Bringing the magic and suspense of the All Souls Trilogy to a deeply satisfying conclusion, this highly anticipated finale went straight to #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. In The Book of Life, Diana and Matthew time-travel back from Elizabethan London to make a dramatic return to the present—facing new crises and old enemies. At Matthew’s ancestral home, Sept-Tours, they reunite with the beloved cast of characters from A Discovery of Witches—with one significant exception. But the real threat to their future has yet to be revealed, and when it is, the search for Ashmole 782 and its missing pages takes on even more urgency.
Goodreads Rating: 4.17 stars with over 115,000 ratings
Genre Listing: Fantasy, Fiction, Paranormal, Witches, Vampires, Magic, Supernatural, Urban Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Paranormal Romance
Goodreads Challenge: 8/50
2021 Reading Challenge: #28 Read a book published in the 2010s (find the full challenge here)
Book Review:
Apparently, today is Easter. If you celebrate it, Happy Easter. I usually have no clue of when Easter is until right before since I don't celebrate. Case point, my husband and I got married on Easter Weekend and didn't know until we had people decline invites because of it. Whoops. Anyway, if you don't celebrate happy Sunday, or whatever day it is in your part of the world.
The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness could have landed in a few places on the challenges this year, most likely. However, putting it on #28, a book published in the 2010s, completes a category that requires thinking and research on my part. So the less I have to use my brain, the better. So with this being published in 2014, it felt like a good fit.
I think it's been a bit since I read the second book of the trilogy. When I first started The Book of Life, I had a hard time getting into it because I couldn't remember what happened other than they time traveled and Diana got new powers. Once I got four or five chapters in, my memory was mostly refreshed, and I started enjoying the book again.
Like its predecessors, The Book of life follows star-crossed lovers Matthew and Diana and their battles with the covenant that forbids their relationship. They've got all kinds of enemies because, now that Diana returned pregnant, the number has only increased. There is speculation on whether the offspring will be a witch, vampire, or something in between. I thought that the science that Deborah Harkness put into this was exciting. I'm not a science person, but she does it in a way that still sounds realistic but not overly technical. For the world she's created, the genetics discussed seems plausible.
The way that Diana's powers evolve in The Book of Life is like nothing I've ever read before. It's really unique, and I found it fascinating. Also, I feel like she became who she was supposed to be. I loved reading her transition through the series from a meek university professor trying to ignore her magical roots to being an absolute powerhouse.
As usual, Matthew was overprotective and brooding. He did have some sweet moments. His mom is my favorite in the series (I can't figure out how to spell her name. It's hard.) I would really be interested in reading a prequel about her and Phillip. We get a little more of her backstory in this one. There are some admissions from Glassgow that aren't really surprising, but I do feel sorry for him.
Overall, I really liked it and found it hard to put down. I think this is the end of the series. I know there's a fourth book, but it seems to focus more on Marcus and Phoebe and Matthew's past. I have it on Kindle, so I'll probably read it eventually. When I originally got into the series, I thought the academia aspect would be really dull, but it's not. It's definitely a unique and creative story, and I highly recommend it for paranormal romance fans.
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