A Discovery of Witches has been on my TBR list for ages, so I’ve finally decided to read this book. It starts incredible, as Diana’s life changes when she discovers the mysterious manuscript. The early chapters fascinated me with dark academia vibes, magic, vampires, demons, and historical secrets. I loved how Diana was refraining from using her powers and trying to carve her own path. I liked how Matthiew appeared to protect her from other creatures and the early stages of their relationship.

Unfortunately, the pace slowed as Diana and Matthiew gradually became closer. Their relationship is a proper slow-burn forbidden romance, which would be fine if it wasn’t for the fact that I was really invested in the manuscript plot, which was swept aside. I couldn’t enjoy the romantic subplot, as I kept wondering about the document. I found this shift in pacing awkward, as the narrative seemed to meander, making the book unnecessarily long.

I was saved by alternately reading the physical copy and listening to the audiobook, which was quite good.

I have very mixed feelings about this book. I didn't hate it, but I definitely didn't love it either. I enjoyed the concept of the story and the historical references thrown in were interesting. However, if you were to ask me what happened in this book, I'd struggle to tell you because for its excessive length, nothing really did happen. There were a couple of high stakes action scenes that I did really like and to be honest, if it wasn't for them, I'm not sure I would have seen it through to the end.

The main characters lacked depth and personality in my opinion. Diana could have been made into such a great character, but she was honestly quite dull. Her aunt's Sarah and Miriam were much more entertaining and I would have liked to have seen more of them in her. Matthew was very highly strung (which I guess is feasible given he was a vampire) but even in his romance, a softer side to him would have made me like him more.

This book could and should have been considerably shorter. It was an incredibly slow burn which I am all for, but I didn't feel like there was much pay off in the end for the hours that I sat listening. I'd be really interested to see how this has translated to screen, but I'm not sure I'm invested enough to continue with the series.

A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES is a novel of paranormal tensions and academic research setting off a cascade of events.

This is an interesting take on vampires, witches, and daemons. The tensions between the three push this book along, making it a dangerous world. I liked that the isolationism of each group was partly due to prejudice stemming from adhering to rules made centuries ago and haven't been reconsidered since, it helps highlight the nonsensical nature of prejudice. The way member of the three groups come together at the end to form an anti-rules coalition was a nice bit of hope for the future.

This book was not quite what I was expecting, and that's because the friend who told me to try the series told me about the later books' premises. This meant I was not expecting a contemporary-set book and spent much of the book waiting for the time travel (I eventually googled the books and found out that comes in only from book 2.) It didn't interfere with me enjoying the book, but I think I would have been a bit less impatient in the opening 50% if I'd known.

The book is nicely nerdy about manuscripts and the history of science. It's so obvious that this is the author's area of research, knowing the texts intimately and weaving them into the story. I like a good bit of nerdery and academia done with experience in books.

A great slow burning story in a diverse world with lots of different characters.

Part one of five and I can't wait to further explore the world!

I am so so sorry, but I did not finish this one. Perhaps I will return to it one day, but I doubt it. I think if you like cosy, academia based books you might like this one. Like Babel fans (anotthef DNF for me), might like it? The plot was unfolding much too slowly for me. I appreciate the accomplished FMC but that's about it. This one was not for me, but I wish the author the very best.

3.75-4⭐️

All Souls trilogy no 1

This was recommended by my hubby who loves all things witchy. I enjoy an occasional toe dip into the genre.
I had the audiobook narrated by Jennifer Ikeda who does a great job.

Diana Bishop comes from a long line of witches, she unwittingly pulls up a rare and important and missing historical manuscript while working as a professor in the Bodleian library at Oxford, problem is that other Witches, Daemons and Vampires all want this manuscript and will stop at nothing to get it, one wanting access is Matthew a very rich and very old vampire. Matthew and Diana begin an intense relationship where he becomes her protector.

It kept me entertained, I think the narrator played a big part in that, as the pace is slow.

My major criticism of the book is its length, at 23 hours it’s far too long, as for the plot there’s so much incorporated! Too much! It literally incorporates everything you can think of. There’s plenty going on, but much of it is of little importance. Diane’s powers once unlocked are an extensive list.

