Vampires, Witches, and Demons....Oh My!

Have you heard of the All Soul's Trilogy by Deborah Harkness?  So. Good.  The first book in the series, A Discovery of Witches, was first introduced to me through my book club.  And, in this case, thank goodness for the book club, because this isn't a series I would normally have been interested in reading.  I've never read any of the Twilight books (gasp!) and I'm generally not interested in reading books about supernatural beings like vampires and demons.  {For some reason, I tend to make an exception for books about witches and wizards....ahem....Harry Potter}.  Anyway, from the moment I started reading the first book, I was captivated by this new world that Harkness had created where humans, vampires, witches and demons co-exist {albeit not always peacefully}, and magic and mystery surrounds everything they do.

Here's a review of the first book {thank you Amazon}...

It all begins with a lost manuscript, a reluctant witch, and 1,500-year-old vampire. Dr. Diana Bishop has a really good reason for refusing to do magic: she is a direct descendant of the first woman executed in the Salem Witch Trials, and her parents cautioned her be discreet about her talents before they were murdered, presumably for having "too much power." So it is purely by accident that Diana unlocks an enchanted long-lost manuscript (a book that all manner of supernatural creatures believe to hold the story of all origins and the secret of immortality) at the Bodleian Library at Oxford, and finds herself in a race to prevent an interspecies war. A sparkling debut written by a historian and self-proclaimed oenophile, A Discovery of Witches is heady mix of history and magic, mythology, and love (cue the aforementioned vampire!), making for a luxurious, intoxicating, one-sitting read. --Daphne Durham 

The second book, Shadow of Night, was just released last week, and I have literally spent every free waking hour reading since it arrived on my Kindle.  {Since Brad was out of town over the weekend, I had LOTS of uninterrupted reading time...my favorite!} Shadow of Night was just as good as the first book, if not better, in my opinion.  I won't include the review here because it gives away some of what happens in the first book, and I'd hate to be a spoil sport in case I've convinced you to join me in reading this series.

Both of these books are great summer reads, especially if you're looking for something fun to take with you on vacation.  I'm just warning you now, though, that you will be a sad when you finish the second book. Like Harry Potter sad.  That sad where you don't want to have wait months and months and months for the final book to come out.  But, in the end, it will be worth it :)  Happy reading!