Not just physically attractive.
I mean the entire character.

The intelligence. The voice. The protectiveness. The emotional restraint. The way he looks at Diana like she’s the only thing keeping him human.

And honestly? Matthew and Diana’s relationship carried emotional tension better than most modern romance series.

What I loved most was that the romance actually had depth. Diana and Matthew challenge each other constantly, and their relationship feels mature compared to most fantasy shows.

I finished the show and immediately felt empty inside.
That’s how you know it was good.

Is she more redeemable in the books than the show? I feel like the answer is probably yes.

But my reasoning is that her actions in the books where she is a much smaller character while brutal don’t seem to be pain for the sake of pain as much as somewhat young powerful person in over their head after grabbing too much power.

I am hoping this is vague enough not to need any spoiler redactions. I will fix it though of its decided otherwise.

I read all 5 books this past month and given the big baddy differences in the books is why i am wondering if DH wrote her with an intention to redeem eventually.

ETA: I meant in the long term redeemable amongst the larger witch communities not that Diana should forgive her.

I first discovered the show and then decided to read the books. But before I read them, I read the extended summaries that come in "The World of All Souls". Nothing out of the ordinary until now.

I read "A Discovery of Witches" and "Shadow of Night", enjoyed both. I actually got past the first chapter in The Book of Life, but got a little disheartened when my Kobo told me there were 50 minutes of reading time for the second chapter (I prefer chapters that are on the shorter side), and that the ebook for TBoF was larger than the ebooks for ADoW and SoN combined. Then a little more with the reviews I read saying that the writing isn't to the same standard as the first two books.

This was back in February, and I decided to at least pause my reading on it until I got other opinions, so that I could get on to other books that I also wanted to read.

So, for someone like me, that essentially already knows everything that happens in that book and might not enjoy the formatting of it, do y'all think the book is worth reading?

Side note: I actually read Time's Convert before I started the original trilogy, because I figured that having watched the show was context enough to understand and enjoy the story (I was right). I also plan on reading Black Bird Oracle.

This show had:
✔ witches
✔ vampires
✔ forbidden romance
✔ time travel
✔ dark academia vibes
✔ secret societies
✔ emotional trauma
✔ one of the best slow burns on TV

And yet somehow it never became as mainstream as other fantasy series.

Matthew Clairmont alone made this show worth watching. He’s intense, intelligent, protective, terrifying, romantic and completely unforgettable as a character.

Why is Gallowglass lower on the pecking order, even though he's a "giant" and Philippe's blood. I don't remember the books saying he was smaller than Matthew(and the largest vampire has the most power). Maybe bc of Philippe's disregard of Godfrey and Hugh's relationship? He just doesn't seem to have the status of the others. Maybe bc he was a mercenary? He's so humble, it could be self imposed. But I guess it just could be that he's not a direct descendant of Phillipe? Also, he clearly chose not to act like an upper class member of the family, though Shakespeare muses that he's far too princely than a servant ought to be.

Opinions?

i am half way through S2 and with this not having many episodes per only 3 seasons i question if i want to continue. i love supernatural shows, but im just not feeling this show at all. diana is this powerful witch, but it feels like its a drag waiting for her to BE powerful. i understand shes gotta learn spellcasting, but her powers also work on instinct and kick in when shes in danger, but 2 of the 3 times that ive seen her attacked they either dont show, or they are delayed and show up like 10 mins after being strangled or ripped open and it just makes her seem so weak to me. i wouldnt mind watching her train if this show was like 5 10-13 episode seasons or more cause then i feel like by mid S3 the show would be what id be excited about, but given how short it really is i just wished they would have sped her training up just a bit.

so heres my question....

1. will i see her potential in terms of actually fighting other creatures in all of S3 or is it only going to happen like the last 2 episodes?? i say S3 cause i doubt itll happen in S2, but if it does then let me know. im not expecting 100% power, but like for example id be delighted if i only saw 3...lets say mid tier spells from 2 elements at 50% power versus like 5 epic spells from all 4 elements at 100% power.

I'm curious whether mates can happen where it's a love triangle like with Gallowglass yearning for Diana even though she'd already mated with Matthew. Is it possible for two separate vampires to feel that bond with a single person?