As for the characters, a lot of them make an appearance, along with their backstories. I liked the use of the Bishop house with its ghosts as a character, that’s quite quirky. I quite liked the two main characters even though Diana isn’t a strong woman, and Matthew comes across as a stereotypical macho archetype.

I’m no expert on this genre just toe dipping into it, so bear that in mind with my review. I enjoyed the world building, its thorough as is the character development. There’s the inclusion of some snippets of history too.

The ending sets up the start of book two, although it did feel like a natural conclusion in its own right.
I’m not sure the direction that the next step of the trilogy is going in would be for me. I’m torn at the moment.

Definitely not my cup of tea. The romance (and to be fair, there in lies my mistake) is long and drawn out, with very little happening, and what does occur isn't particularly remarkable. The hype eludes me.

I absolutely loved this. I loved the characters. Matthew is a great character. He is strong with a softer side. He’s so protective. Diana is also likeable. I really like the relationship between them. It’s got plot twists and keeps you guessing. There’s a little spice. Deborah Harkness’s writing style is easy to keep up with and I couldn’t put it down. The world is beautifully built, you can really imagine the settings. I read the majority of this in one day and cannot wait to pick up the next in this series.

I don't usually read ( or listen ) to these type of books and probably not read any more, but saying that the story was very good with well fleshed out characters. It was well plotted which allowed the story to flow. Jennifer Ikeda is an excellent narrator, her characterisation of all the characters were distinctive and you knew who was speaking. Thanks to Headline audio and Netgalley for a review copy.

This book is a classic. It's well-written, the characters are fleshed out and interesting and the atmosphere is gripping.
The narrator was engaging and captivating. I never found my attention wandering as I can do with when listening to audiobooks. This keep me dialled in.

This book serves as a great reminder to not judge books by their covers because I always got the impression that this was A Very Serious High Fantasy Novel when it absolutely isn’t. Once I realised that it was originally published in 2011 amongst Twilight, Vampire Academy, Beautiful Creatures, etc. I saw this for what it was: a fun, flirty, and fantastical time. I think having my expectations of the book completely subverted allowed me to switch off and just enjoy the ride, which was for the best as if I had allowed myself to engage with it critically at all, I’m not sure I could’ve got past Diana’s decision to marry a vampire before even one menstrual cycle had passed.

Jennifer Ikeda’s talent as a narrator is next level - her ability to switch between so many different accents flawlessly was phenomenal and she really, really brought the whole story and the characters to life.

Thank you to NetGalley and Headline Audio for providing me with an Audiobook copy. All opinions are my own.

I am going to be honest: this was meant to be one of the series I wanted to reread this year. And I wanted to do it before the release of the newest installation of the All Souls world, The Black Bird Oracle, which is coming out in mid-July. Now, I don’t think I’m going to be able to binge-reread the rest of the All Souls trilogy (Shadow of Night and Book of Life) as well as the companion novel, Time’s Convert, before it’s release.

But I am going to try and reread (all via audio) before the end of the year. I do think I am going to attempt Time’s Convert next month (I read this originally and was very middle of the road about it, but I got the audiobook on sale so am doing to attempt it this way as see if my opinion changes as I really like the leads in this).

Now, I do enjoy this book. Honestly, I do (why would I been reread this for the fourth time?), there were things I did pick up on that did make me not like it on this outing compared to my previous.

I think I said this once before that this book is very detail heavy, and at times, this does slow the plot down. You noticed it in the middle of the book where a lot of information and detail is given out (most of which isn’t exactly important to the novel or the series as a whole), and this slows the pace down. It doesn’t come to a halt, but it does slow everything down and I found myself getting irritated at our leads, Diana and Matthew.

I mentioned this in my very early write-up of A Discovery of Witches is the amount of tea and red wine drunk. It’s repeated many, many times, as do some phrases. I could have so easily turned it into a drinking game when Diana and Matthew had a mug of tea or a glass of wine.


But there is something about this world and these characters I really like. I really like Diana and Matthew and their relationship (a tad insta-love for my tastes) and I am a huge fan of Diana’s aunts, Sarah and Em, as well as some vampires (namely Ysabeau and Marcus). And there’s something about the world I really like.

