A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

When historian Diana Bishop unassumingly calls a bewitched manuscript from the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, she doesn't realize that the magic inside of her that she has considered unwelcome for so long is soon to cause problems for her and will open the floodgates to a world of magical creatures that she has tried to remain removed from her whole life.

Suddenly vampires, witches and daemons are swarming the Bodleian, all with the desire to get their hands on this powerful alchemical manuscript, for they feel it can unlock the secrets about their future and their past.

One such creature with an interest in the manuscript is Matthew Clairmont, a charming vampire who seduces Diana and becomes invested, not only in her research, but also in her personally. This quickly angers the supernatural world of creatures and Diana and Matthew must fight not only for the manuscript, but also for their love.

A Discovery of Witches was not a book I was expecting to like. I've never been a huge fan of the paranormal and this book is teeming with it. Despite the fact that the characters felt emotionally distant, I still really enjoyed spending time with them and found their plight fascinating. A good way to describe this book would be a much more grown up, erudite version of Twilight. So all the Twi-hards who are all grown up and need a new fix, Matthew Clairmont might be a good replacement for Edward Cullen. 


I definitely am looking forward to reading the second book in the series which comes out this summer.


A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
Series: All Souls #1
Published: February 8, 2011
Publisher: Viking
Pages: 579
Genre: Fantasy
Audience: Adults