Liz Currently Loves…A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

10459837

Publication Date: Available now from Headline

Thank you to the author and publisher for the review copy via Netgalley.

In this tale of passion and obsession, Diana Bishop, a young scholar and the descendant of witches, discovers a long-lost and enchanted alchemical manuscript deep in Oxford’s Bodleian Library. Its reappearance summons a fantastical underworld, which she navigates with her leading man, vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont.

VERY late to the party I am with the “All Souls” trilogy, people kept telling me and now I have finally started I doubt I shall stop until I’m through.

I absolutely adored this beautifully imagined story of witches, vampires and daemons, set in a place I live near and love which gave it an added frisson for me – plus it was that thing I cherish which I don’t see much, a good LONG book that held my attention throughout. I like a tome, I cannot lie…

So, Diana is a witch who does not use her magic (or so  she thinks), she is also a strong, intelligent woman who does her own thing pretty much and does not suffer fools gladly. When she accidentally summons up an ancient manuscript she finds herself in all sorts of hot water as there are many people (or creatures) who would very much like to know what it is all about. Unfortunately she can’t tell them and probably wouldnt even if she could. Enter Matthew, strong vampiric scientific type with a tendency to growl at anyone he perceives to be a threat to Diana, who also seeks to control her somewhat which makes her mad as hell. But hey we all know what anger can turn into and as she and Matthew spend time together their feelings deepen. Cue a whole lot of passion, a plethora of magical mayhem and some well drawn and addictive characters and we are off to the races…

In a way it is a bit of a glorious mish mash – the mythology and world building is eclectic and full of ancient subtext, rich background and rules of engagement – rules that Diana and Matthew keep throwing out of the window, much to the dismay of my favourite character,  Ysabeau (Matthews Mum), as well as pretty much everyone else. The story also has a scientific bent – Matthew is deep into his research of the origin of various species  – and also a marvellous historical flavour as we hear about time gone by.

A gorgeous mix of Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy, I’ve seen many other reviewers call it “Twilight for adults”. But whilst from a distance there are certain similarities, I would be more likely, if I were to compare it to Twilight at all, use the phrase “Twilight on acid”. But hey, lets not compare it and just say A Discovery of Witches is a sprawling, well written, radiant tale of a world underneath our own that is highly addictive and best of all, terrific fun. Brilliantly imagined, cleverly executed, a perfect mix of action, romance and mythology for me, I cannot wait to dive into Book two. So I’m going away now….

Find out more here: http://deborahharkness.com/

Follow Deborah on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/DebHarkness

Purchase Information: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Discovery-Witches-All-Souls-Trilogy/dp/0755374045/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1406966377&sr=1-2

Happy Reading Folks!

Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *