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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
Alright, so A Discovery of Witches is basically Twilight for history nerds (like me), but in the best way possible. Deborah Harkness takes the usual vampire-witch romance trope and injects it with academic intrigue, historical depth, and a whole lot of wine appreciation.
The story follows Diana Bishop, a historian (and reluctant witch) who stumbles upon a magical manuscript in Oxford’s Bodleian Library. Enter Matthew Clairmont, a brooding, centuries-old vampire with a taste for both fine wine and stalking (but, like, in a chivalrous way?). Together, they embark on a slow-burn romance while unraveling the mysteries of their supernatural world.
I devoured this book. If you like your fantasy with a side of academia, alchemy, and forbidden love, this is a solid pick. Just be prepared for a lot of long descriptions and the occasional eyeroll at the romance drama. Definitely continuing the series!
The story follows Diana Bishop, a historian (and reluctant witch) who stumbles upon a magical manuscript in Oxford’s Bodleian Library. Enter Matthew Clairmont, a brooding, centuries-old vampire with a taste for both fine wine and stalking (but, like, in a chivalrous way?). Together, they embark on a slow-burn romance while unraveling the mysteries of their supernatural world.
I devoured this book. If you like your fantasy with a side of academia, alchemy, and forbidden love, this is a solid pick. Just be prepared for a lot of long descriptions and the occasional eyeroll at the romance drama. Definitely continuing the series!
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
2.5 for the vibes and premise. The premise was a cool witchy, dark academia setting where there is a mysterious book that everyone is trying to get their hands on. Add a strange history with her parents and a handsome vampire and that sounds pretty interesting! It wasn’t. At least, in my opinion, it wasnt very gripping. It felt like the actual plot was on the back burner while Diana and whatshisface begin spending time together and going on cute dates. If I wanted to read a witchy ROMCOM I’d have picked up a different book, preferably one that isn’t over 500 pages. I digress, the mystery aspect was interesting I just didn’t get much time between Diana sniffing her tea and wine. Like really, does the reader need to know what her tea and wine smell like every time she drinks? Or what her outfit smells like? An outfit description isn’t illegal but damn I don’t care about you putting on yoga pants for the 10th time! And don’t get me started on whatshisface. This is just my personal opinion, but I hate dominant men. They give me the ick so bad, so when he tries to tell her what to do, when to eat, when to go to bed, help her with every little thing like getting off her horse, it just fucking annoying. She’s not a kid you don’t have to treat her like one. An argument might be that he’s a vampire so he can smell her needs, so the fuck what? She’s still an adult woman that can chose when to go to bed! I’m not here to yuck anyone’s yum though, if you’re into that this book is for you.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
This series came highly recommended, praying that the next two books make up for what this lacks. I can see the allure and why this book was popular when it came out in 2011. The main character is a more sophisticated Bella with her more polished and intelligent Edward (IFYKYK). Despite this, the whole thing is some odd series of oxymorons. The main character is a strong, independent, and intelligent female... who slowly weakens, becomes wholly dependent on her partner, and uses her intellect to move butter around the house. For some reason I can't even fully explain, it was good enough to finish and be interested in continuing the series. I enjoyed the authors descriptors, cadence, and the concept of the bare plot. Overall, I'd rate this a strong "meh."TLDR: If you're currently part of the ACOTAR cult, this may not be your cup of tea. If you've been a Twilight die hard for over a decade, it probably is.
I was very disappointed in this book. It had all of the components to be a great book, but failed miserably! The first 300 pages are nothing but vampires and witches doing yoga and reading in a library. If she would have limited that storyline I think this could have been a great book. Everytime there would be the slightest bit of suspence she'd kill it. Over all i wish she would have cut the first half of the book out. I will probably read the series just because I'm a sucker for series books, but not my first choice.
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It's giving Twilight postgrad. Very dark academia vibes. Love the relationship between Matthew and Diana. Love her magic potential. Love the "who hurt you" moments but she could have saved herself. The last 25% was very exposition heavy. Hope it pays off later in the series.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes