A Discovery of Witches (All Souls, #1)

Name: A Discovery of Witches
Rating: 3.75 (61 reviews)

by Deborah Harkness

61 ratings • 21 reviews • 144 shelved

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A Discovery of Witches (All Souls, #1)

by Deborah Harkness

61 ratings • 21 reviews • 144 shelved

This Edition
Other Editions

ISBN10 1101475692
ISBN13 9781101475690
Publish Date 1 February 2011
Publish Status Active
Publish Country US
Imprint Penguin Group

Format eBook
Pages 592
Language English

Reviews

4★ Audiobook⎮ A Discovery of Witches turned out to be more like A Discovery of Witches and Vampires. If I had known that beforehand, I probably would have been more hesitant about starting this series, which is partially why I feel slighted by Deborah Harkness. Make no mistake, the other reviews likening this story to Twilight aren’t being dramatic. The Witch-Vampire romance threatened to overtake the storyline several times and nearly ruined my experience with A Discovery of Witches.

The thing that really ticks me off about this story is that it had so much going for it. Harkness wove a masterful tale, incorporating elements of history, religion, mythology and science. Though longwinded, the pacing was almost perfect and the action was gripping. It’s those things, along with the expert narration, that make A Discovery of Witches deserve four stars. Assuming you can bear the nauseating romance, that is.

And I do mean nauseating. Just thinking about Matthew Clairmont leaves a bad taste in my mouth. His and Diana’s (the protagonist) romance was beyond creepy, but when is vampire romance not? Matthew was an awful character and he definitely brought out the worst in Diana. The terrible development of the romance made A Discovery of Witches seem like a tale of two different stories. The first half of the book is remarkably more interesting than the second half, with the tipping point being Harkness’ heating up of the romance plot.

Alone, Diana was bearable, even pleasant. I loved hearing about her family history. In my opinion, The Bishop House was the most interesting character in the entire story and it was a house. I also loved the ghosts that inhabit the house. They made my late-night listening sessions extremely spooky and Halloween-esque, which is nice in the middle of April.

Despite absolutely loathing the romance, the plot of A Discovery of Witches was intriguing enough to make me put up with it. Harkness’ writing was methodical and detail-oriented, making the major plot points well-developed, even if the romance wasn’t. I quickly discovered that this was the perfect audiobook for late-night and even middle-of-the-night listening. Something about listening in the dark put my senses on edge, making the story even more enjoyable than it was during the daylight.

It got a little long towards the end and I think A Discovery of Witches could have easily been cut into two installments. Twilight comparisons aside, A Discovery of Witches reminded me more of the Immortal Descendants series. The presence of a vampire boyfriend was my chief complaint with that series too, but Immortal Descendants boasts a much more likable protagonist (who doesn’t lose her spunk upon hooking up with said vampire).

These two books also share the inclusion of time travel into the plot and I’m curious to see how Harkness will approach it. I tend to enjoy science fiction-based time travel more than fantasy-based, so my expectations aren’t very high in that regard. I’m also not expecting Matthew to suddenly become less “knight in shining armor” or Diana to suddenly recover her spine, so I’m not sure how soon I’ll be reaching for the next installment. Hopefully, time will help me forget some of the story’s cringe worthy moments and focus on the parts I managed to enjoy.

Narration review: Jennifer Ikeda deserves a freaking medal for helping me through this. Her narration was easily one of the highest points in this listening experience. Each time I hear Ikeda, she moves up higher on my list of favorite narrators. The multitude of characters in A Discovery of Witches really gave Jennifer the chance to showcase her characterization abilities. Her accents were spot on and fit each character perfectly. Important: If you are considering giving A Discovery of Witches a try, do yourself a favor and pick up the audiobook. The story will be long either way, but at least you’ll have Jennifer Ikeda’s masterful narration to guide you through it. I doubt I would have made it through the story without her. ♣︎

Berls

Written on Jul 6, 2015

This review appeared first at Fantasy is More Fun.

