A Discovery of Witches (All Souls, #1) in SpecFic Buddy Reads

Nov 17, 2013 Nataliya rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013-reads

For mere two bucks I rescued this book from a dusty shelf of a local Goodwill store, adopting it with high hopes.

For free, I returned it to the same shelf a few weeks later with dejected feeling, sandwiching it between a rejected copy of 'Twilight' and a tattered paperback with a shirtless guy on the cover.

At least it found its rightful spot. And I'm out only two dollars. And I would have gladly paid more to free my own bookshelf of this book.

So it goes.

My books mercilessly rejected the intrude ...more

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Dec 05, 2014 Bradley rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sci-fi, fantasy, urban-fantasy, history, metaphysics, 2017-shelf

Re-Read 12/15/17:

Beyond what I said in my original review, I really enjoyed all the interwoven devices that carry all the way through all three books. I knew I'd enjoy a re-read even as I finished the third book since there are so many great historical details as well as more developed characters, later on, but I think I may have enjoyed this novel more this time around purely for its own sake.

Just knowing what happens at the end and where Diana winds up is good enough to chortle over, all by it ...more

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Dec 12, 2017 Trish rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Ladies and Gentlemen, I have a new favourite book about witches (and other creatures)!
This book is full of the things that sum up the author: she first wanted to become a theater major (I suspect that will play a major role in the next book), ended up studying the Renaissance, then became a college professor and found herself becoming a historian of science though originally wanting to be a Tudor-Stuart historian (which will also play a big role in book #2); she also blogs about wine to this ve Ladies and Gentlemen, I have a new favourite book about witches (and other creatures)!
This book is full of the things that sum up the author: she first wanted to become a theater major (I suspect that will play a major role in the next book), ended up studying the Renaissance, then became a college professor and found herself becoming a historian of science though originally wanting to be a Tudor-Stuart historian (which will also play a big role in book #2); she also blogs about wine to this very day. All of it can be seen between the lines in this book.

The story is that of scholar Diana Bishop, a witch with a genetic tie to one of the women killed in the Salem witch trials, finding a manuscript others have searched for for hundreds of years. It's also the story of Matthew Clairmont, a pretty old vampire who is also a geneticist (amongst several other professions that he, of course, had the time to persue).
It's about alchemy and implications regarding the evolution and further survival of all four species (witches, vampires, daemons and humans).
Yes, it is a love story, but nobody is sparkling and there is a slow burn instead of the dreadful insta-everything that most authors apply to books of this type.
I'm not even entirely convinced this book has a "type".
Because the story is also about the history of several places around the world (London, New York, France, Jerusalem), the Templars, the friends and family we keep and make, the folklore surrounding witches and vampires and daemons and so much more.

What was so enchanting here was the author's way of transporting the reader to the respective setting. No matter if it was the dark wood of Oxford's Bodleian Library, the stone walls of Ysabeau's Chateau Dauphin near Pontgibaud in the Auvergne (complete with orchard, stables / resident horses and surrounding woods), or the frankly awesome house of aunt Sarah with its adjusting rooms, eccentric cat and ghosts - one could feel all of it. I revelled in all the details that made the settings come to life so vividly, which also goes for the dinner scenes or gatherings in Em's kitchen. I smelled and tasted the foods and drinks (if wine can taste the way it was described here, I haven't tried the right one yet but definitely should), I could almost touch the manuscripts and scrolls, felt as cozy and warm as Diana when she got wrapped up in blankets, chuckled quite frequently (especially when the aforementioned house opened or closed doors, revealed or snatched up belongings or one of the animals either in aunt Sarah's house or Ysabeau's chateau showed character) and simply had a blast. Equally, I almost cried when some of the plot points were revealed and can't wait for some of the creatures involved to get what they deserve.

The magic was there, too, of course - as were the characteristics of the other species - but so was the science.
Every character was unique, distinctly different, and adding important bits to the story.
There was also enough action to thrill the reader and convey the gravity of the situation.
Oh, and we got (and are getting even more in book #2) some timey-wimey stuff.
All of the elements mentioned above were interwoven perfectly and can be regarded as ingredients that were put together tastefully to result in a delicious dish for us readers to relish.

I do have the books as hardcovers but decided to listen to the audiobook and have to applaud the narrator for having gotten almost all the foreign names right (the French as much as the others). She's really rather good (since I am a linguist, it would have thrown me off otherwise).

