Kristin K. (escapeartistk) - reviewed on 7/14/2012 + 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.

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