I meant to pick up A Discovery of Witches a while ago, but it never happened. Then, in May we decided it would be our JULY book club read. Plenty of time to read it - so what did I do? I started it the weekend before, meaning I had roughly 3 days to read a 24 hour audio book. Generally speaking, that would mean that there was no way in HELL I was going to get that book finished in time. Guess what? I finished it with a day to spare! Yeah, I gobbled up A Discovery of Witches. It sucked me in and wouldn't let me go!

So here's the thing - I'm EXACTLY the sort of person that A Discovery of Witches is written for. At book club I found out that quite a few people found the first bit really slow. And after hearing their input, I can see why. For me, it was never slow because the main character is a historian. And not just any historian, but a historian of alchemy. And Diana is an Early Modern Historian - but she delves into the Middle Ages a bit. Now, those of you who've followed my blog for a while *might* remember that I went to grad school for history. You might even recall that I'm a medieval historian. What you likely DON'T know is that I'm a LATE medieval historian, who pushes into the Early Modern period frequently. You also probably don't know that one of my exam fields is the History of Medicine... which just so happens to include - yep, you guessed it: Alchemy!

Okay - so point is - I'm probably the LEAST reliable source on whether this early bit dragged or not, because for me it was like inserting myself into all the good parts of grad school (and if you read this post you know grad school has not been a positive experience for me). It kinda reminded me what I love about history. And all the texts and people she talked about, like William Harvey and Vesalius... I'm initmately acquaninted with. Many of the manuscripts she talks about I've read and even handled. So it so sucked me in, because understanding and feeling close to Diana was oh so easy. And the historical references in A Dicovery of Witches were so rich and so on point.

So how about the stuff that has nothing to do with my history background? Well for me it was just this really great love story, set in my favorite kind of world - a complex magical one. I just love the world Harkness created and the way she reinvented Demons, gave witches some interesting twists, and kind of stuck to what we expect from vampires. It was an interesting, unique blend and I really enjoyed it.

Those who really like A Discovery of Witches and don't like Twilight will probably completely disagree with me on this next point - but in my opinion, the love story had something of Twilight in it. I personally really enjoyed Twilight though, despite KNOWING it's not at all great literature. Here's an essential point though: As I was reading I found myself wondering if Stephanie Meyer might have read this and used it as inspiration. And then I found out that A Discovery of Witches wasn't published until 2011 - AFTER Twilight. I never imagined the reverse, because while Twilight was a fun read - A Discovery of Witches is so complex and rich. A Discovery of Witches far surpasses Twilight, despite sharing similiarities! But you know that love story that kinda sucked you in when you first read Twilight? Matthew and Diana have a bit of that AND MORE.

Pacing wise, I felt it was a really steady pace and then the last 25% was non-stop. So much of what I'd like to talk about happens in that last 25% so just go ahead and read it, ok? I can't recommend the audio enough. Jennifer Ikeda did a FANTASTIC job. This is a LONG book with LOTS of voices and accents and she nailed them! I listened at 1.8 speed and that was never a problem, which says a lot about a narrator IMO. Her voices for men and women were varied and strong. And I was really impressed when the story would indicate that Matthew's accent changed and Jennifer's narration did just that, while still maintaining that quality that made him Matthew. Definitely one to listen to.

I think I've praised A Discovery of Witches enough... so I'll end with:

Martha G

Written on Nov 3, 2012

I almost gave up on it. It was long and it took a while for me to care for the characters. Maybe I'm getting tired of vampire stories. By the middle, I was slowly getting sucked in and it ends with a cliff hanger. Most likely I'll read the second book to find out what happens. There are a lot of witches, vampires, and daemons after her and the book she unwittingly discovered which they all want. The author offers a lot of detail and it got better and better as it went on. Overall I enjoyed it and I enjoyed the romance between Diana the witch and Matthew, the vampire.

