A Discovery of Witches

A Discovery of Witches grabbed me from the first page and never let go. What makes this novel stand out is Harkness's masterful blend of historical accuracy, scientific detail, and magical worldbuilding. As a historian herself, she weaves intricate details about alchemy, genetics, and ancient manuscripts into the romance between Diana and Matthew.

The character development is exceptional - Diana isn't your typical witch-discovers-powers protagonist, but a scholar who approaches her awakening abilities with both academic curiosity and realistic reluctance. The vampire mythology feels fresh and modern.

The TV adaptation captures the essence beautifully, though the book offers richer historical context and deeper character insights. This is one of those rare series where subsequent books get even better, expanding the world while maintaining the quality of writing and research that makes the first book so compelling.

Loved it. Stayed up all night reading it. Super fun. This is the paperback boxed trilogy. Still working on the other two.

Somewhere around page 350 the writing suddenly becomes appreciably better, the relationships between characters more believable, and the ideas more original. If you can make it that far, it's worth it. There's a lot of gasping, repetitious dialogue, and shiny vampire romance before that point, though.
I'll be picking up the second book when it's out.