An Un-Calibrated Centrifuge

First impressions: My main problem with the book is that I don’t believe the relationship between Diana (the witch) and Matthew (the vampire). I understand why they are brought together, but their romance (if you can call it that, so far it’s mostly one-sided from Diana) feels forced. The middle section of the book, when Diana and Matthew travel from Oxford to France (where I am right now), focuses more on their relationship, and the plot slows down a lot. There’s lots of interludes of horse riding and sleeping and observations on how Matthew moves faster than is humanly possible. These interludes are punctuated by pertinent information: Matthew’s history, the mystery surrounding the bewitched document Ashmole 782, the growth of Diana’s powers, the introduction of the Congregation. The interesting bits always come at a time when I think I’m ready to give up on the book, which is why I’ve kept reading. I’m also hoping that the portion in France will be over soon and that Diana will go back to Oxford and the mystery around Ashmole 782 will finally be the focus of the story again.I have hope (as I do when reading any book) that the book will get better by the end. I have over 200 pages left, plenty of time for all the threads to come together in a way that makes sense. Here’s to hoping I’ll finish A Discovery of Witches wanting to read the sequel and not regretting those last 200 pages. Review of the whole book: I finished A Discovery of Witches, and my hopes and expectations for the second half of the book were not met. The pacing issues were never resolved (spoiler: Matthew and Diana never return to Oxford like I wanted). If anything the novel slowed down even more towards the end. As the story slowed down so did my interest. I only kept reading because I was closer to being done than not.The book comes in just under 600 pages, and it feels too long for the story it’s telling. The important parts of the story are given the same amount of space as the unimportant parts. The story feels like one long introduction. Most first parts of a trilogy are a long introduction (The Fellowship of the Ring comes to mind), however, they can also have their own plot that is resolved while setting up the rest of the trilogy (The Golden Compass does this well. If you haven’t read that, think of Star Wars episode IV).There is also too much telling. I only knew Matthew and Diana were in love because the book tells me so. Their relationship never felt believable. I only know that there is a war coming between all magical creatures (witches, vampires, daemons) again because the book tells me.There are a few instances where we get to see the threat from other witches and vamipres, but for some reason, the danger never feels that dangerous. Diana is tortured for 12 hours, but I had no idea that scene was that long (until the book told me). Harkness gives such detail when the characters are making tea, putting on boots, exploring Matthew’s desk. Comparatively the scenes with the danger (with the exception of one, the chapter with Juliette) aren’t given that much space and consequently don’t feel that important.I wish the book were more. Either more fun or more dangerous. It’s not enough of anything for me. I am intrigued by the premise of the sequel so I’ll check it out, but I don’t have high expectations. (ETA: Checked out the sequel and hated it. Bad time travel narratives is a pet peeve of mine apparently.)