Terri M. LeBlanc

Written on Oct 12, 2012

EBookObsessed

Written on Jun 13, 2012

Be back shortly with a review.

see more at http://ebookobsesed.com.

Melanie

Written on Mar 26, 2012

This is a great story with excellent character and worldbuilding. I'm not a fan of cliffhangers and this one is no different. I still don't like cliffhangers. I can't wait for the next book. I listen to the audiobook, which is read well.

Artemis

Written on Sep 7, 2011

2011: This is the second worst book after Shiver I've read all year. I can't stand the way its written or the characters.

2019: I actually managed to finish this, but I made it one chapter into the second book and just gave up. I was definitely more interested in the quest for the book then the Matthew/Diana love story. I would say the historian parts are written great, and would love to see that slow mystery of the book unravel but the romance part is what is stopping me from continuing.

Eve1972

Written on Jul 5, 2011

Really enjoyed this one, I can't wait for the next book!

elysium

Written on Apr 11, 2011

4.5 stars

The book starts when Diana Bishop discovers a bewitched manuscript,called Ashmole 782, in a library at Oxford. It has been lost for centuries and soon all kind of witches, daemons and vampires are trying to get it. One of them is Matthew Clairmont, a scientist who is also vampire.
Diana is from a powerful family of witches but after her parents’ death she has refused to use her powers. But when things starts to take dangerous turn she learns that she can’t ignore her heritage anymore.

Book is told from Diane’s point of view and it worked here. She’s strong, brave, intelligent and she’s historian. What’s not to like? It was interesting to see how she grew during the book, fing herself again and learning to control her powers.

Matthew is over 1000 year old vampire who takes interest in Diana. At first he is just looking for Ashmole 782 but soon finds that he can’t keep her out of his thoughts. But vampires and witches aren’t supposed to be together as they are about to find out. I liked Matthew and the chemistry between him and Diane. Sure he had this medieval thing about protecting women and stuff but I thought he was still quite adorable.

There was quite a lot talking about DNA and alchemy and I have to say that it went way over my head. But it was still interesting and it didn’t made m enjoy it any less.

And there was a finnish witch called Satu Järvinen :) That doesn’t happen often and just made me happy. Of course she was one of the bad guys but you can’t have it all, can you? She kinda leaves a lasting impression on Diane, not to mention traumas.

I really liked this book! I liked the first half book better with Matthew and Diane getting to know eachother. In later part things started to move much faster and while it was fun it didn’t feel the same.

A word of warning: the books has much detailed telling about things. How wine or food tasted and or smelled and their reactions to it. So if you’re not into that kind of thing you should be warned.

kimbacaffeinate

Written on Feb 20, 2011

This is the first in an exciting trilogy about witches, vampires and dameon. It is a mystery, a love story and an adventure laced with history. One of the best books I’ve ever read.
The protagonist Dr.Diana Bishop is studying old alchemical texts archived at the Bodleian Library, in Oxford when she requests the book, Ashmole 782 from the stacks. Unknown to her, this book has been missing and is wanted by vampires, dameon and witches for the secrets it holds. When she opens the book, she feels its power and can see hidden messages in it, but like all magic it scares her and she quickly puts it back. Diana is a descendant of the famous witch, Bridget Bishop of Salem, Massachusetts. Her Aunts are witches, but Diana doesn't have any magic or does she? After her brief encounter with the book, she has attracted the attention of dameons, witches and vampires. One vampire in particular is persistent; he is Matthew Clairmont, an attractive professor of biochemistry and neuroscience. When the witches and dameons demand she produce the lost book, Matthew steps in and thus the adventure begins.
I loved everything about this book from the deep historical details, to the world wind romance between Diana and Matthew. The other characters in this book are equally appealing. While some may not like the length of this book, I found the details enjoyable, and know they have helped to lay the ground work for the next two books in this series. I will be first in line to purchase book 2 - Shadow of Night, release 2012