From the Bookshelf of Nothing But Reading Challenges…

A Discovery of Witches (All Souls, #1)

Deborah Harkness

Start date: April 1, 2011

Finish date: April 30, 2011

Why we're reading this: This book won the Paranormal/Urban Fantasy Book of the Month vote.
[close] This book won the Paranormal/Urban Fantasy Book of the Month vote.

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What Members Thought

Apr 20, 2014 Maria V. Snyder rated it liked it

I kept hearing about this book and, when my friend gave me a copy to read, I put it on my TBR pile. To boil down the plot to its most basic level - it's Twilight in academia. However, there are many differences in the world building and it's a richer story with historical details.

The main protagonist, Diana is a professor on sabbatical at Oxford University doing research and calls up this book that everyone's been wanting forever. There are demons, witches, and vampires in this world, but they ...more

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Sep 19, 2011 Chris rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction, scifi-fantasy-paranormal, series, europe

This book sucked me in from the first pages. Easily the best book I've read this year, and possibly last year as well. This could easily have been another vampire/witch PNR clogging up the shelves, but Harkness has cast her own magic spell on these characters. Diana Bishop is a historian studying alchemical history at Oxford's Bodleian Library. She also just happens to be a witch who has tried very hard to put distance between herself and her illustrious witching heritage. But when she finds an ...more

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Dec 31, 2011 Dina rated it liked it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Review also found on All The Stacks

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness is a real puzzler. I enjoyed the book and plan on reading book two (Shadow Of The Night) but found the book to be frustrating.

What I did not like about A Discovery Of Witches:

Length:

This book is way too long! For being so long, it has little action. At well over 500 pages, this book seemed to drag. I did have a hard time putting it down but I am not sure if it was because I enjoyed reading it or was just waiting for s ...more

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May 17, 2013 Kari rated it liked it · review of another edition

I did really enjoy this book about witches, daemons and vampires. The author has a lot of historical details she writes that can make the book a bit tedious to read. I think there is a bit of "fluff" which she could have done without here and there. There are a lot of characters introduced throughout the book who weave in and out of the storyline and sometimes I found I was a bit confused as to who was who. Also, I got tired of the fact the main character, Diana, seemed to constantly need to be ...more

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