The Black Bird Oracle: A Novel (All Souls Series)

I have enjoyed all of Deborah Harkness’s books, and this one did not disappoint. Not only does it have an interesting storyline, adding to the formalist characters and broadening the storyline, but- and I don’t say this for many books- it is pure delight to simply read. It is extremely well-written, and the vocabulary is varied and perfect for the situations. I really enjoyed reading it.

It felt so good being reunited with Diana, Matthew and the twins! After an ominous omen and a mysterious tarot card arriving, Diana is called to visit her father Stephen's ancestral home. The Proctor family was a big question mark in my mind, so it was fascinating to meet them, learn about their magic and the beautiful Ravenswood. One thing I appreciate so much about Deb's books are her characters are so multifaceted and not always likeable. We learn about some painful things in the past, including trauma and some prejudices that were challenging. But overall this is a beautiful story of family, finding one's roots and connecting with strength and power. Deb is a masterful storyteller, and this book made me laugh, cry, hop down rabbit holes to research things, and even reconsider my feelings about certain characters! Absolutely loved it, and exciting to see where we'll go next.

As an avid fan of the Discovery of Witches, I have been waiting for this sequel. I wondered how were Matthew, Diana and the children. How were our other beloved characters Ysabeau, Fernando, Baldwin, Marthe and Sarah. Harkness writes a captivating novel which satisfies all these wonders. Plus we are started on a new path to find out about the other side of Diana’s family, the Procters, a family as old and powerful as the Bishops but of which Diana knows nothing. Finding out about her rich family history shows light on Diana and Pip and Becca’s future. The past and the future are richly intertwined in an enthralling new entry into the discovery of witches saga. Old friends, new family and foes engage Diana and Mathew a d the wait for the newest installment will be tortuous!! Such a good read.

Harkness has achieved the unlikely in this fifth book in the discovery of witches series: a book as good as the first one that opens up a whole new world of character development. Many series start to pall after the third or fourth installment, but this was a tour de force that leaves us begging for more. The story was visceral, magical and evocative. I know I will reread and eagerly await the next installment. Brava Professor Harkness. I haven't felt like this since Harry went to Hogwarts. The depth of the Proctor home at Ravenwood was profound and practically tangible. I can smell it.

Spoilers My only complaint is the dubious right the congregation has to reign over creatures who never agreed to it. It's so egregious it feels like a plot hole. There's no voting, no seeming rhyme or reason of who gets on the witches congregation. Why wasn't Satu permanently expelled from the congregation after an attack on Diana? What laws are the witches required to follow? Each coven appears to be a self governing body but it makes no sense that a single body in a different country could have any authority over creatures around the world, especially when governing without the consent of the governed. 3 representatives also seems like an arbitrarily small number given the complexity of the witches rooms on the island. Where are the staff? I hope some of this is solved in the next book. It's the only thing that really marred my enjoyment. loved the ghosts!

Is this book part of a new trilogy? It was delightful to see how Diana and Matthew are faring with their twins 5 years later. And also readers got to learn about Stephen Proctor's side of the family. They are as entwined in fate as the Bishops and De Clermonts.

Becca gets an omen which results in the family spending most of the summer at Ravenswood, the previously unknown Procter family estate, so Diana can explore the darker side of her powers more.

I found some behaviors out of character. This omen came unexpectedly, yet Matthew has no problem with Diana going to MA for what is at first an overnight, WITHOUT HIM. Remember his possessiveness, and how he couldn't stand to be parted from her unless he or Gallowglass accompanied her? Nope, it was just, "Fine, Mon Couer, call me when you get there." This continues even when she stays a night or so longer. It's only when Diana is so afraid of her own powers she calls Matthew to come, and of course, he and the twins are packed and ready to come to her. What happened to Ma Lionne? Plus the school years and the couple's professorial terms had ended, and the family already had summer plans. Matthew has become faded, also scared, and relegated to being a house husband in this book, not our fierce protector.

The reader does learn lots about the Proctors, and Diana's renewed journey to continue understanding her powers. But threads were left unpulled here, one reason I wondered if a sequel was coming.

There were other people and places in their world I wanted to catch up on. The children are tested by the Congregation for an assessment of their powers, and it was a simple test. But it was administered by someone very unexpected. And Diana won't be tested for 1 more year? When the person was right there? When this was an issue since the 1st book? Talk ahout a cliff hanger.

Matthew was attracted to Diana because of her shadow side. But now he seems afraid of and for her. They argue. He falls back o to his Catholic upbringing a lot. Yet Diana only scratches the surface here, and learns to read the black bird oracle tarot deck. Then it ends abruptly, before the summer ends. I missed all the globe trotting, which we know they still do, because the summer plans changed.

I missed Marcus and Phoebe, even though we saw her vampire transformation in Time Convert. Read that, it's telling about Becca and Phillip's 1st year, and updates readers on all of the family. Although it's Marcus' story, there is room for everyone.

