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A Discovery of Witches
A Discovery of Witches
Author: Deborah Harkness
An epic, richly inventive, historically sweeping, magical romance. 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 ...  more »
ISBN-13: 9780755374021
ISBN-10: 0755374029
Publication Date: 2011
Pages: 608
Rating:
  • Currently 3.7/5 Stars.
 11

3.7 stars, based on 11 ratings
Publisher: Headline
Book Type: Hardcover
Other Versions: Paperback, Audio CD
Members Wishing: 8
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

skookytramp avatar reviewed A Discovery of Witches on
Helpful Score: 1
It was just Blah. I mean seriously, It was supposed to be about Vampires, Witches and Daemons. It's a romance novel and a pretty boring one at that. So much unneeded filler about what they were wearing, eating, drinking...blah blah blah.. The main vampire dude is always like "you're tired....take a nap and have some tea and I will watch you eat and drink some wine. Then she's like all OOh and AHH I get all tingly snowflake feelings when he stares hungrily at me.... blah blah blah.
There was some interesting historical things going on, I wish those had been developed more. The characters history and background was better than what they were doing in the book. Hopefully the second book will be better.

If you want some cool Vampirey madness go read the Midnight Blue Sonja Blue Collection by Nancy Rollins.It's good stuff. ~ peace
escapeartistk avatar reviewed A Discovery of Witches on + 207 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Those who have described "A Discovery of Witches" as "Twilight for grown-ups" are right on target. This is really just a dressed-up romance novel. (Ok, Ive never actually read/seen "Twilight," nor have I read a romance novelWell, I guess I have now.) The author does present some interesting (but underdeveloped) concepts and the research is good. However, her poor storytelling impedes her creativity. About a quarter of the book seems unnecessary and should have been edited out, like the passage below, which I assume was intended as characterization:
'I showered and dressed in loose trousers and a turtleneck. Their unalleviated black accentuated my height and minimized my athletic build, but it also made me resemble a corpse, so I tied a soft periwinkle sweater around my shoulders. That made the circles under my eyes look bluer'
(The narrator goes on for couple more sentences about her unruly hair before the paragraph ends.)

Still, I didnt totally dislike the book; it just didnt live up to the hype that had informed my expectations. I might even check out the sequel to see how the author develops those ideas that were promising and for which this first book was a set-up. Ultimately, Id describe it as a decent beach read.
Read All 3 Book Reviews of "A Discovery of Witches"

Book Wiki

Common Title
Series
Original Publication Date (YYYY-MM-DD)
People/Characters
Diana Bishop (Primary Character)
Matthew Clairmont (Primary Character)
Marcus Whitmore (Major Character)
Ysabeau de Clermont (Major Character)
Marthe (Major Character)
(Show all 15 People/Characters)

Genres: