Deeply mixed feelings, the most prominent being: I just wish so much that this book were better! It has tremendous potential; for want of a good editor, A Discovery of Witches slipped from diverting, to plodding, to cloying, to strangely insidious. 
 Having just watched a friend flee an abusive spouse, perhaps I am overly sensitive to signs of domestic violence, but trying to isolate a partner from contact with others = classic indicator. Thus I found it hard to read Matthew's 'fierce protectiveness' and authoritarian behavior as other than a red flag, warning of a future batterer. Romanticizing abusive behavior makes for tawdry storytelling and betrays an author who is alarmingly naive about the reality of a man who 'doesn't want anyone to get close' to the body of his partner (pages 394, 416). Moreover, Diana herself was increasingly implausible as an academic of prodigious intellect; by the middle of the volume she consistently behaves like a spoiled, unruly teenager. Her childish reactions were then tempered after a reasonable talking down from the wiser, more experienced, comparatively level-headed, yet ever lupine Matthew. So much for the insidious bit; this was for me the most troubling aspect of the book. 
 The plodding and cloying: I initially liked that Harkness included so many astute descriptions of academic research life; I was surprised at her accuracy there, until I realized that she's an historian of early modern science herself (I've actually read her scholarly work, which is quite reasonably good). My interest turned to dismay with the first tedious description of rowing on the river; that passage was the first of many that I skimmed over in effort to keep the narrative moving forward (others included: the yoga class, extended explanations of landscape and domestic settings, innumerable passages relaying a love of tea or wine, lunch, packing, dressing, horseback riding, Matthew fighting with his bro, Diana having meltdowns). Numerous other reviewers have mentioned the "insta-love" aspect, so I won't belabor that topic, but *will* add that right around the mid-point, certain plot twists suddenly became cloyingly predictable: the abduction, the rescue, Diana's slow-witted realization that she needs to grow up and get some training, her status as MOST AMAZING WITCH EVER, etc. One final complaint: I also think it is cheap to close a book without resolving the primary question put forth (in this case, the ms Ashmole 782). IMHO, a truly skilled storyteller does not treat books like soap operas--individual volumes within a trilogy should be able to stand alone. 
 That said, why give this book two stars? Because certain elements were lovely and engaging and thought-provoking. Had I not been exhausted by all the bits that needed editing, I would have been able to appreciate them further. For example, I liked the distinction between hunting for love of the chase vs. love of the kill--and the concomitant message against the insidious power of stereotyping the 'other' because all 'creatures,' even within a species, are not homogeneous. I liked some of the rumination on the nature of evolution, Darwin, and that one can 'read' personality through an analysis of marginalia. I liked the attention that Harkness brought to the senses, and what it would mean to have a heightened sensual experience of the world (the smell of adrenaline, for e.g.). I liked fancifully ruminating on where alchemy and modern science might overlap, on how "magic" should be defined in that context, and how its loss from scientific belief has shifted practice. Overall: I JUST WISH THIS BOOK WERE BETTER! But for a good editor... 
 P.S. Since I listened to most of this as an audio book on a road trip, it was not immediately apparent just how poor the prose quality is. On the basis of the weak use of language, I must further demote my rating to 1.5 stars.