Book one of the New York Times-bestselling All Souls trilogy—“a wonderfully imaginative grown-up fantasy with all the magic of Harry Potter and Twilight” (People). Look for the hit TV series “A Discovery of Witches,” streaming on AMC Plus, Sundance Now and Shudder. Season 2 premieres January 9, 2021! Deborah Harkness’s sparkling debut, A Discovery of Witches, has brought her into the spotlight … sparkling debut, A Discovery of Witches, has brought her into the spotlight and galvanized fans around the world. In this tale of passion and obsession, Diana Bishop, a young scholar and a descendant of witches, discovers a long-lost and enchanted alchemical manuscript, Ashmole 782, deep in Oxford’s Bodleian Library. Its reappearance summons a fantastical underworld, which she navigates with her leading man, vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont.
Harkness has created a universe to rival those of Anne Rice, Diana Gabaldon, and Elizabeth Kostova, and she adds a scholar’s depth to this riveting tale of magic and suspense. The story continues in book two, Shadow of Night, and concludes with The Book of Life.
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Bored by the characters and did not go on to the next books.
Soooo ummmm… *Looks around baffled* Yeah. Wow. What a friggin’ weird reading experience this book was for me. I don’t even… I’m not even sure how to process all of whatever the heck that was. It feels like I just read the ‘roided up version of Twilight, but somehow I didn’t completely hate it??? I don’t even know, let’s just dive in.
Good luck wading through the swampy confusion that is this review.
*THE UGLY*
First and foremost, this book is Twilight. It is. It’s Twilight on steroids. Matthew is a slightly less emo version of I’m-going-to-control-everything-you-do Edward and Diana is Bella with a doctorate. The way Matthew follows her around in the beginning, the super fast way they fall in love out of nowhere, the way Matthew tries to push her away for her own safety (cue eye roll)—it all reeks of the glittery vamps and I had a hard time keeping a straight face reading it sometimes. And it’s all so… wordy. Something about the writing made this a super dense read and I could only handle it in short bursts.
By the way, in case anyone was wondering, apparently the only thing you need to do to get married is grope each other and makeout for five minutes. Who knew??
Now that I’ve finished the book, I definitely feel like the show is better and I think that’s because of the background characters. The TV series does a good job of splitting its time between everyone, even people that play a more minor role. By the time they cross paths with Diana, we understand who they are and their motivations. In the book, however, everything is told mostly from Diana’s perspective and characters just pop randomly in and out of the story cold turkey. It’s so weird! If I hadn’t already watched the show I would feel super thrown off and confused.
*THE GOOD*
Despite all of that, I still found myself liking parts of it. I actually really enjoyed the way Harkness framed this universe and the creatures in it. The witches and vampires are a new spin on the classic versions, which I really appreciated because I’m very #ProClassic when it comes to this kind of stuff. I liked that different witches had different powers and levels of power depending on their lineage. It made meeting new witches a lot more fun and engaging. I’m still don’t quite understand what a daemon is. I mean, what’s the difference between a creative human and a daemon? Or are all creative humans daemons? I don’t know, but I still enjoyed such a new take on an old idea. And all these creatures have their own government system and rich history and Harkness did a great job creating it.
I also really liked the setting. Honestly, I’m a complete sucker for stories set in Europe because I’ve never been, so I was totally all over this. Watching them traipse around Oxford and then France was amazing. *Cue wistful sigh*
And then there’s Matthew. I’m torn about him as a character because he can be so controlling (I know, SO SHOCKING for vampire character). But I will say that Harkness did a great job creating him. He is literally 1500 FREAKING YEARS OLD. I can’t even wrap my head around that number, but I can tell Harkness did her research and she gave Matthew a sprawling history that you can really feel in his actions. Edward Cullen was apparently over 100 years old in Twilight, but I never believed it. He was always just a whiny 17 year-old emo. Matthew feels a lot more mature and I liked learning more about him as the story went on.
*FINAL WORD*
If you’re here wondering if you should read this, good luck figuring that out. I vote you just watch the show and call it a day.
