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btg's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I'll start with the positives. Harkness's "A Discovery of Witches" has decent world-building, solid prose, a good research basis, and an interesting female lead. Harkness is clearly a good writer, particularly in the urban fantasy genre; she manages to make the idea of her story feel plausible. It is an extremely slow-paced novel - think slightly less glacial than "Lord of the Rings" - but if that's your thing, you should have fun.
Still, it's ultimately Diana who manages to save this book from becoming cringe-worthy. Diana, who is intelligent and refuses to take any crap, prevents the main male lead from feeling so controlling that it's impossible to root for their relationship.
Because Matthew is ultimately where "A Discovery of Witches" falls apart. That's a problem, because "A Discovery of Witches", more than it is an urban fantasy, is a supernatural romance. I need to be able to root for the two leads; I need to want to see them together. Harkness did a great job at ensuring Matthew's character flaws take center stage -- unfortunately, she did such a good job doing this that it's difficult to like Matthew at all. Matthew's character is based on misogynistic tropes common in vampire fiction. He's controlling, reactive, overprotective, secretive, and to a certain degree, violent and threatening (though thankfully never directly to Diana). Worse, these traits are not only accepted by the rest of the cast, but they're also justified by the worldbuilding. Multiple characters suggest that this is just how vampires are, making an uncomfortable parallel with the idea of "boys will be boys" (also making a connection to a completely outdated understanding of wolf pack dynamics, but given that this was published about ten years ago, I can let that one go). Multiple characters advise Diana to listen to Matthew and warn her about the dangers of defying him, and the concerns of Diana's aunts are completely brushed off (though their concerns are, quite fairly, pointed out to be fantastic racism). The only two characters who seem to call Matthew out on his controlling crap are Diana herself and Hamish - a minor character who only appears for a few chapters.
He does, admittedly, get better, which is why this story is not rated as straight two stars or less. I wouldn't describe the situation as "character development", precisely, but he becomes more honest with Diana and less controlling as the novel goes on. Their relationship builds fast after the midpoint of the novel - but since Diana and Matthew both seem to be consenting to it by that point, that doesn't bother me. What does bother me is the first half, which glorifies the idea of getting together with someone who has red flags all over him. A romance relies on the reader's ability to root for the main characters all the way through the novel -- it's difficult to do that when you don't understand why the two characters got together in the first place. Many of Matthew's initial actions with Diana are not romantic. They're creepy. If I had been Diana, I would have run in the other direction. And regardless of his later character growth, very little of his handling of Diana's panic attacks feels appropriate.
I also don't appreciate how Diana's panic disorder was portrayed, but I think that's my personal preference. I think authors need to be careful writing medicine hesitant characters, and characters who fall under the Disability Superpower trope because it can further some ablest issues in modern culture. But medicine hesitant people like Diana certainly exist in real life, and her panic attacks affect the plot of the book heavily. So it's not an awful portrayal.
So did I finish it? Yes. It dragged, but I like faster-paced stories. Will I finish the series? Maybe. Since Matthew's character has improved a bit, I'm now curious since the external plot seems to be ramping up. But was it a good, responsible portrayal of supernatural romance? Eh. It plays off of the same tired, misogynistic tropes that made Twilight so creepy -- though it is written and handled much better than Twilight, mainly through Diana's agency.
Still, it's ultimately Diana who manages to save this book from becoming cringe-worthy. Diana, who is intelligent and refuses to take any crap, prevents the main male lead from feeling so controlling that it's impossible to root for their relationship.
Because Matthew is ultimately where "A Discovery of Witches" falls apart. That's a problem, because "A Discovery of Witches", more than it is an urban fantasy, is a supernatural romance. I need to be able to root for the two leads; I need to want to see them together. Harkness did a great job at ensuring Matthew's character flaws take center stage -- unfortunately, she did such a good job doing this that it's difficult to like Matthew at all. Matthew's character is based on misogynistic tropes common in vampire fiction. He's controlling, reactive, overprotective, secretive, and to a certain degree, violent and threatening (though thankfully never directly to Diana). Worse, these traits are not only accepted by the rest of the cast, but they're also justified by the worldbuilding. Multiple characters suggest that this is just how vampires are, making an uncomfortable parallel with the idea of "boys will be boys" (also making a connection to a completely outdated understanding of wolf pack dynamics, but given that this was published about ten years ago, I can let that one go). Multiple characters advise Diana to listen to Matthew and warn her about the dangers of defying him, and the concerns of Diana's aunts are completely brushed off (though their concerns are, quite fairly, pointed out to be fantastic racism). The only two characters who seem to call Matthew out on his controlling crap are Diana herself and Hamish - a minor character who only appears for a few chapters.
He does, admittedly, get better, which is why this story is not rated as straight two stars or less. I wouldn't describe the situation as "character development", precisely, but he becomes more honest with Diana and less controlling as the novel goes on. Their relationship builds fast after the midpoint of the novel - but since Diana and Matthew both seem to be consenting to it by that point, that doesn't bother me. What does bother me is the first half, which glorifies the idea of getting together with someone who has red flags all over him. A romance relies on the reader's ability to root for the main characters all the way through the novel -- it's difficult to do that when you don't understand why the two characters got together in the first place. Many of Matthew's initial actions with Diana are not romantic. They're creepy. If I had been Diana, I would have run in the other direction. And regardless of his later character growth, very little of his handling of Diana's panic attacks feels appropriate.
I also don't appreciate how Diana's panic disorder was portrayed, but I think that's my personal preference. I think authors need to be careful writing medicine hesitant characters,
So did I finish it? Yes. It dragged, but I like faster-paced stories. Will I finish the series? Maybe. Since Matthew's character has improved a bit, I'm now curious since the external plot seems to be ramping up. But was it a good, responsible portrayal of supernatural romance? Eh. It plays off of the same tired, misogynistic tropes that made Twilight so creepy -- though it is written and handled much better than Twilight, mainly through Diana's agency.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Emotional abuse
radreadswithrachel's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
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