The Book of Life

The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness, 561 pages

Diana Bishop is a witch, her husband Matthew Clairmont is a vampire. Between their relationship and Diana's mysterious connection to an ancient manuscript, the supernatural leaders are a bit ticked off. This book is the final book in Harkness' All Souls Trilogy, and when it starts, everything is a bit up in the air from the second book. As such, it's hard to say much about this book without giving things away, but I will say that most things resolve much as you would expect them to. Yes, there are twists and turns, but nothing that just shocks your socks off. Maybe I've been reading too much George R.R. Martin, but I find it a little disappointing when things wrap up so neatly. I like how powerful Diana is as a woman, and as a witch, which is a nice change from a lot of vampire love stories (*cough*Twilight*cough*).

The All Souls Trilogy is a good grown-up fantasy series. I've described the first book as Twilight meets the Da Vinci Code, but with better writing and with Buffy's Angel and Willow (the super-powerful Willow, not the shrinking violet of the first couple seasons) as the lead characters. After reading the full trilogy, I stand by that description, though I might throw in just a dash of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series too. If that intrigues you, check out the series; you'll probably enjoy it. If not, eh, that's OK too.