Book Review: A Discovery of Witches (A Novel)



By Kori ~ February 18th, 2011.

Do you enjoy reading about witches, vampires, and daemons? Did you enjoy Harry Potter and Twilight? If you answered “yes” to either of these questions and are a reader of this blog (which means you should be 21 or older), A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness should be on your “must read” list. It is a novel about otherworldly creatures that live alongside humans but will definitely appeal to grown-up readers more than teens. Released last week on February 8th, A Discovery of Witches is already a bestseller, appearing in the #6 position on the Sunday Times Bestseller List in the UK for hardback fiction. As I write this, ADOW also occupies the #3 spot on Barnes & Noble and #4 on Amazon.com.

By now, I’m sure you are wondering why I’m recommending a fiction book about otherworldly creatures here on Wine Peeps. Well, author Deborah Harkness is a friend and fellow wine blogger. She writes as Dr. Debs on her award winning blog, Good Wine Under $20. She is a kindred spirit when it comes to finding wines that deliver excellent QPR. And given her love of wine, it is no surprise that the leading vampire in ADOW is a wine aficionado.

But make no mistake, I would not recommend this book just because Deb is a friend if it was not good. And believe me, this type of book is not a genre I typically read. However, Deb grabbed my attention in Chapter 1 and kept it. Be forewarned though, at 579 pages, ADOW is not a single afternoon read.

In addition to being a wine blogger, Deborah Harkness is a professor of history at the University of Southern California. She has received Fulbright, Guggenheim, and National Humanities Center fellowships, and has written a number of scholarly works. She used her knowledge of magic and science in European History and experience in academia to craft a riveting plot in A Discovery of Witches. This is her debut novel, and the first book in the All Souls trilogy.

Currently, Deb is on a nationwide book tour promoting A Discovery of Witches. For those of you who live here in the Seattle area, she will be at Elliott Bay Book Company on Capitol Hill on Tuesday (February 22nd) at 7pm. Hope to see you there!

Full Disclosure: We received this book as a review copy.


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