Book of Life / Deborah Harkness / 561

"Impossible n'est pas français"...

In the Book of Life, Deborah Harkness continues to weave a spellbinding story about historian/witch Diana Bishop, her professor/vampire husband Matthew de Clermont and their supernatural extended family.

In this third and final book of the All Souls Trilogy, Diana and Matthew continue their search for the missing pages of Ashmole 782 (a bewitched alchemical manuscript more commonly referred to as the Book of Life) to answer their questions about how witches, vampires and daemons came to be.

When Diana finally lets go of the fear of her own magical powers she discovers that nothing is impossible.

Readers who enjoy fantasy, suspense or mystery with some added romance and historical details will thoroughly enjoy this book (and series).  This was a great read, however, it is not a standalone book and the series should be read in order (Book 1: A Discovery of Witches and Book 2: Shadow of Night).


Check out this book in our Catalog.

The Book of Life/Deborah Harkness/561 pgs

This is the final book of the All Souls Trilogy.  In this one, Diana and Matthew have returned to modern day.  And Diana is pregnant with twins so there is going to be problems with the Congregation of witches, vampires & daemons.  They are also continuing the search for the missing pages of The Book of Life.  It is a very good book for the most part - towards the end it gets a bit strange but then it is a story of the supernatural.  The basis of the story deals with family and caring and that families will not be perfect or fit into a mold - it is what you make it.

SHADOW OF NIGHT by Deborah Harkness - 600 pages

I was very fortunate to get an Advance Reader Copy (ARC) of SHADOW OF NIGHT which is not due to be published until July 2012.  It is the sequel to A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES, the author's 2011 debut novel and the second title in the All Souls Trilogy.

SHADOW OF NIGHT continues the story of Diana Bishop, expert in medieval, alchemical manuscripts & nascent witch and her new husband, Matthew Clairmont, an Oxford tenured professor of genetics & a  centuries-old vampire.  The newlyweds have used Diana's time-walking ability, traveling back to London in 1590 to escape the witches and vampires from the present who are opposed to their union.  They intend to find a witch to help Diana learn how to use her uncontrolled powers and to also track down Ashmole 782, the alchemical text which has brought all manner of trouble their way.

But Matthew in 1590 is not the same person Diana fell in love with.  He has secrets that he's never revealed to her and a life she knows nothing about, including being very close friends with Sir Walter Raleigh, Kit Marlow, and Henry Percy, the Earl of Northumberland.  Not only does Diana need to learn how to 'live' in Elizabeth I England but she also has to figure out, all over again, just who her husband is and how to deal with him and his friends.

My three Appeal terms:  Descriptive, Intriguing, Emotional