Why this book?
I’ve repeatedly consumed the entire All Souls Trilogy in its various formats. This is because A Discovery of Witches is not your typical twinkle-skinned romance of a vampire story. Harkness intellectually substantiates vampire, witch, and demon lore with biological references, realistically grounding old wives’ tales in temptingly believable “research” without making it read like a textbook. Although the creatures find themselves embroiled in an existential battle against pureblood obsessives and a star-crossed love story, they are richer for the interplay between their cultures, family dynamics, and the secrets they must and choose to keep. This renders them relatable on a deeply human level as we learn that they’re subject to the same faults of DNA and upbringing that we are, even amidst a fascinating and well-obscured world of magic.
A Discovery of Witches
Why should I read it?
14 authors picked A Discovery of Witches as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.
What is this book about?
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.