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discovery of witches witches and vampires deborah harkness harry potter looking forward well written diana and matthew second book vampires and witches diana bishop main characters highly recommend matthew clairmont anne rice wait to read really enjoyed character development storyline souls trilogy read the next
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Liv
3.0 out of 5 stars I enjoyed this book
Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2018
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I rated it 3 stars because the plot is interesting and unique, and the writing itself is very good. I have read some books with great stories, but the writing is just poor. This book does not share that problem and it is very well written.
The reason I knocked off a star is because I wish I had more of the actual plot instead of just constantly focusing on the romance. The other concepts are so interesting I wish the author would explore those more. I understand their romance is at the center of it all, but jeez we get it they love each other can we discuss any of the other million things going on for just a moment? Maybe that's just personal preference, though.
Also, it feels like Diana is constantly a damsel in distress and it is frustrating that even when she finally starts using her powers, she still needs a man to save her. And when her aunts are trying to help, the only person who actually helps her at all is a vampire and a man that she only just met, and it seems like a slap in the face to her aunts. I realize Diana has overwhelming power that is difficult for her aunts to teach, but Matthew isn't even a witch and he can help her.
I was torn between 3 and 4 stars because I really did enjoy the book. The alchemy and the feuding of all the creatures is interesting, I want to know what happens, but Diana is so subservient and always needs a man to rescue her it is just annoying, and Matthew is just an ass.
I really want to know what happens because the story and the writing are both great, but their relationship just dominates everything and it gets monotonous and they both annoy me, so for that reason I do not think I will read the next book. HOWEVER, if your preference is extra sappy love stories with plot on the side, this is for you. I don't say that as an insult because that is the type of book a lot of people like and maybe that's what this is supposed to be, but I was just looking for something else.
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Dancer7
1.0 out of 5 stars You want witches? Read Anne Rice.
Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2019
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Thank goodness I bought this on a Kindle Deal of the Day promotion or I'd be really irritated with myself. "Harry Potter for adults" this is not. In fact, the Harry Potter series is miles better than this. If you're looking for an adult read in the genre, read Anne Rice's trilogy on the Mayfair witches. This book's for teen fans of the Twilight series. Skip it if you're older than 15.
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Kindle Customer
1.0 out of 5 stars Really bad
Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2019
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I was fooled by the excellent review that the NY Times gave this book, so I bought the first one in the series to give it a try. I am so glad I didn't commit to the whole trilogy because I can't finish this book. It is so long and plotless. I have no idea where it's going, and I no longer care. I gave up on page 329 (of 581 pages) and I almost never give up on books. But just read this crappy dialog and save yourself the $10.99 I wasted on this book: "Dieu," he whispered in wonder, "I was wrong." "Wrong?" My voice was panicky. "I thought I knew how much I missed you. But I had no idea." "Tell me." I wanted to hear again the words he'd said on the phone last night. "I love you, Diana. God help me, I tried not to."
BLECH! Get me a bucket. This is no Harry Potter for grown-ups. NY Times, you lied!
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Koumamo Piebo
3.0 out of 5 stars An love and hate situation
Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2018
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So I don't really know how to really describe this book. A discovery of a witch started so promising by giving a strong, smart and self-sufficient female character in Diana Bishop. Yes Diana is not your typical witch/mortal or biped in love with a mesmerizing vampire that are usually found in romance novels. So I was having a ball reading and I even somewhat found Matthew domeering and old fashioned ways amusing at the start and I may admit even quite charming. And the mystery we are giving at the beginning is quite compelling that you truly want to know what going to happen with these two. Then the scenery change and the characters fall in love and God here comes the disaster. I was appalled by turn the novel took with Diana was slowly morphing into the damsel in distress that plague every others romance novel and Matthew domeering and diresgard of others opinion was not enticing to the naratif anymore. By the end of the novel I much wanting to throw it away because I was left confused and irrated with thousands of questions but no desire to pick up the sequel.

