A Discovery of Witches

Locations
Call Number: Fantasy / Harkness, Deborah, Adult Book / Fiction / Fantasy / Harkness, Deborah
On Shelf At: Downtown Library

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	Fantasy / Harkness, Deborah	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Malletts Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / Fantasy / Harkness, Deborah	4-week checkout	On Hold Shelf
Traverwood Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / Fantasy / Harkness, Deborah	4-week checkout	Due 05-07-2024
Westgate Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / Fantasy / Harkness, Deborah	4-week checkout	Due 05-14-2024

Includes a readers guide with conversation with the author, and questions and topics for discussion.
"Now an original series on AMC and streaming on Sundance Now and Shudder"--Cover.
Discovering a magical manuscript in Oxford's Bodleian Library, scholar Diana Bishop, a descendant of witches who has rejected her heritage, inadvertently unleashes a fantastical underworld of daemons, witches, and vampires whose activities center around an enchanted treasure.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

Summary / Annotation
Fiction Profile
Author Notes
Library Journal Review
Booklist Review
Publishers Weekly Review
Excerpt

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Fantastic Page-Turner submitted by pkooger on April 14, 2011, 11:37am One part "The Da Vinci Code" and one part "Twilight", this novel kept me reading long into the night to see what happens next. Romance fans will appreciate the love story more than I did, but it was the secret world of witches, demons, and vampires that really grabbed me. Harkness (herself a historian) swirls magic and history into one delicious mixture of mystery and danger. I also really enjoyed the use of medieval alchemy books and emblems. I would have liked the alchemical illustrations to be recreated in the book itself, but I guess you can't have everything.

good fanasty read submitted by ark on June 28, 2011, 10:35am As the previous reviewer said, it's like Da Vinci Code, Twilight, and The Historian all mixed together--so if you're a fan of at least one you should definitely read this. It smacks slightly of a smug, scholarly air, and this doesn't mesh so well with the physical romance aspects of the book. Overall, though, it's a good adventure story and Harkness manages to come up with some original stuff about vampires and witches. I liked the tie-in to the Salem witches and trials too.

Overrated submitted by sdunav on July 12, 2011, 8:41pm I thought the plot was rather bloated, and I didn't like the Mary Sue protagonist nor the cardboard cliche vampire hero. I was also dismayed by the frequent appearances of new characters, pointless magical powers, and deus ex machina devices. And did I mention how needlessly loooong this book was? I wanted to stop but at about 250 pages in I felt like I had to know how it all resolved. And then I wasn't particularly satisfied by the ending - the (non)resolution of sexual tension annoyed me.

To give Harkness a modicum of credit, the settings were well portrayed, and the descriptions of manuscripts in the library at Oxford were fascinating. But why is this book getting such accolades (from snobbish literary reviewers even) when so many other good urban fantasies are not? Is it the veneer of alchemy and academia, or the endless descriptions of wine?

I quit! submitted by guerin on December 11, 2012, 4:33pm I almost gave up after the first 250 pages, and finally put it down for good at the 400 page mark. The word 'bloated' is too kind.

Became frankly sexist by the end submitted by emilytrentacosta on August 13, 2013, 7:44pm This book started out so well for me and I was really into the character development and the heroine learning about her parent's past and her own magical powers. Then, enter the cliché super-sexy vampire. I am a big fan of the romance genre and can attest that the writer made no effort to develop chemistry between these two. By the end of the book I was FURIOUS with how sexist it was - "he loves me! He needs to protect me with violent displays of temper and excessive controlling of my life!" and copious weeping. I cannot understand how this book came so highly rated and that there are people willing to read the next 2 in the series.
Not for me.

Engaging and fun read submitted by our family books on July 23, 2016, 12:31pm I thought this was well written and an engaging magical read.

Fun, but Not Perfect submitted by ajstemp on June 27, 2018, 2:57pm This was a fun read, but there were a lot of things that weren't great about it — including the character development of the protagonist and the vampire clichés. If you're looking for something fun you don't have to think hard about, this would work, but it isn't the best fiction book I've read recently.

Disappointing submitted by lstorc on August 27, 2018, 4:14pm This was a letdown from the description. It's ultimately all about another woman meets vampire story. This could have been so much more!

Enticing submitted by demunnik on June 16, 2019, 11:25pm A discovery of witches is not a common rendition of witches, vampires and daemons. it has historical roots along with a modern day storyline. Loved it!

Light without being vapid submitted by cholderby on June 17, 2019, 9:26pm This series is so much fun. I have never been able to slog through the recent spate of vampire/witch/time travel novels. This one is different. It has a fun and exciting storyline along with really interesting facts about alchemy sprinkled in. Loved it.