Yes, this is a love story, but without it being too sappy. It is old-fashioned in a way because there is absolute devotion, but isn't that how it is supposed to be (in real life, too)?! ...more

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Aug 30, 2012 Veronique rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: favourites, read2018, read2017, read2020

“As far as I can tell there are only two emotions that keep the world spinning year after year...One is fear. The other is desire.”

Couldn’t resist coming back to this novel. Blame it on Sky and their tv adaptation, which is actually not bad at all and has great photography. Re-watched it, because... comfort watching, and also because I can’t wait to see series 2 and 3. One thing leading to another, and back in the books I went LOL.

Written by a Historian, featuring witches, vampires and daemons. ...more

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Aug 04, 2016 Emma rated it liked it

I have always been in two minds as to whether I wanted to read this or not: the reviews were very mixed. Then it became BOTM with the Fantasy and Vampire group, so I was pleased to have an excuse to read it and judge for myself. Until about halfway through I was really enjoying it.

There was a lot to like in this book but overall it was swamped by too much detail, too many convoluted happenings, too many new developments towards the end of the book, in preparation for its sequel.
Daemons, witches, ...more

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Jan 27, 2012 Cobwebs-Iced-Across-SpaceTime rated it it was amazing

Shelves: second-time-around, march-2012-reads, june-2012-reads

"A Discovery of Witches" is a complex and multi-layered novel-one could call it a work of paranormal suspense-which is only the first of a series. Delving into British University culture (Oxford), witches, vampires, daemons, history of alchemy, library archivism, and much much more, this novel is a romp across Britain (16th century to present) and New England (17th century Salem to present-day upstate New York), set in a reality only slightly different from ours: a world in which three types of ...more

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May 11, 2018 Ctgt rated it really liked it

I had no clue there was such a range of opinions on this book. Even amongst my friends the reviews range from loathing to loving. I fall somewhere in the middle.
This is one of my wife's favorite series so I didn't come in blind and knew there was romance and supernatural creatures but didn't know much more about the overall plot. Diana Bishop, who comes from a long line of witches has attempted to live her life without using witchcraft, but while doing research comes across a strange alchemic m I had no clue there was such a range of opinions on this book. Even amongst my friends the reviews range from loathing to loving. I fall somewhere in the middle.
This is one of my wife's favorite series so I didn't come in blind and knew there was romance and supernatural creatures but didn't know much more about the overall plot. Diana Bishop, who comes from a long line of witches has attempted to live her life without using witchcraft, but while doing research comes across a strange alchemic manuscript, a palimpsest. Apparently her brief glimpse at the unreadable hidden text has alerted many other supernatural creatures that this long lost text has resurfaced. Included in this number of creatures is Matthew Clairmont, a vampire who takes a keen interest in Diana as well as the text.
I had a couple of issues with the book. First was the length, this probably could have been cut down by a couple hundred pages and not lost any real plot points. The second issue was more troublesome and that had to do with the relationship that begins to form between the two main characters. Clarimont clings to some outdated ideas of gender roles, which I guess can be understandable given his lifespan but what bothered me more was the response by Diana to this attitude. I would have expected a much stronger negative reaction from her than she exhibited through most of the book. There were times when she seemed to stand up to his more domineering demands but not nearly as much as I would have expected from an independent, strong willed woman.
Those two problems aside I did enjoy the world building and the mystery behind the manuscript really drove the rest of the story. Each group of supernatural creatures is trying to get their hands on the manuscript and each has a different theory on what is contained in the manuscript. The clear cut separation between creatures sets up a nice amount of tension that builds throughout the book.
Add in a good variety of secondary characters and you have, what for me, was an interesting read.

7/10 ...more

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Jan 02, 2012 Amanda rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Absolutely loved this. Can't wait for the next one. ...more

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Sep 05, 2012 Carrie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: magic, tower-team, paranormal-romance, vampire, romance, time-travel, parnormal, supernatural, witches, wizards

So this book was great. When I first started it felt a little slow, but I must confess when I started reading I was rather tried so that might have played a slight role in the slowness of the book. Hence the 4 stars rather then 5.

I found the the information about alchemy fascinating, the whole story is so interesting. The descriptions of everything were perfect (to me at least). I can not wait to find out what happens next. I'm a excited and a little scared, not because the book is scary, I'm s ...more

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