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piperclover's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
I'm so torn on this. On one hand I love the mystery around the manuscript, the magic system, the convent, and all of that stuff. On the other hand I despise Matthew as a love interest. He could be the villain, he could be the best friend, he could just be a random vampire that they dragged in to all this, but I cannot stand him as a love interest. His character has some flashes of being interesting but by-and-large hes just a controlling, obnoxious Edward Cullen era vampire love interest.
And that's my biggest gripe with this book that it feels like a mix of National Treasure and the bad parts of Twilight. You can clearly see that this was written post twilight boom. I just hate this stupid relationship so much but I'm so interested in the actual plot that I might get sucked in and try the next book.
It was a bit long and a bit slow so it definitely could have cut about a 100 pages out but I did really enjoy the fact that even though it's all about magic, they did address the legalities of the legalities of their plan which was a fun thing to add. And also it raised a very good question about whether or not vampires can tell when somebody is menstruating and if they like it or not.
I initially gave this a 3 but its actually a 2.5. I cant think about it without thinking about how much I hated the "romance" so much it makes me mad.
And that's my biggest gripe with this book that it feels like a mix of National Treasure and the bad parts of Twilight. You can clearly see that this was written post twilight boom. I just hate this stupid relationship so much but I'm so interested in the actual plot that I might get sucked in and try the next book.
It was a bit long and a bit slow so it definitely could have cut about a 100 pages out but I did really enjoy the fact that even though it's all about magic, they did address the legalities of the legalities of their plan which was a fun thing to add. And also it raised a very good question about whether or not vampires can tell when somebody is menstruating and if they like it or not.
I initially gave this a 3 but its actually a 2.5. I cant think about it without thinking about how much I hated the "romance" so much it makes me mad.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture and Murder
Moderate: Stalking
Harassmentmaggies's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Started reading the series primarily because I want to watch the show, and now I'm even more excited to keep reading the series! I think it might have benefitted from some editing down—lots of repetition of the same sentiment or even sentence in just a few paragraphs, for example—but overall a really engaging fantasy story. The world of the witches, vampires, and daemons is laid out for readers as Diana learns the details, which is a simple and effective trick for this kind of world-building. Docked a star because it's just not believable to me that the entire book takes place over less than two months.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Stalking
Minor: Xenophobia and War
baearles's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Toxic relationship, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, and War
bedtimesandbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Mental illness, and Pregnancy
foxgloveandcrow's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A fun story that would’ve been improved by trimming out the minutiae and doing a bit more to introduce antagonists. New bad guys were often just dropped right in with no introduction. And I definitely didn’t need a chapter devoted to legal paperwork.
But I like the tv series a lot (which separated the wheat from the chaff, honestly), and I enjoyed the story and characters of the book a lot.
But I like the tv series a lot (which separated the wheat from the chaff, honestly), and I enjoyed the story and characters of the book a lot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Torture, and Stalking
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
mariebrunelm's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
What better way to get mentally ready for a trip to the Bodleian library in Oxford than by reading a book set partly in the Bodleian library in Oxford? I first read A Discovery of Witches in 2018 when I was leaving for my first solo trip to Oxford and it helped quite a lot with my stress because Diana, the main character, is literally shown taking each step to enter the library. This time round, I read it for the setting and because re-reading brings me much comfort. It really is a fun book, but also a rather deep one. On the one hand, I still love it as much as the first time, because there were lots of parallels to draw between supernatural creatures and queer people. On the other hand, this being the third time I'm reading it, I could no longer stand Matthew (the other MC)'s overprotectiveness and paternalistic behaviour (which are challenged, thankfully) and I really roled my eyes at the insta-love story and the direction their relationship took (I don't want to spoil you!).
But this novel is still very, very enjoyable - I found myself giggling and not putting the book down and having lunch at Blackwell's just because Diana did.
