“Magic is desire made real.”
Deborah Harkness, A Discovery of Witches
Once again, I’m way late to the game. Apparently these books have been around for forever and I’ve got several friends who have already read them. I don’t know where I was when these were coming out, but I’d never even heard of them until a month or two ago when I saw the television adaptation advertised. I got curious and watched one episode, and that was enough to make me go out an pick the first book up immediately.
I was hooked. I think it took me a day and a half to tear my way through A Discovery of Witches. A lot of housework got neglected once I cracked this one open.
Here’s the thing—these books are really smart. Sure, they’re a vampire/witch forbidden love book series, and as such they might elicit an eye roll or two from people who are expecting—horror of horrors—something akin to Twilight. But aside from the fact that there are vampires in both series, the books are very different. Twilight is mind numbing. The All Souls Trilogy brilliantly combines fantasy, science, history, and philosophy. Without giving too much away, let me just say that the vampire in this story is a scientist who has used his immortality to gain numerous degrees and areas of expertise in order to study the origin of vampires. He wants to know how vampires came to be and what, if anything, can be done to save them. His path crosses with Dr. Diana Bishop, a witch who refuses to practice magic, choosing instead to pursue an academic career as an expert in the history of the science of alchemy.
Shadow of Night, the second book in the series, felt a little slower to me. In an effort to find answers and track down a lost manuscript, the pair travel to 16th-century England. From a historical perspective, it was really enjoyable. I loved experiencing London in 1590 and watching Matthew and Diana interact with the likes of Elizabeth I, Walter Raleigh, and Christopher Marlowe.
That said, I felt like Harkness, a historian herself, got so bogged down in describing the past that the plot got lost a little bit. Of the three books, this was the one that dragged the most for me.
Harkness wrapped everything up with The Book of Life, in which Matthew and Diana each must confront their own past to find a way forward. I liked Matthew’s arc, but I was really pleased with how Harkness allowed Diana to develop as a character and really come into her own. Throughout the previous two books she’d relied a lot on Matthew, but in the final book of the series the tables are turned and she’s able to step up and get things done. It was fantastic.
I have a feeling that I’ll be returning to this series again. I’m sure there are things I missed that I’ll catch with a second reading. The plot here is so intricate and there’s so much going on that I know I’ll appreciate it even more on a second read.
These books are marketed as romance books and they’re certainly more in the New Adult category as opposed to Young Adult. There was some sexual content, but I appreciated that it was done pretty tastefully and the scenes were quite short. Some authors (looking at you Sarah J. Maas) have sex scenes that last waaaaay too long. Deborah Harkness was able to get her point across in a few paragraphs—brief enough that it’s easy to skip and doesn’t disrupt the flow of the overall plot.
Anyway, these were the books that got me out of my aforementioned reading slump. If you’re experiencing one, maybe give them a try!
Happy Reading!
