by Deborah Harkness
Paperback
690 pages
Published September 1st 2011
Headline
Summary from Goodreads:
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.
Thoughts:
A blogger friend told me that this book is actually the Twilight version for adult and I couldn't agree more. In truth I bought the book last year and it's been sitting on my shelf gathering dust for some time. When I found out that the sequel is out this month, I just had to read this.
Let me just say although I ended up liking this book in the end, it is indeed insufferably long. The book is filled with academic terms and scientific research that will not necessarily appeal to the masses. And the main character spent most of her time holed up in the Oxford's Bodleian Library just reading books to complete her thesis regarding alchemy. Maybe the fact that I'm also currently doing my postgraduate thesis and have been spending a lot of time in the library made me particularly fond of the book.
As fate would have it, Diana the main character in the story found an ancient magical text and attracted the attention of other magical beings desperate to get their hands on the mysterious book that contained the secrets behind the existence of paranormals.
The relationship between Diana and Matthew took some time to blossom and I love that it's not the usual instant love kind of thing. They hang out at the library, went for tea and even did yoga together before finally confessing their love for each other.
As I said if the book if shortened a bit more then it'll be just perfect. I do think the main appeal here is not so much the romance between the vampire and the witch but the quest to unearth the secrets behind the magical book and the mysterious murders of Diana's parents when she was young. Too bad the story meandered a lot in the middle and it took some patience to get into the story.
Recommended for: fans of paranormal romance and witches
Verdict: 4 stars.
In my TBR Pile, The Dusty Bookshelf & Witches & Witchcraft Reading Challenge
Available on: Amazon
If you put witch in the title I will read it. I love the magic.
ReplyDelete