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A Discovery of Witches
A Discovery of Witches
Author: Deborah Harkness
Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished ... more »line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the b...  more »
ISBN-13: 9781594135057
ISBN-10: 1594135053
Publication Date: 12/27/2011
Pages: 882
Edition: Lrg
Rating:
  • Currently 3.4/5 Stars.
 10

3.4 stars, based on 10 ratings
Publisher: Large Print Press
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover, Audio CD
Members Wishing: 13
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: