sammiles501 's review for:

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
4.5
adventurous informative mysterious slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Very interesting world and a talented interweaving of historical, scientific, and magical elements.

Things I liked:
- Parallels to godly personas (aka Diana/Artemis) and other religious sects/common spiritual beliefs
- Treatment of science as magic and revolutionary thinkers as those unravelling or adept at magic
- Lasting loyalty after easy movement past characters' preconceived prejudices when presented with people from different groups that are meaningful to the people they care about

Things I didn't like so much:
-
the pacing of the romance felt off, they were committed after what felt like no romantic chemistry. It felt a bit "instalove" but without the attraction, just the prophecy aspect

- I felt a bit lost with some historical references and extracts, not sure what they meant for the story or characters at time.

Overall, very imaginative and well written serving as a good first part of an overall story but not necessarily satisfying/rounded in and of itself.