Having said that, you still may not know what this book is about. Diana is a historian of science studying alchemical manuscripts at the Bodleian where she meets Matthew, a vampire, while creatures of all three types (there are daemons as well) close in on her for studying a particular document at the Bodleian. There follows a romance between the two of them, the details of which I will not disclose, but it involves very spirited locations, danger and a whole lot of pining.
Rep: sapphic secondary characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Blood, Medical content, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
clarabooksit's review against another edition
I hated this. The writing and story are cheesy, soapy, and cringey. The absolute worst thing about it, though, is the romance: Matthew is controlling and creepy, has anger issues, and treats Diana like a stupid child, and they fall in love to the point of desperation in only three weeks.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Stalking
Moderate: Death of parent
stwriter92's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Let me start off by saying that I did not like this book. At all.
A Discovery of Witches centers on the story of a very powerful witch who doesn't understand her own powers and has an enormous destiny dropped on her like a ton of bricks. She falls in love with a vampire, which is extremely taboo. Oh, and she has exclusive access to a very important book. If the synopsis I am giving seems sloppy, it's because the organization of the above mentioned parts were sloppily slapped together into something that vaguely resembled a plot if you squinted hard enough. The entire thing read like a bad Twilight fanfiction for adults. I already don't like Twilight (don't come for me), so this was just annoying as all hell.
I am usually a fan of books that weave together the threads of different storylines. I loved the way this was done in books I have read and reviewed in the past such as The Golem and the Jinni, The Lord of the Rings, and The Priory of the Orange Tree. However, unlike these books, the threads that "wove" this story together started to fray at the edges after the first stitch. This is probably because the threads themselves were not substantial enough to carry the story forward.
I found the two protagonists to be incredibly dull, insufferable, and selfish. I couldn't find a single thing I liked about either of them. Both Diana and Matthew were the most annoying characters I have read in recent times. Nothing about them made me feel sympathetic towards them or their "plight." They seemed to put the love they had above everyone else, oftentimes dragging unwilling participants into a game that should have ended as soon as it had started. The relationship between them is incredibly toxic, with Matthew being over-controlling and overbearing and Diana enabling him by being very "deer in the headlights." Matthew is absolutely dripping with red flags. He has an uncontrollable temper and constantly exerts his strength over Diana to control her. For example, early on in the book, they get into an argument. When Diana tries to leave, the following scene ensues:
"Let me go, Matthew," I struggled in his arms.
"No"
No man had ever refused when I asked him to stop doing something---whether it was blowing his nose in the library or trying to slip a hand up my shirt after a movie. I struggled again. Matthew's arms got tighter.
"Stop fighting me," he sounded amused. "You'll get tired long before I do, I assure you." (p. 191).
He will often talk to her as if she's a defenseless, naive child that he needs to take care of, which also puts a horrible taste in my mouth. On top of that, he drops this gem on her: "I will kill you myself before I let anyone hurt you" (p. 281). How, how, how does that make sense? God, I hate over-possessive love interests. Oh, and did I mention that he watches her sleep? The ick levels are high with this one. On top of this, he keeps so many secrets from her! At some point, they have the "no more secrets" conversation, but he still continues to keep secrets from her. And she just lets him!
Diana isn't a gem, either. Matthew calls her "ma lionne," but I think "mon oiseau" or even "mon ver" would have been more appropriate. There is nothing really courageous about her. She runs away from everything and only does whatever her own selfish heart wants. She pretends to care about other characters, but will side with Matthew the minute things get ugly. When other characters try to make her see the way her and Matthew's actions affect those around them, she refuses to take accountability for anything and refuses to allow any blame to be put on Matthew either. In her eyes, everyone else is wrong. I noticed this throughout, but there's a part where Matthew's mother, Ysabeau (who I love so, so, so much) tries to convince Diana to think twice before choosing to be with Matthew.
"This is not a game, Diana! Matthew would willingly turn his back on creatures he has known for centuries to protect your right to be whatever you imagine you want to be in your fleeting life. I'm begging you not to let him do it. They will kill him if he persists."
