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I have a confession to make. I did not like Twilight. I found Bella annoying, and I am of the decided opinion that vampires should not sparkle. That said, I really enjoyed A Discovery of Witches, even though it reminded me of a grown-up version of Twilight in some ways (it also reminded me of Kostova’s The Historian and Setterfield’s The Thirteenth Tale).
Diana Bishop lives in a world where humanity lives alongside three types of “creatures”: witches, vampires, and daemons. Diana herself is a witch in denial who refuses to use her powers. By profession she is a historian of alchemy and currently conducting research at Oxford’s Bodleian Library. Events and rivalries hundreds of years in the making are tipped out of balance when Diana recalls a manuscript from the stacks known as Ashmole 782. The manuscript is clearly enchanted, but as Diana wants nothing to do with magic, she takes her notes on the manuscript and sends it back into the stacks.
Diana getting her hands on Ashmole 782 attracts the attention of creatures of all three types, including the mysterious vampire Matthew Clairmont. As Diana and Matthew get to know each other and try to sort out the events Diana has set in motion, Diana learns about the habits and instincts of vampires and the world of creatures she has studiously ignored up to now.
A Discovery of Witches is a dark story of romance, intrigue, history, and magic. The cliffhanger ending will have you eagerly awaiting the next installment in the series.