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Valerie's Reviews > A Discovery of Witches
A Discovery of Witches (All Souls Trilogy, #1)
by
by
In a word: disappointing.
When I heard that this was a book about magical manuscripts at Oxford, the history of alchemy, and witches, I thought it was perfect for me. For some reason, I expected Britishness and wit, akin to Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.
Instead, I got Twilight.
I know that Twilight comparisons are abused by now, but hear me out.
Let's first examine Matthew, the hero of this story. He is so similar to Edward that I honestly wondered if this book started off as Twilight fanfiction with the names later replaced. He:
- watches Diana, our heroine, while she's sleeping - by breaking and entering her apartment without her knowledge;
- is a vampire who a) has no fangs; b) only drinks blood from animals; c) is incredibly wealthy; d) has a ~tragic past~ that involves him killing people;
- has the disturbing controlling-boyfriend parallels with Edward -- he keeps telling Diana not to go "too far" with him, because who knows if he can control himself;
- has incredibly old-fashioned ideas about women -- at one point he exclaims, "Why do today's women think it's important to open a door themselves?" (view spoiler)
Another downside to this book was the pacing. I don't mind slow books if there's something making up for it - atmosphere, setting, characterization, etc. This had none of that. There would be chapters upon chapters of Matthew and Diana drinking wine and having yoga sessions, which is exactly as exciting as it sounds. However, this book had a tendency to lead me on -- whenever I thought, "Okay, that's enough, I'm putting this down now," something interesting would finally happen. They have an excursion to France. She gets kidnapped by a witch. And then, the boring chapters would resume.
I honestly considered this a one-star book until the last third; at that point, there is an interesting thread about time travel, with all the necessary precautions (vaccines). I also appreciated the inclusion of LGBT characters. However, the book abruptly ended on a cliffhanger, and I really do not want to slog through another 600 pages in the hopes of finding more interesting bits. (view spoiler)
I really can't recommend this. Library it, if you want; I'm glad I didn't pay for this.
When I heard that this was a book about magical manuscripts at Oxford, the history of alchemy, and witches, I thought it was perfect for me. For some reason, I expected Britishness and wit, akin to Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.
Instead, I got Twilight.
I know that Twilight comparisons are abused by now, but hear me out.
Let's first examine Matthew, the hero of this story. He is so similar to Edward that I honestly wondered if this book started off as Twilight fanfiction with the names later replaced. He:
- watches Diana, our heroine, while she's sleeping - by breaking and entering her apartment without her knowledge;
- is a vampire who a) has no fangs; b) only drinks blood from animals; c) is incredibly wealthy; d) has a ~tragic past~ that involves him killing people;
- has the disturbing controlling-boyfriend parallels with Edward -- he keeps telling Diana not to go "too far" with him, because who knows if he can control himself;
- has incredibly old-fashioned ideas about women -- at one point he exclaims, "Why do today's women think it's important to open a door themselves?" (view spoiler)
Another downside to this book was the pacing. I don't mind slow books if there's something making up for it - atmosphere, setting, characterization, etc. This had none of that. There would be chapters upon chapters of Matthew and Diana drinking wine and having yoga sessions, which is exactly as exciting as it sounds. However, this book had a tendency to lead me on -- whenever I thought, "Okay, that's enough, I'm putting this down now," something interesting would finally happen. They have an excursion to France. She gets kidnapped by a witch. And then, the boring chapters would resume.
I honestly considered this a one-star book until the last third; at that point, there is an interesting thread about time travel, with all the necessary precautions (vaccines). I also appreciated the inclusion of LGBT characters. However, the book abruptly ended on a cliffhanger, and I really do not want to slog through another 600 pages in the hopes of finding more interesting bits. (view spoiler)
I really can't recommend this. Library it, if you want; I'm glad I didn't pay for this.
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A Discovery of Witches.
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Reading Progress
March 16, 2011
– Shelved
March 24, 2012
–
Started Reading
March 25, 2012
–
15.37%
""Humans had it all wrong hen it came to vampires, I reflected. To make them frightening, humans imagined vampires as bloodthirsty. But it was Matthew's remoteness, combined with his flashes of anger and abrupt mood swings, that scared me." UGGGH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
page
89
March 25, 2012
–
18.83%
"... and it turns out that the hero killed two women in the past! By accident, of course. One of them "got in the way" while he was fighting with his brother; the other, he turned into a vampire because he ~couldn't control himself~ and she wound up killing herself. I... yeah. Splendid. :|"
page
109
March 25, 2012
–
26.6%
""'You've been noticed,' I told him. 'I forgot my coat. Besides, they're looking at you, not me.' He gave me a dazzling smile. A woman's jaw dropped, and she poked her friend, inclining her head in Matthew's direction." Urge... to throw... book... RISING..."
page
154
March 25, 2012
–
31.26%
""A witch--safe with a vampire? Never be sure of that. It would only take a moment. You wouldn't be able to stop me if I struck, and I wouldn't be able to stop myself." Shut up, Edward."
page
181
March 30, 2012
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-6 of 6 (6 new)
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Yeah, it managed to become somewhat interesting at the end, which is really frustrating after the first 450 or so pages of crap. :| HERE IS WHAT WOULD HAPPEN:THREE CHAPTERS: -are of Matthew and Diana swooning over each other and drinking wine and telling each other how nice they smell-
ME: This sucks, I'm putting this down now.
NEXT CHAPTER: HELLO, I HAVE SUDDENLY MOVED THE PLOT ALONG!
ME: Oh, all right, I guess I'll keep reading.
(THE VICIOUS CYCLE CONTINUES.)
I'm with. Couldn't get past the first chapter and Miss Mary Sue.
I didn't start seeing the Sue-ness until the middle, where it becomes astoundingly clear.
I completely agree with your review Valerie, the Twilight references are glaring throughout the book! I did enjoy the historic parts and the time travel and the detail, so hopefully the 2nd will be much better.
The reviews for the second one don't look too promising, but you'll have to tell me what you think!
.______.