While this is a smart adult fantasy (and the TV adaption was great - I only did the first series, which is based on this book. I wanted to read each book per series to compare, but I got busy and forgot. Real life, huh?), there are elements that weren’t for me, mainly when information was given to Diana and to the reader (for a book that is very detail heavy, the amount of times a piece of very important information is dropped on us without any forewarning and it comes at the most convenient time happens multiply times in the book and it’s very annoying when it happens. For example, how are the readers meant to know about timewalking if it has never been mentioned and the reader doesn’t know it exists or is a thing?)

So yes, this is a series I like and I am going to continue rereading this, but it’s a series that has flaws. And yes, I am very excited to read Black Bird Oracle and to reread Time’s Convert in the near future…

I loved this. The writing is descriptive and lovely, although the author does tend to overdo it in some parts. I was very partial to Matthew, I love his mother Ysabeau and housekeeper Marthe, and Marcus, his son. The storyline is good, and I loved the research and historical bits. .

I have been wanting to read this since I watched the show and loved it. So i had to request it and I’m so glad I did as I enjoyed the book so much.
The narrator was so good at keeping me hooked and bringing the story to life.
I do think the story is quite slow and very character driven but I loved the build up and all the history of vampires and witches we get.
I’m looking forward to the sequel and will definitely be continuing to listen to the audiobooks.

A Discovery of Witches is definitely a really interesting book, but I can't help but wonder wether I would have enjoyed it even more had it not been this (needlessly) long. I just think there was so much that could have been cut...

I've never read A Discovery of Witches before, so this audio arc was my first experience of this story, and I'd also somehow avoided any spoilers. I managed to hear the first couple of chapters before the download of the arc stopped working, but what I heard made me intrigued and excited to hear more. The narrator was really easy to listen to, and the dark academia vibes, suppressed witchcraft and the introduction of an enigmatic vampire had me hooked. If I manage to get the download working, or read more, I'll update this review with my thoughts on how the story develops from this great beginning. 4 stars for what I've read so far, docked a star because, for now, I can go no further.

I really enjoyed this narrator and just the general storyline, at this point, who doesn't like A Discovery of Witches?!

I listened to the audiobook of this, well after watching the TV series. It showed that the TV series really closely followed the book and mirrored the vast majority of the timeline/story.

I did however find it overly long and know that I 100% would not be reading this in physical form. The narration was good and soothing, much like the tv show, but sometimes this made it hard for me to concentrate.

Thank you NetGalley and publishers for an ARC of this audiobook in return for my honest review

I finally read this book and can understand why it’s so popular! Witches, vampires and demons with an interesting plot and a star crossed romance. I’ve got a feeling I’m going to enjoy the rest of these books and I’ll be continuing on audio as I really liked the narrator.

A Discovery of Witches is a historical-fantasy following Diana Bishop, an academic studying at Oxford, who accidentally comes across a manuscript that everyone thought was lost. Diana is descended from a long line of witches however she wants nothing to do with her heritage so once she realises what the manuscript is she sends it back. However this starts a chain of events with various demons, witches and vampires turning up in Diana's path in the hopes that they will be able to get their hands on the manuscript - as she is the only person that has ever been able to break the spell that has hidden the manuscript all this time. One of the creatures hoping to get his hands on the manuscript is Matthew Clairmont who is also an academic/scientist and happens to be a vampire. As the story progresses a romance starts between the two however this is more than frowned upon by those in charge as the various species aren't supposed to mix. The story then follows Diana and Matthew trying to figure out what's going on with the manuscript and how they can be together.


I was initially a little daunted by the size of this book and a tad dubious about how much I would enjoy the historical element of the story, however I found that it wasn't hard to follow the historical elements and was easy enough to accept what they were saying without any prior knowledge on my part. However having already been a fan of vampire/fantasy books I did have high hopes that I would like this book and I was right.
I particularly enjoyed the academic/researcher aspect of the characters due to my own personal academic background in a different subject.
I listened to this book via audiobook from NetGalley and found the narrator (Jennifer Ikeda)to have a lovely voice and she did accents well which really helped distinguish between characters. I was also able to speed up the audio a little without it sounding strange. I was able to do other things (hobbies/work) whilst listening to the book and was still able to easily follow what was going on.
Pretty early on in the book I realised I was going to love it so purchased the series in physical format in addition because I will definitely want to read the rest.