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A review by ruth24
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
2.0
2.5
Paranormal romance was all the rage a few years ago (is it still?), but I don't think I'm 100% the right audience for this book. It felt too Twilight-esque. Don't get me wrong-there were parts I really liked about it and despite not being sure I want to read the rest of the series, I am curious as to what happens next.
I was intrigued by the mystery of Ashmole 782 right away and I enjoyed the idea of a witch denying her magic and trying to live a normal life. This seemed unique. Rather than discovering she was a witch, Diana knew all along but chose not to make magic part of her life. I loved the sentience of the Bishop house and the idea of witch water, witch wind, witch fire and other types of magic mentioned in the book.
I liked Diana's character initially, but as she changed and lost herself in her relationship with Matthew, I liked her less and less. I hated Matthew's possessiveness, secretiveness and insistence on obedience. I get that other characters were warning her about these aspects of his character and she didn't always give in to his commands, so this type of relationship is not necessarily being glorified by the book, but it still made me uncomfortable. I would be curious to know how this develops in the rest of the series.
Paranormal romance was all the rage a few years ago (is it still?), but I don't think I'm 100% the right audience for this book. It felt too Twilight-esque. Don't get me wrong-there were parts I really liked about it and despite not being sure I want to read the rest of the series, I am curious as to what happens next.
I was intrigued by the mystery of Ashmole 782 right away and I enjoyed the idea of a witch denying her magic and trying to live a normal life. This seemed unique. Rather than discovering she was a witch, Diana knew all along but chose not to make magic part of her life. I loved the sentience of the Bishop house and the idea of witch water, witch wind, witch fire and other types of magic mentioned in the book.
I liked Diana's character initially, but as she changed and lost herself in her relationship with Matthew, I liked her less and less. I hated Matthew's possessiveness, secretiveness and insistence on obedience. I get that other characters were warning her about these aspects of his character and she didn't always give in to his commands, so this type of relationship is not necessarily being glorified by the book, but it still made me uncomfortable. I would be curious to know how this develops in the rest of the series.