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Quick Review: "The Book of Life" by Deborah Harkness



From Goodreads:  After traveling through time in Shadow of Night, the second book in Deborah Harkness’s enchanting series, historian and witch Diana Bishop and vampire scientist Matthew Clairmont return to the present to face new crises and old enemies. At Matthew’s ancestral home at Sept-Tours, they reunite with the cast of characters from A Discovery of Witches—with one significant exception. But the real threat to their future has yet to be revealed, and when it is, the search for Ashmole 782 and its missing pages takes on even more urgency. In the trilogy’s final volume, Harkness deepens her themes of power and passion, family and caring, past deeds and their present consequences. In ancestral homes and university laboratories, using ancient knowledge and modern science, from the hills of the Auvergne to the palaces of Venice and beyond, the couple at last learn what the witches discovered so many centuries ago.

My Thoughts:  I loved this trilogy, but The Book of Life is by far my most favorite of the three.  It had this awesome mix of history, folklore and science that just made for a fantastic story and I absolutely loved how Harkness wrapped everything up. 

It's hard to talk about all the things I liked about this book without giving things away so I am not  going to say too much.  The characters are one of my favorite aspects of this book.  There were a ton of them so at times it was hard to keep track of who everyone was but they were all so unique and interesting.  I know Baldwin is supposed to be a bad/good guy but I really loved him.  I also adore Gallowglass; his loyalty to both Matthew and Diana makes him so lovable. Benjamin was a super scary villain and his antics were beyond creepy.

I loved the scientific and DNA discussions in the book.  I find genetics to be incredibly interesting and the whole discussion of witch and vampire genetics was really cool.  I also enjoyed learning more about the Book of Life, what secrets it held and the magic involved.  This book is not just a great read, it is also an intelligent read.  Harkness obviously did a ton of research to be able to write this story and it was definitely worth it.

I can't recommend this book, and the others, enough.  If you have any interest in historical fiction and/or fantasy, this is the book for you. 5 stars.


I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.


Comments

  1. Discovery of Witches has been on my wishlist for ages. I think I will now have to buy this trilogy soon. I hear nothing but good things!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I don't think I've seen a bad review of this series. I am seriously intrigued now.

    ReplyDelete

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