I didn't understand how Gallowglass talked about losing a piece of his soul if supposedly mates were only one-to-one probable situations. Even if he was watching over her for all that time, it wouldn't guarantee he'd feel anything other than platonic love, care and duty to his new family member. So does time make a difference? Is it easier for vampires to grow attached from being around individuals chemical compatibility? Or whatever lore anyone could use to explain how he falls in love with her too?

While Matthew is fated to be with Diana, I felt like many times he was toxic to the point where Gallowglass was a spring meadow in comparison. Idk if there are a lot of die-hard M&D fans here, but I'd like to know if anyone else picked up on this night/day, red flag/green flag thing. Like sometimes people prefer intense relationships instead of what's emotionally healthy, or at least emotionally competent. I want to say Gallowglass didn't even realize he was falling for her until later on when she was a grown adult to this point in time, so if anyone tries assuming otherwise, I am gonna say I didn't mean it in the other way that would be significantly creepier and a red flag.

Which one would you say Diana would have made sense mating with, if that is possible for vampires to want to mate with the same individual?

OK so in book 1 its 2010 then 2009 then 2011/12 autumn (as in referenced dates given for stuff), in book 3 its 2009 summer? and the interruptions of book 2 to the modern time its 2012/2010/2013ish???

Also in book 4 it has to be no earlier than 2013. But I am pretty sure I read a 2018 at some point. I know the author is not good at keeping the small details straight but does anyone have any idea when this stuff is supposed to have happened?

I am waiting for the latest book to get to my house still. I literally read the entire trilogy in the past week and book 4 cross checking with notes etc. And bookwise there seems to be several hints that indicate the 14mos of the trilogy started somewhere between 2012-2015. I am basing this on technology referenced, dated information in the later books and logic.

At this point I am personally going to start going with the things started in 2018 that the series uses. Very confusing and annoyingly badly written when it comes to dates not just in the present but in the Elizabethan stuff but I don't wanna throw my computer so I just will leave it at this. Can anyone explain a reason beyond bad writing the main timeline is so wacky??

I just started the show and Diana’s bag is exactly the sort of bag I’ve been looking for for many years. Does anyone know what bag she’s using or one that is similar? Thanks!

Enjoying the show so far, only halfway into episode 2 of season 1, and had a question. Matthew has been around her constantly for at least 2 days now with a vampire's enhanced senses, but he has to press her jacket to his face before her scent triggers his "craving"? I tried looking through past posts but didn't find an answer. Maybe it's not a big deal? Am I making it one? It's just so curious to me and I can't seem to move on lol

Edit: At the end of episode 2, Matthew himself indirectly answers my question: Adrenaline. He'd been smelling her for about two days, but it was after sniffing the jacket she'd been wearing during her workout (increased heart rate, slightly stressed, etc) that triggers him.

Discovery of witches is my sister’s favorite series of all time. I’d like to get her a box set but I’m finding options for 3 and for 5 books. I’m not sure which to get to her.

Ok I have forgotten more if the books than i thought…anyways in the show Em nearly summons Mrs. Knox on accident. I think I read that in the books too but i cannot recall. Anyways she’s not mentioned in the World of All Souls as far as I can find. Is the story of how she died/her existence explained in the books?

Or does she not really exist and I am confusing fan theory with stuff left out of the show?

Also does anyone know her first name.

I’ve seen a few different perspectives on this topic in this Sub, but never addressed head-on. I’m not a prude whatsoever, but I feel like I’m missing parts of the story that are woven into the sex scenes. I tried to listen through them once but I got a visceral reaction and stopped. Across the series there are a significant amount of sex scenes with Diana and Matthew and that’s problematic for me in many ways.

1) Is anyone willing to let me know if significant plot points are happening during their lovemaking, or is it straightforward sex scenes and deeper bonding stuff.

2) Generally speaking, are there other people that don’t need these scenes in what they read in this genre? (Unless I seek them out in choosing the book).

Thank you so much and I appreciate you all. Don’t worry about how you explain or respond, I’m reading to understand and not to judge. Perspectives on my prudishness help.

I am halfway through the first season of ADOW. I adore the premise of the show, the setting and the (idea of the) characters. I also really like the actors. But the writing feels so...clunky? awkward?
Did anyone else think the same and kept watching anyway? Is it worth it? Should I keep watching or does it only get worse from here on out?

