"It Begins with Absence and Desire. It Begins with Blood and Fear. It Begins with a Discovery of Witches."-Deborah Harkness

It was almost exactly three years ago that I first came across a book called A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. I was working at Barnes and Noble at the time and we used to have to do this thing during peak hours when the booksellers had to wander around the floor, asking customers if they needed help and then try to con them into buying a membership. It was during one of these times when I was wandering aimlessly, because peak hours were rather slow, and looking over the display tables when I happened to glance this book that intrigued me. Turning it over I read the back and as soon as I discovered that it revolved not only around a strong and stubborn woman but a book I was hooked. When it comes to books about books I'm a pretty easy sell so I decided to go ahead and buy it. It was such an unassuming book, and the title suggested maybe a little bit of a silly story maybe so I wasn't expecting much. The old saying 'never judge a book by it's cover' couldn't have been more right on.

As soon as I started reading I was taken into this world of books, and history, magic and love. It was all intricately woven together with different characters and personalities. It all started with Diana Bishop, Yale University professor on sabbatical at Oxford doing research into the history of alchemy. She is well read, history nut, tea enthusiast, a woman who loves a good row in her boat and who happens to be a witch. The witchy side is something that she has been hiding for as long as she can remember all she wants to do is do her research and teach her students. While at the Bodleian Library one day she calls up a mysterious alchemical text called Ashemole 782. All of a sudden she becomes the center of some very unwanted attention, from other witches (some creepy sinister seeming ones), demons (erratic and scatterbrained though they may be) and vampires. One vampire in particular seems to be annoyingly interested in Diana, a tall gorgeous rather overprotective vampire named Matthew. Despite being unsure of just what she has done to elicit such attention from the creatures of the world Diana finds it hard to resist Matthew's charming desire to protect her. In a non-creepy stalker kind of way, but in a way that she learns to find charming as well as annoying (she is a modern independent woman after all). 

I fell in love with the story, with the characters and all their stories and I fell in love with Deborah Harkness' writing. I was stunned to discover that this was her debut novel because her writing was so intricate and perfected in a way. I rarely see that in debut novels and so it was hard for me to wrap my head around that. But I liked her even more for it because I knew that she was going to be a force in the writing world and I eagerly awaited the next book. When the second book The Shadow of Night came out I was thankfully still working and Barnes and Noble and so was fortunate enough to be able to borrow the hardback book right away. I read it while in the middle of a move from Brooklyn to Harlem but it was so great that even despite that extra work I finished it long before the two week rental period was up. Again I was swept into the incredible magical world that Ms. Harkness created with Diana, Matthew and all the other amazing characters that come along in the story. I fear giving a description of this second book because I have no wish to accidentally give something away so I'll just say this, the second book was just as thrilling and amazing as the first and set me on the edge of my seat until the third one came out. 

It took awhile for book three, The Book of Life, to come out. And let me tell you it was a long wait. When I found out it was finally coming out I did something that is very rare for me and went online to pre-order a signed hard backed copy of it. Why is this so strange? I usually like to buy soft cover books (more portable), and I enjoy keeping trilogies and series in the same style so paperback series stay paperback etc. But I knew this was going to be a great book and it was one I didn't want to wait to read so I went ahead and did it. Due to quiet a lot of upheavals in my life around the time it was released it took me over a year to get to the book. But one night I decided it was time to read it because I was looking for a magical mystery that is intelligently and creatively written so I knew it was time to turn back to the world of Ms. Harkness' imagination. The Book of Life was even better than I thought it was going to be. 

In my new job at Starbucks I have rather strange hours, what do I mean? Well I have to be at work and clocked in at 4:30am most mornings which means my travel time is around 3am or so. Usually I am much to tired to read, my brain is still struggling to figure why I am awake and trying to function at that hour so reading on the way to work has become a non option. But this book was so good that it made me want to read on my way to work, and at work, and on my way home and at home and everywhere in between. I was so caught up in every aspect of the book and the story that I lost track of time a couple of times while reading. I got wrapped up in everything happening to Diana and Matthew that I would forget for a moment that this is only a trilogy and start finding myself unable to wait of the next book. Imagine my disappointment each time I was brought back to reality. 

The Book of Life is a whole other level of greatness from the other two. I loved them all equally, in fact the entire series has moved into my top trilogies of all time, but the third installment kept me on the edge of my seat unsure of how she was going to wrap things up  and I loved every thrilling second of it. This is a series of books that I highly, highly recommend to everyone! Don't let the title of the first book throw you or scare you away from it because the book is so good. So well written, so well put together that you will be hooked right away. Please if you love fantasy or good stories about books then go out and get a copy because you will not be sorry you did. The description doesn't even do it justice so you have to trust me when I say it is a world that you will want to fall into because it is a world that is worth losing yourself in.