[simpleazon-image align=”left” asin=”0143119680″ locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ihfQEXy0L._SL160_.jpg” width=”104″][simpleazon-link asin=”0143119680″ locale=”us”]A Discovery of Witches: A Novel (All Souls Trilogy)[/simpleazon-link] by Deborah Harkness
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
A Discovery of Witches is a paranormal romance for the intellectually curious. The author turns her scholarly pursuits to vampire and witch lore, mythology, religion, history, alchemy, medicine, genetics and geography. It was fascinating and enlightening. I finished the book almost believing that these unique creatures really do exist. The book is the first in the All Souls trilogy, and it ends with the two main characters (Diana the witch and Matthew the vampire)timewalking back to the 16th century to hide from the Congregation and prepare for war. As such, I can hardly wait to dig in to [simpleazon-link asin=”0143123629″ locale=”us”]Shadow of Night: A Novel (All Souls Trilogy)[/simpleazon-link], the 2nd in the trilogy. I highly recommend this book for fans of the paranormal genre. There is much to discover in A Discovery of Witches, and it’s carefully and beautifully written.

Favorite words:

parterres
oubliette
sybaritic

Ideas to discuss:

Understanding your own power
Accepting your true self
Mastering fear

Conversation to strike up:

If you could timewalk, where and when would you go?

Favorite quotes:

“As I am the end, so my lover is the beginning. I encompass the whole work of creation, and all of knowledge is hidden in me (p. 375).”

“The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of true art and true science. Whoever does not know it and can no longer wonder, no longer marvel, is as good as dead, and his eyes are dimmed” (attributed to Albert Einstein on page 455).

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For more about the author and the All Souls trilogy, check out Deborah’s website: http://deborahharkness.com/