A Discovery of Witches

I have really mixed feelings about this book. The protagonist is interesting -- a serious academic with a complicated relationship with magic -- and there's an intriguing world full of magic and creatures and complex social dynamics. But I just couldn't get on board with the main romance, which is completely central to the plot.

I know we're supposed to be rooting for Matthew and Diana and their forbidden love, but he's a walking pile of red flags! He's possessive and controlling from the moment they meet, always orders Diana around like he knows what's best, has a terrifying temper, and kills people on Diana's behalf. More than once. And the thing is, not only does everyone around Diana act like they know better than her... but they're show more actually right. She's never allowed to be an authority on her own life, and she never gets to finish the paper she's working on! From the moment the love interest appears, Diana's normal life that she's worked so hard for is stripped away from her. It just bothers me.

On the other hand, I love a lot of the supporting cast. Ysabeau is great, and Sarah and Em are the best. And their house! I would happily read more about the Bishop family and their witchy business. show less

Dear "A Discovery of Witches,"

When I heard you were “Twilight for adults” I was skeptical and a bit hesitant to pick you up. Then you were available as a Kindle library loan and I thought what the heck.

When I started reading you, you reminded me more of The Historian than Twilight and I thought the Oxford setting and academia references were interesting. But then you had a vampire who sparkled and a yoga class for “creatures” and I was became wary. Really, the vampire is going to get mad if someone asks what he likes to eat for dinner when they are cooking for him? I think that’s a pretty valid question, even if he has been answering it for centuries.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed reading parts of you, but I do wish you show more had avoided some of the Edward/Bella clichés. I don’t care if the vampire can’t get over some woman’s smell and I get that a vampire’s skin is going to feel cool against the “hot skin of a warm blood.” Also, it’s actually a bit creepy (not sexy) to have him hunting/stalking her, even if he is “falling” for her.

Look, it’s not you, it’s me. I’m just a bit sick of the vampire thing to be honest. I don’t want to read the word chiseled to describe another gorgeous vampire. I don’t want two paragraphs on how someone smells like cloves… in every single chapter.

I really did like some of your supporting characters. You had some great sassy women (I’m looking at you Sarah) and I loved how the house became a character in its own right. But frankly, it wasn’t enough to make me really like you. There were too many repetitive plots and when I reached the end and realized I had just read 600 pages not knowing you weren’t going to resolve ANYTHING I was more than miffed. If you want to have a sequel, that’s fine, just give me some sort of heads up next time.

Sincerely,
Burned out on vampires in the Midwest show less

"A Discovery Of Witches" has a strong sense of place and how people live in them, even though the places are disparate - academic life in Oxford, long-established aristocracy in a Château in rural France, an old Family home in Madison New York.

The creatures in the book - witches, vampires, demons, - are deftly redefined to create something new, intriguing and satisfyingly plausible.

The pace is leisurely without being plodding. Deborah Harkness understands that for the action of the book to mean anything, we have to care about the people as people. She takes the time to show us what they care about, how they live and who they love. She is writing a trilogy and she isn't inclined to rush anything. She knows that those of us who devour show more these things love the details as much if not more than the action.

I thought the start of the book was particularly strong. I was completely engaged with the life of Diana Bishop, a Yale History Professor doing research on Alchemical texts in the in the Bodleian library and spending her spare time rowing and running to burn off her endless energy. It's not easy to write about sitting in a library, reading and taking notes, and make it interesting, but Deborah Harkness pulls it off. This is clearly a world and a place she is at home with and the authenticity of it her descriptions provides the book with a solid base of reality which all good fantasy needs.

The book is salted with historical references and literary quotations that feel right and which demonstrate the insatiable curiosity that drives Diana Bishop's passion for history.

Deborah Harkness has a good ear for dialogue and a good understanding of the differences between how the British and the Americans use English. Jennifer Ikeda rises to the challenge of delivering the wide range of male and female voices and accents (with the exception of Glaswegian which came out too Edinburgh for me) and carried me along effortlessly in the story.

The thing I am most ambivalent about, is Diana Bishop's relationship with Matthew Clairmont. At points it seems like the (almost too) perfect love affair. At other times Diana seems like a cult member, traumatized into being someone different from her natural self and unquestioningly putting Matthew's interests ahead of her own. Of course, this could be the definition of true love.

At the start of the book, Diana is a strong, independent, successful woman. In the course of her relationship with Matthew, she abandons that independence and although she grows in power, she seems less confident and less able to cope.

Part of what makes "A Discovery of Witches" worth reading is that I'm certain that the ambivalence I'm feeling is intentionally provoked by Deborah Harkness. Diana is a complex character who has been through multiple traumas and who is very far away from normal by anyone's standards. The Diana we meet in Oxford at the start of the book is not the Diana we meet in Madison at the end. One way to read the book is that the first Diana was an artificial construct, built by a woman hiding from her own true nature and refusing to engage with the world around her and that the book describes her journey to discover herself as a witch. Another reading is that the Diana we meet in Oxford had already been crippled by earlier events that keep her solitary and make her subject to anxiety attacks and dependent on strenuous exercise to stay calm. Events in France and in Madison further traumatise Diana and the woman she is at the end of the book is scarred and not fully whole. It's also possible to see the story as a romance where the real meaning of Diana's life IS her relationship with Matthew or to see Matthew as a predator who cannot stop himself from consuming Diana's life by taking control of her and changing who she is.

In my view, this all makes "A Discovery of Witches" an entertaining read.

There are a couple of things in the book that don't work for me. The sensual scenes are too Romance Writers of America for my taste. They lack the vivid reality the rest of the book has. I also the bringing together of creatures in Madison was a little too comfortable to be completely credible.

