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A Discovery of Witches

- mackenzie 2 Comments
A Discovery of WitchesA Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
Series: The All Souls Trilogy #1
Published by Viking Penguin on February 1, 2011
Genres: fantasy, romance
Pages: 579
Goodreads

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.

This was my second read-through of A Discovery of Witches, spurred on by my lovely friend Sarah’s love for the show. My first review, shared on Goodreads in 2016 reads:

I wanted to love this book more than I did. I really enjoyed the story and most of the characters, but I hard a hard time with the main character. I found her incredibly whiny and at times her actions/reactions ridiculous. If I could have liked her more I think I would have really enjoyed this book.

I’m still unsure whether or not I will grab the second one.

The second and third one are currently sitting on my shelf, all checked out from my local library. I’ve been determined to finish the series since I read the first one, but I never got around to it. Both times, I was torn between wanting to love the book and it ultimately falling a little flat for me.

The premise, interesting. The atmosphere, oxygenated. The vibes, immaculate. The witches, witching. The daemons, tripping. The vampires…brooding and a little too over possessive for my tastes. Which is saying something, since I can normally cast aside the internal bristle that happens when it comes to vampires and their less than stellar ability to let a human, human. I get being protective because humans are fragile, but maybe also let them make their own decisions?

I found Diana less whiny this time around. I actually really loved her in the first half of the book. Where she starts to fall apart for me actually has more to do with the vampires than it does her. The moment she admits she’s in love with Matthew, she moves from independent woman to a side character in her own narrative being swept along. I understand she knows very little about the supernatural world. But she could still have opinions on it.

I’ll probably read the second one. Since it’s in my grasp already. And I will hope, against all odds since we’ve gone back in time, I won’t have to read “Listen to Matthew, he’s our leader” more than once.

I’m also going to hope that Diana stops referring to Matthew as “my vampire” when narrating, and instead can just refer to him by name.

Update: I’m, like, 150 pages into the second book now.

Witchlanders

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I won’t lie, I honestly wasn’t expecting much out of this book. I picked it up because the cover looked pretty, it sounded decently alright, and I needed a couple of extra dollars to get free shipping on bookoutlet.com.

It started off slightly slow, but once it got going, it really got going. One of my only issues with Witchlanders is that it was too short. I feel like, if thoroughly developed, this actually could have been a really nice couple of books. I think it would have been so great to get a bit more about the culture and history of the two countries. Plus this would have made a great journey-fantasy, but for the length that it is, it’s great.

The characters were pretty well fleshed out. Ryder was a bit annoying, but only because I knew that what was going to happen in in the book centered around magic and he doesn’t believe in magic. But his reactions and feelings in the beginning (and even as the story progressed) made sense for him as a character. I couldn’t tell if I liked Falpian or not. His diva attitude got to me in the beginning, but he did come around as the story went on. I think his character definitely could have benefited from a more in depth backstory if there had been more room.

The plot itself was pretty engaging. The history between the Witchlanders and Baen got a bit confusing for me at points, but it was still interesting. I wasn’t able to guess what was going to happen before it happened, which I always appreciate in a book. I hate being able to guess plot points.

All in all, pretty decent! I’ll have to check out more of Lena Coakley. Have you read any of her work?

Dreams of Gods and Monsters

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After reading the first two books in this trilogy without being super blown away, I was interested to see how Laini Taylor planned on ending it. I was also a little apprehensive. I was terribly afraid it would quickly turn into a “and everyone lived happily ever after” scenario.

I’m really glad (but also kind of sad) that it didn’t end out that way.

This book was dark. We’ve got smart Karou back, although she’s tired and so done with everything that’s going on. We’ve got her and Akiva on minimal speaking terms, but it’s enough. We’ve got the whole gang of awesome characters ready to fight a war that no one really wants to fight. Let’s gather everyone and kick some butt!

The stand out for me, character wise, in this book was Liraz. I loved her character development, even though it might not have always been straight forward. In the first book, I didn’t like her. By the end of Gods & Monsters, I had a profound understanding for why she is the way she is.

I felt so bad for Ziri throughout this book. Boy got the short end of the stick more often than not. His story line broke my heart the most, I think.

The one main thing I wasn’t a huge fan of was the back story to Akiva and his powers. Maybe it was because we didn’t start learning about it fully until this book (or was it the second?), but I just felt like it wasn’t as flushed out as it could have been. It was like we were told a legend about creation and expected to accept it without any questions. It just bothered me how that entire plot was handled.

I have mixed feelings about the ending, but I’m kind of happy it ended the way it did. I think it was a good compromise. I know that explains nothing, but if you read the books, let me know if you agree.

