A Discovery of Witches Vol. 1 of 2

All Souls #1A

by Deborah Harkness

Genres: Fantasy, Book Club

518 pages, Paperback Bunko

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Deborah Harkness is a #1 New York Times bestselling author who draws on her expertise as an historian of science, medicine, and the history of the book to create rich narratives steeped in magical realism, historical curiosity, and deeply human questions about what it is that makes us who we are.

The first book in Harkness’s beloved All Souls series, A Discovery of Witches, was an instant New York Times bestseller and the series has since expanded with the addition of subsequent NYT bestsellers, Shadow of Night (2012), The Book of Life (2014), and Time’s Convert (2018), as well as the companion reader, The World of All Souls. The All Souls series has been translated in thirty-eight languages.

The popular television adaptation of A Discovery of Witches, starring Theresa Palmer and Matthew Goode, was released in 2019 by Sky/Sundance Now, and also broadcast on AMC.

Having spent more than a quarter of a century as a student and scholar of history, Harkness holds degrees from Mount Holyoke College, Northwestern University, and the University of California at Davis. She is currently a professor at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, where she teaches European history and the history of science.

Harkness has published scholarly articles on topics such as the influence of theatrical conventions on the occult sciences, scientific households, female medical practice in early modern London, medical curiosity, and the influence of accounting practices on scientific record keeping. She has received Fulbright, Guggenheim, and National Humanities Center fellowships, and her most recent scholarly work is The Jewel House: Elizabethan London and the Scientific Revolution.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is just awful! The intelligent highly educated independent Young protagonist turns into jelly when she meets an 1100 yr old condescending, chauvinist and dominant vampire.

It’s cringeworthy to read how her will is gradually chipped away at while the vampire sweeps her off her feet and by 40% she is incapable of simple action.

The supernatural mystery which looked quite promising in the beginning of the book has, at 40%, completely drowned in the 50-Shades-male-chauvinist-no-sexuality-allowed narrative. And it goes on and on and on.

And then there’s the above mentioned total lack of acknowledging that yes, women not like and want sex! Women get horney too! Women get girl-boners people!
The vampires drive is vaguely metaphored as the old school suppressed bloodlust, but our protagonist has less urges than a pre-teen poodle. Like wtf? What 25-30ish year old single woman wouldn’t have jumped the vampires bones by page 10. Honestly. Abstinence Urgh!

This book is so sweet and sticky and devoid of substance or value, I just can’t finish it! I usually do not give a rating to a DNF book but this one has sickened me and offended me greatly. It’s hours of my life I won’t get back and it’s an affront to both literature, readers and specifically modern women. Boo!

DNF 40%

[Furrawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fourth time I've read this book. It's one of my favorite books. Captivating. An entire world to explore. Best of all, the history, even Ashmole, is all accurate. There's even a missing manuscript from the Ashmole collection- number 782. Love Deborah Harkness. Cannot recommend her highly enough. Brilliant writer.

[Dan JK · Rating 1 out of 5]

ouch. why must all witch, vampire etc books try to use the genre to do all its work for it? also the heroine had so many inconsistencies in her behaviour vs our knowledge of her it is obvious planning was set aside to purposely random storytelling with the attempt to make the characters seem more interesting
0/1000

[Rick Draughon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A friend turned me on to this book. She is a HUGE fan of the series (as well as the television series). I read and listened to it on Kindle and Audible, and it took me FOREVER to finish. The story centers around a witch named Diana who manages to pull a sacred, magical text from the stacks at Oxford University that had been lost for years. Naturally this arouses the interest of other magical beings (vampires, demons, etc.) who want the text for themselves. Diana, who like Samantha Stevens (1960/70s TV show Bewitched - for you kids) doesn't want to use her magic (and is now basically hobbled - she can't even do the simple stuff!) and finds herself in a world of trouble. A hot and sexy vampire (is there any other kind?) named Matthew who appears (at first) to be bad news comes to her rescue. He falls in love with her and wants to protect her, and well, you get the picture...

Now, don't get me wrong... I know people love this book. Why couldn't I love it, too? Disclaimer: I'm something a squirrel when it comes to reading. I'm easily distracted and on to the next nut if the current one doesn't hold my attention and that sort of happened here. The author is a terrific writer and was consistent to the mythology she created (a lot of backstory!), but for me (personally) there was something lacking. I was really wanting more hooks (instead I got lots of description about tea, wine, old chateaus)... Whereas I was desperate to read what happened to Jane, another young witch, in Gabrielle Pierce's 666 Park Avenue, weeks and months would pass before checking in on Diana and her virile vamp. It wasn't until a long road trip this summer that I finally finished it via Audible. Not a spoiler, but their journey continues at the end of this book. I won't be joining them...

