URBAN FANTASY REVIEW: A Discovery of Witches 3: The Book of Life - Deborah Harkness

Release Date: 15/07/14
Publisher:  Headline

SYNOPSIS:

THE NO.1 SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES HARDBACK BESTSELLER Fall under the spell of Diana and Matthew once more in the stunning climax to their epic tale, following A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES and SHADOW OF NIGHT. A world of witches, daemons and vampires. A manuscript which holds the secrets of their past and the key to their future. Diana and Matthew - the forbidden love at the heart of it. After travelling through time in SHADOW OF NIGHT, the second book in Deborah Harkness's enchant-ing series, historian and witch Diana Bishop and vampire scientist Matthew Clairmont return to the present to face new crises and old enemies. At Matthew's ancestral home in France they reunite with their families - with one heart-breaking exception. But the real threat to their future is yet to be revealed, and when it is, the search for the elusive manuscript Ashmole 782 and its missing pages takes on a terrifying urgency. Using ancient knowl-edge and modern science, from the palaces of Venice and beyond, Diana and Matthew will finally learn what the witches discovered so many centuries ago.


REVIEW:

I’ve been a huge fan of this series for quite some time and whilst a lot of others have read it previously to me, I wanted to wait for that special time when I could devote a lot of my time to the experience especially having waited quite a while for this title. Its nothing new to me and whilst a fair few people complain about it, my philosophy is that I’d rather wait for a book that the author was happy to release that have something that followed a schedule and was upset with the finished result. Rushing tends to have a lot of errors, continuity errors and also leaves the reader more than upset.

What I received was a book that kept me not only glued but one that delivered what I was expecting, a kickass tale that had romantic elements, great pace and of course prose that just leapt off the page. Back this up with dialogue and cracking emotional aspects and I was a more than happy reader. A real treat all round and one that I was pleased that I set aside to give it my full attention and would advise others to do the same. You won’t be disappointed.