away from her but he breaks in her house to watch her sleep. He loves the way she smells, and catalogs all the different flowers and herbs she smells like to him. He is at first angry and irritable with her, but he is massively protective and will kill anyone who threatens her. His Vampire friends are upset that he is attracted to this woman. Their love can't be consummated because he is afraid he might hurt her, or he wants to wait or something. I don't know, I got so tired of watching two adults act like teenage kids I can't remember if they ever actually had sex or not. J.K Rowling and Stephanie Meyers should ask for a portion of the receipts. Harkness's world is one of Humans, Witches, Vampires, and lastly the poor Daemon's (who aren't demons, but are basically slightly wacked out hyper creative sorts who are the Mozart's of the world, and often can't function in the real world. Other then visions of the future, the Daemon's kinda get short shrift as far as magical abilities goes). The protaganist, Diana Bishop is an American historian who has returned to Oxford, England to continue her studies in famous historical Alchemist's for a dissertation she is going to give. (The above is all applicable to Harkness as well, in fact there are so many similarities between the protagonist and the author, Diana's name could well have been Mary Sue.) Dr. Diana Bishop isn't just an intellectual with a penchant for studying historical Alchemy, she is also a witch from a long line of witches (going back of course to Salem's witches which all fictional witches seem to need to use as a touch stone.) For some inexplicable reason Diana "usually" refuses to use her magic, allotting herself only the occasional magical sin like fixing the washing machine when it goes on the fritz. While in the library she asks for a book called Ashmole 782, which it turns out has been hiding in the Bodleian Library for over a hundred years. Her magic rears it's head and breaks the spell, sending out a shock wave to the magical community. Suddenly the library is full of "Creatures," all staring at her while she is trying to study. Vampires, Witches, and Daemon's follow her around waiting for her to call the book back up. They all want to get their grubby little paws on Ashmole 782, each group for different reasons. When Diana returns it, everyone wants her to call it back up and give it to them. The Witches want the book because it will tell them how to attack and kill Vampires magically. The Vampires want the book to destroy it for the above reason. And the Daemon's want the book because they hope it will explain how they came to be created. The poor Daemon's are the only ones who deserve the damn book in my opinion. The Witches are born so they know how they are created, Vampires are made, but no one knows what makes a Daemon, and so children who are born to human's are often treated like freaks by their terrified parents when the "Gifts" arrive. This one book is enough to nearly create a war between the species. Diana is approached by the 1500 year old (and of course gorgeous) Vampire, Matthew Clairmont, who is also (of course) a brilliant academic with doctorate degrees in four different discipline . He is rich, aloof, distant towards women, and suddenly obsessed with average looking and socially awkward Bella...I mean Diana. Can you tell this is a fantasy written by a middle aged academic? Vampire, Matthew Clairmont has wanted Ashmole 782 for over 100 years as he is trying to scientifically analyze what creates magical creatures. He is a smarter version of Edward who continues to go, not to highschool, but to one of the highest levels of college, and has studied with and learned from the brightest minds in the world. He hears about Diana and goes to the library where he sees her use her magic, and begins to basically stalk her to find out more about the book. These two break every magical rule in the book when they fall in love and team up to try to find the book again. Only instead of trying to find the book again, they basically run and hide. ADOW's settings are gorgeous, Oxford England, a Mansion in France, a magical Farmhouse in the midwest of America. I also loved all the nods to historical people and places. At times lyrical and thought provoking it was also however maddeningly slow and in desperate need of editing. At over 600 pages ADOW has scene of meal after meal after meal. A surprising number meals given that one of the pair is a VAMPIRE. Likewise, the main character, Diana is always fussing with her hair. There are long (to me anyway)boring descriptions of the two of them taking Yoga together. Yoga. For god's sake. The two of them reading hand written copies of everything from Shakespeare to The Origin of Species, all signed to Matthew of course. And long winded descriptions of wine. What makes good wine, what the best wines are in the world today and by the way, Matthew has them all and is willing to share. We get long descriptions of Diana being initiated into learning all about wine. You get the idea. He's catnip to a fictional historical academic, and the perfect fictional hero to a living one as well. I could not get a handle on Matthew's character. He is in the beginning oddly hostile and surprisingly angry at the slightest thing (again, shades of Edward), then he becomes shy and uncertain around her. He's 1500 years old, I doubt there would be much shyness left after having lived through the dark ages, and the black plague. Once these two lovebirds start exchanging lists of what the other smells like to them (he smells of cinnamon and clove and carnation pinks, she smells like...oh seriously who cares,) the plot almost dissolves. Instead of getting to the bottom of what is in the damn book (Ashmole 782) that has every creature's panties in a bunch for a 200 mile radius, these two go on Inter-species Yoga dates, and have long meals with lectures on wine tasting and long walks. Harkness by the way has a blog on wine tasting that has won awards so she is knowledgeable, perhaps too much so for a fictional escapist novel. Too much detail and something can lose its alure. At first Diana doesn't want anything to do with him. Then they start hanging out all the time because he wants information on the book, then they start to fall in love and he tells her they can never be together. She is crushed. The lovers almost kiss. She gets threatened by bad witches and he takes her to his Mother's castle in France to protect her and then leaves her, saying they can't be together at which point she turns into a watering witch and almost floods the Mansion with her tears and nearly drowns herself. In other words, just a week or two into knowing Edward, oops I mean Matthew, she is ready to die if she can't be with him. Where did my independent, brilliant, educated witch from the beginning of the book go? The forbidden and implied, doomed love affair of a Witch and a Vampire in ADOW is so all consuming to the story, it loses some of the excitement a book like this needs to move the whole thing forward, and the obsessive focus on the romance takes away from any action or plot involving the magical book. Nothing much happens, and some of what does happen, happens off page. There are only, in over 600 pages, two times where I thought ....now we are talking, something serious is about to happen. Which again reminded me of Twilight. There are some fascinating themes, the idea of Vampires working in DNA labs to try to find out more about their origins and her idea of Daemon's was new to me. I thought it ridiculous however, that in all of history these are the only two who have crossed the bi-magical dating line. ADOW is at times fun and thought provoking. It is also at times as dull as watching the dust settle on the books our heroine loves so well, and that is the real tragedy here. It could be so much more. But evidently, an intellectual Harry Potter meets Twilight is just what the public was clamoring for.

