When historian Diana Bishop opens an alchemical manuscript in the Bodleian Library, it's an unwelcome intrusion of magic into her carefully ordered life. Though Diana is a witch of impeccable lineage, the violent death of her parents while she was still a child convinced her that human fear is more potent than any witchcraft. Now Diana has unwittingly exposed herself to a world she's kept at bay for years; one of powerful witches, creative, destructive daemons and long-lived vampires.
Sensing the significance of Diana's discovery, the creatures gather in Oxford, among them the enigmatic Matthew Clairmont, a vampire geneticist.
Diana is inexplicably drawn to Matthew and, in a shadowy world of half-truths and old enmities, ties herself to him without fully understanding the ancient line they are crossing. As they begin to unlock the secrets of the manuscript and their feelings for each other deepen, so the fragile balance of peace unravels...
Genre:fantasy/paranormal
Publication date: February 2011
Mature content: yes
Review: I have no idea why it took me so long to read this book, but I'm very glad I finally did. I had some issues with the plot and the characters (hence the four stars rating instead of five), but overall the story is so addictive I practically couldn't put it down. It's not your mainstream witches and vampires book, which makes it much more convincing.
The first two thirds of the book move at a pretty quick pace (not easy for a book this size). The last third is a bit harder to swallow, especially because the story takes a turn in a different direction from what I expected. It's almost as if halfway through the author decided to give it an Outlander vibe. New characters are added and so many additional details come to light that it's harder to keep track of who does what.
Mathew is my favorite character (and the most consistent one), though I'm not sure his description fits into a thirty seven year old born around 500 AD, even if his body experienced some improvements after he was turned into a vampire (and if he was "improved" why didn't the same happen to Marthe?). At a time where live expectancy was often less than thirty years, he would have been a very, very old man at thirty seven...
The house in Madison turns weirder and weirder as time goes by, and harder to accept except as very convenient way to introduce even more complications into the story. Tabitha the cat, though, is another favorite of mine.
I also was completely baffled by the sudden appearance of Nathaniel and Sophie almost at the end of the book - and how easy it was for super possessive and protective Mathew (and Marcus, and the rest) to let them stay. Hopefully, it will all be better explained in one of the next installments.
Despite all of the above, A Discovery of Witches is still a page turner. No wonder it was turned into a TV series (which was actually what prompt me to look for the books):
And ff course the cliffhanger ensures that you will be moving on to book two in the series...I have, so expect a review of Shadow of Night (hopefully) soon.
Happy readings!
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