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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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Summary

 *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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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
I admit I'm a sucker (hah!) for vampires and witches but find the Twiglet books really irritating (yes, I know they are YA but there's no excuse for Bella to be quite so drippy and pathetic) so I was happy to find a vampire romance book for adults. I like the academic angle and the attempt at creating a new mythology for supernatural beings although I'm still not really clear on what demons are. Deborah Harkness has clearly done her research and sometimes is a bit keen to make sure we know it.

Overall it's an enjoyable ride that made me want to keep listening and find out what happens next.

One the whole I like the narrator. There are always a few niggles; there's really no excuse for Diana not being able to pronounce Magdelen College.The British regional accents are always a bit grim but I'm sure US listeners often find that British readers can't do regional American accents either.

A good, enjoyable story

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Took while to get into this book, in fact had it for a good 6 months before listening to it. Overall, thought ok, but would not listen to another like this. The reader changed accents frequently. The English accents were all the same tone and region and a little annoying.

A Discovery of Witches

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Suspend all disbelief and only buy this book if you want to get swept away in a very long story with no conclusive ending.Having said all of that it is a fun listen. Think a saucier version of Twilight.

Good Fun.

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This was a well written book which I have enjoyed listening to whilst travelling to work each day. Some days I had travelled the 45 minutes in what seemed like a moment. But I guess that’s what magic is all about.
A fun and creative book that I have enjoyed. Staring 2nd in series next!

Fantasy

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This was an okay listen. I enjoyed it but I find the world a fairly shallow puddle of imagination. There seems to be limitations to the reach of the characters within their world. The female lead is the perpetual damsel in distress and the whole concept isn’t exactly a win for feminism. If you like twilight I guess you can enjoy this if you don’t expect too much from it

Meh....

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