I read A Discovery of Witches when it first came out.  It had been highly reviewed, and I love books about the supernatural.  Let me be clear.  The basic premise of this book is that there are four types of creatures in the world:  humans, daemons, vampires, and witches.  If you absolutely refuse to read books about any of these, stop here.  If you do read them, or haven’t before but will try it with one that is extraordinarily well-written and intelligent, read on.

Because (bad grammar, I know, but it fits) intelligent is the first word I would use to describe this book.  Fast on its heels comes well-written, then charming, romantic, authentic, fierce, colorful, interesting, historical, and fun, not in that order, but you get my drift.

Here’s the set-up.  The protagonist of A Discovery of Witches is Diana Bishop, who comes from a long line of witches, but has lived her life denying her powers.  A respected historian, she comes across a book that has been lost for generations but, for whatever reason, emerges from the Bodleian Library stacks when she puts in a call slip.  Its appearance ignites a firestorm of interest among other supernatural creatures, not the least being Matthew Clairmont, the vampire whom Diana is destined to love.

Matthew is fabulous, and Diana is delightful, very human, often hysterically funny when it comes to her heritage and her powers.