loriclark's review
4.0
thought that this book was better than the original, first one was okay read the second just because that's what I do with authors, read all of them, but was impressed by the second one thought it was better done than the first.
darrahsteffenwrites's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
cinderelfa's review against another edition
2.0
I’m left wondering how I flew through book one in comparison to what I’ve just read.
600 plus pages with no plot how does this happen!!
If you find yourselves on the fence about reading book 2 just save yourself the time as nothing happens in this book.
Will I read book 3? Probably, yes.
600 plus pages with no plot how does this happen!!
If you find yourselves on the fence about reading book 2 just save yourself the time as nothing happens in this book.
Will I read book 3? Probably, yes.
sophie1_xox's review against another edition
The plot just wasn't captivating and the characters kept making very questionable decisions. Felt simultaneously excessively fast paced and slow. Didn't feel connected to the characters despite having read the first book.
norellehannah's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
scostanzo42's review
5.0
Solid sequel to 'A Discovery of Witches'. I enjoyed the 1590 setting, Diana and Matthew's relationship growing, the people they meet and call family, and then end was good, not a total cliffhanger, but made you want more. Hoping it doesn't take forever for the final book!
katienicol's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
4.0
nonabgo's review against another edition
1.0
I've rarely read books as stupid as this series. Really really stupid. I go on because it's like watching a Mexican telenovela that you keep up with because of its batshit craziness that is completely out of sync with any kind of reality imaginable, yet it's impossible to give up especially because of that. And to be particularly honest, I placed a bet with myself on when the two crazy kids will finally have sex. Spoiler: it's not in the first 200 pages! And it's one of the worst sex scenes I have ever read. The wait was pointless.
So, why is this book particularly bad? Let me count the reasons...
We know that Diana and Matthew travel in time to a time (well..) when she could find a witch to help her deal with her powers. After much consideration regarding safety and chances to find someone good enough to accomplish the task, he carefully (cough cough) chose maybe one of the worst periods he could go to: Elizabethan England. I mean... I don't even want to know how dangerous it would have been to choose any other period, but really, going back in time right when witches were burned to the stake in Scotland was probably not the best solution. But then again, neither Matthew, nor Diana herself are well-known for their planning skills and intelligence... I'm guessing the author chose that because of her particular knowledge of the era, which made her fill the book with all kinds of characters from the arts and political environment, but to me this was a bad bad choice. Throwing in all those real people just to make the book interesting ended up pissing me off. How dare she create such backgrounds for geniuses like Sir Walter Raleigh and Christopher Marlowe? It's one thing to invent characters and another to take real people and just... make up fake lives for them. Disrespectful.
Nothing happens during the first third of the book, except for countless descriptions of houses and clothes. At least they spend less time drinking wine and tea, but more time analysing every smell and colour in the world, which gets boring really fast. As I've said after reading the first volume of this trilogy (man, there's another one...), every other paragraph could have easily been cut off entirely. So much stuff is just pointless and repetitive. We really don't need to be told every 5 pages that Matthew is incredibly tall. Did [a:Deborah Harkness|3849415|Deborah Harkness|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1584481459p2/3849415.jpg] really have an editor?
Afterwards, there's just too much going on. It's like the author tried to cram in every fantasy genre cliche and then some. There's babies and abortions, calligraphy struggles, fights, repressed homosexuality, dysfunctional relationships, blood drinking, other time travellers (her father? really?), long lost family, death, torture, craziness, Dracula... sorry. At least half of that was just sawdust thrown into the mix probably to reach a target number of pages. It's bad writing. People should really stop it with the long books that have absolutely no purpose. Keep it under 300 well-written pages , where characters act up like themselves and don't contradict their previous actions and are actually believable and well-constructed, instead of 650 pages of nothingness.
Speaking of Dracula... no. Just no. Please, dear writers, stop wrecking a beloved historical figure from Romanian history for your own drama. Vlad Țepeș was a great ruler and did a lot of good during his reign, he had nothing to do with any vampirism. Stop throwing him in as a filler when you don't know what else to invent to make your book bloody. Just stop.
Moreover, although you'd think the main characters will evolve and become rounded because the author has more time to build them, this does not happen. Diana is still as annoying and reckless, Matthew is still as individualistic, clingy and wears too many hats (sorry, no, not even for a vampire does this look remotely realistic), and their relationship is still as dysfunctional as in the first volume. There's absolutely no growth. Harkness relies on action to tell a story and therefore throws into the mix all kinds of events that destabilise the status quo (much like BTVS, except that was spread out for 8 years and this novel goes on for 1, thus making the show a staple and this trilogy a teenage rubbish except not fit for teenagers).