I read this forever ago and when I read it, I was just beginning to stretch my reader brain because I’d stopped reading for many years and in hindsight this wasn’t the book to try to read when just getting started. This material was pretty dense for me then. I feel like I could reread it now and have a completely different reading experience. I don’t know that I will ever continue on with the series but I don’t want to say I never would because my reading tastes change from time to time. If this sounds interesting to you then I for sure say give it a try!
Fun read
Magic, witches, vampires, and daemons are real?
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness is a mesmerizing story filled with eccentric characters, science, history, and social standings. I adored the story and found it hard to concentrate on other issues. This is the second time that I have read the book, and I enjoyed it, even more, this time.
Diana Bishop
Diana at first seems like this mousy academic with nothing special about her. Then you find out she is a witch. I am intrigued now. As we get to know Diana, we find out how complex she and her past are. She has such courage and yet at times, she seems so fragile.
I also loved the way that she stood up to prejudice and made up her mind. Diana has this hidden strength that most don’t see or they dismiss it along with her.
Sarah and Emily are great. I thought their concern for Diana’s safety and wellbeing was wonderfully maternal. You can genuinely see the love they share and for Diana.
Diana’s love for Matthew is tested, and even though it is new and forbidden, she knows that it is right.
Somewhere in the center of my soul, a rusty chain began to unwind. It freed itself, link by link, from where it had rested unobserved, waiting for him. My hands, which had been balled up and pressed against his chest, unfurled with it. The chain continued to drop, to an unfathomable depth where there was nothing but darkness and Matthew. At last it snapped to its full length, anchoring me to a vampire. Despite the manuscript, despite the fact that my hands contained enough voltage to run a microwave, and despite the photograph, as long as I was connected to him, I was safe.
Harkness, Deborah. A Discovery of Witches: A Novel (All Souls Trilogy, Book 1) (p. 196). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
Matthew Clairmont
Matthew…how best to describe him. I think the best way is that he is everything that I would think a vampire would be: strong, handsome, powerful, dangerous, possessive, protective and otherworldly. I can only imagine the things that he has seen and done. So, amazing. Then there is the way that he tries to follow the covenants that the creatures all live by.
Matthew also doesn’t allow prejudice to lead his character. He stands up for those that need it and has that code of ethics that not many have in this current time. Matthew is a scientist, trying to find out why the creatures are disappearing, which makes him seem a bit noble.
Matthew’s family is strong, resourceful and filled with grief and sorrow. Yet, they stand together even when they would like to kill each other.
Hamish studied Matthew’s tense shoulders. He wasn’t surprised that his friend craved Diana Bishop. A vampire had to desire another creature more than anyone or anything else in order to mate, and cravings were rooted in desire. Hamish strongly suspected that Matthew—despite his previous fervent declarations that he was incapable of finding anyone who would stir that kind of feeling—was mating.
Harkness, Deborah. A Discovery of Witches: A Novel (All Souls Trilogy, Book 1) (p. 101). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
The Creatures
There are so many things that I loved and enjoyed about this book. The distinction between the creatures, like that daemons are brilliant and yet could lose themselves in madness. I like the way Hamish uses his brilliance with economics and Nathanial with computers.
The vampires try to keep the peace because they have seen so much through their immortal lives and still some of them are evil playing the long game. But we mustn’t forget that they live off of human blood and they are the ultimate predators.
The witches seem to me to be the most wicked and seek the power that they don’t understand. Well, some of them. While others are smart and abide by the covenants they also believe in what is right.
The creatures must not show themselves to humans, but they don’t hate us.
The strongest distinguishing characteristic of humans is their power of denial.
Harkness, Deborah. A Discovery of Witches: A Novel (All Souls Trilogy, Book 1) (p. 142). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
5 Stars for A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
My rating for A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness is five stars. I loved the entire story and will probably reread this book. It feels like a find something new each time I do.
If you haven’t read this book or the series, you should, and then you should check out the television series.
This Guest Review is for Baroness’ Book Trove. Thank you for the opportunity to review this book on your site. – Jen
One of the best books I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading!
So much history and fantasy all wrapped up into an amazing story. I loved it!
I wish Deborah Harkness would expand on the world she created in the “Discovery of Witches” trilogy because after reading all three I AM ADDICTED! The characters are lovable, flawed and irresistibly charming! After reading the first book you’ll be scrambling to find the next two.