I write this review after re-reading A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES for the first time since 2012 after seeing a very positive review in the Sunday NYT Review of Books. For reasons unknown, lost in the dim recesses of time, II failed to write a review mat the time. What prompted the re-read and current review is that I only just found out that ADOW was the first part of a trilogy and when I ordered the second novel in the series, I realized that I had forgotten to much to jump into part 2. First-time novelist Deborah Harkness has a day job as a Professor of History at USC. It shows constantly in ADOW in the verisimilitude of the descriptions of academia in general, the route to tenure, Oxford (both the city and University where she studied for a time) and in her descriptions of generally well-known historical events (that are particularly in evidence in the second entry, SHADOW OF NIGHT - also terrific). In ADOW, Harkness creates an alternate reality that is exactly like the one we know, except that three other "creatures" inhabit the world; witches, vampires and daemons. Normal humans know about these creatures, but generally steer clear of them, in part because of a covenant, created long ago, that forbids close relationships between humans and any of these creatures. Diana Bishop, a recently tenured Yale Associate Professor of History specializing in the history of alchemy is a witch, the daughter of two very powerful witches who died mysteriously while on an anthropological expedition on the other side of the world. Raised by her Aunt and partner Emily (also both witches of course) Diana is bright, but has never quite gotten the hang of spell casting and other things that all other witches find easy. She is prone, however, to sudden and uncontrollable outburst of magic. As the novel opens, Diana is in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, on sabbatical when she calls forth a volume known as Ashmole 782. Suddenly she is surrounded by creatures of all kinds, sizes an shapes, including one Professor Matthew Clairmont, who is naturally quite tall, dark and handsome and also a vampire. The rest of the novel details Diana's growing relationship with Matthew, a voyage of self-discovery concerning her uncontrollable magical powers, and the mysterious Ashmole 782 that no one but Diana has been able to call forth from the library for a couple of hundred years. The writing is what one would expect from a tenured University Professor, i.e., Harkness can write, spell, and he grammar is nearly flawless ("none" is a contraction of not one and is thus followed by a verb in the singular). But she can also plot and has great pacing. Scenes of magic, science, romance, torture and history are all believable and well done. The book sort of ends mid-step as it were, and the next picks up right where this one leaves off. Great fun. I couldn't put it down (nor the next one - I'm now onto the third). Highly recommended. JM Tepper

I really enjoyed the pace. It is very well researched and written. I did feel that it is quite cut off from reality - a vampire eho drops everything to be with the witch; a witch/ scholar who drops everything for her life to start makes more sense. Looking forward to the sequel. More adventures and more characters will ensue.

