Reviews - A Discovery of Witches

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16k reviews for:

A Discovery of Witches

Deborah Harkness

3.83 AVERAGE

mvvre's review against another edition

2.0

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: Yes

guenifhar's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous medium-paced

auralyn's review against another edition

3.0

slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

I really enjoyed comparing this to the show, but the book’s pacing threw me off. The story covers a short period of time, yet it feels like it stretches on forever. Despite that, it feels like the relationships and stakes escalate quickly. It made the timeline feel both too drawn out and too rushed at the same time. On top of that, I couldn’t help but notice just how much page-time was spent on the characters eating and sleeping.

I will say, the author's writing style did grow on me and I really enjoyed all of the historical references. I do intend to read the other 4 books in the series eventually. I think the plot is unique (at least to me) and I think I will probably enjoy the other books more based on the direction the story is going.

purple_aster's review against another edition

5.0

Excellent book. Perfect to read whilst in England as it is set mostly in Oxford.

azukas's review against another edition

3.75

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

wingshiton10000's review against another edition

4.0

I gobbled this up! I enjoyed the magic and the history. The love story between Dianna and Matthew went from 0 to 100 too quickly and that made it a little too unbelievable for me. The magic felt more real than their relationship but it wasn’t enough to stop me from liking it. A solid 4 stars.