Customer Reviews

A Discovery of Witches: A Novel (All Souls Trilogy)

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This is not your ordinary story about witches, vampires and daemons!

Diana Bishop's famous ancestor was executed for being a witch. As a heart-rending consequence of Diana's parents' mysterious deaths, Diana has vowed she will live totally as a human, denying her identity as a witch with both usual and unusual powers. Dedicating her life to logic and ordinary living, she is now a history scholar doing research on alchemy texts in the Bodleian library at Oxford. Upon receiving a requested text called Ashmole 782, she realizes either the book is spellbound or there is something about this book that connects with her hidden witch powers. Add to that the reactions of suddenly appearing witches, vampires, and daemons whose animosity and threatening looks and words make Diana's wish for normalcy an illusion she can no longer ignore.

Into the midst of this reality arrives a handsome, extremely intelligent and old vampire, Matthew Clairmont, who is supposedly pursuing his own research as a geneticist. Initially disliking and avoiding his presence, Diana finally begins to realize he is protecting her from direct attack by the hordes of persons appearing daily in the library who are insisting she recall the text they are desperate to obtain. Then he begins to appear during her running and rowing exercises which seem to be the only way she can stop her natural abilities from emerging with perilous effects on herself as well as others.

Why is Matthew so attracted to Diana and what is behind the interest so many have in this mysterious text lost for centuries which has appeared and again disappeared after Diana's innocent unbinding of its pages? Finally, when several close calls with death frighten Diana into realizing her lack of control, she accepts shelter first with Matthew's vampire family in France and then with her own witch family in America.

A Discovery of Witches is so much more than just a supernatural story! Yes there are adventurous thrills for those who love the proverbial accounts of such creatures. But here is an intelligent consideration of the essence of origins, differences, genetic mating and consequences, shared powers defying definition and classification, versions of history holding secret and amazing phenomena, relationships of enmity forced to unite under common needs - both good and evil, the quintessential realities behind the search for the Philosopher's stone or alchemy, and so much more.

Add to that a sweet, dangerous romance all the more real because of what seems to be its doomed end, and herein is the perfect combination, preciously difficult to adequately encompass in any brief review. This tale is a smart, tense, provocative, and enchanting read you will not want to end and will be relishing long after the last page is turned. This reviewer is so looking forward to the sequel to this amazing novel which will be a best seller!!! Absolutely delightful and impossible to put down!

Have you ever really (you know what I mean by really, not a peck) been kissed or touched by a person just in out of the freezing cold? It's not very pleasant. I never understood the romantic attraction to frigid vampires until now. Harkness, with her own authorial magic, made me believe that if I were a hot-blooded witch, the coolness of the undead's touch would feel welcome. Here there is more than the standard vampire romance based on the primal attraction of predator/prey. Harkness's witch Diana is a worthy partner for powerful vampire Matthew Clairmont.

I just adored this novel. It has everything you want in a good read: terrific characters; a fast-moving plot filled with the world of academia, science, and the supernatural; and a singular world to explore. There are lots of details for the reader who wants even more, like hidden "Easter egg" references to other novels/characters; lots of descriptions of wine and tea and food that made me seriously hungry; and equally well-developed secondary characters.

The only trouble is, when you reach the end you will throw the book across the room and yell because the sequel is not already in your hot little hands. So then you'll be forced to read it again.

In A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES Harknes takes all the urban fantasy romantic tropes and...uses them. Main PoV character Diana is smart, orphaned, stubborn, beautiful-though-she-doesn't-know-it, and a powerful witch. Her vampire love interest Matthew is almost perfectly thoughtful, impeccably dressed, brilliant, rich, and well connected. The antagonists resent their blossoming romance because vampires and witches 'just don't mix' (Really! It's never happened before!). There's the trendy locales (Oxford, France, upstate New York), the wine/books/artifacts only a centuries old vampire could have, the tension between the supernatural races. If you've read your share of urban fantasy, you've seen all this many times over.

