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Jan 16, 2019LPL_LeahN rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
In this first book in the All Souls trilogy, a begrudging witch sets potentially catastrophic events into motion throughout the magical world she inhabits (along with vampires and daemons) when she uncovers a long lost and cryptic manuscript that could hold all the secrets of their existence and power. She meets Matthew, a 1500 year old vampire, and together they break all the rules while trying to solve the mystery of Ashmole 782. I didn't love this book. Hear me out...the witch/vampire love story came off as rather tropey and also a little uncomfortable for me at times. Frankly, it was predictable and distracting. However, Harkness is a student of history and it shows, the book was brilliantly researched. And she also has a way with imagery, painting a beautiful backdrop of Oxford, a sprawling mansion estate in France, and the charming, bewitched home of Diana's childhood. And there was enough going on with the plot to compel me to keep reading, as well as put the second book in the series, A Shadow of Night, on hold.