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A review by sitrisummoned
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I feel like I was almost Stockholm syndromed while reading this book. It was an absolute chore to get through, and I almost have up several times.
In the end I stuck around to see what could possibly happen next with the main characters ever growing list of specialness (juat how much of a chosen one can one perso be) and the vague hope I might get some answers for some early questions even though I knew this was the first in a series. I got some answers but they mostly lead to more outlandish questions.
I do like some of the world building and way the different types of supernatural creatures worked, tho the daemons species leaves much to be desired as with no particular supernatural talents other than perhaps premonition they mostly just read are neurodivergent humans, and it left a bad taste in my mouth, especially with them being called deamons of all things (I know there's the deamons vs demons thing but it's not a well known thing and also I listened to the audiobook so I thought it was demons till I looked at the wiki)
In the end I could not find it in myself to care much for either of the lead characters, nor what really happens to them. There are side characters I enjoy but considering where the story is going I think I'll be simply reading the wiki for some story spoilers instead of suffering through more exceptionally long books where the author is trying to get me to desperately care about what happens to Diana and Matthew.
PS the narrator for this did an absolutely fantastic job with her accents and voices for all the different characters, it truly helped me keep them all seperate when my interest in the story overall was so low 💜 great job and I hope I hear you again but with a story I actually enjoy
In the end I stuck around to see what could possibly happen next with the main characters ever growing list of specialness (juat how much of a chosen one can one perso be) and the vague hope I might get some answers for some early questions even though I knew this was the first in a series. I got some answers but they mostly lead to more outlandish questions.
I do like some of the world building and way the different types of supernatural creatures worked, tho the daemons species leaves much to be desired as with no particular supernatural talents other than perhaps premonition they mostly just read are neurodivergent humans, and it left a bad taste in my mouth, especially with them being called deamons of all things (I know there's the deamons vs demons thing but it's not a well known thing and also I listened to the audiobook so I thought it was demons till I looked at the wiki)
In the end I could not find it in myself to care much for either of the lead characters, nor what really happens to them. There are side characters I enjoy but considering where the story is going I think I'll be simply reading the wiki for some story spoilers instead of suffering through more exceptionally long books where the author is trying to get me to desperately care about what happens to Diana and Matthew.
PS the narrator for this did an absolutely fantastic job with her accents and voices for all the different characters, it truly helped me keep them all seperate when my interest in the story overall was so low 💜 great job and I hope I hear you again but with a story I actually enjoy