The issue isn't that Harkness uses these tropes over again--they are tried and true for a reason--it's that it's her first novel and you can tell. Her foreshadowing lacks subtlety. Last-minute contrivances fix issues. Too much time is spent on the minutiae of eating/traveling/clothing. Expository conversations are used to forward the plot. And the plot itself is bogged down with irrelevant information. You know, the kinds of things any writer's workshop would explain are problems because they affect flow and readability.

But do these problems ruin the story?

For most urban fantasy readers, those are issues that won't impede their enjoyment of the love story. However, while I enjoyed Harkness' blending of ideas and the magic, even if they aren't exactly groundbreaking, the execution made it hard for me to enjoy it on a level that would make me give an unhesitating endorsement.

The story starts off with a problem: why does everyone want Ashmole 782? Diana is a Ph.D. in history, an expert on alchemical texts, and during her research at Oxford she finds a text that has been missing for 150 years. She can tell it's special because it fires off all her witch's senses. But she's here as a scholar and not a witch, so sends it back, where it disappears again. Now every vampire, witch, and daemon in Oxford wants to know how she got it to appear and if she's going to do it again. Because its hidden text supposedly explains the origin of paranormal creatures--and perhaps even how to destroy them forever.

During Diana's research, Matthew Clairmont appears. He's mysterious and attractive, but he's a vampire. He's a scientist at heart, who wants to not only know the how but also the why. He claims to want to help Diana, and is interested in Ashmole 782, but his altruistic intention is suspect. Diana, against her better judgement, is drawn into Matthew's circle of protection. The other witches don't want anyone but another witch to ever obtain Ashmole 782, and see Diana's vampire-trusting behavior as a betrayal.

Then the dots start connecting: the death of her parents, the text, the motives of witches and vampires who are trying to keep Diana and Matthew apart. Harkness blends history, magic, science and alchemy into a story that sucks you in despite its awkward pace--because, really, you don't know where Harkness is heading with all this and you are compelled to know.

Harkness's prose is easy enough to read, and she handles the magic well, including the separation of the supernatural races, and even the 'science' of their behaviors. Even though some of it seems to be for convenience's sake (i.e., vampires awake and walking around during the day). My favorite part of the entire book is the sentient house where Diana's witch Aunt Sarah lives. It creates new rooms for guests, has temper tantrums, and hides/reveals things at the appropriate times.

The love story between the main characters is a strangely mixed bag of reality and contrivance. I wanted to want to see them together, and they seem to fit together as a couple personality-wise, but the execution made Matthew creepy and Diana wishy-washy. Matthew is an over-protective control freak and Diana is a 30-something Ph.D. who devolves into a lovestruck teen, which made me kind of embarrassed for my sex. It doesn't help, either, that it only takes them three weeks to decide this is True Love Forever.

While I was eventually able to enjoy the main characters, and even the plethora of secondary characters that are important in Diana and Matthew's lives, I couldn't get around the meandering storyline. Certainly there's forward movement as they fall in love, travel, and unravel the mysteries of Ashmole 782, but I look back and there's just so much fluff. I spent 500+ pages reading to remember all these details (historical, alchemical, etc), only to have them mean nothing to the story. If you asked me, I don't think I could pinpoint the exact climax of the novel (I think it was around the 2/3 mark, which is an awkward spot); then the last third of the novel devolves into a meandering buildup for an event that leads into what's obviously going to be a sequel. I guess we'll have to see if she improves with susequent novels.

**This review was posted on Elitist Book Reviews. For more reviews and interviews stop by our blog.**

Dr. Diana Bishop has tried her hardest to stay away from her heritage. Diana is one of the last Bishop witches. As try as she might, Diana just can not escape, who she is. Just take Diana's latest research project...Diane ends up checking out an alchemy manuscript known as Ashmole 782. When Diana touches the manuscript, she feels a charge...a magical one.

Matthew Clairmont is a professor at Oxford. He is also a vampire. Matthew can sense something evil is descending upon Oxford. Matthew shows an interest in Diana. Though is Matthew getting close to Diana because he likes her or for another reason?