The last chapter is absolutely pointless (did I overuse this word already?) and does not bring any literary value other than to reach the 650 pages target and the names index at the end only proves that there were just too many characters in this book for the readers to keep track of. In the end, I didn't even remember there was a Francoise and what her purpose was.
There is nothing, absolutely nothing good about this book. If people really want good, reliable fantasy/ vampire writings, pick up the Southern Vampires series, or the Invisible Library series. Or just watch BTVS. Nothing better than that.
So, why is this book particularly bad? Let me count the reasons...
We know that Diana and Matthew travel in time to a time (well..) when she could find a witch to help her deal with her powers. After much consideration regarding safety and chances to find someone good enough to accomplish the task, he carefully (cough cough) chose maybe one of the worst periods he could go to: Elizabethan England. I mean... I don't even want to know how dangerous it would have been to choose any other period, but really, going back in time right when witches were burned to the stake in Scotland was probably not the best solution. But then again, neither Matthew, nor Diana herself are well-known for their planning skills and intelligence... I'm guessing the author chose that because of her particular knowledge of the era, which made her fill the book with all kinds of characters from the arts and political environment, but to me this was a bad bad choice. Throwing in all those real people just to make the book interesting ended up pissing me off. How dare she create such backgrounds for geniuses like Sir Walter Raleigh and Christopher Marlowe? It's one thing to invent characters and another to take real people and just... make up fake lives for them. Disrespectful.
Nothing happens during the first third of the book, except for countless descriptions of houses and clothes. At least they spend less time drinking wine and tea, but more time analysing every smell and colour in the world, which gets boring really fast. As I've said after reading the first volume of this trilogy (man, there's another one...), every other paragraph could have easily been cut off entirely. So much stuff is just pointless and repetitive. We really don't need to be told every 5 pages that Matthew is incredibly tall. Did [a:Deborah Harkness|3849415|Deborah Harkness|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1584481459p2/3849415.jpg] really have an editor?
Afterwards, there's just too much going on. It's like the author tried to cram in every fantasy genre cliche and then some. There's babies and abortions, calligraphy struggles, fights, repressed homosexuality, dysfunctional relationships, blood drinking, other time travellers (her father? really?), long lost family, death, torture, craziness, Dracula... sorry. At least half of that was just sawdust thrown into the mix probably to reach a target number of pages. It's bad writing. People should really stop it with the long books that have absolutely no purpose. Keep it under 300 well-written pages , where characters act up like themselves and don't contradict their previous actions and are actually believable and well-constructed, instead of 650 pages of nothingness.
Speaking of Dracula... no. Just no. Please, dear writers, stop wrecking a beloved historical figure from Romanian history for your own drama. Vlad Țepeș was a great ruler and did a lot of good during his reign, he had nothing to do with any vampirism. Stop throwing him in as a filler when you don't know what else to invent to make your book bloody. Just stop.
Moreover, although you'd think the main characters will evolve and become rounded because the author has more time to build them, this does not happen. Diana is still as annoying and reckless, Matthew is still as individualistic, clingy and wears too many hats (sorry, no, not even for a vampire does this look remotely realistic), and their relationship is still as dysfunctional as in the first volume. There's absolutely no growth. Harkness relies on action to tell a story and therefore throws into the mix all kinds of events that destabilise the status quo (much like BTVS, except that was spread out for 8 years and this novel goes on for 1, thus making the show a staple and this trilogy a teenage rubbish except not fit for teenagers).
The last chapter is absolutely pointless (did I overuse this word already?) and does not bring any literary value other than to reach the 650 pages target and the names index at the end only proves that there were just too many characters in this book for the readers to keep track of. In the end, I didn't even remember there was a Francoise and what her purpose was.
There is nothing, absolutely nothing good about this book. If people really want good, reliable fantasy/ vampire writings, pick up the Southern Vampires series, or the Invisible Library series. Or just watch BTVS. Nothing better than that.
bryckk's review
5.0
One of the best Historical Fantasy Books I’ve Ever Read!
I cannot say enough about this book! As someone who had no interest in history, I was pleasantly surprised at how much these characters fascinated me. John Dee, William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlow, Rudolf II… the list goes on! I recommend this for anyone who loves romance, fantasy, and history!
Happy Reading!
I cannot say enough about this book! As someone who had no interest in history, I was pleasantly surprised at how much these characters fascinated me. John Dee, William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlow, Rudolf II… the list goes on! I recommend this for anyone who loves romance, fantasy, and history!
Happy Reading!