Skip to main content

Review: "A Discovery of Witches" by Deborah Harkness

From Goodreads:   Sometimes scholars should be more careful: Youthful researcher Diana Bishop briefly consults an medieval alchemical manuscript; then, after jotting down a few notes, sends it back to its prison in the stacks. Unfortunately for Diana, her quick dabbling has unleashed a long suppressed curse—and now only she can break the spell. Carefully researched, this debut novel will appeal to fans of historical novel infused with strong paranormal elements.

My Thoughts:  This was a LONG book but it was so good.  I feel like I haven’t read a really good book in a while and this one definitely broke my not so good book streak.  I loved the mix of paranormal with history.  It makes me wish I knew someone, like Matthew, who had lived through so many historical events and personally knew a bunch of famous historical figures.  I am also glad the author made sure that the paranormal aspects didn’t get ridiculous.  The characters were believable and relatable even if they weren’t human.  I also really liked the descriptions of wine; I don't even like wine but the descriptions made me want to start drinking it.  There were some similarities with Twilight but they were subtle enough that it didn’t feel like I was reading an adult version of Twilight.  Despite the fact that the book was pretty lengthy, the story, while not super fast paced, kept my interest to the very end.  I will definitely be picking up the next book in the trilogy.  4 stars.

Comments

  1. I liked this one too- I agree about the similarities with Twilight.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have been hesitant because of the length.

    Beth ^_^
    http://sweetbooksnstuff.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review: "Oleanna" by Julie K. Rose

Synopsis:  Set during the separation of Norway from Sweden in 1905, this richly detailed novel of love and loss was inspired by the life of the author's great-great-aunts. Oleanna and her sister Elisabeth are the last of their family working their farm deep in the western fjordland. A new century has begun, and the world outside is changing, but in the Sunnfjord their world is as small and secluded as the verdant banks of a high mountain lake. The arrival of Anders, a cotter living just across the farm's border, unsettles Oleanna 's peaceful but isolated existence. Sharing a common bond of loneliness and grief, Anders stirs within her the wildness and wanderlust she has worked so hard to tame. When she is confronted with another crippling loss, Oleanna must decide once and for all how to face her past, claim her future, and find her place in a wide new world. My Thoughts:   I was very surprised by what an absolutely beautiful story Oleanna is.  The ...

Review and Giveaway: "Distant Signs" by Anne Richter

Synopsis: Distant Signs is an intimate portrait of two families spanning three generations amidst turbulent political change, behind and beyond the Berlin Wall. In 1960s East Germany, Margret, a professor’s daughter from the city, meets and marries Hans, from a small village in Thuringia. The couple struggle to contend with their different backgrounds, and the emotional scars they bear from childhood in the aftermath of war. As East German history gradually unravels, with collision of the personal and political, their two families’ hidden truths are quietly revealed. An exquisitely written novel with strongly etched characters that stay with you long after the book is finished and an authentic portrayal of family life behind the iron curtain based on personal experience of the author who is East German and was 16 years old at the fall of the Berlin Wall. Why do families repeat destructive patterns of behaviour across generations? Should the personal take precedence over...

Mailbox Monday (49)

It's time for another Mailbox Monday post!  Once again I could not resist the cheap ebooks that Amazon and Barnes and Noble were promoting this week.  I really need to stop!  I already have more than I can read.  I also was able to spend a little time browsing at the library and I came home with a nice stack of books.  These days, I hardly ever get to spend time at the library by myself for more than a minute or two so it was wonderful to have time to just wander and see what I could find. Purchased (for kindle): The Color of Secrets by Lindsay Ashford The One I Was by Eliza Graham House of Bathory by Linda Lafferty   Purchased (for nook): One Night in Winter by Simon Sebag Montefiore  Becoming Queen Victoria by Kate Williams From the Library: The Messenger by Daniel Silva   The Ripper's Wife by Brandy Purdy Hotel Moscow by Talia Carner Brazen by Katherine Longshore What books did you get...