by Deborah Harkness
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Published: 2011
Publisher: Penguin Books
Genre: Romance, Vampires, Witches
Paperback: 592 pages
Rating: 5
All Souls series:
A Discovery of Witches
Shadow of Night
The Book of Life
Deborah Harkness’s 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, coming from Viking in July 2014.
My two-bits:
I have not read very many witch-based stories and was very impressed with this one.
The world-building has just the right blend of magic and lore to make it "real". Along with witches, vampire and daemon presence and history are introduced.
A romantic/love relationship between a witch and vampire drives most of this read along with alliances made to setup for the rest of this trilogy.
No gory scenes despite action scenes. So, curious to see if that will come in the next two books.
Loved how the witch house was incorporated into the story as a character. Like Hogwarts in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, the Bishop home had it mysteries, quirks and ghosts.
* added this to my Bookish Bingo challenge - square: Witches
