The day has finally come! I finished the book of life after work a few days ago, and I’ve been sitting on my hands, trying to keep from typing up my review entirely too early. I’m so beyond excited Viking gave me the chance to read this finale to my beloved series early, and even more so, giving me the chance to give YOU a copy of this amazing book! 🙂

Check it out on Goodreads | Buy it on Amazon | Buy it on B&N

Synopsis:

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.

With more than one million copies sold in the United States and appearing in thirty-eight foreign editions, A Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night have landed on all of the major bestseller lists and garnered rave reviews from countless publications. Eagerly awaited by Harkness’s legion of fans, The Book of Life brings this superbly written series to a deeply satisfying close.

Review:

Grade: A++++ (Out of this world stars)

I am going to attempt to be spoiler free, because I’m not one to spoil books for anyone, but THIS BOOK IS AMAZING, from the first to the last page, I was hooked, I lived, I died, I cried. I was basically a mess for the whole time I read the book. I wanted to scream as random strangers on the bus when certain twists and turns come to light, when certain villains re-emerge, and certain unexpected heroes risk life and limb, without even knowing if their efforts are in vain. It’s brilliantly written, and it captures everything fans love about the series and amplifies it by about 100. Diana is brought into a whole new level with this book, leaving behind the history she came to know and love in the Elizabethan England, and brought into sharp, vivid, modern day magical world. Things have changed, rumors have surfaced, and lines are being drawn. I’m really trying hard to avoid any major spoilers, but as Deb said on Facebook, read with a friend! You’re going to want to call or text someone for each of these bumps, and share you’re excitement, astonishment, and general anger depending on the instance. Overall, this book was wonderful. History and Magic intertwine, and it’s beautiful. I think the weaving of this story was something I was just impressed by. Characters I didn’t think could grow anymore still did, and other characters I wanted more of came out and we really got to watch them grow and change. I don’t think I can allow myself to say anymore because I’ll spill all kinds of secrets, but I promise you, buy this book and read it quickly.

* I received a copy of this book from the publisher in return for an honest review.

About The Author:

My life has been a series of left turns that nevertheless took me in the right direction (though it didn’t always seem so at the time). I went to college to be a theater major and ended up studying the Renaissance. I went to grad school to become a college administrator and loved to teach so much I became a college professor instead. I thought I wanted to be a Tudor-Stuart historian, and found myself a historian of science. I started blogging because a friend needed help on a project in 2006 and am still blogging about wine today. I started writing a novel in the fall of 2008, and it became a New York Times Bestseller in February 2011: A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES. The second volume in the All Souls Trilogy, SHADOW OF NIGHT, came out in July 2012 and debuted at #1 on the NEW YORK TIMES Bestseller’s List. What’s next? The final volume of the trilogy, of course: THE BOOK OF LIFE, coming July 15 2014 to the US, UK, Canada, and Republic of Ireland.

**Giveaway**

To enter to win a copy of The Book of Life, (US Only), comment on this post and let me know, if you’d rather be a witch or a vampire! 🙂 Simple & easy! Plus for a bonus, share this post somewhere and let me know where!

Giveaway ends 7/18! 🙂