8 Dec 2019

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Trilogy Review / All Souls (Discovery of Witches) by Deborah Harkness



Fall under the spell of Diana and Matthew in the stunning first volume of the No.1 internationally bestsellling ALL SOULS trilogy.

A world of witches, daemons and vampires. A manuscript which holds the secrets of their past and the key to their future. Diana and Matthew - the forbidden love at the heart of it.

When historian Diana Bishop opens an alchemical manuscript in the Bodleian Library, it's an unwelcome intrusion of magic into her carefully ordered life. Though Diana is a witch of impeccable lineage, the violent death of her parents while she was still a child convinced her that human fear is more potent than any witchcraft. Now Diana has unwittingly exposed herself to a world she's kept at bay for years; one of powerful witches, creative, destructive daemons and long-lived vampires. Sensing the significance of Diana's discovery, the creatures gather in Oxford, among them the enigmatic Matthew Clairmont, a vampire genticist. Diana is inexplicably drawn to Matthew and, in a shadowy world of half-truths and old enmities, ties herself to him without fully understanding the ancient line they are crossing. As they begin to unlock the secrets of the manuscript and their feelings for each other deepen, so the fragile balance of peace unravels...


Published:     First published September 2011
Publisher:  Headline
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Books 1 to 3, All Souls Trilogy
Source:  Owned





MY REVIEW

This review is a long time coming, believe me!  It has taken me a very long time to read this book!  In between other books, I started A Discovery of Witches (book 1) back at the beginning of November and I have only just finished book 3!  To give context, it very rarely takes me this long to read a book!  Not that the reasons for it taking so long were all bad, but I have a few things to say!

What I loved about this trilogy...
There was so much depth to this world and to each of the characters in it.  Either good or bad, there wasn't a character that I disliked in this world.  My favourite would have to be Gallowglass, to be honest, and for reasons I can't give you because that would spoil the story but his humour and loyalty were two aspects that I really enjoyed reading.   I also found the idea of the plot very interesting, you have a historian who discovers a manuscript which could potentially be the most important item in their world.  You have a bit of romance along the way also together with the history of the world as well.  

What I didn't like about this trilogy...
This was one of those books that I could not read quick - which I found frustrating considering the story is one that I thought would be more fast paced. The story, to me, seemed to be too far drawn out.  It would have been much better if this was a duology with less description and more action - and less pages!  Each of these books were around 600 pages and the text wasn't large either.  This story had so much potential for me but a lot of my interest was lost with non-important things happening.

Honestly, I will not be picking up Time's Convert which I believe is a spin off of this series.  
   




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