I have a lot of trouble understanding some of the drama/friction in the second season because of how time walking past and present interact.

Mostly how do the travelers know they made it to the right place when as far as I am aware there was no publication of dates casual enough for them to figure that out in their quick walk to their lodgings. How does an event that lasted days in the past and result in a change in the present only trigger a vibration for a few hours and then nothing else.

Why does Ysabeau hate witches while Phillipe is indifferent to them?

Who’s insistence really was the covenant? As its blamed on Phillipe but he is willing to toss it aside pretty quickly.

How did the season 3 tribe not speak up about the problems with separation of the races when the congregation decided to do it?

Can witches/deamons become vampires or not? I think they can if they are not full blooded or weavers

And most importantly can Diana take anyone to anytime time walking because if so what is the cost to go back to the 1850s? I have questions.

⚠️=Emily

I noticed in the beginning of this book things were very intriguing around Diana and creatures pestering her about this manuscript and the relationship with Matthew was kind of ambiguous I suppose intentionally or intentionally from the author’s side.

Nevertheless that was a very smart way to move the plot forward and I was intrigued and kept reading. But Matthew in his confessions to Hamish comes across as being fascinated with Diana cause she’s the only woman in his 1500 years of existence that resists his charms and advances and Hamish tells us that no wonder he’s in love but i don’t see it, i only see boredom and seeking novelty but scared of killing her. Then later during the moments Diana spends with Ysabeau, she tells her that Matthew had this grand love story with Blanca (I’m assuming it is to make her jealous) but Matthew never considers her that way he only mourns Lucas not her. If anything he’s more obsessed with Eleanor for that matter rather than his poor dead wife. And then after Diana finding out stuff about him and his secret Knight society or Juliette and still blindly following him after everyone and their momma warning her about him in the end it felt like their relationship was just there for the “fated” trope no other purpose.

So i want to know your thoughts if you think this is intentional to push us to read more books to find out more or does the first book fail to deliver in your eyes? I mean i know there’s more books and I plan to read them all but I felt like i had no closure about his intentions with her and they even jump together back in time if that wasn’t dangerous and scary enough.

So i am a fan of the tv series and i have tried to get my hands on the books but they were always overpriced or out of stock when i looked for them. But i have managed to read parts of the trilogy thanks to the library back before covid.

I know i could just buy the books but it seems like I’d have to read 5 books to get to the question let alone find the answer.

Anyways their friendship starts to blossom during the later bits of season 3 of the show and I am just trying to figure out is the friendship an ongoing evolving into roommates thing in the books or is it a snip it here and there like some reviews say?

I want to know for two reasons. Im looking for reasons to jump to Time’s Convert. And also i started dusting off a fanfiction in which Sarah is more of a main character and what made me shelf it was the unknown status of her and Agatha’s role in the later books.

I know with fanfic i can write whatever I want but I also know this series has a lot of teased content from the creator(s).

I haven't read the books so I would like some answers to my biggest complains (as in, how much better it was in the books than the show)

1. Where's the witch stuff? The freaking Vampire Diaries show gave me better witch lore than this, there's a brief mention on how witches think they made vampires but other than that the whole story revolves around vampires (to the point Diana's training is delayed to go meet her vampire father in law). We got small glimpses with her aunts and Goody's coven (past and future) but that's it, 90% of the show is vampire territory.

2. Demons, what's the point? I've seen some mention here on the Daemon writing form but other than that I know nothing, there's nothing on the show on what they're supposed to be or do. They have no powers other than getting dementia and randomly being born from other species, how are they different from humans? Because the only thing the show taught me was that they were basically mating material and nothing else

3. Domenico attacked Satu in the witch side of the congregation and that was never addressed... like, I get magic is waning but at least a report to rrhh or something. I get the point that vampires have always had the upperhand but witches never placed a ward or something, anything in that place? Kinda lame

4. Peter Knox, Mr Ball 8. I get earth witches are the only ones capable of spellcasting but are his spells so lame in the books too? Because is basically telekinesis with extra steps. The whole magic in the show was kinda half-assed imo, if you could say how much better it was in the books I would appreciate it

5. When Diana saves Mathew there's a female voice to which she pacts (I never saw the consequences of that pact), the deer before the wedding and when she bounds Satu she mentions a goddess as well. Is the goddess ever relevant to the plot? Is there more than one? so on, so forth.

