Now that October is here, it is finally Spooky Season! Twelve-foot-tall skeletons populate the yards of houses and the roofs of cars everywhere, and creepy things go bump in the night. If you’re super excited for the holiday season just like I am, you may also be looking for some new books to fit the eerie mood of this time of year. I have just the series for you! Nope, it’s not Harry Potter, although you should definitely read/re-read that too.
The All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness is absolutely perfect this time of year for a lot of reasons. I have noticed a resurgence of love for the Twilight series and have even watched the first two movies recently myself, and these books are definitely in the same vein. The first book, A Discovery of Witches begins the tale of Diana Bishop, who is an alchemy scholar that spends a lot of time in the library (very relatable.) She is a witch, though you would never hear her call herself that. Though she comes from a long line of esteemed witches, she wants nothing to do with it. She despises the idea that she might use magic as a way to become successful in life, and would prefer to work hard and do things the old-fashioned way. However, if you know anything about stories like this, you know she can’t escape her destiny forever…
One day, Diana decides to check out a very rare alchemy book from the library. This is just not any old book! As not to give any spoilers, I won’t tell you what the book is just yet. There’s also something else not quite right in this library…well, many things, but this time it’s a vampire by the name of Matthew Clairmont. Who can keep away from a vampire?! Definitely not me and certainly not Diana, although at first, she dreads him being around. However, she needs his protection as many daemons, witches, and vampires who are up to no good descend on her to figure out how she was able to check out that Very Rare Book. The first book and its two sequels follow the story of Diana and Matthew as they deal with the cascade of events that follow them after the appearance of the magical book and as they inevitably fall in love.
