Fall under the spell of Diana and Matthew in the stunning first volume of the No.1 internationally bestselling ALL SOULS trilogy.
A world of witches, daemons and vampires. A manuscript which holds the secrets of their past and the key to their future. Diana and Matthew - the forbidden love at the heart of it.
When historian Diana Bishop opens an alchemical manuscript in the Bodleian Library, it's an unwelcome intrusion of magic into her carefully ordered life. Though Diana is a witch of impeccable lineage, the violent death of her parents while she was still a child convinced her that human fear is more potent than any witchcraft. Now Diana has unwittingly exposed herself to a world she's kept at bay for years; one of powerful witches, creative, destructive daemons and long-lived vampires. Sensing the significance of Diana's discovery, the creatures gather in Oxford, among them the enigmatic Matthew Clairmont, a vampire geneticist. Diana is inexplicably drawn to Matthew and, in a shadowy world of half-truths and old enmities, ties herself to him without fully understanding the ancient line they are crossing. As they begin to unlock the secrets of the manuscript and their feelings for each other deepen, so the fragile balance of peace unravels.
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[The leather bound volume was nothing remarkable]***
(Headline, 8 February 2011, ebook, 610 pages, Around the Year in 52 Books 2019, a book related in some way to a TV show / series or movie you've enjoyed, bought from @AmazonKindle)
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So, I loved the TV series on Sky earlier this year and knew I had to read the book. I'm so glad I started to. I need to read the rest of the trilogy. The TV series is a very good adaptation. This meant that I felt I knew the characters and plot pretty well. This had a slight downside as I lost some of the enjoyment of getting to know characters but did not impact my enjoyment of this amazing book. I've read a lot of books about witches and vampires but nothing quite like this. Even the romance between Diana and Matthew didn't put me off (I'm not a fan of romance in books to be honest). I loved everything about this book. The world building and character development is second to none. I got completely submerged and lost in this book. I cannot praise it enough.
