Paranormal Telly: A Discovery of Witches .@ADiscoveryOfWTV .@DebHarkness

This was a feature on my previous blog and I want to bring it over. Here I will share my favorite paranormal television shows and of course make it a bit bookish by sharing books I think go along with it. Of course, if there is source material I will also link any reviews to the original books as well.

Show: A Discovery of Witches (Season 1)
Seasons: 1
Run Time: 60 mins
Air Dates & Time: Sundays @ 9pm
Reruns can be seen: Sundance, Shutter, Amazon Prime, AMC
IMBD Link
Synopsis:

Brilliant historian Diana Bishop is a witch denying her own heritage. But when she unexpectedly calls up an ancient, bewitched manuscript from Oxford's Bodleian library, one that was thought by the creatures to be lost and could answer the mysteries of their existence, she finds herself thrown into the heart of a dangerous mystery - and into the path of the enigmatic geneticist and vampire Matthew Clairmont. Matthew is driven to solve the looming threat of the creatures' decline and extinction, but their unlikely alliance to find the book before it falls into the wrong hands - and their deepening relationship - threatens to violate age-old taboos and shake the fragile peace that exists between the species.

Tagline: It begins with absence and desire. It begins with blood and fear. It begins with A Discovery Of Witches.

Trailer:

I absolutely loved this adaptation of Deborah's book. I watched this via Amazon prime. I watched it over a weekend and got absolutely nothing done because I was so absorbed.  Starring Matthew Goode and Teresa Palmer as Matthew and Diana I absolutely fell in love with their dynamic, their chemistry and the way in which they portrayed the characters.

The show is a cast of characters ranging from vampire, Daemons and Witches living within a hidden world right next to ours. Diana has spent her life running from magic until of course magic comes calling in a big way.  I love that this cast of characters are diverse, and you feel the mystery of who each of them are right from the get-go. None of the characters are any less than the others and the potential for betrayal ranges high when so many are seeking to retrieve the manuscript.  Within the book, we don't get as much background about the others as we do in the show, but the show makes all these different threads come together into a wonderful tapestry of a story.

There are a few changes in the show from the book, like when events occur and who gives some information, but the bare bones match and the story doesn't sacrifice anything for the telling. I will say the characters are more real and fleshed out in the show than they are in the book and we get more back story from the side characters in the show than we did in the book, which makes this way better. 

Since this is being told from so many different perspectives and each person has their own agenda you can feel the tension escalating as the story advances. Each episode giving us just enough to make you come back for more. And that final episode??? I almost fell out of my chair. DId they or didn't they make it?? We'll have to tune into next season to find out. 

I highly recommend for my paranormal lovers and for even those who thought they wouldn't love paranormal.  

Books In Series: ALL SOULS TRILOGY 

• A Discovery of Witches (Review)
• Shadow Of Night
• Book Of Life

 ★★★★★

RECOMMENDATIONS

Here are a few books and shows that would also suit your fancy if you like this one.

Shows

• Midnight Texas
• The Originals 
• Vampire Diaries 
• The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

Books:

• Katie McAlister (rom-com supernatural )
• Christine Feehan's Carpathian Series
• Susan Krinard
• Maggie Shayne 
• Karen Marie Morning's Highlander Series (This also contains a bit of time travel as well)

What else would you recommend my loves??? Have you had a chance to either read the book or watch the series yet?? Share in the comments down below and I'll see you tomorrow.

