Review of A Discovery of Witches

Synopsis in a Sentence: Diana Bishop, a witch, whose ancestry traces back to the Salem Witch Trials, is a visiting professor at Oxford who meets a vampire and begins to stir things up among the magical races.

My Thoughts:

I read this book over Halloween actually (once again, I'm behind on my reviews!) and thought that it was a perfect book for the holiday! Spooky in some parts, but not scary...I don't really enjoy being scared!

Anyways, I'm giving this book 5 keys because even though it is a huge book, I raced through it very quickly...I couldn't wait to see what happened next in every scene. I've heard that some people are calling this Twilight for adults, and I could actually see that being true. The vampire in this book (which is the first book in a planned trilogy), Matthew Clairmont (don't you just love his name?!) is definitely as dark, and maybe even sexier than much lauded Edward Cullen! If you don't believe that can be true, read this book and you will find out that I'm telling the truth haha. In fact, (gasp) in some ways, I believe this author, Deborah Harkness describes and fleshes out her characters better than Stephanie Meyer. In other words, Matthew is sexy, tall, dark, handsome, protective, intelligent, charming, rich, and a little bit tortured...everything a good vampire should be lol!

I really loved this book and I felt as if the book began and ended well, but there are some slow parts in the middle. There isn't a lot of action that takes place, and the action which does happen feels a little bit forced. But, the premise of the story is so engrossing that you almost don't even notice the lack of excitement!

Diana Bishop, who is a witch but has decided to forsake her magical heritage after the death of her parents, is a visiting professor of alchemical history at Oxford in England. She happens to stumble upon an important manuscript while doing research...a manuscript that may hold secrets to the origin and survival of the three magical races: witches, vampires and daemons.

There are elements of history, time travel, science and yes, romance in this book and they all work together to really make the story come alive. The romance between Diana and Matthew was some of the best I've read in a long time. I'm looking forward to the next installment in the series which promises more action it seems...Check it out, you won't regret it! :)