But because I do value my own sanity and do not feel the needs to keep wondering about what happened next I will read the next book hopping the author doesn't simply tries to stuff our faces with obsucure snippet of historical facts.
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WriterReader876
3.0 out of 5 stars Imaginative touches and locations but irritating female protagonist
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 4, 2016
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Despite my sometimes loathing for the attention-seeking wimp of a heroine I enjoyed this, I think because of the settings and the obvious passion she has for her characters. Couldn't quite understand the undying love the male protagonist had for Diana, who kept fainting, crying, obsessing about her feelings of self pity, sleeping and eating (all in great detail). Not sure why he kept calling her his lioness, love is blind perhaps. I would have preferred to see her acting more independently away from the over-protective, enfolding arms of her lover, then needing to be rescued whilst lamenting her fate, and fainting again. I often wanted to walk up to her and give her a kick up the backside as everyone else seemed to indulge her self obsession. Perhaps this is a fault of first person narrative, and editors saying 'you need to explore her feelings more!!' Sometimes, you can just overdo it.
Some great imaginative touches in the book, particularly the magical house, but much of it was rather too 'Twilight' for me, and the obsessive love and devotion thing overdone.
If I got the following books for free I might read them to see if Diana develops into a more likeable character, but otherwise I wouldn't read them. Sorry.
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BarbaraL
1.0 out of 5 stars A Barbara Cartland style novel with witches and vampires
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 9, 2018
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Dreadful! The heroine, in spite of the reader constantly being told how brave she is, behaves like a child, regularly fainting, having to lie down or be carried. She seems to be little more than a comfort blanket doll for the one-dimensional vampire male lead who seems unable to resist clutching her to his manly chest all the time. What on earth does he see in her? The plot however is interesting, if unnecessarily drawn out by a lot of overwritten description and unnecessary scenes, and I hope the scriptwriters have made something out of it for the TV series since this is a book crying out for a decent edit.
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Tabu
4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting and different take on the world of witches - well worth a read.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 9, 2018
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I bought this book some years ago but never got round to reading it at the time, however with the announcement of the forthcoming TV adaptation the time seemed right to pull it off the shelf. I was glad that I did as it is a page turning story. The idea of a central character who denies or doesn't know about their powers which will be needed to save the world or kingdom has been done to death in fantasy literature, but here is presented in a slightly different form from usual and is all the better for it.
Diana Bishop, an American academic studying in Oxford, is well aware that she is a witch but has always refused to accept her powers. The reasons for this are gradually revealed throughout the story and, as a result, the reader is more sympathetic to the character. The world Diana inhabits includes witches as well as vampires and daemons (creative types who are mercurial and unpredictable but not inherently evil) and all three groups are after a manuscript which it appears can only be accessed by Diana.
She is befriended and later falls in love with a vampire - this is a serious no no in Diana's world and their love affair is the catalyst for troubles far beyond the characters of the story. The novel moves from Oxford to France and then on to upstate New York before ending on a significant cliffhanger that leads into Book 2.
On the whole I found the story engaging, accessible and well written. It made a pleasant change from my more usual choice of story. Mostly it is told in the first person by Diana with occasional chapters being told in the third person. This does break the flow of the story somewhat and it is a shame that the author could not have found a way of conveying the information we needed whilst still in Diana's voice. Jim Butcher (author of the Dresden Files) is a master of this and perhaps could have proved a source of reference for the writer.
My only real criticisms of the story is that the love story between Diana and Matthew is overdone in places to the point of being almost nauseatingly saccharine. I can only assume that this was to attract the Twilight and Fifty Shades fans to the book but I hope that it is toned down in the other books of the trilogy.
Secondly an essential power that forms the major plot element at the end of the story (and, given how the book ends, presumably for the whole of book 2) is only introduced very late on. It would have been nice to have it foreshadowed at least earlier in the book. I wonder if the author had decided how to the end the story late on and was not willing to go back and stitch in some references or hints early on (or maybe I just missed them!)
Overall though it was an enjoyable read. I look forward to the Sky adaptation and will turn my attention to book 2 in the fullness of time.
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A. Dickson
1.0 out of 5 stars Toxic Rubbish
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 18, 2018
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Why do so many authors think it's a good idea to promote toxic, emotionally abusive relationships in their novels? Some guy has told you he might kill you at any moment, he constantly loses his temper and has had you in tears but that's fine - he's handsome and rich and you've fallen in love with each other in a week so just put up with it. It's probably all your own fault anyway! And of course your safety isn't as important as having a boyfriend... Great message.
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Natalie Clarke
3.0 out of 5 stars This book could be really good. Maybe the movie will flesh out its potential
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 19, 2018
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I watched the first episode of the tv series and was so enthralled by it that l had to get the book to understand the characters as they were intended to be seen. The book started out fantastic. The writing was great; the plot of the story seems solid; the description of the hero was sublime; and then it all seem to go terribly wrong as if the author forgot what set out to accomplish.

Many reviews stated that Diana became wet. I do not necessarily agree. She was a strong and confident character at the onset because she had worked hard and achieved success as an academic. This was her life's work and she was good at it. Her supernatural powers, on the other hand, were ill developed and repressed and bounded so she did not have confidence in them. So to be thrust in a maelstrom of events where everyone wanted a piece your power which you are ignorant of or can't access, was frightening.; and rightly so as she could have died on a number of occasions.

Enter the protector. I loved him as he was described as a perfect alfa. But it all ended in the description. We did not see him do much outside of his commanding presence. He also failed the most basic of basic test of any hero and that is to protect the heroine or die trying. Actually he nearly killed her trying to survive. Therefore l will wait for the movies as they promise to be great.
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