A Discovery of Witches is author, Deborah Harkness first novel. While I did enjoy this book. I thought that it moved at a really slow pace. It seemed liked most of the book was just explaining and build up of the story and the characters to help lead into the next book. The problem for me with this book was that every time the story would start to pick up speed, it would slow down for more explanation. It felt like for every one step forward I would take, I would get knocked back two steps. I was not feeling the romantic relationship between Diana and Matthew. In the beginning Diana really hated Matthew and the next moment she was in love with him. There was something mysterious about Matthew that did make him intriguing. So I could possibly see where Diana could like Matthew.

While, I did not love this book, the story line was appealing enough to want to make me read the next book. Overall, I do have to applaud Deborah Harkness as she did bring her knowledge and realism to the book and Diana. Being a professor herself, I thought Ms. Harkness did a good job with Diana. A Discovery of Witches delves into a magical, innovative world that will have you wanting some more.

I downloaded the first chapter as a sample and - after reading just a few pages - bought the book and moved it to the top of my reading list.

What a disappointment. Harkness has certain charm that occasionally shines through in her writing, but the story is a mess. Villains appear and lurk in the shadows. The heroine goes rowing. Twice. She goes to yoga a couple times, too. The villains multiply. The heroine goes horseback riding. Three times. Then she learns to make an herbal tea.

Oh, and she falls in love. With a vampire, of course. Annoying "mon amore!" crying love. Eyerolling, "Will you ever stop surprising me, mon coeur?" kind of love.

Then the heroine discovers her powers. Naturally, she is the most gifted witch in generations. Here is a partial list of her powers (so far): flight, precognition, talking to ghosts, control of water, telekenesis, control of witchfire (you can't put it out, or heal its burns), and teleportation. Did I mention time travel? Time travel. So she's pretty tough, right? ...No. She does kill one vampire after it wounds her lover, but mainly she wanders around in a kind of daze, remarkably unconcerned by the strange and violent turn her life has taken.

Anyway, I stuck with it to the end, only to find that I could have put it down at ABSOLUTELY ANY POINT and had as much closure as the "ending" provided.

Other reviewers have compared this to Anne Rice. Anne isn't my favorite writer either, but she should be offended by the comparison.

One last note: I'm kind of appalled by the number of reviewers that think this book is smart, or "brainy." It's partially set in a university and it has some scientific words. Like... mitochondria. Whoa! Heady stuff! Not.

I am halfway through this book and NOTHING of consequence has actually happened to develop any kind of compelling plot. If you've read the synopses on this web-page, and any of the other reviews that readers have posted, I will skip the details and just get to the point:

Ms. Harkness is torn between writing a modern-day bodice-ripper/romance novel and a lifestyle column out of Better Homes and Gardens or Martha Stewart Living. Her endless and pointless descriptions of furnishings, meals eaten (or not), heirloom wines drunk (or not), riding boots that fit like a glove without benefit of personal contact with the boot maker - Lord, I could go on and on! They not only tax the reader's patience but they drag the almost non-existent plot into realms of the ridiculous. These characters are just so boring and boilerplate I thought that I was reading "Twilight" fan fiction with the names of the protagonists changed to avoid copyright infringement! So what if the author is able to write about the history of scientific thought and can quote Latin, Italian, and Occitan (old French spoken in the district of Clermont-Ferrand, an area that I have actually spent considerable time visiting). Anyone with access to Google could do likewise. There is so little of a story here that I am amazed that her publisher allowed this to go to press (and just think of the hundreds and hundreds of pages resulting from poor, wasted trees!).

The big question here is (if you care, which I doubt): Are vampires, demons (sorry - I will not use the affected spelling Ms. Harkness imposes on her readers), witches, and humans four separate species, or are they all one? Duh? I ASK YOU - WHO CARES??? I for one am sick to death of people writing about vampires and making them as human (read, loveable) as possible. If you're going to do so, then at least do something inventive or clever with them. Ms. Harkness is reduced to describing her vampire protagonist as looking "like a prince," dressed in the latest Italian sportswear, and wallowing in every worn-out cliche in the English language. As for Diana Bishop, the so-called teller of the tale, one is supposed to believe that an intelligent woman who has been able to earn a Ph.D. from Yale, has a teaching fellowship at Oxford, and is a rather good athlete to boot, is incapable of understanding her own inherent magical abilities or learning to dress like an adult. Please, give me a break!