Really, I’m just happy I finally finished this trilogy. It’s been sitting on my shelf for far too long. And whether or not I like the stories, Laini Taylor has wonderful writing.

Days of Blood and Starlight

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As the middle book in a trilogy, Days of Blood and Starlight wasn’t half bad. The plot was a little slow, but that’s because it’s creating a slow build up to the third and final book.

My only real issue with this entire book was Karou.

Oh, uh, spoilers.

I understand that Karou has just basically lost everything and everyone that she loves. I get that. Betrayal is extra devastating. But she gets so…caught up?…in her grief that she stops being Karou. I don’t know if that’s me being uncompassionate, but come on. She’s a smart girl and she closes her eyes to some OBVIOUS shit. Mostly regarding the White Wolf. It aggravated me a lot that I just had to sit by and watch stupid Karou make stupid mistakes while her stupid heart was broken.

I felt intensely sorry for Akiva, even though he’s the one that messed up and got people into this mess. I just..ugh, I don’t know. I feel like he screws things up, tries to apologize, but no one gives a shit that he’s made a mistake. Look, just because the guy’s an angel doesn’t mean he doesn’t mess up.

Days of Blood and Starlight is where I really started to connect with the characters, which was fantastic. Karou I still had issues with, but Zuzana and Mik I absolutely LOVED. I would take Zuze as a best friend any day of the week. I can understand why Karou doesn’t let her in immediately to the Fantastic World of Beasts, but I feel bad that Zuze has to basically fight her to be let in.

Gaining more insight into Akiva and his siblings was fantastic. They become more human (ironic) than in Daughter, where I felt they were just out to kill everyone. Although, this book still has a lot of killing. But it makes you realize how senseless violence is, and how tiring it can be.

On the plus side, there was no insta-love, so that was an improvement for me. We get a darker, grittier, emotional feelz between the characters. Which is an improvement, but still not my favourite. I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again. A lot of relationships in books could be solved with some simple communication. It would save everyone so much heartache.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone

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A little backstory about this series before I start my review. I’ve owned the entire trilogy since Daughter of Smoke and Bone came out in 2011. That’s 7 years these guys sat on my shelf. I originally bought them 1) for the covers, 2) I love things set in Prague, and 3) the plot seemed really intriguing.

I read Daughter about a year after it came out. I was not a fan. I loved the setting, the characters were fun, the plot was okay, but it didn’t do anything for me. Which is shown by the fact that it took me 5-6 years to continue the series even though they sat on my shelf the entire time.

This could get a bit spoilery from here on out, FYI.

Although Karou was fun, I had issues with her personality. I can understand parts of it, she just comes across as whiny. This didn’t get any better in my opinion.

Akiva was cute but he didn’t really do anything for me. His personality seemed very empty.

The main issue I had was the insta-love. The backstory behind that slowly gets explained, but I just couldn’t get on board with it. It seemed very fake to me. I can’t even explain why.

I loved the atmosphere and the universe Laini Taylor created, though, and I think that is what drew me back to this series. In order to continue with them, I had to go back and read Daughter since I legit could not remember a single thing that happened in it. This time around I understood things a bit better, and although I still wasn’t 100% on board with the insta-love, I made it through all right. The rest of the story mattered more to me this time.

I definitely liked it better this time and I’m glad I did a reread. There’s a lot of things I glossed over the first time, which is likely me being an impatient reader. But Laini Taylor is a fantastic writer, which I appreciated more this read. I liked it enough to finish the series, so stay tuned for those reviews!

The Bees

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In the beginning, I really liked The Bees. It was interesting, seemingly unique, and I wanted to know where it was going. I held on for about as long as I could.

First, I don’t know WHY but for some reason I didn’t think this was actually about bees. Pretty dense of me since it’s literally in the title and the entire cover is bees. But I figured it was a nickname for whatever faction Flora was from. Nope. She’s a bee. Which I actually thought was pretty cool. When’s the last time you read about a bee?! I like that aspects of Flora were slightly human (feelings, thoughts, etc) but she still had a somewhat bee-sque mentality. It worked for me!

The setting was wonderful, and the way Paull writes is superb. It didn’t feel like a hive at all for me. It was some robust, living, richly exotic world that I found myself wanting to visit. I loooved it.

What fell flat for me was the story. The beginning of it was great. Exploring the hive with Flora was tense and exciting. But about half way through the book I kind of knew what was going to happen and it made me care less about reading it. I think if the entire thing had been shorter, I would have been able to hold on. But 200-ish pages of a story I’ve already guessed isn’t fun.

