EDIT (9/12/2018): This post originally ran back in 2015 when I first read the series. I have updated the All Souls trilogy review after rereading the series this month.
“Just because something seems impossible doesn’t make it untrue.”
― Deborah Harkness, A Discovery of Witches
Series Title: All Souls Trilogy
Books in SeriesA Discovery of Witches, Shadow of Night, and The Book of Life
Author: Deborah Harkness
Publication Date: 2011, 2012, 2014
Genres: Adult Fiction, Fantasy
Goodreads Rating: 3.98 Stars
My Rating: 4.5 Stars
From A Discovery of Witches:
A richly inventive novel about a centuries-old vampire, a spellbound witch, and the mysterious manuscript that draws them together.
Deep in the stacks of Oxford’s Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.
Debut novelist Deborah Harkness has crafted a mesmerizing and addictive read, equal parts history and magic, romance and suspense. Diana is a bold heroine who meets her equal in vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont, and gradually warms up to him as their alliance deepens into an intimacy that violates age-old taboos. This smart, sophisticated story harks back to the novels of Anne Rice, but it is as contemporary and sensual as the Twilight series-with an extra serving of historical realism.
1. This is not Twilight. These books sound like the Twilight series. The first one (with the love story) even seems a bit like the same story. IT IS NOT. If you (think you) liked Twilight, you will love these books. And if you didn’t like Twilight at all, you will probably still love these books. I hate that the book blurb compares the two, because they are so vastly different.
2. Diana Bishop is awesome. The main character of this novel is Dr. Diana Bishop. That’s right. The main character has her Ph.D. and is tenured at Yale. Diana is strong, kick-ass, and talented in her own right, as she descended from Bridget Bishop (who you may know from the Salem witch trials). Diana has every right to be frustrated and needy and generally negative because of her past, but she isn’t. It’s hard to write about her without giving spoilers away, but just know that when it comes to things she cares about, she finds a way to push through her struggles and be the strong person she can totally be.
3. Everyone is so darn smart. I learned so much about genetics, alchemy, and history through reading these books. Deborah Harkness, the author, is a historian and scholar, and the fact that she wrote two nonfiction books about both alchemy and the scientific revolution before writing fiction shows that she knows what she’s talking about. There wasn’t so much in this series that it felt overwhelming, but it was just enough to add intelligence and credence to the characters.
4. Each book is so good in its own right. Sometimes, with trilogies, the second book or the third book is nowhere near as good as the first, but in the case of this series, that just isn’t true. They are all so different, so action packed, so intelligent, and so diverse… it’s hard to pick a favorite!
5. These books will suck you in! Ok, so, the writing in here is phenomenal. I know you are thinking to yourself, “Why is she writing a review on all three books?” Um, because I read them all within one week. No, I didn’t clean or cook or even pretend to be a human. I just got suckered into these books. I made the mistake of only checking the first one out of the library, and ended up purchasing the second book because I couldn’t get it fast enough through the library…
These books wrapped me up and sucked me in, even though they are completely different from the books I normally read.
“In this room we understand why this war might be fought…it’s about our common belief that no one has the right to tell two creatures that they cannot love each other–no matter what their species.”
“It begins with absence and desire.
It begins with blood and fear.
It begins with a discovery of witches.”
“Somewhere in the center of my soul, a rusty chain began to unwind. It freed itself, link by link, from where it had rested, unobserved, waiting for him. My hands, which had been balled up and pressed against his chest, unfurled with it. The chain continued to drop, to an unfathomable depth where there was nothing but darkness and Matthew. At last it snapped to its full length, anchoring me to a vampire. Despite the manuscript, despite the fact that my hands contained enough voltage to run a microwave, and despite the photograph, as long as I was connected to him, I was safe.”
“As fast as I can tell there are only two emotions that keep the world spinning year after year…One is fear. The other is desire.”
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