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A Discovery of Witches

All Souls, Book 1

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A Discovery of Witches

By: Deborah Harkness
Narrated by: Jennifer Ikeda
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About this listen

 *NOW A MAJOR SKY TV SERIES.*

THE NUMBER ONE INTERNATIONAL AND SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER. A Discovery of Witches is the first in the must-have, must-read ALL SOULS series.

It begins with absence and desire. It begins with blood and fear. It begins with a discovery of witches.

Diana Bishop, a young scholar and descendant of witches, discovers a long-lost and enchanted alchemical manuscript deep in Oxford's Bodleian Library. Its reappearance summons a fantastical underworld, which she must navigate with a vampire, Matthew Clairmont.

This manuscript, Ashmole 782, holds the secrets of their past . . . and the key to their future.

'Rich, thrilling . . . captivating' E L James

'Intelligent and off-the-wall' The Sunday Times

'I could lose myself in here and never want to come out' Manda Scott

'A bubbling cauldron of illicit desire' Daily Mail

(P)2011 Penguin Audio©2011 Deborah Harkness Epic Fantasy Fantasy Historical Paranormal Romantasy Women's Voices Fiction Romance Witchcraft Magic Users Feel-Good Magic Time Travel Discovery

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Shadow of Night cover art
Shadow of Night By: Deborah Harkness

Critic reviews

'Intelligent and off-the-wall, it will be irresistible to Twilight fans'
Write what you know, debut novelists are told, and Professor Deborah Harkness has accordingly set hers in the world of academia... A bubbling cauldron of illicit desire...all the ingredients for an assured saga that blends romance with fantasy
'An inventive addition to the supernatural craze... Historian Harkness's racy paranormal romance has exciting amounts of spells, kisses and battles, and is recounted with enchanting, page-turning panache'
A romp through magical academia
...a grand romance smartly dressed up in the fashion for the occult...Sauced up with magic as well as being intelligent, the novel will be irresistible to Twilight fans
All stars
Most relevant

What made the experience of listening to A Discovery of Witches the most enjoyable?

I started the book thinking it was going to be a teen romance of the Twilight ilk, but it was so much more than that. I found the characters genuinely engaging and the story really moving at times. In the end I was trying to find every available moment to listen to the story and hear what happened next.

What did you like best about this story?

The historical and literary references which were well researched and added an informative dimension to the book.

Did Jennifer Ikeda do a good job differentiating each of the characters? How?

The accents were a little dodgy to be honest but she read it with feeling.

Much more than a teen romance

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loved every second of this story. great performances
bring it to life. would recommend it

great book

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Any additional comments?

Not the type of book I would normally read, I loved it as a change, a page turning romp.great fun, just purchased the next book

loved this book

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I don't think people are giving this enough credit.
Contrary to other reviews, I didn't think the plot was slow to develop at all, the story gripped me from the very first pages. Diana, the main character is smart and sensible. Her thoughts and actions are very well explained, which makes her a very believable character. Her romance with the vampire is believable and follows many conventional patterns that normal humans go through which makes us able to relate to the relationship.

While the plot follows the out of the frying pan into the fire pattern, the problems slowly resolve themselves, as is life. We don't solve one problem before the next disaster strikes. While there is no final resolution in the book it is a good opener for the series. We know who all the key players are, we have motivations for most of their actions and we can get a clue at where the series is leading. The book stops at an ideal place to keep the reader interested, even though no firm resolution has been reached in this book. Information slowly presents itself throughout the novel in a believable manner.

The author did a fantastic job of presenting subjects such as alchemy, genetics in a believable manner and tied them into the book brilliantly. If you like a more academic twist to your fantasy books, this is the perfect book for you!

So much more than a romance...

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Loved this book, have the next downloading as i type. its like the Harry Potter series for grown ups

An adult Harry Potter

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