Matthew Clairmont and Diana Bishop have returned to the modern day world after their time-walking adventures in the prior novel. The relationship between them is condemned by the Congregation as they are viewed as different species. Diana is a witch, specifically a weaver, while Matthew is a vampire. The Congregation, composed of witches, vampires, and daemons, forbids their union in their covenant and is putting obstacles in their path. Meanwhile, Matthew's vampire son, Benjamin Fuchs, is hunting for Diana and Matthew and his anger knows no boundaries. Will Matthew and Diana find the balance they so desperately need in order to survive when everything seems stacked against them?

THE BOOK OF LIFE is the concluding book in the All Souls Trilogy and is definitely best appreciated in the context of the series as a whole. Deborah Harkness has crafted a saga that is stunning, both in its scope and intensity. THE BOOK OF LIFE returns readers back to the roots of the first novel and the mysterious manuscript, Ashmole 782, where we finally get all of our questions answered.

Deborah Harkness expertly blends fantasy and science together as Matthew, Miriam, Chris, and the graduate students seek out the answers that have eluded Matthew for so long. The scientific angle adds an air of authenticity to the storyline that contrasts perfectly with the supernatural aspects involving witches, vampires, and daemons. I love that we also return back to the book research and revisiting the libraries for answers as well.

THE BOOK OF LIFE offers readers a satisfying conclusion to what has become one of my favorite series of all time. Deborah Harkness does a magnificent job at weaving together past and present as she cleverly ties all the pieces together. I cannot rave enough about THE BOOK OF LIFE. THE BOOK OF LIFE and the entire All Souls Trilogy are masterfully done!

Book Summary

The highly anticipated finale to the #1 New York Times bestselling trilogy that began with A Discovery of Witches

After traveling through time in Shadow of Night, the second book in Deborah Harkness’s enchanting series, historian and witch Diana Bishop and vampire scientist Matthew Clairmont return to the present to face new crises and old enemies. At Matthew’s ancestral home at Sept-Tours, they reunite with the cast of characters from A Discovery of Witches—with one significant exception. But the real threat to their future has yet to be revealed, and when it is, the search for Ashmole 782 and its missing pages takes on even more urgency. In the trilogy’s final volume, Harkness deepens her themes of power and passion, family and caring, past deeds and their present consequences. In ancestral homes and university laboratories, using ancient knowledge and modern science, from the hills of the Auvergne to the palaces of Venice and beyond, the couple at last learn what the witches discovered so many centuries ago.