For today’s post, I have decided to take a brief look at one of my favorite book series. The All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness is the book series that inspired the beautifully done television show A Discovery of Witches (which is named for the first book in the series). I have mentioned this series previously when I ranked my favorite witchy book series, but I wanted to cover a little bit more about this trilogy!
The series follows the love story between Diana Bishop and Matthew Clairmont. Diana is a witch, but one that does not practice her magic because she was never very good at it (but this turns out to be because she is a very special type of witch). In fact, she is a direct descendant of Bridget Bishop, the first woman hung during the Salem Witch Trials, giving her an incredibly powerful lineage. Matthew is a vampire and a very old one at that. It is revealed early on in the first book that there are three types of non-human creatures in the world, witches, vampires, and daemons. Witches and daemons are born that way, while vampires are made as such by another of their kind. The romance between Matthew and Diana is seen as forbidden, as creatures of different types are not supposed to interact too closely for too long. This is because they draw unwanted human attention, as humans sense them as other, and may feel uncomfortable.
An interesting aspect of the world that Harkness created is the way in which vampires interact. When a vampire makes another one they view this as a parent and child relationship, which is why a lover would be unlikely to turn their beloved. In this case, another trusted vampire would be asked to do this for them.
Now, this series is interesting as it has a lot going on. There are magical manuscripts, a complex intermingling of supernatural races, time travel to Elizabethan England, and lots of romance! There is also a fourth book, Time’s Convert, that focuses on two of the secondary characters of the trilogy, but still features Matthew and Diana, which is well worth the read. I highly recommend this book series to anyone who is looking for a good, grown-up, paranormal romance. It is also an ideal choice for anyone that loves witches and vampires in general. While the love story is at the heart of the books, there is so much more going on to keep a reader who is not into romance interested! I hope you have enjoyed my short gushing review of this book trilogy. Have you read The All Souls Trilogy? Are you a fan? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is the cover of the first book. I found the image on https://www.amazon.com/Discovery-Witches-All-Souls-Trilogy/dp/0143119680.
Further Reading
- A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
- Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness
- The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness
- Time’s Convert by Deborah Harkness
White Rose of Avalon 