Review: A Discovery of Witches( All Soul's Trilogy #1) by Deborah Harkness

Dark, sensible and intelligent take on the supernatural

Title: A Discovery of Witches
Series: All Soul’s Trilogy
Author: Deborah Harkness
Publisher: Headline
My ratings: 4 out of 5 stars
Released: 1st September, 2011

S urprisingly satisfying, The Discovery of Witches was seriously enjoyable.

It all started from a manuscript, which Diana found in the Bolden Library in Oxford. She is a witch who wants nothing to do with her heritage and her lineage which keeps haunting her wherever she goes to escape it. She catches the eye of Mathew Clairmont, an ancient vampire who had been searching for this manuscript from hundreds of year and now all creatures including Diana’s brethren, vampires and daemons are hunting Diana for the manuscript.

The blurb does not do justice to the story. This book was a long arduous albeit enjoyable joinery to the dark mysterious pits of the Oxford scholarly world with different supernatural creatures thrown together into the mix. I’ll not do too much into detail as this book is very much show and not tell. I went into this book with trepidation considering this was a long book and gave quite a grown up vibe and few pages in and I realised I was enjoying it.

The Discovery of Witches is an apt tittle for this book because as much as it is a story about Diana and Mathew and there forbidden love, it is also about the discovery of the world filled with different creatures and how the secret world slowly unravels itself.

If you are looking for a fast paced, nonstop action book, then this is not for you. However if you want a book which will slowly uncurl it’s secrets, wrap you around it’s fingers and make you crave wine even if you have never tasted it. Heck, I don’t even drink alcohol and I wanted to taste some of the vintage that Mathew kept plying into Diana.

This book was a slow burn for me but one which does not give you congestion. Oh no, it gave me this tingles and just the right amount that you are warm and comfy and don’t want to move off your sofa. It is a shame that I read A Discovery of Witches in summer for I think it is an ideal book to read while curled in a sofa on a cold crisp night with a blanket and read into the wee hours into the morning.

Overall, A Discovery of Witches is an intelligent, clever; ‘grown-up’ take on the supernatural which will keep you coming back for more. Recommended for fans of not only the supernatural but also for readers who was your paranormal fix with less action and more intellect and of course for wine connoisseurs.

The last book in the All Soul’s Trilogy, The Book of Life, came out on 15th of June, 2014.  

Review copy received via Headline Books, UK