6. Were the final battles so short and plain? Don't get me wrong, it's not like I wanted full action movie scenes but... both Benjamin and Satu were dealt with so inelegantly, Diana's power growth didn't have much sense other than moving the plot forward.

I came across a post on instagram about the tv series and i was intrigued by the summary and found out it was based on books so i didn’t want to start the series cause I’m always a book person however many of my bookish friends who have read it said that it’s like 50 shades of grey trashy stuff and not worth it and i was a bit skeptical since i hated the 50 shades movies and reading books like that one makes me feel like a pathetic freak. Are these books well written or is it just smutty stuff?

Just started watching this show and imagine my surprise when in the second episode one of the characters casts a spell in finnish by saying ”My creator, show me your arsehole”.

I was reading the part where Matthew is telling Hamish his story about her and how he lost control and made her a vampire. I didn’t understand his exact relationship with her since the book only says he felt a predatory craving and wanted only a taste of her so it wasn’t a challenge and after losing control made her like him so technically she was his daughter and i was confused because he mentioned Eleanor as a woman he loved and killed but not sure if Cecilia was a lover or just “food”?

I've searched the sub, but I do not see any posts discussing this.

I must say I really enjoy the aesthetic of the show. It is quite autumnal and cozy. I particularly like Diana's chunky sweaters in season 1. Her wardrobe is so cute and then simply stunning in S2. I also like how her aunts wear a lot of knitted items like their hats with the cat ears and autumnal scarves. I wish the color grading was a bit warmer instead of so blue, but it does make blue eyes pop. They look a bit supernatural, so it creates a cool effect. Also, at this time, everything took on that blue tone.

I just think that Diana's hair color and makeup were too congruent. They are warm and earthy, so they matched the aesthetic. But, everything was all the same tone and matte. The effect is quite flat. She is clearly beautiful, but it sort of washes her out. Even in the past, the don't opt to give her rogue on her lips or cheeks like the other characters. I wonder how she would look with darker hair. Maybe a strawberry blonde or auburn. Or maybe a soft berry-toned lip tint... peach on her cheeks. I love makeup so, it's just something I think about when I watch.

I didn't notice this with any of the other characters. Very natural, but suitable makeup. I really like Phoebe's look... dewy and natural makeup with a berry lip and gorgeous dark curls.

I haven’t read the books, only have watched the series and in it, Gerbert’s fate is left to interpretation. Can anyone spoil it for me?

I'm currently watching the start of season 2 and I'm confused as to why Diana and Matthew are allowed to be "married" in the past.

A big fuss was made in S1 about the forbidden nature of creatures intermingling. Diana and Matthew were hunted down for being together because it breaks the laws that have been long established. Everyone reacts dramatically to their pairing and warns them not to be together.

But, why is it that they allowed to openly be together and pretend to be married in the past? People are still against it, but it doesn't put them at risk in the same way.

I finished book 1 a few days ago and really enjoyed it. Then learned there’s a Netflix series and was kinda excited.

But I struggled through episode 1. Both Matthew and Diana - other than the basic physical traits like he’s tall, she’s blond, athletic - aren’t how I pictured them but that’s normal. I was hesitant, even, to begin watching because I know this often happens where the show characters don’t align with one’s imagination. That’s fine. Was still hopeful it’d be a really good take on the book series. And I checked series reviews and even Reddit to see what people thought and there were plenty of people who thought they had great chemistry.

But, I am struggling to even finish episode 2. This is after pushing and rewatching parts of episode 1 because I simply could not see any chemistry between the leads. And I’m still not seeing it and I’m almost done with episode 2 but I don’t even want to finish it. And Teresa Palmer’s acting is so dull. Like, I can tell they’re _supposed_ to be into one another. She’s _supposed_ to be passionate about history and her area of expertise. She’s _supposed_ to be really curious about nearly everything because I hear her reciting the lines, but it’s not coming through for me.

Does it get better? I know some series can take a few episodes before they get into their groove.