A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness - A Review

The first book in the International Bestselling All Souls series

About the Book

Diana Bishop is a witch and a historian, who orders a manuscript from the Bodleian Library. When it arrives, it is sealed with magic, and when she opens it, she unwittingly opens the door for a whole lot of magic to come her way. As fellow witches, daemons and vampires gather, it is Matthew Clairmont, vampire and geneticist, that finds her first. As the two characters grow closer, their lives become entwined in a way neither would have imagined.

Review

I can understand why this is such a massive hit. It has everything to make it a success. I mean, a handsome brooding vampire and a bookish witch - what's not to love?

This may be an unpopular opinion but....I didn't love it.

I admit, I really enjoyed the first half of the book. But, it is long. Somehow, as I was reading, I didn't quite understand when the two main characters (SPOILER ALERT....) fell in love. It just seemed like they were getting along nicely and then they are putting all their families and friends in danger and starting a war because they are so in love.

The book moved really quickly, and I think the number of characters introduced plus all the information just overwhelmed me. I personally feel like this could have been two books. I feel like this may be my downfall, I did the exact same thing with Diana Gabaldon's Outlander book series. I REALLY wanted to like them but when the author goes into so much detail, I end up skim reading. I suppose if I'm going to be reviewing books, I should probably stop that!

I give this book 3/5 - the plot is interesting but I was lost a little in the details.

There are other books in this series, which luckily for me, have been turned into a TV series being shown on Sky so I can follow the story on there. Hopefully it will be easier to follow when I can put a face to the name.

Have you read the next books in the series? Should I persevere? Let me know in the comments below, or visit my Facebook and Instagram page by using the icons at the top of the screen and connect with me on there!

Happy Reading!

Jo