Discovery of Witches By Deborah Harkness
Viking, 2011. 579 pgs. Fiction
Dr. Diana Bishop has carefully suppressed her magical abilities despite coming from a long and respected line of witches. Instead, she has focused on her career which has taken her to Oxford to spend her days in the library perusing ancient documents. Diana’s self-imposed exile from the magical word becomes impossible to maintain when a mysterious folio finds its way into her hands. She is suddenly attracting a great deal of supernatural attention including that of a vampire with piercing eyes and questionable intentions.
This is the first book in a new series that seems to be a cross between Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander and Charlaine Harris’s Dead Until Dark. Readers can’t help but notice that the story is a buildup to further adventures is subsequent volumes. Few would consider this a good stand-alone since there is little closure at the end of the book’s almost 600 pages. However, enough plot advancement and character development occur to provide an entertaining read.
CZ
1 comment:
Diana Bishop comes from a long lineage of witches, but the mysterious death of her parents causes her to shut her magic away and live like a human. While working in Oxford University as a historian, Diana uncovers an old book that clearly has a spell on it. Against her better judgement she opens the book and finds that it is actually two books, one an alchemical book and one with hidden writing. Her finding of the book bring vampire Matthew Clairmont into her life. At first Matthew thinks he is protecting Diana, but soon their feelings becoming romantically entangled. But it is against the laws of both witches and vampires to fall in love with another creature, and soon forces more powerful than Diana has ever experienced try to keep her away from Matthew. But little do these shadowy forces know Diana has more power than they ever thought possible and Matthew never lets go when he falls in love.
This is a great bite-your-hand-forget-to-breathe love story. It moved quickly and the writing was excellent. It’s a fabulous contemporary fantasy. I shy away from supernatural romance and I am not much into vampire stories, but Matthew Clairmont stole my heart completely.
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