"He's his own man, Ysabeau," I said coldly. "I don't tell Matthew what to do" (p. 276)
Did I mention that the Very Important Book that this is supposed to be about ends up being super irrelevant? I would expect that a book that everyone wants to get their hands on would be put in a place of higher importance than the toxic romance between an overbearing vampire and a very boring witch. But I guess I was wrong!
I really only enjoyed the side characters in this book. I loved Hamish, Sarah, Em, Marcus, Miriam, and (when they appeared in the last few chapters) Nathaniel and Sophie. Not to mention, I adored Ysabeau and Marthe to death. If the story was written about these characters instead of about Diana and Matthew, I think I would have enjoyed it more.
This is one of the few times I will not be continuing a series. Usually I try to push through to see if the story gets better, but I am so uninterested and turned off by the mere thought of having to read about Matthew and Diana pretend to care about other people in two more books. No thank you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Medical content
Moderate: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Animal death and Child death
atxshopgirl's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Reading this was like all my favorite YA, fantasy, and sci-fi fandoms got mixed up in a big cauldron, with a healthy dash of ABO elements, without explicitly calling out ABO (sorta). (Seriously — if you liked the vibes from that childhood wizard series or the sparkly vampire story, read fanfic, and have watched that show about a time lord at any point, you’ll probably enjoy this story.)
The main character wasn’t super relatable at first and felt kinda like a Mary Sue, but as the plot really picked up, a lot of the exposition and first-person voice that I found somewhat annoying at the beginning fell away and I really began to enjoy the way the plot unraveled and the way all the characters were interacting with and growing with one another.
The book was a bit slow to start, but once many of the other characters were introduced the pace picked up quite a bit and I found myself wishing there had been MORE content established with those characters, and more depth, despite how long it already is.
The main character wasn’t super relatable at first and felt kinda like a Mary Sue, but as the plot really picked up, a lot of the exposition and first-person voice that I found somewhat annoying at the beginning fell away and I really began to enjoy the way the plot unraveled and the way all the characters were interacting with and growing with one another.
The book was a bit slow to start, but once many of the other characters were introduced the pace picked up quite a bit and I found myself wishing there had been MORE content established with those characters, and more depth, despite how long it already is.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Medical content, Stalking, and Pregnancy
feb_books's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
How do I describe the story of this book? IDK. It’s about a vampire geneticist, Matthew Clairmont, born in 537(yes, he is 1500+ yo) and born in 1976, Diana Bishop. She’s a young scholar and a descendant of witches. Together they do yoga, dating, and a lot of wine tasting. Oh, they also tried to discover the mystery behind Diana's parent's death, attempted to navigate a book, and tried to research the possibility of extinction of supernatural beings(yes, a lot of trying here). So they do some science stuff like DNA tests and other things that I frankly didn’t understand. So yeah, you could try reading this book if you like supernatural/paranormal/history/science/fantasy/romance fiction, or you’re a fan of Twilight Saga.
I never have a problem with slow-paced books as long the story interests me. But, oh my lord, this book was so slow; too many words, so little things happening. And it was pretty repetitive; after reading, they talked about this mysterious Ashmole 782 book that only appears once. Library tours, house tours, did yoga, sipped tea, had dinner, tasted wines, rode horses: Matthew and Diana talked about not-so-important things and how powerful Diana’s magic was for almost a whole book; it became dull. This book feels like an intro for the next book, filled with introductions and information about the world, the main characters' past, and facts/traits about supernatural beings such as vampires, witches, and demons. And the first 100pages is just about Matthew, who stalked Diana everywhere. He also climbs through her window and watches her sleep. (that made me insist that Matthew and Edward from Twilight is BFFs)
Diana & Matthew. More like Marie Sue and Gary Stu for me. The lack of flaws. Too perfect and too powerful. The drawbacks I can think of are how boring they’re and their bravery, leading to stupidity if they fail.
Matthew... You know what. After reading so many books with sentences that Include things like: I’m dangerous, you need to stay from me; you can’t fall in love with me, I’m a monster, etc. I’m learning to ignore and skim reading it. Because I know that was bullshit.
