Witches, Vampires, Shadows and a bit of Elizabeth the first.....

The Bookbabe Reviews: Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

Well It took me much less time to read this book, then the almost two weeks it took me with book one. I was not at all bored with this book. This is mainly due to Harkness ability to pace the action and plot well. This book is littered with the familiar names and places from not only the first book but from history as well. From monarchs like Elizabeth 1 and Rudolf III to Walter Raleigh and the Lord of Northumberland. The most remarkable meeting of all (for me anyway) is Philippe; Matthews father. When Diana and Matthew travel to Sept Tours at his fathers request Philippee comes off as a brut. Mean and impassive and is the master of all those around him including his children. I expected this throughout the entire time they interacted with him however (as Harkness does so well) the character reveals himself. He slowly shows his care for Matthew and then for Diana. Slowly I begin to see why Ysabeau remains so in love with him, even after his death. What I loved about this book is we slowly see Diana and Matthew get to know one another better. We get to see more of Matthew's defenses shatter as Diana attempts to get closer to him. We see their relationship deepen and they arrive at a kind of understanding that only people truly in love can. Harkness really has a way of writing flawed, real and beautiful relationships. Another thing I loved about this book is the final coming together of the "family" behind Matthew and Diana. I can not wait to see them "fight" as a family unit. Of course, we find out that we have lost one of the members of the family and I can not wait to see how this plays out in the next book. I am also eager to see how Matthew's and Diana's new arrival will affect things as well. I give this book a four star rating; if you like this spoiler-less remove you can read many more at 

www.delawarebookaddict.blogspot.com

Favorite Quotes:

"You are not just my heart but it's beating" - Matthew to Diana

“Gallowglass returned to Sporrengasse with two vampires and a pretzel"

“We don’t lock up books in this house,” Philippe said, “only food, ale, and wine. Reading Herodotus or Aquinas seldom leads to bad behavior"

A New Gem for my collection!

I am so happy to have found this book online (cheaply) in great condition. I now have all three books in hardcover. 

My Book Shelves: As of April 2015

My vampire collection; of all these my favorites are The Strain Trilogy by G. Del Toro and Chuck Hogan.

Yet another author of my heart; J.J. Murray. I own almost all of his published works. Three of these books are signed.

Just a few books from my "to read immediately" shelves; my goal is to have as many of these read as possible in 2015! 

My "classic" books collection. Yes I own two copies of Pride and Prejudice and two copies of A Tale of Two Cities. Also, some modern classics are included on this shelf as well. Among them Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden.

 Now just a little YA! Cassandra Clare, JK Rowling, and Suzanne Collins! 

And last but not least; the most important book on my shelf! 

Cassandra Clare's Infernal Devices Series gets new covers and new contant

*none of the images belong to me; all photos are from Cassandra Clare's  Website*

My Opinion: I honestly only like Tessa's Cover for Clockwork Princess. I think the originals were much better. Because we got a better look at the characters faces; especially Jem's (Clockwork Prince). I believe the books are getting a face lift to help promote the new show and to attract more readers. Which I am all for. By all means Cassandra Clare needs her fan base to keep growing. 

A Witch, A Vampire and a book; whats not to Love?

The Bookbabe Reviews: A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

I can not believe that I let this gem sit on my shelves for so long (almost three years). I remember it as one of the last books I purchased from a closing Walden Books location. What can I say about this book? I feel like I was taken away to England on a sea of wonderfully and imaginatively written prose. Deborah Harkness delivered everything you can expect in a Paranormal romance.  There is a very likable main character,  a distant and shadowy love interest and lots of drama. What I enjoyed most about the book was that Harkness has such and amazing way at describing the places and people that both Matthew and Diana interact with. Harkness also is very careful to slowly reveal bits and pieces of the characters at just the right time. The way she builds  the intensity of the drama is awe inspiring. It goes without saying that I have not read a book this good in sometime; especially in this genre. One thing that I really loved about the story was that Harkness was in no rush to get Matthew and Diana into bed; in fact she has the couple "married" off but they have not consummated their marriage. In so many paranormal romances readers often see the characters taking to the sheets in no time flat. I loved that Matthew Clarimont takes on the role of a night and shining armor and wants to protect his lady love; and is okay with "courting her".  Even though this frustrates Diana to no end no doubt. I can honestly say I was in love with Matthew Clarimont's character from the moment he decided to protect Diana in the library. I was also even more in love with him after we are introduced to his family; we get a get to see his devotion to them and we start to learn a little more about our lovable vampire. I really can not wait to see if some of my theories (which I can not post here because they would spoil a good read) about the characters come to past. I would recommend this book to anyone that is interested in a complex story with complex characters and high drama. If you love all things witches, vampires and daemons then check this out at the library or buy it at your local bookstore.

Quotes I loved:

"the smell of the library always lifted my spirits-that peculiar combination of old stone, dust, woodworm, and paper made properly from rags"

"As far as I can tell, there's only two emotions to keep the world spinning, year after year......One is fear. The other desire."

Bookish Quotable of the Day!

First Impressions: A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

So I am a little late to this band wagon but hey I read what I want when I want. So this month I decided to start the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness. I am officially six chapters in and boy let me tell you....I LOVE IT! First off let me say that this book is different. I have read several books featuring a witch as the main character but never have I felt a connection to them; as I do with Diana Bishop. Diana is an intelligent, educated woman that does not want her ability to use magic to get her ahead in life. She is trying her hardest to be "normal" and she is anything but. She has daemons following her around and can not shake off Professor Matthew Clarimont; a sexy, intelligent vampire. I honestly can not wait to read more about Professor Clarimont. I am hoping that something romantically develops between Diana and Matthew. The only thing about the book that I think will drive me crazy is all the alchemy stuff. I see it going right over my head and I have a funny feeling that I will have to read up on some of the terms so that I can fully grasp the subject matter. As of right now I see myself really enjoying the first book and I can not wait to write a review on it.