ADoW Book 5 News (SPOILERS)

While #1 New York Times bestselling author Deborah Harkness is still editing THE BLACKBIRD ORACLE, she has said that more information will be coming. And the book is COMING SOON!

Bear in mind that things may change, nevertheless I got you a preliminary sneak peek of the synopsis [below the cut], which is a “thrilling and triumphant return to the All Souls Universe”. According to Deb’s book and media agent, the book will come out summer of 2024! 

Recently, Deb has said, 

Really excited for you to know more about it. It has been really a labor of love. I think you're going to really enjoy catching up with Diana and Matthew, and the twins.

THE BLACKBIRD ORACLE (Book 5) takes place 4 years after the events of TIME’S CONVERT (Book 4) of the All Souls Series (A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES, SHADOW OF NIGHT, THE BOOK OF LIFE). Exciting!!! 🤩🥳🥰

***SPOILERS ALERT***

THE BLACKBIRD ORACLE [Fiction, Summer 2024] by Deborah Harkness

A thrilling and triumphant return to the All Souls Universe about facing the darkness inside yourself—and embracing it.

Four years after the events of TIME’S CONVERT, Diana and Matthew are living in Connecticut with their seven-year-old twins preparing for a summer holiday in England. Their plans are thrown into disarray, however, when the Congregation notifies Diana that her children are scheduled to have their magic tested this autumn, bringing back painful memories of her own assessment and the chain of events it set in motion. The mail also brings a letter telling her it’s time to come home to Ravenswood—the family farm— and fulfill the prophecy the Proctors call The Blackbird Oracle. The letter is signed by Gwyneth Proctor—a great-aunt Diana didn’t know existed from a side of her family she thought dead.

Concerned for their children and curious to meet any family that remains, Diana and Matthew travel to the marshes of Ipswich, Massachusetts to meet Gwyneth. She shows Diana the higher magic that runs through her veins— and through her children’s, too—and Diana finds herself conflicted between her lifelong fear of darker magic and the tantalizing powers she could have.

Diana also discovers a collection of dusty old bottles filled with family memories captured through higher magic, including those of her mother’s. But her family’s memories aren’t just stored in Ravenswood; the Congregation holds some of the Proctor and Bishop memories along with those of other powerful witches as a means of control. As Diana learns how higher magic operates and how the Congregation withholds it for their own purposes, she’ll have to decide whether or not to embrace the darkness within her to protect her family. And whether to give her own children the chance to learn higher magic—a chance she never had—even if it means exposing them to the Congregation and their own dark sides.

SHADOW OF NIGHT and THE BOOK OF LIFE each debuted at #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list

The trilogy was adapted into a hit TV show, entitled A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES, starring Teresa Palmer and Matthew GoodE.

📸 Park & Fine Literary and Media (April 2023)

Most witches have one element in their blood and they only see the threads of those elements. So it is easy for them to choose between them. But you saw them all. Wind. Water. Earth. And fire. All within you. No wonder you’re such trouble.

A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES, 2.03.

A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES | 1.06

grief carves a place in the heart and sits there forever. but when focused, it can be a powerful motivator. sadness becomes resolve and pain becomes action 🍂🤍

How's one to know?

I'd meet you where the spirit meets the bones

In a faith forgotten land

mirth’s otps | matthew + diana

once the world was full of W O N D E R S, but it belongs to humans now. we creatures have all but disappeared; daemons, vampires and witches. hiding in plain sight, fearful of D I S C O V E R Y, ill at ease even with each other. but as my father used to say: in every ending, there is a new B E G I N N I N G.

Diana & Matthew + Diana Kisses

Matthew and Diana in A Discovery of Witches (Season 3)

Page 204, A Discovery of Witches.

Where does one even find a therapist in the sixteenth century?

Can we appreciate Gallowglass a bit more?

Gallowglass turned wide blue eyes on Matthew. The younger man was wearing a black T-shirt adorned with a skull and crossbones. Something had slashed the back, rending it from left shoulder to right hip. The holes in his nephew's jeans looked to be the result of wear, not war, and his hair was shaggy even by Gallowglassian standards.

(-Chapter 2, The book of life, All souls trilogy by Deborah Harkness)

He is basically described as a harsh looking blue eyed man, with metal shirts and ripped jeans, which is not just his 'personal sense of style' since all the tears are from wear. And yet, despite his appearance, he has the personality of an angel. Think of how he picked on the wax residue on the kitchen table when he was nervous. He honestly seems like a gentle giant. Please romanticise him with me.

Sorry, the Cullens Are Not the Best Vampire Family

These vamps are in a league of their own. (Baseball pun intended.)

Collider Sept 24, 2023

Deborah Harkness, author of A Discovery of Witches, was inspired to write the series after seeing the popularity of paranormal romance novels and wondering why these creatures still captivate us.

 The de Clermont vampire family in A Discovery of Witches is more complex and intriguing than the Cullen family in Twilight, offering a fresh and intimate perspective on vampire dynamics.

 Ysabeau and Philippe, initially distrustful of their vampire son Matthew's witch partner Diana, eventually gain respect and even affection for her, showcasing the power of love and acceptance within the family.

On the surface, it might seem as though A Discovery of Witches draws heavily from the human-vampire romances that preceded it. That assessment's only half-true. Deborah Harkness, author of the New York Times bestselling All Souls trilogy upon which A Discovery of Witches is based, didn't read any vampire literature before penning her novels. But her creativity was sparked in 2008 after seeing the sheer wealth of paranormal romances adorning bookshelves. "It seemed to me much bigger than what had happened with Anne Rice," Harkness explained to The Los Angeles Times in 2011. "As a historian of science, […] I thought, Why do these creatures still exert such a pull on us?" Furthermore, Harkness "[ wondered] if there really are witches and vampires, what do they do for a living?" Her resulting All Souls trilogy is a delightful enterprise and not a copy of Twilight, True Blood, The Vampire Diaries, or any popular supernatural saga. In the paranormal romance world, certain story beats naturally tread similar ground. Harkness, a decorated historian, scholar, and university professor, weaves the forbidden love story of historian witch Diana Bishop (Teresa Palmer) and vampire scientist Matthew Clairmont (Matthew GoodE) together with magic, philosophy, metaphor, and detailed historical accuracy. That convergence makes for a fascinatingly fresh perspective on the genre while never losing sight of its romantic heart. With that said, there's a specific unintentional similarity A Discovery of Witches shares with Twilight — that awkward feeling when your in-laws are vampires. The Cullens of Twilight might welcome you into the fold with a baseball game, but A Discovery of Witches has the better vampire family by a home run mile. Sorry, not sorry.

GIF: mine

More on the de Clermonts in A Discovery of Witches

Philippe formed the congregation and the Knights to ensure the survival of our species, but also to protect me. Blood rage is in my bloodline. Matthew is fully afflicted. The disease lives on through us in our blood and any children we might sire.

A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES, 2.04.

A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES 3.05 | dir. Debs Paterson

diana bishop is a young vampire hunter. her parents died at the hands of a vampire with a blood rage when diana was still a child. and now the girl devotes every day of her life to hunting murderers.

this happens until the day diana meets matthew for the first time. at that moment, her life takes on a new meaning

I know them, but I'm not like them.

“As far as I can tell there are only two emotions that keep the world spinning year after year...One is fear. The other is desire.”