A Discovery of Witches (All Souls, #1) in The Dusty Bookshelf

Dec 29, 2011 Lynne rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, own, fantasy, witchy, magical-realism, adult-fiction, 5-star-books

Slow and steady wins the race. The Discovery of Witches story is told slowly .... but man oh man is it tightly packed full of information including historical facts (which may or may not be totally accurate), the necessary character background stories and laced among the mass of information are pockets of danger and life threatening circumstances as the main character, Diana Bishop, seeks to learn more about herself, her family heritage and follows as she discovers the extent of her own sorcery Slow and steady wins the race. The Discovery of Witches story is told slowly .... but man oh man is it tightly packed full of information including historical facts (which may or may not be totally accurate), the necessary character background stories and laced among the mass of information are pockets of danger and life threatening circumstances as the main character, Diana Bishop, seeks to learn more about herself, her family heritage and follows as she discovers the extent of her own sorcery and magical abilities that she has purposely shied away from her entire life.

In her research as a historian of alchemy, Diana requests an ancient tome called 'Ashmole 782'. She senses it is somehow magical. However, she doesn't understand why and finds herself afraid of the sorcery it holds, so after a brief look-over she sends the book back to the archives deep in Oxford's Bodleian Library ... but the damage has been done.

Then, after innocently using her magic to bring a book down from the top shelf in the library she researches in, Diana (who comes from a long line of witches) discovers she has earned the attention of Matthew Clairmont, a fellow college researcher who is a renowned geneticist - who also happens to be a 1500 year old vampire.

Together and throughout the book, Matthew and Diana fight off other witches, vampires and even daemons who all want the information which has been locked inside the mysterious magical book for thousands of years. But somehow, the book has disappeared from the archives and its disappearance has the real world as well as the underworld of creatures going crazy.

And, of course, somewhere along the way Matthew and Diana fall in love - even though it is against the covenant rules (for different species' of creatures to marry). Regardless of archaic rules, they love each other deeply anyway and nothing, and no one, will be able to stand in the way of their desires.
But the creatures DO get in their way, causing Matthew and Diana to fight them off with magic and a battle of wits. Most (but not all) will die trying to stop Diana from discovering the secrets of the powers that are inside of her.

Before the end of the book, Diana learns what it really means to be the daughter of two of the most powerful witches in history as well as what happens when the last of the sorceresses breaks rules that have been in place since the beginning of time itself.

As I was reading, I felt a lot of similarities between this book and the Twilight series ... however, before you walk away, THIS book happens to be really great.
Even though is a hefty book, weighing in at a whopping 579 pages, with loads (and loads) of history and character details, I found myself plodding steadily along with the story. Not once did I find myself bored with the filling while getting from one exciting spot to the next. I felt it was nicely paced and thoroughly interesting. And now, I can't wait to get my hands on the next book in this series!

I would recommend to anyone interested in the history of witches, vampires and daemons as well as those who read the Twilight story - like I said before though, I feel A Discovery of Witches if FAR BETTER than Twilight, so I believe the same readers will enjoy ADOW just as much or more. ...more

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Jun 29, 2012 Tiffani rated it it was ok

Shelves: read-in-2012, vampires-werewolves, witches, urban-fantasy, supernatural

A Discovery of Witches centers around Diana Bishop, a reluctant witch. Following the death of her parents, Diana, the last in a long line of powerful witches, has avoided using her powers, preferring to live a solely human life devoid of magic. She has made a career as a science historian, with a particular interest in alchemy and seems to spend much of her time researching old books in beautiful libraries, like the Bodleian Library at Oxford. In the course of her research she comes across a mys A Discovery of Witches centers around Diana Bishop, a reluctant witch. Following the death of her parents, Diana, the last in a long line of powerful witches, has avoided using her powers, preferring to live a solely human life devoid of magic. She has made a career as a science historian, with a particular interest in alchemy and seems to spend much of her time researching old books in beautiful libraries, like the Bodleian Library at Oxford. In the course of her research she comes across a mysterious book that attracts witches, vampires and demons (or daemons as they are referred to in the book). For some reason they all want this book, a book that no one has seen for centuries until Diana came along and unintentionally unlocked the magic that had kept it hidden for centuries. It as the Bodleian that Diana meets the vampire Matthew Clairmont. At first wary of him, Diana quickly falls under his spell or maybe it's the other way around.

I enjoyed the beginning of the book when Diana is at the Bodleian the most. (As a librarian and book lover I hope to visit this amazing library someday.) I also liked reading about the differences between the vampires, witches and demons. Where the book lost me was the romance between Diana and Matthew. The last two-thirds of A Discovery of Witches reminded me of the Twilight series only with adults but oddly just as chaste. I means there's a girl/woman and the vampire she falls in love with about five seconds after he walks into her life. Before she and Matthew became a serious item, Diana seemed to be a strong and independent woman with interests and hobbies of her own. With Matthew she quickly becomes the damsel in distress in need of constant rescue. She is a powerful of witch but denies who and what she is, and it is only with Matthew's help (or one might say at his command) that she begins to explore her own power. My irritation with the central characters grew and their romance blossomed.

This book has a lot going on, in addition to the romance. Diana it seems is a very special witch, but it isn't clear why. Nor is is clear why the mysterious book Diana found is so important or why witch, vampire and demon are all so desperate to get their hands on it. A Discovery of Witches is the first in a planned trilogy. I'm not quite sure yet if I'm intrigued enough by the other plot threads to get past the romance and continue the trilogy. ...more

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Jun 06, 2012 Valerie rated it it was ok

Shelves: slow-torture

I did like some parts but other parts were so ridiculous that it took away from the story. I shouldn't have to keep reminding myself the main character is in her 30's not 20's, she turned into a love sick puppy in a matter of weeks and it got on my nerves. ...more

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Jan 19, 2012 Barbara rated it liked it

Unresolved ending. I hate that. The title? Leaves a bit to be desired. Took a while to get into the story but after a couple false starts, it was an enjoyable read. You know, except for its short comings. :)

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