Matthew & Diana
A Discovery of Witches
If you haven’t heard of Matthew de Clermont and Diana Bishop, you are definitely missing out. Years ago, a friend of mine told me about a series of books that involved a witch, and a vampire, and the secret to life. I didn’t pay it much attention to it at the time as I was already neck deep in The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, and True Blood. I thought the idea of a witch falling in love with a vampire was right up my alley, but I was already in love with Sookie and Bill, and Elena and Damon. I didn’t think my love of paranormal couples could extend any further.
It wasn’t until A Discovery Of Witches appeared on my television on Sky One that I realized, I had been dealing with teenage crushes and whimsical romances when it came to TVD and TB. The relationship between Matthew and Diana is #relationshipgoals.
SPOILER ALERT: The next part will contain spoilers from the first book (and possibly the second.)
When we first meet Diana, she is the youngest professor at Oxford University in England. She is young, professional, and from what we can tell, a little introverted. She begins her teaching career at Oxford, and attempts to keep her magical past just that, the past. She knows all about the supernatural world and how her parents were powerful witches who both lost their lives due to that fact. She is reluctant to embrace her magical history, and keeps it hidden even from those who know exactly what she is.
In her research into Alchemy at Oxford, she comes up on an old manuscript, Ashmole 782. A magical reference book that holds the key to life and all existence. It is a book that has been sought after by creatures for centuries, that just also happens to show up when Diana, and only Diana, calls it from the repository. When Diana finally opens the book, a surge of power is released from its pages and acts as a signal to all creatures that the book has made another appearance.
Enter our heartthrob vampire, Matthew Gabriel Philippe Bertrand Sebastien de Clermont (or Matthew de Clermont in the TV show and books). A fellow professor at Oxford with dark and mysterious motives, he entrenches himself in Diana’s life in order to use her to gain access to the Book of Life (Ashmole 782). What Matthew doesn’t expect, is to find himself spellbound by the witchy professor. At first, Diana wants nothing to do with him. She rebukes him at every chance she gets. Slowly, and surely, he works his vampiric charm on her and they fall madly in love, though inter-species dating seems to be something overly frowned upon by the majority of the supernatural community.
When the other creatures begin to learn of the book’s return, they come from all over the world to try to obtain it for themselves, and unlock it’s secrets. Matthew must do what he can to protect Diana from those who would try to use her, and keep her safe from all of the dangers that lie ahead for the both of them.
I first saw the show on television and absolutely fell in love with Matthew and Diana. Their love hate, to whirlwind romance took my breath away. When I picked up the print book and read through the 594 pages in a week (with a full-time job and a toddler,) I knew I had to pick up the other two books in the All Souls Trilogy and read them as soon as possible. The way that author Deborah Harkness brings the characters, and their relationship to life takes my breath away. Each book in the All Souls Trilogy is absolutely stunningly written, and her Ph.D in European history helps to paint a picture of 16th century London during the Elizabethan era.
I cannot give away any more about this series, you just need to go and buy the books. They are well worth the money to add them to your collection if you are an avid lover of paranormal romances.
Click any of the images below to purchase The All Souls Trilogy of books by Deborah Harkness.