Starts strong and goes downhill submitted by jamies on June 27, 2019, 6:19pm I was really excited about the beginning of this book, and at a certain point it got really weird. The character development and story was feminist and sexy at first, and about a third of the way through the book I started feeling like the main characters needed an intervention. It never recovered for me.

Slightly-more intellectual Twilight submitted by cynthdahlgren on June 29, 2019, 12:48pm I enjoyed this novel and also read the other two books in the series. It's definitely long and boring in parts, but I just skimmed some of the more tedious sections. As someone who slogged my way through the Twilight saga years ago, I appreciated the author's attempt to make this one more intellectual and complicated. I also love the fact that the protagonist thinks science, history, research, and university libraries are really cool and exciting (of course they are- duh!) Extra bonus: the hot vampire love interest shares a name with my husband (Matthew) so I had fun quoting some of the steamy lines out loud to him.

Starts so strong but falls apart submitted by nickino on July 13, 2019, 10:08am I really loved the first several chapters of this but it just started to go sideways. That said, I've continued to read the series, because it's compelling, but it's also inconsistent and kind of annoying.

weeee submitted by ann arbor air on June 12, 2021, 6:23pm Wow this was incredible great to see a great thing for this summer! I needed this thanks for making it 10/10 K

A better story than Twilight XD submitted by terpsichore17 on July 28, 2021, 11:04am The premise is relatively solid, the allusions are fun, and the fact of the longevity of the undead is given better treatment than I’ve seen prior.

I think the prose wanted polishing, the pacing needed work (did this all take place in a week? It doesn’t! but feels that way), and I’m not entirely sold on Matthew and Diana as a viable relationship (forget creature conflict; how is there not class or country conflict?). Admittedly, that’s probably because the first book establishes her at her weakest – she’s still learning that she has any power at all after her parents spellbound her at age 7. By the time she goes through her full trajectory, she’ll probably be much stronger. As it is, there’s an age difference dynamic: Matthew is not only centuries older, but has much more power than Diana at the outset.

This also prompts questions about Diana’s agency. On one hand, her passivity suits a story of falling in love, a thing that happens *to* someone more than something they initiate. But it also seems like she and Matthew are driven…by genetic necessity? I guess? Kinda weird. Lacking in chemistry sometimes.

Others might be here for the love story; I’m here for the background on Diana’s family and the depictions of research. Interacting with Ashmole 782, Matthew engaging with texts through the centuries, magical abilities indicated by biological markers, philosophy and alchemy reverberating in non-academic contexts – that's what I want more of.

Other particularly magical bits, in a book that mostly felt mundane (not as in “boring,” but as in “not supernatural”), include the Bishop house (full of ghosts! Producing objects when they’re useful! New rooms popping up in preparation for guests!) and the tantalizing hints of Diana’s parents. The fact of her mother having visions, her father timewalking, their joint decision to keep Diana spellbound, while also preparing her by sharing the future in her bedtime stories? They make for greater consistency, and more intrigue.

this was all right submitted by graytabby on August 7, 2022, 8:35pm like the other reviewers above, the first few chapters were great for me, but then it got a little boring. pretty good read, though!

This book makes me want to read Twilight submitted by EstherMaya on November 2, 2022, 12:24pm The protaginist gets drugged against her will multiple times by a man 45 times her age to coerce her into coming to his remote house in a different country. The book treats this as a good thing. I quit reading after they got married 3 weeks after meeting.

If you read Twilight and thought that Edward wasn't mysognistic & creepy enough for you, this book is perfect. If you want a fantasy story, look somewhere else. The plot set up at the beggining gets mostly swept away to focus on the Forbidden Romance (TM) between Mary Sue and her vampire boyfriend. Don't get me started on the pacing issues.

Easy Summer Read submitted by schweiml on June 28, 2023, 8:57am Easy reading. Not a literary masterpiece by any means but it was an enjoyable beach read. It definitely had a bit of a “Twilight for adults” vibe to it. The main character can be a bit frustrating and unrealistic.

Entertaining submitted by renarde7 on June 29, 2023, 11:05am A bit overstuffed, but an entertaining read.

Good premise, too much relationship fluff submitted by ewraback on July 30, 2023, 7:07pm The first 80 pages (of the version I have) was really promising. I was extremely intrigued by the premise and even the potential witch-vampire relationship. However, all of a sudden it turned extremely sappy and boring. The plot quickly became lost and the interest started to fade. If you want to read a domestic vampire-witch relationship (with some weird vibes), then this is the book for you. But if you want an intriguing interesting plot driven book, this is not the book for you.