Rating - ⭐⭐⭐1/2
"Bringing the magic and suspense of the All Souls Trilogy to a deeply satisfying conclusion, this highly anticipated finale went straight to #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. In The Book of Life, Diana and Matthew time-travel back from Elizabethan London to make a dramatic return to the present—facing new crises and old enemies. At Matthew’s ancestral home, Sept-Tours, they reunite with the beloved 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."
The Book of Life is the final book in the All Souls trilogy by Deborah Harkness.
In the end, we bounced back a bit after the huge disappointment that was the 2nd book. While this wasn't as bad as the 2nd book, it wasn't as good as the 1st book either. This book got back on track by re-focusing on the main issue from the first book and there was more focus around the manuscript which was severely lacking in the 2nd.
In terms of the entire series as a whole, I think that it was a really good premise ruined by my hatred for Diana and Matthew. Nothing could have made me like them or think they had any redeeming qualities. They were selfish, possessive, obsessive, and annoyingly self-righteous. I don't think their relationship was healthy and having it be the main focus of the series sucked. I would have much preferred a story following Gallowglass. Will say though that Diana at the Congregation was the only time I liked her in literally the entire series, so at least she ended on an okay note.
Also, the fact that Diana was pregnant for the entire book wasn't my favourite thing either because they really should not be parents. I also thought that Diana was way too overpowered even for someone who wanted nothing to with her heritage and she went from point A to point B way too quickly. Going through the series there was just a list of abilities being added onto each other, and most of the time she had no idea how to control herself.
Something else I didn't like about the book was its random graphic scenes as could be seen with the torture scene in the first book and Benjamin's actions in this one. The scenes came out of nowhere and didn't feel like they meant anything and they were not handled well.
I am happy I read this because of all the bits of history in it which is pretty much the only thing I liked about this.
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