A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness (The All Souls Trilogy: Book 1)

8/10

A Discovery Of Witches is the first book in a trilogy by Deborah Harkness. I’d heard about it, heck, even managed to bag myself a promotional t-shirt emblazoned with the words ’Witch, Daemon, Vampire, Human?’ just as it was about to be released, so of course, I was itching to get started with this book.

We follow Diana, American scholar and reluctant Witch, studying all things alchemical at Oxford. Here she meets and falls in love with Matthew, 1,500 year old Vampire and sworn enemy. Diana’s life is turned upside down the day she comes into contact with an ancient manuscript which holds the secrets to the very existence of supernatural creatures.

There were moments reading this book that I thought it was brilliant. The description of the Bodleian library and it’s old manuscripts were extremely detailed, but then in other parts of the book I found simply hilarious. Vampire yoga anyone? The good outweighed the bad however and I’m glad I stuck with it, and at 608 pages, this isn’t a quick read but I’m interested to see where the story goes and look forward to the next instalment.

As a final note, the book is bound to draw similarities to the Twilight saga, it’s a given, and for that reason, I’m sure anyone that loves Edward and Bella will adore this too.

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1 positive reader review(s) for A Discovery of Witches

The All Souls Trilogy

A Discovery of Witches reader reviews

from United States

I, for one, really appreciate and enjoy the slow burn of their budding romance over the first few hundred pages. However, I started losing interest over the last third of the story. I swear, this gal sleeps and gets carried around more than Sleeping Beauty. But I'll still definitely read the rest of the trilogy.
7/10 ()

from United Kingdom

I really didn't expect to like this series. In fact, I confess I ended up reading it because i was pressured into it by an insistent relative. However now I only wish i had read it sooner. This book series is incredibly well written and researched. This is particularly evident in the second book (my favorite). This first book really does grip the reader with its plot and attention to detail, not to mention its romantic angle. However it is a somewhat slow burner and doesn't really pick up the pace until about mid way through. That said, you are well rewarded for your patience by the end of the book. Which leaves you salivating for the next one. In conclusion a great start to a great series! (less) [edit]
8/10 ()

from London

I also felt this was a mix of fun storytelling and either random episodes like the vampire yoga, or pointless waffle and irritating detail. The constant mentions of how much the main character likes tea, and how she likes to drink tea etc. is way over the top and the beginning takes forever to get going. I was 200 pages in and what had actually happened wasn't enough to drag it out for that long. Overall it was engaging and easy to read but editing a hundred pages off of the beginning would have improved it, as would having a less Mills and Boon / Fifty Shades relationship between the two main characters.
7/10 ()

from Rugby

Excellent, took a while to get into but enjoyed it and couldn't put it down. I can't wait for next novel.
9/10 ()

7.7/10 from 5 reviews

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