If you're going to write a book called "A Discovery of Witches" then please, WRITE ABOUT WITCHES! Not vampires! We already are inundated with the genre!

Do yourself a favor and, as they used to say in those great early talkies, "give it the air!" Read "Angelology" if you want a gripping novel about the supernatural that is not only well-written but doesn't insult your intelligence as well.

A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES is bad. Trainwreck bad, the kind of awful you can't look away from. The narrator is the most flagrant Mary Sue I've run across in a loooooong time. First we find out that she's a tenured professor at Yale at the age of 35. Anyone who knows anything about getting tenure is probably already laughing, but if the process is unfamiliar that's kind of like saying she achieved world peace or found Atlantis. Really, really unlikely.

But it's not enough that she's the wunderkind scholar of her generation. No, she's also the greatest witch of her generation. Her mother and father were two of the most powerful witches in their day, and now Mary Sue...er...that is, Diana gets to be as powerful as they were combined.

She's also a star athlete, super hot, and, oh yeah, she's got mysterious otherworldly eyes that are like five different colors! Her hair too!

A superwoman like Diana ought to be up for some pretty major challenges - it would take something pretty epic to give her a run for her money - which is why it's so very, very strange that NOTHING HAPPENS. I mean, NOTHING. The "plot" (and I use that term verrrrry loosely) gets rolling when Diana calls an enchanted manuscript up from the bowels of the Bodlean Library in Oxford: Ashmole 782. She's trying to deny her magical heritage, so even though she can tell the book is more than it seems she just takes a peek and sends it back.

It turns out that supernatural creatures of all sorts have been trying to get their hands on Ashmole 782 for more than a hundred years. They can't call it up, they can't open it - the enchantment is too powerful, it defeats everyone but Diana. So now all these scheming supernatural creatures start scheming after Diana, hoping to use her in order to gain access to this book.

So what happens next? Well, let's see. She goes rowing. She takes a run. She goes out to breakfast. She has lunch. She goes to yoga class. I don't mean that she thinks to herself, "I'll go out for a run," but before her run is over, something dramatic happens to further the plot. Oh no. When she goes for a run, she clocks her miles and gets home without incident. Same with the rowing and the yoga and the lunch.

So back to the main plot. She calls the book and opens it within the first couple of chapters. She doesn't try to look at it again until about 25% of the way through the book. Does anything dramatic happen between the beginning and the 25% mark? Well...she has a couple of tense conversations, does that count? And she meets her boyfriend.

Speaking of the boyfriend, Matthew...well, don't get your hopes up for an exciting romance. Here is a quote, totally in context, where the narrator gushes about how great her relationship with Matthew is: "This was so different from books and movies, where love was made into something tense and difficult." She is NOT KIDDING. There is NO tension. They meet, they're soulmates, the end.

Once Matthew takes over, all Diana ever seems to do is sleep and eat. There is one passage that made me laugh out loud. Matthew has been away accomplishing things and he's due home, so Diana is "determined to be waiting when he pulled up." OK! Now we've got some courage and strength on display! She's determined to be waiting! The very next sentence begins, "First I waited in the salon on a sofa by the fire..." and the next couple of pages describe all the other ways she waited. Nothing interrupts her, nothing distracts her. She really spends the afternoon waiting, and we're really expected to read about it.

I could go on and on. A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES is like a pinata, in a way, I just want to keep bashing at it. There's just SO MUCH to dislike. Like, imagine all the "spoilers" I'm not spoiling in my review (hint: there aren't many, because NOTHING HAPPENS).

I thought this book was a book of lost potential. It COULD have been the adult version of the Twilight saga. Yet, it was repetitive, at times boring/annoying, and full of cliches.

