Melanie's Updates

 A Discovery of Witches  by Deborah Harkness 

This book is over 800 pages long, and is the first in a trilogy. So it is quite a commitment. I did enjoy it though. It introduces you to the saga of Diana Bishop, a historian/ witch who unintentionally discovers an ancient, enchanted alchemical book sought by otherworldly creatures in modern day Oxford. She then meets and falls in love with a vampire, and the two are hunted by all creatures that want the enchanted book. The author is herself a historian, and at times I think speaks above the reader's head (I got lost several times), but if you soldier through I think it is still an enjoyable read.    
  
 Marly's Ghost by David Levithan

 

I have been on a real Levithan kick this year, and unfortunately this was not one of my favorites. It's a modern retelling of Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol' but in the Valentine's Day context. He did a great job with the parallels, I thought, I just wasn't really drawn to the story or really the characters. I'd recommend this one maybe to younger readers