A Discovery of Witches

Score: 5/5 Bookmarks

I read A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness as part of a buddy read this month and oh boy did I enjoy this one!

Now, I really like the Twilight and Vampire Diaries books, but A Discovery of Witches is a grown-up version…and so much better. There are still witches and vampires, but also demons alchemy, time travel, and historical realism that makes my heart happy.

Diana Bishop is researching alchemy manuscripts in the Bodleian Library, at Oxford, when she discovers a bewitched alchemical manuscript. All hell breaks loose as it turns out she’s found a book that has been missing for hundreds of years, and there are more than a few creatures that want to get their hands on it.

The book paints such a vivid picture of Oxford and then rural France in the fall that you’ll be completely transported. And once you’ve finished this book there are two more in the series, along with a TV series where you can relive it all again!

If you’d rather listen than read, the audiobook is narrated by Jennifer Ikeda (who also narrated ACOTAR and ACOMAF) and she’s wonderful! You can grab the audiobook here or the physical book by clicking the button below.

Synopsis:

A richly inventive novel about a centuries-old vampire, a spellbound witch, and the mysterious manuscript that draws them together.

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 line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.

Debut novelist Deborah Harkness has crafted a mesmerizing and addictive read, equal parts history and magic, romance and suspense. Diana is a bold heroine who meets her equal in vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont, and gradually warms up to him as their alliance deepens into an intimacy that violates age-old taboos. This smart, sophisticated story harks back to the novels of Anne Rice, but it is as contemporary and sensual as the Twilight series-with an extra serving of historical realism.