Audiobook #Reivew: A Shadow of Night (All Souls Trilogy Book 2) by Deborah Harkness .@DebHarkness

Book Title: A Shadow of Night (All Souls Trilogy Book 2)
Author: Deborah Harkness |Website| Twitter| Facebook| Instagram

Publisher: Viking Adult
Genre: Paranormal Historical Fiction
Series/Standalone: Book 2
Format: Audiobook, Hardcover
Narrator: Jennifer Ikeda

Audio Service: Penguin Audio via RTB App
Hours in Book: 25

Cost: $45.99

Pages: 834

How I got it: BEA 2012/ RTB App

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Publisher
Publication Date: July 10, 2012
Add To Goodreads
Synopsis:

Picking up from A Discovery of Witches’ cliffhanger ending, Shadow of Night takes Diana and Matthew on a trip through time to Elizabethan London, where they are plunged into a world of spies, magic, and a coterie of Matthew’s old friends, the School of Night. As the search for Ashmole 782 deepens and Diana seeks out a witch to tutor her in magic, the net of Matthew’s past tightens around them, and they embark on a very different—and vastly more dangerous—journey.

Overall:
A great historical fiction that picked right up where the first book finished. The story was chuck full of historical figures as well as with historical facts.  I enjoyed seeing how she wove all the different threads of the characters and the time period together along with the future storylines.

Narrator: Jennifer Ikeda.
This is my first taste of Jennifer as a narrator and she is phenomenal. She manages to make the whole cast of characters unique and carry the story along without losing any of the different threads.  I loved how I could tell who the different characters were, including when she would switch languages and sing. Just amazing, she really brought the story alive.  Her voice was pleasing and her inflections really made the story fly by. I read at 1.5x speed and this helped to make the storytime go by faster. Even sped up Jenn's voice really hooked you. I didn't want to stop listening at all.

Story:
The story picks up right where the first book A Discovery of Witches  ended. I have to say for me this reading experience was phenomenal. Having seen the t.v. show (Review) and reading the book I have a clear picture of the two characters and even as it's lengthy due to including all the historical information it still flowed well and kept me hooked.  Seeing the characters as the people portrayed in the show helped to make this an easier book to digest as we get scant descriptions of the characters at times.

The narrator really was able to make this story flow and the characters come alive. From the get go we really got Diana's thoughts and motivations and I was totally excited with her about being back in history and her realizing it's one thing to read about history/ teach it and it's people it's another to interact with it. I loved the discussion of time and it's movements, as we saw the future where the impacts they were making and the changes being wrought because of them being in the past and at the same time we realize this had to happen for them to come together in the future.

I loved the interaction with historical characters and how the development of how they impacted Dianna and Matthew's life. It was interesting to see how and who knew about the existence of beings and how this created the world we live in now.

When reading the first book I kept saying how much Matthew was holding back from Diana and how that was going to come back to hurt her. And here in this story it really began to come out how much Matthew holds back from sharing with Diana & his family. It's especially telling when family members point out that Matthew has two moods and neither of them allow him to share with those around him. For him this was a journey about learning how his faith wasn't being truly enacted and how much his holding back hurts those around him. Diana for her part had to learn to blend the two halves of herself, the part that hadn't interacted with magic before but wants to learn everything and the part that still wanted nothing to do with magic, while here she was able to be free to be herself to be surrounded by those who knew and were accepting of magic, while trying to stay one step ahead of the beginning of the witch trials in Scotland.

This was a European history major's dream weaving of fact and fiction in a that created a great story. I loved the different journeys they had to go on and seeing the ripple effects in the future. The story shares the different timelines and as the action ramps up we see how the different timelines converge and how history is impacted and the future is changed.

I really loved the life they created while in the time period, the changes it brings to them as characters, the growth they both experience, and the knowledge of how this world works. I loved the little snippets of things that you know have to have an impact in the future then jumping to the future and seeing how it impacts the family then. There are so many good moments, especially when Matthew meets up with someone whom he thought he would never see again.  They went in thinking this was going to be a simple mission find the book, learn about her magic and come back but time and magic have their own rules and they begin to learn that when Diana meets a mentor who really brings it all home for them.

Matthew and his origin is told to Diana and they begin the hunt for the book that will tell them the origin of all creatures. I can't wait to see how the story completely unfolds as Diana learns more about herself and her magic, her history and the history of witches.  I highly recommend reading it in audiobook form while following along with the book.  I can't wait to see it all play out in the second season, the way everything is described it's going to be interesting to say the least.

