moirwyn's review
5.0
This review originally was written for my blog, Books Without Any Pictures:
http://bookswithoutanypictures.com/2014/07/25/book-life-deborah-harkness/
At long last, the conclusion to the All Souls Trilogy is here! For anyone new to the series, it’s about a witch who stumbles upon an old manuscript at Oxford’s library that holds secret knowledge relevant to witches, demons, and vampires. This review does contain some spoilers from earlier books, so if you haven’t read them, check out the first two reviews instead.
Diana Bishop is a witch who fell in love and married a vampire named Matthew Clairmont. Witches, vampires, and demons are bound by a historical agreement called the Covenant, which prevents them from socializing with each other, let alone falling in love and getting married. This means that Diana and Matthew are going against everything that the entire community of magical creatures believes, and it isn’t easy.
Diana is trying to adapt to being a Clairmont, because vampire families operate like wolf packs, where each member submits to the leader of the clan. It’s rough on her, because she’s a very powerful witch who isn’t used to taking orders from anybody or to taking no for an answer. As the book progresses, she starts to realize that she can’t pretend to be something that she’s not, and that Matthew loves her for who she is and doesn’t expect her to conform to every vampire tradition. She has to find a middle ground that works for her, and in doing so wins the respect of the vampire clan and finds her place within the family.
Like any family, the Clairmonts have their fair share of skeletons in the closet. One of these is Benjamin, Matthew’s mad son. Benjamin has spent centuries searching for the Book of Life and will stop at nothing to discover its secrets. Diana and Matthew are in race to find the book and its missing pages before Benjamin and to put a stop to his reign of cruelty.
I love the fact that this series revolves around an old book, and as such, there are plenty of references to literature, history, science, and libraries.
I’m also impressed by the way that Diana and Matthew’s relationship changes over time. During the first book, there was kind of an Edward Cullen tone to it. Gradually, the reasons for this were explained in more depth, and we began to see how Matthew’s blood rage amplified characteristics that vampires already have. In The Book of Life, both Diana and Matthew had to learn that even though they’re in a relationship and mean the world to each other, they have to trust each other and be able to let each other go. And by let each other go, I don’t mean a breakup or anything drastic, but rather that they have to realize that even though they love each other, they are two different people and sometimes have to do things on their own because that’s the way life works. They have to realize that they have their identity as a couple, but they’re still individuals with individual strengths and weaknesses (and yes, some of those strengths and weaknesses have to do with witchiness or being a vampire).
When I first read A Discovery of Witches, I was unimpressed by the writing and the story. This series grew on me, and by the time I read The Book of Life, I couldn’t put it down and was sad to see it end. Harkness has evolved as a writer since the first book, and has finally found a balance between useful descriptions and repetitive details (there’s only one reference to yoga pants in The Book of Life. Yay!). Her ability to weave historical detail into the world of magic is impressive, and it’s so neat to see a trilogy get better and better as it goes rather than to see a strong first book and then watch it peter out.
http://bookswithoutanypictures.com/2014/07/25/book-life-deborah-harkness/
At long last, the conclusion to the All Souls Trilogy is here! For anyone new to the series, it’s about a witch who stumbles upon an old manuscript at Oxford’s library that holds secret knowledge relevant to witches, demons, and vampires. This review does contain some spoilers from earlier books, so if you haven’t read them, check out the first two reviews instead.
Diana Bishop is a witch who fell in love and married a vampire named Matthew Clairmont. Witches, vampires, and demons are bound by a historical agreement called the Covenant, which prevents them from socializing with each other, let alone falling in love and getting married. This means that Diana and Matthew are going against everything that the entire community of magical creatures believes, and it isn’t easy.
Diana is trying to adapt to being a Clairmont, because vampire families operate like wolf packs, where each member submits to the leader of the clan. It’s rough on her, because she’s a very powerful witch who isn’t used to taking orders from anybody or to taking no for an answer. As the book progresses, she starts to realize that she can’t pretend to be something that she’s not, and that Matthew loves her for who she is and doesn’t expect her to conform to every vampire tradition. She has to find a middle ground that works for her, and in doing so wins the respect of the vampire clan and finds her place within the family.
Like any family, the Clairmonts have their fair share of skeletons in the closet. One of these is Benjamin, Matthew’s mad son. Benjamin has spent centuries searching for the Book of Life and will stop at nothing to discover its secrets. Diana and Matthew are in race to find the book and its missing pages before Benjamin and to put a stop to his reign of cruelty.
I love the fact that this series revolves around an old book, and as such, there are plenty of references to literature, history, science, and libraries.
I’m also impressed by the way that Diana and Matthew’s relationship changes over time. During the first book, there was kind of an Edward Cullen tone to it. Gradually, the reasons for this were explained in more depth, and we began to see how Matthew’s blood rage amplified characteristics that vampires already have. In The Book of Life, both Diana and Matthew had to learn that even though they’re in a relationship and mean the world to each other, they have to trust each other and be able to let each other go. And by let each other go, I don’t mean a breakup or anything drastic, but rather that they have to realize that even though they love each other, they are two different people and sometimes have to do things on their own because that’s the way life works. They have to realize that they have their identity as a couple, but they’re still individuals with individual strengths and weaknesses (and yes, some of those strengths and weaknesses have to do with witchiness or being a vampire).
When I first read A Discovery of Witches, I was unimpressed by the writing and the story. This series grew on me, and by the time I read The Book of Life, I couldn’t put it down and was sad to see it end. Harkness has evolved as a writer since the first book, and has finally found a balance between useful descriptions and repetitive details (there’s only one reference to yoga pants in The Book of Life. Yay!). Her ability to weave historical detail into the world of magic is impressive, and it’s so neat to see a trilogy get better and better as it goes rather than to see a strong first book and then watch it peter out.
kmorris85's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
daisy_lily's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
_g_'s review
2.0
I started out with the book series and i loved them, i really did. I will admit that I read the first two books within a week but this book just seemed to bother me. Halfway through this one, I realized what had happened to the strong female character that I fell in love with in the first book. I got so upset because of what had happened to her throughout the series. She went from a great character to someone I couldnt stand reading about. I put this book down halfway through because I was so upset.
reka111's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
chrisz's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
lmg23's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
lighthearted
reflective
sad
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? Yes
4.0
a_b_hall's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5