Ms. Harkness’ world of magic and history, combining mythical species, set in a contemporary world, is well written. The characters come alive from the pages. Diana is engaging, amicable and easy to relate to from the beginning. Reluctant to be drawn into the Oxford Coven, despite Gillian’s attempts. As the last of the Bishop witches, she was coveted. “When my mother was lit up with magic, you couldn’t tear your eyes away from her.” Raised by her Aunt Sarah, Diana’s memories of her parents, behind closed doors, were conflicting. Her mother was unpredictable—her powers unstable. I adore this world. The beautiful prose, the series is truly addictive. Diana’s first encounter with Ashmole 782, calling to her, I loved reading all over again.

Gostei bastante! Tive curiosidade depois de assistir a série e achar que ficou muito corrida. As minhas espectativas de que a história seria desenvolvida com mais calma e detalhes foi atendida! Apesar de ser o primeiro livro da autora, ela consegue mergulhar em um mundo novo com boa desenvoltura e escrita! Gostei muito, continuarei a ler a série!

I had downloaded this book quite some time ago, and it kind of got lost in the initial influx of downloads in my new Kindle. Realising that some of my earlier downloads were being passed over and forgotten about, I decided to create a new group on my Kindle - `Books I am eager to read' and trawled through all the other groups and organised them. Then I discovered this one again. I sat down one day and started reading it and by the end of page one, knew I would enjoy the writing, and by the end of chapter one, knew I would love it. I was aghast that I had missed it for so long - yet excited because I still had it to read - I was now at last on the journey. I do enjoy a good story with Witches, Vampire and Demons, and any other supernatural creatures you care to include, but the added extra with this book is that they are not teens or at school, they were adults, thank goodness, The premise of the book is that there is an ancient book which these people know exists and believe it tells the story of their origins. The book begins in the UK where Diane is researching in Oxford University, she is in the library as is her habit, and has delivered to her the ancient books she has requested. One of the books, as soon as she touches it, makes her fingers tingle and she knows immediately there is magic around. Although she manages to open the book it is difficult to read as the letters are moving and there are layers of writing. As it isn't relevant to her studies and she knows there is magic, she puts the book aside and returns it to the staff. Diane is from a long and distinguished line of witches, but from childhood has avoided using/leaning about her powers mainly because her parents were killed, and the fact that they were both witches made her avoid the art. Part of being a witch, however is that she can sense when there is another witch or any other supernatural being around, and there have always been a few, and there is a group of local witches who have been trying to get her to join with them, but she has steered clear. After the morning she handled the book, she is conscious that there appears to more around than usual. We soon meet the enigmatic Matthew - a vampire - and their confusing and uncomfortable relationship begins, which adds to the tension in Oxford. He begins to always appear to be around her, as well as the many more and every day increasing numbers of witches who are acting towards her in a threatening manner. She learns through Matthew, eventually that the book is very important to each of the supernatural classes, as they believe it contains very ancient information as to how they all began, and had been sealed using magic, which she had managed to overcome and open the book. She is effectively now in danger, as each group want her and the book to be the ones with the vital information. There is a council made up of these supernatural creatures who decreed the their sort do not mix with each other, as they are desperate the Humans do not learn of their existence, so there is added danger as their evolving relationship is cause for concern to the council. I loved this book, and could not put it down. The only reason it took me a while to read was finding the time, and the fact that it is a big book! I quickly checked and was delighted to find it is the first of a trilogy with book 2 already released (and in my Kindle) `Shadow of Night'. If like me you enjoy these types of stories and yearn for a more adult story I would highly recommend this book.

The book appeals to a reader on so many levels. There is an epic battle for a right to choose who one can love and be with. There is magic (and most of us wishes for some in our lives) and creatures living undetected among humans. There is the good versus evil struggle between wonderfully developed characters. The plot is intriguing and twisted, the locations beautifully presented. The history and art of the days gone by forming a charming and convincing background. There's also a message the trilogy is sending us- we are all one big human family, and the differences between people or people and creatures are artificial and slowing our progress.