 ★★★★1/2☆

Series In Order

1. A Discovery of Witches 
2. A Shadow of Night 
3. The Book Of Life

RECOMMENDATIONS

• Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Happy Reading my loves, 

Audiobook #Review: The Book of Life (All Souls Trilogy Book 3) by Deborah Harkness

Book Title: The Book Of Life ( All Souls Trilogy #3)
Author: Deborah Harkness |Website| Twitter| Facebook| Instagram

Publisher: Viking Adult

Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series/Standalone: Book 3

Format: Audiobook, Hardcover
Narrator: Jennifer Ikeda

Audio Service: Penguin Audio via RTB App
Hours in Book: 25

Cost: $38.95

Pages: 561

How I got it: BEA 2014/ Audio via RTB App

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Publisher
Publication Date: July 15th, 2014
Add To Goodreads
Synopsis:

The #1 New York Times bestselling series finale and sequel to A Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night

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.

Overall:
A fantastic end to the series and I can't wait to see how they adapt this one as well. This eas so explosive and good. I did have a few moments closer to the end where I was annoyed that we essentially got closed door on what I thought would have been major blow out scenes and yet sometimes way too many pages on the mundane.  The pacing was faster this time around and while we had moments of levity, there were a whole lot more unmasking moments within the book. So many things get revealed and I love the way in which Deborah takes the team on their search for the origin of the species. It's going to be hella interesting what they do with the results.  I had originally skipped the novella Time's Convert but apparently, I shouldn't have and after this, I'm going to remedy that, because apparently a good amount of things happened, not enough that you can't follow along but enough you know that things happened off scene and you are missing a few minor pieces.

Narrator:
Jennifer Ikeda.

This is my second story with Jennifer as a narrator and she is phenomenal. She manages to make the whole cast of characters unique and carry the story along without losing any of the different threads.  I loved how I could tell who the different characters were, including when she would switch languages and sing. Just amazing, she really brought the story alive.  Her voice was pleasing and her inflections really made the story fly by. I read at 1.5x speed and this helped to make the storytime go by faster. Even sped up Jenn's voice really hooked you. I didn't want to stop listening at all.

Story:

The time has come for Matthew and Diana to return home and bring with them the knowledge of the Book of Life and once again attempt to beat out the others making a play for the book.  There were so many good moments of reunions that Diana and Matthew both needed that brought them healing while giving them the necessary footing to be able to go into battle far more prepared than they were before.

Diana now knows the source of her magic and can control better than before, but she's come back with a few more gifts as well and now the clock is ticking on when and how she will be face the full wrath of the governing body of the species. She's sworn to get revenge for the battles that were waged when she wasn't there and she's coming for the witches who betrayed her and her mother. Before she can make good on that promise though she needs the pieces of the Book Of Life and she and Matthew need to decipher it before their enemies.

From the time they return to the end of the book Diana and her team were running against a clock. Beat their enemies to deciphering the unknown language of the book, get revenge for her mother an all the other witches; find out why the species is dying out, and prevent Matthew's older brother from fling Diana out of the clan. It's a whirlwind of unraveling secrets, learning new secrets and discovering something that will eventually turn their entire world upside down.  There are new mates and partnerships that have formed while Matthew and Diana were away and now that they have returned they have to find their place within the new family dynamics.

I love that we learn what happened to some of the people Diana left behind; people we counted on before come through and some betray us.  Relationships are fractured and the truth comes out in a big way.  I loved the weaving of politics and the mythology of the Knights Templar into the story. The history and as new puzzle pieces were laid I was so excited to see how it changed the landscape they were navigating.  I found myself angry at some characters, in love with others, laughing with Diana and weary with Matthew. The fledging sense of hope, the fear Diana felt as she made it past the loss and her fear about what the future meant for their people. Fighting the ingrained prejudice that many took as a precaution against being seen by humans, it's funny how even within the magical community it comes down to genetics.

