A Discovery of Witches

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By Deborah Harkness

Publisher Description

Book one of the New York Times bestselling All Souls series, from the author of The Black Bird Oracle.

Look for the hit series “A Discovery of Witches,” now streaming on Netflix

“A wonderfully imaginative grown-up fantasy with all the magic of Harry Potter and Twilight” (People).

Deborah Harkness’s sparkling debut, A Discovery of Witches, has brought her into the spotlight and galvanized fans around the world. In this tale of passion and obsession, Diana Bishop, a young scholar and a descendant of witches, discovers a long-lost and enchanted alchemical manuscript, Ashmole 782, deep in Oxford's Bodleian Library. Its reappearance summons a fantastical underworld, which she navigates with her leading man, vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont.

Harkness has created a universe to rival those of Anne Rice, Diana Gabaldon, and Elizabeth Kostova, and she adds a scholar's depth to this riveting tale of magic and suspense. The story continues in book two, Shadow of Night, book three, The Book of Life, and the fourth in the series, Time’s Convert.

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30200 Reviews

4.0

Bookedbrunette

Created about 2 hours ago

“Something had just happened. Something magical. It’s nothing, I thought, resolutely walking out of the library. Are you sure? whispered a long-ignored voice. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 A Discovery of Witches Deborah Harkness 579 pages FC: Ysabeau, Em, Marcus, Sophie, and ofc Diana and Matthew!!! Four species. Nine congregation members. 3 Bishops. 2 forbidden partners, and one book, to rule them all. How extravagant and out of this world! This book was fun for many reasons, and this review will dive into a few, but not all. Some are best experienced without warning. Enter a full-fledged world within these pages. an entire universe of timelines and historical mysteries yet to be revealed within a book. A strong and beautiful depiction of the trope - “I will find you in any universe” and a strong, scientific, and utterly otherworldly found family. A read I will be thinking about for a while. Daring, heavy, and sentimental in a way like none other I’ve experienced. A similar feeling and vibe to Nora Roberts’ Year One series, mixed with the political intrigue of Martin’s Game of Thrones and the academic intricacies of Novak’s A Deadly Education. To start, every character was a tangible being. They had likes, dislikes, goals, inspirations, mannerisms, and personalities that gave the plot an edge of extreme stakes. You didn’t want to see historians unable to read, or mothers unable to hug their children. Every character was a true being who aided the story, not only for plot purposes but for emotional investment purposes as well. “𝖧𝗈𝗐 𝖻𝗋𝖺𝗏𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝖺𝗋𝖾” “𝖳𝗁𝖺𝗍’𝗌 𝗌𝗍𝗎𝖻𝖻𝗈𝗋𝗇𝖾𝗌𝗌” “I’ve seen courage like yours before - from women mostly. Men don’t have it. Our resolve is born out of fear. It’s merely bravado.” I call this book sentimental and rather daring because it sends a clear message to me that we are still fighting today in this world. The four species aren’t supposed to mix there’s no breeding between the species for it is not allowed, and against a covenant formed by old vampires, witches, and daemons. The goal of this book and the bloodshed and war that may come to these characters, is based on being able to love who we want to love. This brings themes of racism, homophobia, and arranged marriage to a world that, from the outside, is better than our own. A world with magic and spells and supernatural beings may be a beautiful one but, just as our world is broken, so must they all be. In one way or another. The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. Whoever does not know it and can no longer wonder, no longer marvel, is as good as dead. We were up close and personal with flaws and ethics, moral standards, and spellbinding scenarios. Once inside this world, it’s overhwleming how large the power scale truly is and how the mysteries of our history can sometimes be determined by the supernatural beings theorized to exist in those times. “Witches are noisier than vampires, I’m afraid.” “Yes. And happiness is always louder than sadness.” a truly powerful book about secrets and long forgotten spells. It feels like I’m listening to a story told by Aggie Cromwell, n Halloweentown “The question of why you’re here - how we’re all here - really does consume you.” I said slowly. “I could see it on every page of Darwin’s book.” Matthew studied his wine, “It’s the only question worth asking.” haunting and a fun twist on the chosen one trope!! Perfect writing with a little bit of an unsatisfactory end - because it is setting up for the rest of the series but i wanted juuussttt a teensy more of a solid ending. :) THEORY SECTION - IF YOU HAVENT READ THE BOOK DONT GO DOWN HERE!!! but i need a place to keep my thoughts hehehehehe PETER KNOX IS GIVING SNAPE I CAN’T EXPLAIN IT BUT….i think he’s involved in a wildly large plot twist. It’s important he was the first congregation member to seek her. Marthe has some deeper secrets that maybe even Ysabaeu doesnt know. - possible vampire congregation member. Hamish - possible daemon congregation member? Agatha wilson will be fairly important - she’s gonna die. Her parents timewalked to escape death, they exist somewhere.”

Believable Change and grow Diverse representation Clever plotting

Courtney Voelker

Created about 7 hours ago

Rin

Created about 9 hours ago

“The way I fell in love with these characters 🥹”

keira

Created about 17 hours ago

About Deborah Harkness

Deborah Harkness is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the All Souls series, which includes A Discovery of Witches, Shadow of Night, The Book of Life, Time's Convert, and The Black Bird Oracle. A history professor at the University of Southern California, Harkness has received Fulbright, Guggenheim, and National Humanities Center fellowships. She lives in Los Angeles.