A Discovery of Witches [Kindle Edition]

I really, really wanted to like this book.

I thought Twilight was utterly appalling, so when I saw the review on the cover of this book that said something along the lines of "The thinking person's Twilight", I thought, hurray!! An intelligent, well-plotted, well-characterised fantasy with elements of a supernatural romance - just the thing for cold evenings by the fire. Sadly, I don't feel that the book really delivered on any of these fronts. The premise seemed interesting - a mysterious manuscript that supernatural creatures want to get their hands on is called up by the novel's heroine, a witch named Diana. A dishy vampire - the hero, Matthew - sees the danger she is in and decides to get involved. The location (Oxford) is well-described, and the reader gets a nice sense of settling in for a meaty read.

Sadly, nothing much really happens. Diana spends a lot of her time going running and rowing on the river while Matthew eyes her beadily from the banks. At this point, he starts to tell her how extraordinarily brave she is to be carrying on as though there were no danger. He continues to be amazed by her courage throughout the book. I get the impression that we, the readers, are supposed to think that Diana is terribly brave too, though really it's more like she's just oblivious to the strange turn her life is taking.

She drinks enormous amounts of tea. Every time she puts on the kettle (and spoons the tea into a pot and warms her hands on the hot mug and sips at the soothing, fragrant brew), the experience is lovingly detailed for us. I began to think that tea was going to turn out to be a major plot-device, and that perhaps the action would centre around some sort of ancient tea-leaf feud, but no.

Then there is the yoga. I'm not sure why I found this so jarring. I tried to accept that, within the world of this novel, yoga would be be a perfectly normal hobby for witches, daemons and vampires but it just seemed odd. Diana is being threatened by a host of other-worldly creatures, and strong, mysterious Matthew is deeply concerned for her safety so, to relax, the two of them put their yoga mats into Matthew's car and drive off to an "inclusive" yoga class, in which other-worldly creatures put aside their differences and fold themselves into downward-facing-dogs and sun salutations (quite lengthy descriptions of the various postures and movements, and how it felt to do them, are given). I recognise that authors may create their worlds as they wish but this still felt incongruous to me.

Then there is the fact that we are told, time and time again, that Diana is brave, that she is strong, that she is a capable, independent woman. Sadly, and very like Bella in Twilight, once the alpha-male vampire appears on the scene, she is reduced to someone that just needs to be protected. Matthew is constantly ordering her to go to bed, carrying her up the stairs, wrapping her in blankets, propping her up before the fire and telling her exactly what she may or may not do. When she is not drinking tea, in fact, she seems to be permanently in a state of exhaustion - sometimes only a couple of hours after an enormous sleep, she's worn out again - and this seems to be used as a vehicle for her man literally to sweep her off her feet and tuck her into bed again, while looking adoringly at her and telling her what a feisty, strong and stubborn creature she is. I don't really understand what their deep and abiding love is based on, either. There is no sexual tension or chemistry to speak of. The fact that Matthew treats Diana more like a sickly child than anything else doesn't help. There is kissing, but not as much as there is sleeping, enfolded in manly arms, soothed by a strong and manly presence.

Despite all of this, and somewhat to my own surprise, I didn't hate this book.

This is probably only because, truth be told, I rather like descriptions of food and drink and gothic places (luckily, in this case), so I didn't find the novel quite as tedious as its lack of action deserved. Nothing much happens and I really don't like either of the main characters much, but the cosy images of meals and fires and old castles and quirky houses were enough to get me through to the end - just about. Ideally, the food et al would be coupled with some real plotting and interesting personalities, a female lead who isn't a droopy-drawers and a male lead who isn't an aggressive, over-protective know-all. In this day and age, are we really supposed to be into this image of how relationships should be?

I'm torn between giving two stars and three for this book, so I'll err on the side of generosity! I won't be buying the sequel, though.

It must be nearly impossible to sum up the plot of A Discovery of Witches in a single paragraph. It's so long, and there's a lot going on. Having said that, though, it's never overwhelming. The book begins with Diana Bishop, a witch who tries not to use her magic, researching alchemy in the Bodleian Library. While so doing, she comes across an enchanted manuscript, Ashmole 782, the discovery of which the whole plot hinges around. Unknown to Diana, Ashmole 782 has been missing for years, and is desperately sought by seemingly all "creatures" -- the vampires, demons, and witches who exist in society alongside humans. This is the first plot strand.