I really want to go into more detail but this being the final book I won't spoil it for you. If you want to fangirl on twitter/ Instagram in the DMs then holler at me.

I'm hoping we're going to get more from the world because there are so many we need to learn about. When those final battle scenes were happening?? When they hunted for Matthew and the full-blown truth came out?? This is what happens when a person doesn't truly have faith but uses it to practice punishment. So many times others have pointed out that Matthew's piousness would come back to haunt him and it finally does. I was so hooked those final chapters and I was totally satisfied with the ending. I highly recommend it my loves.

 ★★★★1/2☆

Series In Order

1. A Discovery Of Witches ( All Souls Trilogy 1)
2. Shadow Of Night (All Souls Trilogy 2) 
3. The Book Of Life ( All Souls Trilogy 3) 

RECOMMENDATIONS

• Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
• The Portal Series by Maggie Shayne

Happy Reading my loves, 

Book #Review: A Discovery of Witches (All Souls Trilogy 1) by Deborah Harkness

Book Title: A Discovery of Witches ( All Souls Trilogy 1)
Author:  Deborah Harkness |Website| Twitter| Facebook| Instagram

Publisher: Viking Penguin
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Paranormal Sci-Fi
Series/Standalone: Series Book 1
Format: Hardcover

Cost: $10.99

Pages: 572

How I got it: Purchased

Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books A Million
Publication Date: February 2011
Add To Goodreads
Synopsis:

Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.

I read this after watching the show on tv. I absolutely loved the show adaptation (and will be doing a review later) I thought this was a very good story with unique mythology which made me love the story even more.  In the book we are introduced to Diana who is a witch who doesn't practice magic due to a tragedy in her past she refuses to associate with anything having to do with magic and as such choose to study history and Alchemy.  Her belief is that science took away the chance for magic to interrupt her life. And she was right until a magical book lands in her lap and puts her on a collision course with all the things that go bump in the night.

I have to say that after watching the show and liking the Diana we meet there at times the Diana in the book is a bit weaker in constitution. ( I know I know it's not fair to conflate the two but the comparison lingers. In the book, Diana isn't willing to embrace her magic, her legacy or herself even after being shown that her previous beliefs were erroneous. She takes a "bury her head in the sand" kind of approach to life and when you're talking about trying to stay alive that's not the best way.  There are a great many more details within the book that showcase that Diana is way more unique than she believes. From her family's magical genetic make-up to the things she herself has found out by trial and error.

While the overall story is really engaging, and the writing is clearly written with love and attention to detail, history and every sentence has a purpose, it felt rather like ten words were used when five could have sufficed.  The beginning of the book was a bit slow to build up the characters and I think if I hadn't watched the show already I'm not sure I would have finished this book as quickly as I did. I read this in three days in an attempt to get to the cliffhanger from the show and get all the good stuff in before the end. The story does eventually pick up the pace of action, storylines converging and incidents happening all at once.  Considering the size of the book I do wish we had gotten more background on some of the characters who came to mean something to Diana in the end.  They seemed to appear out of nowhere and who they are on the outside of Diana's immediate universe isn't known.

As the story progressed we learned as Diana learned more about herself and the man she's entrusting to help her navigate this new world. Diana blinded herself and was resistant when her aunts tried to teach her anything from childhood and this willful blindness is what puts her in the greatest amount of danger.  Matthew Clairmont has his reasons for protecting Diana and at first, they start with the book she retrieved that he's been hunting for the last 150 years.  It's however, no longer the main reason and as enemies make themselves known Matthew has to battle against his basic nature to hunt everything that threatens Diana down and kill it. Not just because he knows Diana wouldn't like it but because it would start a war that would expose them to humans.

Matthew was certainly one of the most intriguing characters, he tried to keep as much of himself back from Diana as possible and learning about him was like pulling teeth. However, for a vampire his age he's a walking treasure trove of knowledge that Diana is at first intrigued by then drawn to.  Reading about his life and his adventures is one of the reasons I was so drawn to the story. As the story progressed and more about him and his connections to the book come to light I became even more immersed in the book and couldn't put it down until we knew what happened and why.