One thing to be aware of before you buy "A Discovery of Witches": it is not really a free-standing novel. It is book one of a trilogy. If you're not up for reading all three then reading book one will not do much for you. show less

I listened to the book on tape, during which I also watched Season 1. I thought maybe it was just me…til I checked out all of the reviews. Nope, this book is a waste. Its not even a good summer read. The main character Diana is supposed to be likeable, but she not only has all of the witch powers, she even has the ones we dont know about. Fine. Except she can’t use any of them. Okay. Is there a great mystery here? Not really, and the book doesnt really go into it more than a casual explanation, other than she spends the whole book whining about how she cant do anything. Oh and she is a very successful professor at Yale, and is doing research at Oxford….but somehow all of her own interests are abandoned the moment she meets the show more (energy) vampire Matthew.

There were a (LOT) of red flags about their relationship, none of which seem to matter. The dont have a ton of interaction before suddenly she can’t live without him, despite everyone saying this isnt a good idea ( uhm co-dependent much?). Apparently he was her destiny. Fine. But couldnt he have been tall, dark & handsome…and also an ally? And not controlling? And not rage filled? Oh and not controllong? We’re supposed to root for this love story but honestly I cringed and or snarked every time they professed their love for each other.

This book was recommended, so I read it without knowing anything about it and its been absolutely painful getting to the end. It has as many questionable values as 50 Shades, but with zero sex. Lots of puritanical allusions, but I guess that makes him a good guy because he wants to wait?!?? Or is this just more patriarchal purity tropes?

As I described this boom to someone else: If you need the next Outlander, there is a book called Discovery of Witches. Its like if Outlander, Twilight and Harry Potter had a sick three way love child. Its like someone watched those and said, oh I got an idea for a book show less

Diana Bishop is a witch, but when she was a child her parents were killed and Diana associated it with being a witch so she has tried her best to cut witch craft and magic out of her life. Unfortunately Diana is a powerful witch so magic is not willing to leave her alone. As a historian working on a paper in Oxford, she one day calls up a Ashmole 782, an alchemical text hidden with spells for centuries that may hold the key to any number of things depending on what witch, vampire or daemon you talk to. It's drawing her all kinds of attention from the witches, daemons and vampires she has been trying to avoid; including one Matthew Clairmont, a powerful vampire that she finds herself developing a relationship with.

I really loved this show more book so much. It was recommended by a friend and even though it took me almost a week to read, I was thrilled with the outcome. The book is sooo rich in detail. Historical details and figures have been intricately woven into an amazing world populated with paranormal creatures. There are references to famous playwrights, musicians, monarchs and popes. It was kind of wonderful to see find out who was human and who wasn't and how the creatures traits were woven into the existing historical figures behaviors.

I also really loved the interplay of genetics in this book. Science can be kind of a turn off because it's not my strong suit and sometimes it just confuses me enough that I can no longer follow the story. However all of the science here makes sense and the explanations are basic enough that I don't feel like I'm lost in it. The science part of the plot was enough to even make my fiance interested in the story. (Not a big paranormal fiction reader). I especially like the idea of science and magic being tied together in such a strong way. I've always thought that the best kinds of magic were probably science that hasn't been explained yet and this book subscribes to that theory in a strong way.

I loved getting to know the characters in this book as well, from Diana and Matthew to Ysabeau and Sophie. While not everyone is obviously likable initially they are all interesting. Reading about them opening up to each other and their origins or even just the long lives they have had the opportunities to lead was one of the things that really kept me going.

Matthew and Diana's relationship at the moment does leave something to be desired, mainly because Matthew is kind of stuck with many of the sensibilities he developed during his life and because of his predatory instinct. Right now Diana is walking a very thin line, trying not to become subservient but being more flexible then she would normally be to accommodate for him. One of the things I love about Diana is how strong and independent she is and I don't want to see her lose that. I also like Matthew chivalrous nature but these habits of his to dominate make me wonder if I am going to continue to like him. I can't wait to read the next book in the trilogy and see what happens and learn more about the world the author has created. (Of course with my luck that wont be for forever. show less

If you took Edward and Bella out of Twilight, sprinkled in some magic and demons, then smothered it all in random info about history and obscure books, you’d get A Discovery of Witches. They say write what you know, but I don’t think this was the intended result of that phrase.

Way too many words with far too little happening and all rings very familiar. Annoying bits like the main character who has a doctorate and apparently is unfamiliar with mitochondrial DNA, something that anyone who took biology in high school would know about. And it was incredibly irritating that they kept calling Diana brave. If you’re too dumb to know there’s anything to be afraid of, it’s not brave. She’s a boho waifish brat and he’s an show more obnoxious creepy stalker and we’re supposed to find their romance compelling.

It kept my attention but more for the side characters and the bits of magic but it desperately needed an editor because it’s about 200 pages of unnecessary literary, alchemical and historical references too long. I’m not sure if I’ll pick up the sequel but I’ll probably have to check the page count first. It left off on a weird cliffhanger and I’m not sure if I care what happens next. show less

This is my 5th read through of the series, and I have to say - it still lives up to my high school memories of it! By far one of the most interesting, intricate, and imaginative stories I’ve read. The world building is amazing and detailed, the magic system is unique and unlike any I’ve read elsewhere before. The characters are all so well developed and have such depth to them that by the end of the first book, you already love them and want to join the family. I had forgotten how quickly the story seems to move too. The pacing is great but there is so much information to absorb and so much seems to happen in a relatively short time period; this book takes place between late September and Halloween night. This series combines show more science, alchemy, history, magic, and literature in a way that gives you a nice fresh breath of air and really helps to keep you rooted into this world and the narrative that's unfolding. show less