In April, I started the All Souls trilogy by Deborah Harkness, beginning with A Discover of Witches, as an audiobook on my commute to work. It's 20 discs, far longer than the audiobooks I usually choose. But I was quickly hooked by the story, and kept going through the rest of the series: Shadow of Night and The Book of Life.
That's 60+ hours of Diana and Matthew!
I will tell you... these books are long on atmosphere and random tangents. And short on big shockers and suspense building. But I really enjoyed the tangled and compelling stories that carried you through the three books and unraveling the mystery of the Book of Life. Diana is a reluctant hero/witch and Matthew, though kind-hearted, is far too overbearing to be an ideal leading man in my real-world. But together, they made this wonderfully passionate and sweet pair. Of course I enjoyed the blossoming romance (though, short!) and their complicated relationship.
The supporting characters are very well constructed and, many, completely lovable. Tough yet kind vampire Gallowglass and witty Jack were my definite favorites. There's talk in the All Souls fandom that Ms. Harkness might be writing a Gallowglass novella ... and I'm so there.
I loved the time Matthew and Diana spent in 1590s London and the detail Harkness goes into in Shadow of Night. As a scholar and a history nerd, you can tell she's reveling in the minutia of Elizabethan life, painting in even tiny details of that incredibly different world. The coven Diana meets and the weaving scenes are so vibrant. I was compelled to look up the real people and event she added to learn more.
I give a lot of credit to the talented audiobook narrator Jennifer Ikeda who read all three books and used distinguishable voices/accents for all the character dialogue -- including Spanish, Scottish, English, Italian and Alabaman. Her performance was fantastic over the course of ALL the books and kept me completely immersed, even as Diana made stupid decisions. (Yes, I yelled at Diana more than once while driving.)
I'd recommend the book series, especially to fans of romantic vampire and witch stories -- either by reading them or getting the audiobooks (in the library, as I did) and dedicating a few hours a day to this special world of magic. Though, you'll need to be patient with it. It's a slow simmer.
Honestly, now that I'm done with the series, I'll admit that I miss them all. Sometimes, I wish I could just check up on book characters after awhile. See how they're doing.
That's 60+ hours of Diana and Matthew!
I will tell you... these books are long on atmosphere and random tangents. And short on big shockers and suspense building. But I really enjoyed the tangled and compelling stories that carried you through the three books and unraveling the mystery of the Book of Life. Diana is a reluctant hero/witch and Matthew, though kind-hearted, is far too overbearing to be an ideal leading man in my real-world. But together, they made this wonderfully passionate and sweet pair. Of course I enjoyed the blossoming romance (though, short!) and their complicated relationship.
The supporting characters are very well constructed and, many, completely lovable. Tough yet kind vampire Gallowglass and witty Jack were my definite favorites. There's talk in the All Souls fandom that Ms. Harkness might be writing a Gallowglass novella ... and I'm so there.
I loved the time Matthew and Diana spent in 1590s London and the detail Harkness goes into in Shadow of Night. As a scholar and a history nerd, you can tell she's reveling in the minutia of Elizabethan life, painting in even tiny details of that incredibly different world. The coven Diana meets and the weaving scenes are so vibrant. I was compelled to look up the real people and event she added to learn more.
I give a lot of credit to the talented audiobook narrator Jennifer Ikeda who read all three books and used distinguishable voices/accents for all the character dialogue -- including Spanish, Scottish, English, Italian and Alabaman. Her performance was fantastic over the course of ALL the books and kept me completely immersed, even as Diana made stupid decisions. (Yes, I yelled at Diana more than once while driving.)
I'd recommend the book series, especially to fans of romantic vampire and witch stories -- either by reading them or getting the audiobooks (in the library, as I did) and dedicating a few hours a day to this special world of magic. Though, you'll need to be patient with it. It's a slow simmer.
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