Once we established that they were going to flaunt the rules and take on the Council I'm not sure why Matthew kept resisting the consummation of their relationship. I know he kept saying as a vampire he has plenty of time, but humans/witches die easily, was he hoping that by holding back this part of himself he would be able to survive her?? Who knows, I'm going to read the other two books to find out though.  While I did like Matthew, I didn't like that he played his cards so close to the chest. Even in cases where it was absolutely necessary for him to divulge information he kept as much as he could to himself until the last second.  Which didn't always end well for him and yet he persisted in doing it.  o_0

Some of the major questions I had were what was in the ampule?? Who altered Ashmole 752?? What other powers does Diana have?? What exactly did her parents know?/ I want to learn more about the characters who are now apart of Diana's world.

 

 ★★★★☆

RECOMMENDATIONS

• Maggie Shayne's The Portal Series 

Happy Reading my loves, 

Waiting On Wednesdays: July Edition

Hosted by: Jill over at Breaking The Spines.  This is a weekly book lust prompt, asking for us to share our absolute can't wait to get our hands on a copy books. Swing on over to find out how to participate and to see what others are sharing.  

Here's to another week of serious book lust. This week's edition is going to highlight my can't wait to have them books of July. At least these are the dates we've been told; and these are the ones I know of right now. LOL!!

Young Adult/New Adult

Vast & Brutal Sea (Viscous Deep 3) by Zoraida Cordova
This is the third and final installment in this series and I'm looking forward to it. The author has made this series an amazing read.  I have love the characters and the adventure and I can't wait to read the final battles.

The conclusion to the trilogy featuring teen merman, Tristan Hart, as he competes in a vicious championship to claim his birthright as the next Sea King.
Due Out: July 1st.
Print Type: Hardcover
Pages: 416
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Breathe Annie, Breathe Miranda Kenneally

Annie hates running. No matter how far she jogs, she can’t escape the guilt that if she hadn’t broken up with Kyle, he might still be alive. So to honor his memory, she starts preparing for the marathon he intended to race. But the training is even more grueling than Annie could have imagined. Despite her coaching, she’s at war with her body, her mind—and her heart. With every mile that athletic Jeremiah cheers her on, she grows more conflicted. She wants to run into his arms…and sprint in the opposite direction. For Annie, opening up to love again may be even more of a challenge than crossing the finish line.
Due Date: July 2014
Print Type: Hardcover
Pages: 304
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire



Adult Fiction:

The Book of Life (All Souls Trilogy) Book 3 Deborah Harkness
Ahhh!!! It's the final book, OMG I'm too excited!!! ( I got this at BEA)

The highly anticipated finale to the #1 New York Times bestselling trilogy that began with A Discovery of Witches

After traveling through time in Shadow of Night, the second book in Deborah Harkness’s enchant­ing series, historian and witch Diana Bishop and vampire scientist Matthew Clairmont return to the present to face new crises and old enemies. At Matthew’s ancestral home at Sept-Tours, they re­unite with the 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. In the tril­ogy’s final volume, Harkness deepens her themes of power and passion, family and caring, past deeds and their present consequences. In ancestral homes and university laboratories, using ancient knowl­edge and modern science, from the hills of the Auvergne to the palaces of Venice and beyond, the couple at last learn what the witches discovered so many centuries ago.

Due Out : July 15th. 