#1: If you've read Twilight, do you know how Bella is very mopey and stubborn, refusing to get out of the way of danger, putting numerous people/creatures in danger by doing so, and then lamenting what a selfish person she is...before she does it again 100 pages later? Yeah. That's the main character in this book, Diana. She's a witch, btw.

#2: If you've read Twilight, do you know how Edward is very stoic and secretive, torturing himself for loving a girl he wishes to eat, yet tormenting himself by constantly placing himself in positions where he must fight his animalistic impulses...before he does it again 100 pages later? Yeah. That's the other main character in this book, Matthew.

#3: Matthew seems to have conveniently over his 1000+ years of living ended up best buds with the greatest thinkers, scientists and astronomers in world history (Think the diminutive Will...for William Shakespeare). While this might have been funny one time, it is used SEVERAL times over. It's corny. Also, Matthew, like the vampires in Twilight, has accumulated an incredible amount of education and wealth, and therefore owns chateaus and sports cars.

#4: There were LOOOOONG scenes of tortured abstinence (Twilight-esque...again)where I literally flipped 15 pages before getting to the next scene. This was not a one-time deal. There were quite a few conversations or scenes that dragged on far too long to hold your attention.

#5: VERY REPETITIVE. For the entire book , there are about 3 climactic scenes. Between, the other hundreds of pages are flirtation and angst between the two lovers, and a very butchered, manipulated history of alchemy. Most of the abstinence plot line stems from the fact that witches and vampires are not supposed to love each other, a key driver in the plot. There are also pages and pages of Diana taking a bath (not erotically. just the author wants you to know she bathes, apparently) and sleeping, eating and taking another bath, sleeping and eating. Over and over. With dialogue.

#6: The explanation of witch powers and history, and science tied into the plot make this book everything that it is, and that's not much. These provide the only components of the book that make it distinctive from the very many other books of this genre to come about on the tail of Twilight.

Overall, it's an indulgent, easy read. It won't challenge you (it's not meant to, but it probably won't really entertain either), and when you're done, the only reason you'll want more is because the book stops at the oddest place known to book endings. Maybe there is another book coming, but if not, the ending is ridiculously unsatisfying. Basically, the way the plot runs, and with the foreshadowing, a big show down is expected that never materializes.

I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS BOOK. With some better editing and more creative writing, it could have been a good thing.Too bad you can'tn do do-overs in publishing.

I really wanted to like this novel. I love the supernatural, history, and biology, so I thought this novel would be really compelling and interesting. It wasn't. It was 600 pages of boring fluff. It dragged on much too long and there was nothing resolved. I understand the author is writing a sequel and that the story line wouldn't be wrapped up in one novel, but I was so frustrated by the lack of any progress or development of the story. Take for example, Harry Potter--J.K. Rowling had an overriding arc for her series, but each individual book had it's own conflict that was resolved. Even Stephanie Meyer knew to do the same for her Twilight series. But Deborah Harkness doesn't. I hate starting a novel and not finishing it, so I forced myself to read A Discovery of Witches in its entirety. I was hoping something interesting would happen, but I was sorely disappointed. What the author did write about, time and time again, is that Diana loves tea, rowing, eating, yoga, sleep, and her research--very mundane facts that were repeated a thousand times. Diana was depicted by her actions as a weak damsel in constant distress despite the author saying Diana was confident and strong. Major contradiction by the author there.

Finishing this novel just left me completely frustrated that I wasted my time. I felt like there was no purpose to this novel, except as filler for the next. We get a lot of background and history on the characters and the supernatural elements, but that's it. The story was barely developed, and nothing was resolved. Overall this novel was just boring, frustratingly so. I don't recommend it, especially since it's 600 pages of pure fluff.

This book started out as engaging and interesting but went downhill fast. I got the impression that the author had decent bones of a story around a intelligent repressed witch, but the editors decided a Forbidden Love With Vampire theme would be more profitable. Huge disappointment in the end where it clearly sets up a book 2 rather than having an actual conclusion (you can do both, you know). I honestly felt cheated at the end. Harry Potter meets Twilight meets Outlander, but in the worst exploitative sense.