[Mardgeee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed it! Such an easy read and quite a fast pace. If you’re a sucker for the supernatural creatures (like I am) then you’ll love this story.
Was this the best book I’ve read about supernatural beings? No, not at all times but is was good enough to make me want to keep reading it. You can definitely see the progress some of the characters have made towards the end of the book.
The way it is written - very descriptive - makes it feel as if you’re right there with the characters. It’s a good feeling as it kinda hooks you in. Would definitely recommend!

A few days ago I found out that there is also a tv show based on this book. The reviews have been really promising so I’m definitely going to check that out!

[Caroline Edge · Rating 5 out of 5]

my thoughts wavered between this being another vampire chick lit and the promised 'twilight for intellectuals'. I think the problem comes from the authors' describing irrelevant incidents too much and quite immaturely. ' the steaming mug of coffee' for example,. But actually the story is well conceptualised, and gives much food for thought. I am excited to read the next installment.

[Ellen Spes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hope the end is better. loved the Oxford college settings and history.

[Stephanie Alvarado · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw the tv show which was truly charming, totally recommend it too.
The decided to read the books to get more details, the first book was fun and detailed, kept me on the edge of not wanting to go to sleep, second one was pretty good too, felt a little slow, still I had fallen for these characters and kept on until the 3rd, I’d say that book got me a little annoyed, first chapters where a constants walk through of the plots of the earlier books, I found myself skipping those paragraphs and felt that with the introduction of very complex characters, they where just not developed enough in order to give moments of romance instead of digging into these open plots with un answered questions and the ending was built into a climax that felt it would be epic and just quite didn’t get there.
But I’d say that even with these, I still loved the characters and this magical world the author introduced us too ❤️

[SFB · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. I could see some people finding this too slow for their taste, but I could have lived in this world with these characters forever, so it didn’t bother me. Harkness built one of the most atmospheric books I’ve read to date—so richly constructed I felt like I was there. I found her writing to have quite a dry humor which had me cackling. I didn’t realize this was a trilogy when I picked it up but I’ll definitely be finishing it!

[Lady · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't seen much regarding the powers of Daemons. This is truly missing from the writing. I would like to read the inclusion of these creatures. I have not read this book in particular, and I have read all the books in the series. I am also awaiting ~ quite anxiously ~ 'The Serpent's Mirror', and I think that I will need to re-read the entire series for good measure.

[Camilla Harry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my typical read, but for Bookclub. However, I did finally get into it (after the first 100-150 pages) and enjoyed it. And yes, I'd like to read the rest of the books in this series, just not immediately. Too long of a book.

[Michele · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this. Hoping for a Harry Potter/Twilight mash up, but had to quit. Couldn't hold my interest.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and entertaining. A bit longer than necessary, but good enough to keep me reading anyway.

[Diana Rene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Step into another world, with a lot of history to make it even better.
You will want to join the new family before you are done.

[Alison Aylen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable and pacey. I look forward to the next book in the series...

[Sherlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book!!!! Absolutely captivating, magical.. One of my absolute favorite set of books.. A must read..😍

[Jo · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit predictable, but a cute story.

[Lynne Macdonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great story by Dr. Harkness.
Great mixing of historical facts with the supernatural.

[Nancy Nicholson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read the book twice, watched screen play twice and I am listening to it on Audible also for the second time. I think that you can say I enjoy it a lot

[Travis Hefley · Rating 5 out of 5]

An intoxicating blend of romance, history, and magic. The slow-build tension between the characters is masterfully done.

[Rachel Mecham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trying to be more generous with my ratings. This book is a conundrum. I love the vivid world building but the whole book is just one problem after another that can only be solved by a rare item, power, ability, etc. that one of the characters just happens to possess. I can't decide but will probably read the whole series before I watch the show, which I didn't know existed until I was halfway through the book. Side note: there are no longer just 2 books; I believe I saw 5...

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parts of it were fascinating and hard to put down. Parts were way over drawn out and hard to push through. Some parts were so out of character with 0ther parts that it almost seemed they were written by the two separate authors, although I have no doubts, just noting the shift in voice to my mind's ear.

[Heidi Leoni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good summer read but prepare to read all three of them!

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Didn't actually read the Japanese edition; re-read the English and wanted it to count toward this year's reading challenge without taking away from a previous challenge.

[Ally]

Placeholder for 3rd re-read of A Discovery of Witches (original English language version).