What a wonderfully written, beautifully imagined novel. Finally, a novel about vampires that isn't totally the same as all the others! Don't get me wrong, I do love some of the others, but this is a new way to see vampires in a novel. 
 Diana Bishop, a witch who's been trying to keep her powers under control since she was seven years old, is a visiting professor at Oxford studying the history of alchemy when she requests a manuscript from the stacks of the Bodleian Library. Right away, she can tell something is off about it--she can FEEL it and it responds to her touch. She quickly sends it back to the stacks and unleashes a whole lot of trouble on herself. The many creatures inhabiting the world (including vampires, daemons, and other witches) descend on Oxford right before the term starts and begin following Diana everywhere. She meets Matthew, the typical tall-dark-and-handsome type who, at first, you're not totally sure you can trust. 
 Honestly, just read it. It's so well-written and so well-researched that it's totally worth it. Diana isn't a simpering character that just wants to be saved all the time--she's strong and powerful, but she's also human. Matthew is a wonderful character too, though he exhibits the same "protective instincts" that all vampires seem to get in novels, which can be annoying after awhile. The scientific explanations, theories, and mysteries Harkness weaves into the tale are amazing--they really tie the story together and bring it into the 21st century. And I'm not sure who I'll miss most until I can get my hands on the second novel--Matthew and Diana or the supporting characters.