I recently finished A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness, and before I run away with my feelings on the novel, let me provide a small summary. Most of this I have pulled from the back of the book and then embellished.
Hidden by a spell in the Bodleian Library lies an ancient alchemical manuscript. Diana Bishop, the reluctant member of an ancient clan of witches finds the manuscript while researching a paper. Unknowingly releasing the book from a spell before sending it back, Diana causes all kinds of underworld creatures to surface searching for the book which might explain the origins of us all.
One vampire in particular is interested in the manuscript, Mathew Clairmont. As he and Diana
This is what I have to day for the novel. The only thing that motivates me to read the sequel is the fact that Diana and Mathew the vampire are traveling back to Elizabethan England and that I'm curious about Ashmole 782. The love story between Mathew and Diana is nothing to me anymore.
I have to say that I was enjoying all aspects of the novel up to p. 328, when Mathew spontaneously calls Diana to confess his love for her. For a few pages after I was sure it was some sort of trap but no! I'm not sure what happened here, whether Harkness wanted to give Diana some alone time with Mathews family or if she needed to introduce witch water or what but if I was her editor I would have taken a red pin to that entire section!
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