I went into this mostly blind, I didn't read the blurb, just accepted that a trusted friend who loved it was going to be right about it. And lo and behold, she was right.

I did originally imagine this as being about a human discovering a witch among them, but it was actually the wrong emphasis. It's about a with discovery made by a witch. And a seemingly unlikely witch at that. Diana Bishop comes from a long line of prominent American witches but she shirks her coven for a scholarly career in history, adamantly leaving magic out of her life. But little does she know she can't hide from her magic forever.

Especially once Matthew Clairmont enters her life. I wasn't expecting this to become the story it did, and I'm certainly not complaining about it. I thought it would remain more of a historical fiction/mystery situation (which it is but with a forbidden love insert.)

The reason I gave this four stars and not five (because I did contemplate five) was simply because Diana (at the beginning of the novel) is very independent, active, headstrong and willful. In the middle she withers into this hyper-dependent, naps all day, damsel in distress situation. And I didn't care for that attitude change simply because she has a vampire in her life.

Now, would I let Matthew Clairmont basically stalk me and then claim me as his own? ...yes...
Would I let his territorial bs take root? No. I get that she finally has someone to depend on, and there is nothing wrong with relinquishing some sense of total control when you find someone you can rely on to hold you up when you are down (and Matthew certainly does that.) But I don't like the wallowing and complacency she ended up going through during the middle of the book.

I also thought the story lost a bit of focus when the romance began. Again not complaining because I thought showing how their relationship grows and the trust they build between each other is important to (probably) the whole series, I just think she let her research slip (when several times she complained that she had a dissertation in six weeks time, she spends a good chunk of those weeks sleeping and kissing and it's only at the end that she starts exploring her powers more.) It also gave us the chance to learn more about Matthew and the aspect of the story that will likely propel the rest of the series. So did it feel a bit off topic? Yes and since I'm judging this book and not the rest of the series which I obviously haven't read, I think it was a bit of a distraction.

All in all, I really did enjoy this book and will continue the series.