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.
Release Date: 10/07/12
SYNOPSIS:
It began with A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES. Historian Diana Bishop, descended from a line of powerful witches, and long-lived vampire Matthew Clairmont have broken the laws dividing creatures. When Diana discovered a significant alchemical manuscript in the Bodleian Library, she sparked a struggle in which she became bound to Matthew. Now the fragile coexistence of witches, daemons, vampires and humans is dangerously threatened. Seeking safety, Diana and Matthew travel back in time to London, 1590. But they soon realise that the past may not provide a haven. Reclaiming his former identity as poet and spy for Queen Elizabeth, the vampire falls back in with a group of radicals known as the School of Night. Many are unruly daemons, the creative minds of the age, including playwright Christopher Marlowe and mathematician Thomas Harriot. Together Matthew and Diana scour Tudor London for the elusive manuscript Ashmole 782, and search for the witch who will teach Diana how to control her remarkable powers...Fall under the spell of Diana and Matthew once more in this stunning, richly imagined, epic tale.
REVIEW:
The second instalment in the addictive All Souls series and if like me you’ve been waiting with baited breath for this you’ll have a clear idea of how long the title sat on my table before I cracked open the pages and began reading. What unfurls within is a story that is just as twisted as the original with the characters learning to adapt to the changes in not only their personal lives but also in their time travel ones.
As with the original the prose is sharp, the pace wonderfully addictive and when added to an author who has obviously conducted research into the time period and brought it over without the use of info dumps also allows the reader to fully immerse themselves within the pages.
Finally add to the mix a deeper hidden theme that’s unveiling itself to be dealt with in the third and final part and all in I was a satisfied reader. Great stuff all round and a real joy to read. Cracking.
Release Date: 03/02/11
BOOK BLURB:
An epic, richly inventive, historically sweeping, magical romance. When historian Diana Bishop opens an alchemical manuscript in the Bodleian Library, it's an unwelcome intrusion of magic into her carefully ordered life. Though Diana is a witch of impeccable lineage, the violent death of her parents while she was still a child convinced her that human fear is more potent than any witchcraft. Now Diana has unwittingly exposed herself to a world she's kept at bay for years; one of powerful witches, creative, destructive daemons and long-lived vampires. Sensing the significance of Diana's discovery, the creatures gather in Oxford, among them the enigmatic Matthew Clairmont, a vampire genticist. Diana is inexplicably drawn to Matthew and, in a shadowy world of half-truths and old enmities, ties herself to him without fully understanding the ancient line they are crossing. As they begin to unlock the secrets of the manuscript and their feelings for each other deepen, so the fragile balance of peace unravels...
REVIEW:
Debut novels always have their own magic as the reader has no expectations and thus can be either delighted, horrified or even shocked at either the skill of the author or the fact that they even managed to get the tale published alongside the deep routed fear as to whether it’s worth the punt on an unknown.
What unfurls within Deborah’s fictional debut is a tale of intrigue, of mystery and perhaps most of all, love. Add to this some magical creatures, a good helping of cracking dialogue finished with a whole heap of story arc that’s huge enough to leave many wondering which of the many thread’s that the author will pick up for the next title in the series.
It’s refreshing, it’s taking Urban Fantasy in a whole new direction with supernaturals becoming something new as a whole host of characters descends into the readers imagination. This is going to be a hard to beat debut this year, even though it’s only begun. But perhaps what will really get to the reader is the sheer talent within and with this being Deborah’s first release it’s easy to see what caused the bidding war as well as leaving the reader with sheer wonderment as to not only the authors scope but talent. If the second title continues on this track she will soon become a name to set standards by with the only advice we can give being: Get in early, beat any hype and be there from the first as Harness will be a name chanted up and down the UF isles.