Print Type: Hardcover 

Pages: 592 

Publisher: Viking Adult

Fast Track by Julie Garwood  (I got this as an eARC and it's awesome!! Finished quickly)

A corrupt congressman, a mother’s secrets, and a sizzling romance ignite passion and suspense in the new novel from #1New York Times bestselling author Julie Garwood.
Cordelia Kane has always been a daddy’s girl—her father raised her alone after her mother died in a car crash when Cordelia was just two years old. So when he has a serious heart attack, Cordelia is devastated, and the emotion is only intensified by the confusion she feels when he reveals the shocking truth about her mother.
Cordelia can’t suppress her curiosity about the woman who gave birth to her, and when she discovers the answers to her questions lie in Sydney, Australia, she travels there to get them.
Hotel magnate Aiden Madison is Cordelia’s best friend’s older brother. He’s oblivious to the fact that she’s had a crush on him for years. When he gets railroaded into taking her along to Sydney on his company jet, he unknowingly puts her life at risk. He’s recently angered a powerful congressman by refusing to purchase overvalued land. Congressman Chambers is not a man to let such an offense slide, and he has the resources to get even and to get what he wants.
In Australia sparks are flying between Cordelia and Aiden, but multiple attempts on Aiden’s life are made while Cordelia is with him, and he realizes he must put a stop to the madness before he loses the thing he values most
Due Out: 7/29
Print Type: Hardcover
Pages:
Publisher: Dutton Books

Romance/Erotica

How To Marry A Cowboy (Cowboys & Brides 4)  Carolyn Brown
(Got at BEA, haven't had a chance to read it yet, can't wait)

Rancher Mason Harper’s two little girls want nothing more than a mama of their own. So when a pretty woman appears on his front porch in a tattered wedding dress, while Mason’s looking for a nanny, he can’t help but wonder if it’s fate.
Annie Rose Boudreaux is in a downright hellish mess. She’s just a few steps ahead of the low-life ex who’s been hot on her heels, but she’s tired of running, and nannying Mason’s two sweet girls may be just what she needs. As her days on the ranch fly by, and the night’s with Mason get hotter, Annie Rose decides that she’s going to stay…for a lifetime

Due Date: July 1

Print: Mass Market

Pages: 352

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

The Captive by Grace Burrowes
(Got it at BEA, I can't wait to dive in)
He'll never be free... 
 Captured and tortured by the French, Christian Severn, Duke of Mercia, survives by vowing to take revenge on his tormentors. Before the duke can pursue his version of justice, Gillian, Countess of Greendale, reminds him that his small daughter has suffered much in his absence, and needs her papa desperately. 
Until he surrenders his heart... Gilly endured her difficult marriage by avoiding confrontation and keeping peace at any cost. Christian's devotion to his daughter and his kindness toward Gilly give her hope that she could enjoy a future with him, for surely he of all men shares her loathing for violence in any form. 
Little does Gilly know, the battle for Christian's heart is only beginning.
Due Date: July 2014
Print: Mass Market
Pages: 416
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

The Saint (The Original Sinners: The White Years) Tiffany Reisz
**fangirl freak out, I meet Tiffany at BEA 2014, it was freaking awesome!!**

In the beginning, there was him. Gutsy, green-eyed Eleanor never met a rule she didn't want to break. She's sick of her mother's zealotry and the confines of Catholic school, and declares she'll never go to church again. But her first glimpse of beautiful, magnetic Father Søren Stearns and his lust-worthy Italian motorcycle is an epiphany. Suddenly, daily Mass seems like a reward, and her punishment is the ache she feels when they're apart. He is intelligent and insightful and he seems to know her intimately at her very core. Eleanor is consumed—and even she knows that can't be right. But when one desperate mistake nearly costs Eleanor everything, it is Søren who steps in to save her. She vows to repay him with complete obedience…and a whole world opens before her as he reveals to her his deepest secrets. Danger can be managed—pain, welcomed. Everything is about to begin.
Due Date: July 2014
Print: Trade Paperback
Pages: 448
Publisher: Harlequin

Are you getting any of these?? What are your book lusts for this week, or month?? Share in the comments down below!!  I got all the books at BEA 2014 that I marked, I didn't know I was going to get them when I originally wrote this.  I still wanted these books because I was anticipating them.  
Fast Track I got as an eArc due to First Read by Penguin. I also got an eArc The Vast and Brutal Sea from Harlequin.  I'm still going to be purchasing the books that are ebooks.  
Happy Lusting!!!