Love love love the characters in this book. Sometimes it’s a little cheesy and twilight-ish but overall focuses on the conflicts between Diana and everyone else, not just her relationship with Matthew.
Love, love, love the entire All Souls Trilogy,
Love this series
Loved all the series!
A great read for fantasy lovers!
An interesting and entertaining story about witches and vampires for adults that is actually well-written!
Fantastic writing that held me captive! This book has a highly developed plot and characters that whose originality will keep you devouring the pages as fast as you can! What a truly wonderful piece of literature! I read the entire series and watched the tv show. A must have, must read, must share!
5 Stars
A Discovery of Witches is the first intriguing instalment in the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness. This book has so much going on in it, in a good way. The story is a wonderful fantasy, with paranormal elements, witches, vampires, daemons, magic, action, adventure, danger, drama, history, alchemy, mystery, and romance. This is a little like The Vampire Diaries meets The Da Vinci Code.
It is an original take on the Witches/Vampire/Daemon lore- full of interesting ‘history’ and is beautifully detailed and descriptive. Ms. Harkness has a knack for storytelling, with exceptional world-building skills that brings everything to life right before your eyes.
Diana, Matthew and the rest of the cast- are superbly crafted, taking on a life of their own, and pulling the reader into the story as everything unfolds. I read all three books in the trilogy back to back, only returning to the ‘real world’ when absolutely necessary. A completely spellbinding story/series that I will be quite happy to explore many times again in the future.
A must read for any fantasy/ paranormal addict!
Thank you, Ms. Harkness!
I did not like this book at all. The heroine is a total wimp.
Loved this book. Would highly recommend the entire trilogy. The characters and storyline kept me wanting more. Also enjoyed the historical components
This book has long been on my TBR list. I honestly don’t remember the first time I came across it. I do remember it being all the rage for a while here on GR and amongst my book friends. But when a book is that popular, I tend to avoid it. It just seems, for me, that when it’s super popular, I end up having high expectations and am then disappointed.
So I waited. I forgot about this. And then I heard they were making it into a TV series. I had a random “I should finally read that. I want to check out the show.” But I still kind of forgot about it. I’d see ads for the show, wonder when/how I’d be able to watch it, what channel it would be on, if I’d need or have a subscription to the network. But those wonderings were always in the moment, never something I investigated.
Then I saw the show was out. And I was bored. So I decided to give it a chance. What’s an hour? I can waste an hour. Honestly, I didn’t really pay attention to the first episode. I was distracted and not really following along and it seemed like it would be a 1 episode bomb for me. But I decided to give it another try, and I rewatched it. I was hooked. I ended up binging the first 6 episodes, not realizing that the whole thing wasn’t available yet to watch (curse you Netflix for spoiling me!)…so I turned to the book. I had to know what was going to happen and I was dying of curiosity to see if the book was at all similar to the show (or vise versa really)…so I started reading. And yes, it seemed to take me forever to get through it but it had nothing to do with the book. It was just my busy schedule that prevented me from sitting down and reading it in one sitting.
But the further I got into the book, the harder it was to put down. I’d be dreaming about it when I slept, waking up in the middle of the night to read (thanking god I work the after noon shift so I can sleep in!)…
I loved every moment of this book. I can totally see how other people could perceive it as boring, bogged down in history. But I’m a history nerd. Actually, to be more accurate, I’m a degree carrying Historian. So this book just fit me like perfection.
I really liked Diana and Matthew. I loved how protective he was. How fearless she was. I loved them together, watching them sort of become friends, allies…and eventually falling for each other. This is definitely a slow burn book, and I think it was perfect for them. There were a couple of times when it was mentioned that Diana and Matthew had only known each other for a couple weeks, and I was honestly shocked because the book seemed to move at such a good pace, that I hadn’t realized how little time had actually passed.
I think the author did an amazing job at world building. You could really see the love and passion for history in this book.
I will say that part of me kept expecting to see some of the background things going on, like you saw in the show, but you didn’t. I’m ok with that. The show stuck relatively close to the book and for that I’m thankful.
This was definitely a case of the right book finding me at the perfect time. I’m so glad I finally read this and I’m really mad at myself for waiting so long to do it!
awesome… Awesome… AWESOME!!!