Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Teaser Tuesday: A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


My teaser this week comes from the amazing A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. I loved the story of the reluctant witch and the handsome and dangerous vampire. I loved the reference to a number of historical figures and the history of science. I skim the surface of the topic with my fifth graders and was glad to see some familiar names.


Here is the product description:
A richly inventive novel about a centuries-old vampire, a spellbound witch, and the mysterious manuscript that draws them together. 

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.

Debut novelist Deborah Harkness has crafted a mesmerizing and addictive read, equal parts history and magic, romance and suspense. Diana is a bold heroine who meets her equal in vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont, and gradually warms up to him as their alliance deepens into an intimacy that violates age-old taboos. This smart, sophisticated story harks back to the novels of Anne Rice, but it is as contemporary and sensual as the Twilight series-with an extra serving of historical realism.



Here is my teaser: 
"You were right," I blurted, needing to make my own confession before tackling the subject of Knox. "I've never kept the magic out of my life. I've been using it in my work, without realizing it. It's in everything. I've been fooling myself for years." The words tumbled from my mouth. Matthew remained focused on the traffic. "I'm frightened."

14 comments:

  1. I want to read this book!! :)

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  2. Ooh nice! I keep seeing this book around and it sounds pretty interesting!

    Here's my teaser

    Happy reading!

    Old Follower
    Jessica@a GREAT read

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  3. This is in my TBR pile. It looks like a great read!

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  4. Interesting, i love how these meme's make me find more books, i guess that the point,
    Thanks for stopping by

    xx Book Mystress

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  5. I'm seeing a lot of copies of this book in bookstores and I once thought of getting one. I might, someday :D

    Brush Up On Your Reading

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  6. I really, really want to read this. I must get to it.

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  7. I loved, loved, loved this book! Great teaser because I think that was one of her first turning points where she started to get it!

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  8. Intriguing teaser. I actually saw this title in my local bookstores recently and have been wondering what's it about.

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  9. Man, that sounds fantastic! I'm going to try and find it, plus a new bookstore just opened up two houses down :)
    Thanks for visiting..
    My teaser is from the Jaz Parks urban fantasy series at e-Volving Books

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  10. This actually sounds pretty good. I's now my my radar.
    My teaser this week is from ‘Amy Inspired’ by Bethany Pierce.

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  11. Awesome teaser! This is on my wish list!

    http://fredasvoice.blogspot.com/2011/03/teaser-tuesday_22.html

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  12. Cool Teaser! Although this sounds familiar. Thanks for stopping by.

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  13. Cool teaser. I have been seen this book around lately. I hope that you are enjoying your book. Here is my Teaser For Tuesday.

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  14. Great teaser! I want to know more.

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