One of my all-time favorites, “A Discovery of Witches” has it all. With forbidden love between a vampire and a witch, conflicts that will have your heart pounding and an added mix of alchemy and history, you won’t be disappointed.
“A Discovery of Witches,” which was on the “New York Times” bestseller list, is a world filled with suspense, mystery, laughter, love, sexy vampires, fiery witches and much more. Also, no book is complete without a villain, or several in this case, who make you cry out in rage and make your blood boil for harming your beloved characters.
Diana Bishop, the first main character we meet, is a historian of alchemy at Yale University and a witch who fights to live a normal life among humans by turning her back on magic. Diana isn’t your average witch, though, and soon begins to discover she holds more power within herself than any other witch. Inadvertently, Diana sets off a chain reaction of events within the mythical creature world when she opens a mysterious manuscript, Ashmole 782, in the Bodleian library at Oxford University.
Looking to uncover the truth of Ashmole 782, Matthew Clairmont is the powerful and mysteriously handsome vampire who appears in Diana’s life. As Matthew begins to interact with Diana, his focus shifts from obtaining the manuscript to protecting Diana from those who will stop at nothing short of killing her to get the manuscript. All the while projecting a fierce and commanding persona to everyone, he shows how caring and loving he can be towards Diana, while endearingly calling her “mon coeur” and “ma lionne.”
Diana and Matthew stir up trouble when they begin to get a little too close for comfort in a world where an outdated covenant for vampires, witches and demons forbids intimate relationships between opposite species. However, nothing will stop Diana and Matthew from falling in love. They do face their fair share of trials that test their relationship, but what love story of any worth doesn’t have its fair share of ups and downs?
As you read, you will fall in love with the couple as they fall in love with each other. Matthew helps Diana face her fears of letting magic be a part of her life, and Diana shows she will love Matthew despite his dark past. In the process, Diana and Matthew uncover secrets of the past that will begin to forever alter the world they live in.
Alongside the mythical creature aspect of the novel, you also get educational tidbits in alchemy and European history as you read, providing a captivating plot.
Deborah Harkness, author of “A Discovery of Witches,” knows her stuff when it comes to the history aspects within the novel. Harkness is a scholar who teaches European history and the history of science; she focused on the history of magic and science in Europe for her doctoral degree. So, needless to say, she’s got this.
Now, I’m not all that crazy about reading history, but Harkness does a fantastic job in incorporating it into the storyline in a way that doesn’t bog the story down. Some sections you may need to really concentrate on or read slowly, as I did, but in the end it really is fascinating.
All in all, “A Discovery of Witches” is a must read you will struggle to put down. Don’t worry though, once you finish, there are two more books that follow in continuing the tale of Matthew and Diana’s love story. If that isn’t enough, Harkness is working with Bad Wolf productions to make “The All Souls” trilogy into a TV series soon. To make it even sweeter, check out the world of the “All Souls” trilogy here to look at Spotify playlists Harkness created for the books, news and events concerning the series, photos of the settings in the books, reading guides, and so much more.
So, find a cozy spot to hunker down in, read the book and then let me know what you think in the comments!
Head Stuck in a Book 