I didn't really understand what this book was all about when I picked it up. There were quite a few mixed reviews and plenty of comparisons to The Twilight Series. A friend at work strongly recommended it, then a discussion about the book on a thread by Mundie Moms caught my eye. She and another fellow blogger Haley seemed to rate this one very highly. So, I decided these two gals probably knew what they were talking about. I put myself on the long wait list and the digital library and I was surprised by how quickly my name came up. This particular book is primarily about a witch, called Diana Bishop who is descended from a prestigious line of witches. Diana is almost ashamed of being a witch, ever since her parents were murdered when she was a small child. She didn't even bother to keep up on developing her witchcraft and did everything under her power to behave like a human. Diana is also a professor at Yale university. She's researching a talk she's going to be delivering on alchemy. One evening, not unlike any other, Diana is at the library studying. One of the old manuscripts, she requests ends up behaving very strangely. The writing seems to be moving on the page and the book appears to be begging her to open it and read what's inside. Diana, still against using her magical powers, passes on what the book has to offer and ends up re-shelving it. The only problem is, the book is far more important than she realizes. Every since her encounter with the book demons, witches and vampires have be tracking her. One vampire in particular, Mathew Clairmont, ends up pursuing her, primarily to find out more about the manuscript and what evolves is a first a cautious friendship then a romantic relationship. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg of what this book has in store for these characters. The story is set in Europe. Pacing for this one is quite slow. Its a very lengthy book and I felt it. That's not to say this wasn't a book I loathed to read. Quite the opposite, the pacing seemed perfect for the story. It slowly developed slowly in its delicate complexity. It told in a first person narrative through Diana's eyes, occasionally though it switches to third person from Mathew's perspective. The main characters in the story are Diana and Mathew. Diana, a professor at Yale, is extremely intelligent. She's a historian and loves researching and alchemy. As the book progresses so much is revealed about Diana that she becomes a very rich and vibrant character. I loved her bravery and her fierceness. She ends up being able to endure incredible amounts of animosity and pain. Plus, she's fairly grounded despite everything she learns about herself as the book moves forward. Mathew is a vampire who is over 1000 years old. That alone sparks my interest. He impressive, patient, powerful and does an incredible job of exercising restraint. Its evident he's a cold blooded killer and that alone makes me a little fearful of his character. However, as the story moves along, we learn a wealth of information about Mathew and after I got to know him throughout the book, I trusted him much more towards the end. There are numerous other characters that play substantial roles in the story and we also have the quite a few gay characters involved in the plot. So, one could definitely say this is a very diverse book and I think part of its message is to say its ok to fall in love with anyone, race, culture and breed should not matter. My favorite aspects of this book were the complexity of the plot and all of the amazing in depth backstory. Lot of history is involved in this. I was totally entertained by all of the powers Diana slowly began to command. There are so many twists and turns, plots and subplots. One part of the story which bothered me somewhat is I felt the romance in the foreground. I had plenty of interest in the manuscript and what was inside, discovering Diana's powers and especially the mystery of her parent's death. There was much more I enjoyed than not, but I still wish the romance was slightly more in the backdrop. The ending isn't abrupt. It doesn't complete the story, but it definitely wraps up on a quiet note. It leaves the reader yearning to know what's to come. I can't wait to read the next installment of this series and lucky for my I'm already on the waiting list at the digital library. I would recommend this book to patient readers who don't mind very long, somewhat slow paced books. If you are a reader looking for an in depth story with rich characters and plenty of plot to keep your imagination piqued than this is your book. It holds so much mystery, I think that is the draw and what makes it so engaging.