A Discovery of Witches

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness, 579 pages

A Discovery of Witches is a better-written mix between The Da Vinci Code and Twilight, but with Willow Rosenberg as the main character. The key word here is "better-written." Diana Bishop is a well-respected historian who also happens to be a witch, despite her lifelong attempts to ignore her magical powers. But while researching at the Bodleian, she manages to call up a long-lost manuscript with secret magical powers that sets all manner of beings after her. Among those, an uber-protective vampire named Matthew, with whom she quickly falls deeply in love and loves her back just as passionately (he can also go out during the day but thankfully does not sparkle).

Anyhoo, Diana and Matthew embark on a quest to discover all they can about her superfantastic magical abilities (think Willow in the later Buffy seasons) and this mysterious manuscript, all the while avoiding the powerful (and secretive) Congregation and its murderous minions.

It's a fun, quick read that marries the good (ok, good-ish) parts of the previously mentioned not-so-fantastic blockbusters and makes them much more palatable. This is the first of a planned trilogy and I'm looking forward to the next book.