Five Stars!
I became a Deborah Harkness fan with A Discovery of Witches. I remember hearing that it was “vampire novel for adults” so I gave it a try. It’s not your typical vampire/witch series. It’s very intellectual and thoughtful, and I loved it. I’m pretty much a sucker for any plot that involves a mysterious, magical book and hidden symbols (a la The Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning, and The DaVinci Code). A Discovery of Witches (book 1) didn’t disappoint, but book 2 did.
Shadow of Night almost lost me. Diana and Matthew travel back in time. Almost the entire book seemed like an excuse for Deborah Harkness to espouse her incredibly deep and impressive knowledge of English history and daily life in the 1500s. There was minimal magic and mystery, and it seemed the series had stalled a bit.
When book 3 came out, I decided to give it a shot since I was invested in the series at that point, and I am so glad I did! Deborah Harkness earned back my devotion and enthusiasm. A Discovery of Witches was the best of the series. I was completely hooked and hated to see it end. Diana really came into her magic and finally demonstrated why she was so special. There was a lot of action, mysteries were raised and resolved, characters were further developed with full back stories, and I was on the edge of my seat most of the time.
It was still quite cerebral (which I like), but the characters and the story were front and center with the science and history driving the plot, rather than being the plot. For anyone who may be in doubt after book 2, I would strongly encourage you to return for book 3. It was amazing!