I have a lot to say about what’s wrong with Matthew. But. I don’t want to bother. I’m too lazy to do that. Long story short, Matthew is the super extreme version of Edward Cullen(Twilight). And Diana is the witch version of Bella Swan(Twilight) and Clary Fray(The Mortal Instrument). There was a point when I thought that this book is Twilight Saga x The Mortal Instrument reimagined/crossover. But it was not.
There are so many things in this book that I found ridiculous and weird. But chapter 26 is the winner of the ridiculousness. Matthew returns to France from Oxford, saying he loves Diana so much and he’s wrong to leave her. They kissed, Matt stroked the pulse in Diana's neck, cupped her left breast, a little bit light stroking, and suddenly Diana belongs with their vamps family and they two kinds of married to each other. Suddenly Diana becomes a stepmother of 200+ years old Marcus. Ridiculous right!? How about her right breast Matthew!? The right breast needs attention too!!
My conclusion: The book's first half was unimportant and uninteresting. And the last half was utterly absurd.
Still, this book amused me. It amused me in the sense that even though how bizarre this book I found, I'm still curious about what will happen next. This book humors me. I will commit to reading the rest of the series. But! I will skim-reading every time they have dinner or talk about tea or wine. As much as I like tea & wine, I would appreciate it more if I hadn’t read about people drinking them for almost the entire book repeatedly.
I never have a problem with slow-paced books as long the story interests me. But, oh my lord, this book was so slow; too many words, so little things happening. And it was pretty repetitive; after reading, they talked about this mysterious Ashmole 782 book that only appears once. Library tours, house tours, did yoga, sipped tea, had dinner, tasted wines, rode horses: Matthew and Diana talked about not-so-important things and how powerful Diana’s magic was for almost a whole book; it became dull. This book feels like an intro for the next book, filled with introductions and information about the world, the main characters' past, and facts/traits about supernatural beings such as vampires, witches, and demons. And the first 100pages is just about Matthew, who stalked Diana everywhere. He also climbs through her window and watches her sleep. (that made me insist that Matthew and Edward from Twilight is BFFs)
Diana & Matthew. More like Marie Sue and Gary Stu for me. The lack of flaws. Too perfect and too powerful. The drawbacks I can think of are how boring they’re and their bravery, leading to stupidity if they fail.
Matthew... You know what. After reading so many books with sentences that Include things like: I’m dangerous, you need to stay from me; you can’t fall in love with me, I’m a monster, etc. I’m learning to ignore and skim reading it. Because I know that was bullshit.
I have a lot to say about what’s wrong with Matthew. But. I don’t want to bother. I’m too lazy to do that. Long story short, Matthew is the super extreme version of Edward Cullen(Twilight). And Diana is the witch version of Bella Swan(Twilight) and Clary Fray(The Mortal Instrument). There was a point when I thought that this book is Twilight Saga x The Mortal Instrument reimagined/crossover. But it was not.
There are so many things in this book that I found ridiculous and weird. But chapter 26 is the winner of the ridiculousness. Matthew returns to France from Oxford, saying he loves Diana so much and he’s wrong to leave her. They kissed, Matt stroked the pulse in Diana's neck, cupped her left breast, a little bit light stroking, and suddenly Diana belongs with their vamps family and they two kinds of married to each other. Suddenly Diana becomes a stepmother of 200+ years old Marcus. Ridiculous right!? How about her right breast Matthew!? The right breast needs attention too!!
My conclusion: The book's first half was unimportant and uninteresting. And the last half was utterly absurd.
Still, this book amused me. It amused me in the sense that even though how bizarre this book I found, I'm still curious about what will happen next. This book humors me. I will commit to reading the rest of the series. But! I will skim-reading every time they have dinner or talk about tea or wine. As much as I like tea & wine, I would appreciate it more if I hadn’t read about people drinking them for almost the entire book repeatedly.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping, Stalking, and Death of parent