It is while in the library, after having returned the manuscript, that Diana meets Matthew Clairmont, a vampire geneticist. As is so often the case in vampire romance novels, there is an instant attraction, which, over the coming days, they both try and resist. Inevitably, though, they seem destined to be together, and their forbidden love affair (creatures of different species must not fraternise!) attracts the condemnation of the Congregation, a council of creatures established to uphold the rules of the covenant (a treaty which governs the lives of creatures and their interactions with humans and each other). This is the second plot strand.

Basically, these two competing considerations are what drive the narrative in this -- the first instalment of a planned trilogy. There are a few more complications in the form of Diana's discoveries about her past, her parents, and the extent of her own powers, but these are largely interwoven with the other two strands.

I have to say that I really enjoyed A Discovery of Witches. It's one of those rare books that sweeps you into its orbit and refuses to let you go, leaving you feeling bereft once you do finish. The characters are their world are vividly described and easy to imagine. A couple of the more minor characters are a little two dimensional (I had trouble imagining Marthe, for example, and I never really felt that I understood Nathaniel) but this might be something that it remedied later in the series. On the whole, they're characters I came to care about, and to have enough of an investment in to want to continue reading. As far as I'm concerned, if the first book in a series keeps you wanting more, it must be doing something right.

Like most reviewers, I had a few problems with this book. Not of the yoga and tea variety, I might add. I can only recall two or three occasions when Diana's yoga practise is described with any level of detail, and although it's true that she drinks a lot of tea, it not really something that comes to overshadow the plot as I have heard claim. If we're going to get down to details, I was more irritated by the wayward strand of hair that it always being tucked behind Diana's ear than either of those. More generally, though, I'm not over keen on strong, independent female characters being bossed about by alpha-male types, even if they are in love. I'm not sure what the whole stint in France is about either. According to Matthew, they go there so that Diana will be safe and protected, but the worst things that happen to her occur there. I can only conclude that this is either a major error of judgement on behalf of our alpha male, or the author trying to introduce a setting she will need later. It's a nice fairytale castle, very romantic, and it lets us meet Matthew's family, but moving the action to France has few other benefits that I can see. Perhaps it's supposed to show us that Matthew is not infallible. In which case, why are we so trusting of our heroine with him?

Anyway, these points are just minor niggles, and didn't affect my enjoyment of the book. It's a gripping, entertaining read, particularly if you like paranormal romance. Or Twilight, because this is essentially Twilight for adults. There's the same worried vampire, fearing he may not be able to stop himself from drinking his true-love's blood, which "sings" to him, the same chaste relationship, the same emphasis on the male role as protector, Matthew's conviction that changes in vampires are permanent, and that, for them, romantic attachments are not easily broken. I suppose, in a way, it's quite a peaceful, sedentary read. It's not packed with frenetic action, but gets to its point in a more roundabout fashion. It's a pleasant, distracting tale, and hard to put down once you begin. I'm definitely looking forward to Shadow of Night when it's released later this year, but, you know, in a calm sort of way.

I have to admit that this book surprised me. I selected it because of the Oxford connection - it is always interesting to see how authors interpret the place where I live. It was an additional surprise to see that the central character had rooms in my old college (the ironically named New College - founded in 1379!)

I haven't attempted to read a vampire-related tale since I tried the Lestat novels of Anne Rice - and I found this a much more enjoyable piece of writing. There is a flow to the narrative which does prove engaging from the very first page. Given that it is not a short book, finding a way to keep the reader hooked throghout is quite an achievement for a debut novelist.

Dianna is a strong central figure - neatly drawn and not at all weak and compliant as she could easily have been made. She is well matched by the suave Matthew. There is an instant spark to their relationship - which is well sustained and not in a predictable way.

As is essential with novels in this particular genre, Harkness is very precise about the way she creates a world where vampires, witches and daemons are able to exist seemlessly with mere mortals - everything is remarkably plausible and coherent.

After all this praise, why not the full five stars? It comes down to the Oxford setting. It is probably my own detailed knowledge of the city that makes all the excessive detail given over to evoking the city feel more like a travel guide than something more real. There are a few factual slips that slightly undermine the setting. It is clear that the author does know Oxford but not, perhaps, as well as she might think. A minor flaw - but given the way Oxford is such a popular setting for a wide range of books, it is one that would have benefitted from the attentions of an editor who could have help Harkenss refine this element slightly. Readers who are not as closely connected to the city will probably not notice any of this!

I must admit that I would be tempted to read any further books that follow from this strong debut.