A Discovery of Witches

I love books about books, so I was thrilled when Oxford's Bodleian Library and a bewitched alchemical manuscript turned up as the linchpin of this enchanting love story between a vampire and a reluctant witch.

While this story was made into a television series, do yourself a favor and read the entire trilogy. Harkness creates a compelling framework of history and heroics, love and loss, and friendship and betrayal for her underworld creatures to inhabit. And these are not your typical creatures of the night, but accomplished scholars, physicians, and scientists.

This book is one of those rare novels I… show more.

Romance, exotic settings, mystery. A summer read? Yes, but with great “extras.” Some surprises: The lovers are mature, even wise.

So much for the swept-away falling for the demon bad boy! Then, altering the usual clash-of-supernatural-beings fantasy trope, they possess complex histories singly and among themselves. I especially noted, and took away a keen perception, that if a story has an extremely powerful man (vampire), then for the romance to work, the woman must be equally strong.

A great challenge for authors like me who usually include a romantic interest.

A Discovery of Witches is a series of four known as the All Souls Trilogy.

Deborah tells the stories well with engaging characters and settings. They are a combination of vampires and witches and take you through when Matthew and Dianna first meet all the way through their marriage and children.

There is time travel included in Shadow of Night. The Elizabethan time period in England is done so well right down to the gas lights and merchants.  

A Discovery of Witches is an exciting journey! Deborah Harkness masterfully weaves together history, science, and fantasy to create a captivating story that will keep you guessing until the  end. The book is filled with layers of clues and mysteries that will keep you on the edge of your seat. The characters are well-developed, and the romance between Diana and Matthew is both compelling and heart-wrenching. I couldn't put the book down and I can't wait to dive into the  next installment. This book is a true page-turner, and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good mystery… show more.

A Discovery of Witches was an interesting take on the “other” species, witches, vampires, and demons living with and among humans. There was in this trilogy quite a bit of ancient history woven in among the fantastical storylines of the characters of Harkness’ world. While I was expecting another “Twilight” trope and having to get on board with “Team Jacob” or “Team Edward” – this was nothing like Bella and Edward. This series was a great blending of real-world events intertwined with the invented worlds of the “others”. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and had my favorites. I… show more.

I love the richness of this fantasy world within our own. The magic system follows rules, but, like life, those rules are not absolute. The characters, as highly intelligent people, do a lot of research and experimenting to discover how to work around these non-absolute rules to, what else? Defeat evil of course. 

Diana Bishop is a professor of history at Yale University pursuing her doctorate at Oxford. She’s also a witch who has never cared to develop her powers. Enter the world of vampires, daemons, English manor homes, French castles, the Bodleian Library, old farmhouses in Massachusetts, alchemy, the history of science—even an enchanted manuscript.

I love this story because it’s an example of how smart, hard-working women can find love in the most unexpected of places. Harkness has created a fantastical world complete with engaging characters you’d like to befriend, characters I was sorry to leave after turning the last page.… show more.

I’d always had this idea that magic and science go hand in hand. It’s not about believing one over the other but about how they work in conjunction. A Discovery of Witches is the first book I read that embraces this concept and in the most compelling way possible. Through the lens of a unique witch named Diana and a centuries-old vampire, Harkness takes us on a journey of creation, ancient magic, and forbidden love (and who doesn’t love some of that?). 

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… show more.

A Discovery of Witches swept me off my feet as a reader! Harkness’s prose is gorgeous, and as an avid highlighter of my favorite lines, my physical copies of her books are dripping with ink! It’s a love story between a reluctant witch and a vampire, but so much more than that with a strong influence of science, along with a mysterious lost book. The characters are complex and rich—even the side characters! This isn’t your YA, teeny-bobber urban fantasy; it’s grown up, smart, sophisticated, and completely addicting. 

Once you devour the rest of the All Souls series, check out… show more.