So, unfortunately, I DNF’d this half way through. It was wonderful though, and I’m sure many people will enjoy it! I did sneak to the end to figure out what happened, so it’s not like I didn’t care. Tehehe.

Jackaby

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A lot of people describe Jackaby as a sort of Sherlock….and they have every right to.

If Sherlock hunted the Supernatural, his name would definitely be R.F Jackaby.

I love how we’re showed the world through Abigail Rook, who at the beginning of the book has no idea who Jackaby is. She simply needs a job and he has a posting for an assistant. It made the story more interesting for me, because there was never any info dumping about the world and its supernatural elements. You simply find out about things as she does, which made me connect with her confusion more, but 100% in a good way.

It also made Jackaby more mysterious, sometimes frustrating, but always enjoyable to have on the page and in the story. While some might think he’s cocky or obnoxious, I liked his personality. He sees things that no one else can, so he has very little time to explain things to people. It’s a very easy way to only keep the “important” people around, in my opinion. He doesn’t have to hide himself or spend hours explaining things to people who choose not to believe what he sees. Call me crazy, but I like it. He also has a wicked sense of humour without meaning to.

The case itself was okay. Nothing mindblowing, but it kept me guessing. I’m interested to see if book numero two gets any more thrilling.

Yes, I already bought it. Have you seen those covers?? They’re just too pretty not to have.

Mistborn

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What isn’t there to love about this book?

I love, love, loved the magic system that we’re presented with. It’s so simple but so imaginative at the same time. I guess the magic itself is simple, but what each Allomancer chooses to do with it is fascinating.

I really liked Vin’s history, with her brother and how she was treated. No matter what she does, she still hears his voice berating her for her choices. Her viewpoint on the world was interesting, and I liked her hard edge. It made her strong and her narration superb. You learn about the world of Mistborns as she does. It’s a great way to have the story unfold.

Kelsier was just a hoot. First off, love the name. Second off, he’s an ass but he doesn’t care and you have to love him for it. Even though he’s got quite a screwed up history, he’s able to put on a good face and be upbeat. Even if he is an ass.

The rest of the gang was wonderful and I liked how we got to explore the different type of Allomancy through each member. They were all vastly different but they all flowed so well.

Everything that this book stands for is amazing. I bought the second one as soon as I finished. I want nothing more than to immerse myself back into this rich world.

I understand why there are a lot of people who rave about Brandon Sanderson.

Favourite Kelsier quote:

Kelsier felt that a skaa Misting’s life wasn’t so much about surviving as it was about picking the right time to die.

The Prince of Fools

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I don’t even know how to review Prince Of Fools properly. I had a hard time following the plot, but I think that has more to do with my attention span and memory rather than the story. I have a hard time reading detailed fantasy novels for this exact reason. And yet, I still enjoyed Prince Of Fools.

How do you explain Prince Jalan to someone? If you have a good way, let me know in the comments. I loved him from the first moment he entered the pages. His sense of humour was on point, and his personality just radiated. I find it hilarious that he’s such a coward, but he fully admits he’s a coward, so it gets him into some interesting scenarios. He’s that friend that you keep around because you KNOW he’s going to make everyone have a good time.

Snorri I had a hard time getting to know, although he had a good personality. I’m hoping that the more he opens up to Jal, the more inside his head we can get because by the end of the book I still wasn’t sure what was going on with him. He’s a man of few words which doesn’t really help. I just know he’s a good person and he’s looking for his family. And he’s a viking. A very big viking.

What I could follow of the plot was alright. Snorri is heading North to save his family, Prince Jalan does not want to head North at all but is forced to because of the curse the Silent Sister placed on him. I’m still not 100% sure who the bad guy from the North is (obviously since I can’t even remember his name). And the army he has is also confusing to me, but it might be because I wasn’t following the story as much as I should have been.

Because of my comprehension skills, I might not continue this series. I don’t know if it’ll be worth trying to get through the next one if I already don’t remember a good chunk of Prince Of Fools. Maybe I should start keeping notes as I go.

The Taker

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I couldn’t put this book down. It was absolutely stunning and surpassed any and all of my expectations.

My favourite part about this entire novel is the narrative voice. I think Alma Katsu could write 300 pages about watching paint dry and it would still mesmerize me. The story line alone was fantastic, but when told the way it was, it easily took The Taker to the top of my recommendation list.

Narrative aside, I did love the plot as well. The cover copy gives you an inclination of what the story could be about, but I was still absolutely surprised ever time I turned the page. I finished the book satisfied, but I still want more at the same time! I want to see where the story goes and how the characters develop.

I would highly recommend The Taker to anyone. But I would suggest having a solid chunk of time set aside to read it, as it’s very unlikely you will be able to put it down.