And that's the problem. As nice as Black Bird Oracle was, it wasn't the all encompassing tale we are used to with Diana Harkness. Where is Matthew and Diana's son Jack? Did Gallowglass find a love of his own? Did Marcus and Phoebe remodel the home in Hadley? What's going on with Miriam and Chris? They seem like an item. Diana and Aunt Sarah are fighting too.

So I did enjoy catching up, but felt like so much was incomplete here. Thus my confusion as ro whether this will be a new trilogy. I came late to it, but saw the series. It's a great story. Read this book to learn more about Diana and Matthew's journey. And to see the twins growing up. It is worth it. Just be prepared to end with too many unanswered questions about these characters we have come to love.

If you are a fan of the All Souls Trilogy and wanting to revisit familiar characters, picking up where the Bishop-Clairmont family left off, you might want to check expectations. Yes, you get a lot of the same familiar characters, but this book seems to find them changed, and focuses less of the plot and characters and more on the witchiness of it all.

Honestly, I didn’t enjoy this book as much as the original trilogy or Marcus’ book. I felt that the characters had some pretty significant changes from their well-developed personalities and it was a little jarring for me as a reader to see such personality shifts and reconcile them with the previous outings.

However, on its own it’s a good book, just less story/plot than I’d usually like or have come to expect from Harkness. I thought the description of the witchiness and the theory and concepts was well-executed, and the interspersing of poetry and Shakespeare throughout inspired. I will pick up the next books in this series (this one ended in a way that you know there will be a continuation), but I think I’ll re-read the original ones to scratch the itch this one left unscratched.

Book spoilers below!!

The All Souls world is home to me. I love the overall stories, characters, eras, locations - Deb brings everything to life so beautifully and the original trilogy are my "comfort books".

I loved getting to know Diana's Proctor family members, and Ravenswood felt like "home" to me. I love coastal New England, and reading Deb's description of the farm and the layout of the land made it easy to bring it to life in my mind because I am so familiar with the landscape of the MA coast. (I love even more that it's based on an actual farm near Ipswich that you can visit, and I do plan to do so next time I am up that way).

I love ravens, they are magical and mysterious creatures and I was excited to find that they feature so heavily in this book. I loved that Diana is (finally) exploring the higher/darker side of her magic, as it's been hinted at since Book 1 that she has those traits in her.

The reason I am giving this 4 stars is that some things just didn't make sense to me. The book started off on an ominous note with the ravens visiting New Haven, and it felt like it was setting the tone for the rest of the book, which indicated it would be heavy, dark, with a lot of tangled webs. Which it had all of those qualities, which I love. I found myself getting annoyed with Diana in the book, as she was no longer the confident(ish) witch we last saw and she was back to being full of anxiety and unsure of herself. It was like her character development reverted and she was back to square one. Also, in the beginning of the book she promised that the twins would know their heritage and not keep them from their legacy, but she also wanted to keep them from their future once the Congregation examined them. If she truly wants them to inherit their legacy and live up to it, then that means accepting all of it wherever it may lead. One day they would be old enough to decide on their own what path they want to forge, and nothing she does will keep them from it.

Matthew's behavior was weird, and I knew that as soon as he arrived at Ravenswood he would try to control everything. I found it kind of appalling that he arranged for Chris and Miriam to travel there without telling anyone (and if he did, I must have missed that part) and just assumed that all the Proctors would blindly consent to having their DNA analyzed by complete strangers. There was literally no resistance or questioning on their part for that, and I found that to be surprising.

I know that a thread in this book was "shadow", and how our beloved characters confronted their shadow sides. Sarah's behavior was the most surprising to me, and I just didn't understand how the dynamic shifted so much between her and Diana. Again, a lot must have happened in the time between TC and TBBO. I also did not understand how Diana did a 180 when it came to her Bishop relatives. I know they kept a lot of secrets where she is concerned, all for her "safety" from the congregation. They made choices they felt were best, at that time. There just seemed to be so much resentment between Sarah and Diana in this book, and Sarah felt like an outsider to me. Sarah is one of my favorite characters and I just didn't understand why she was portrayed the way she was in this story. She seemed to relish the fact (and revelation) that her and Diana's mother weren't 100% siblings, and that they did not share the same father. Like that made Sarah better than Rebecca, and that just seemed so out of character. Was she maybe jealous of Rebecca and her talents instead? I don't know... but I didn't enjoy seeing Sarah as a bitter and jealous person. And Diana's loyalty to her Bishop heritage seemed tattered once she was in Ipswich. Hopefully this will be explored more in future books.

Then there's Satu. I was surprised to see her return, but not mad. I want to know more about her. We got a glimpse of that in the TV series, and I feel that there is so much to learn about Satu. I hate what she did to Diana in the first book, but I have always felt that she has quite a story to tell and I would like to understand her better.

Some of the other reviews lamented that Marcus, Phoebe, Jack, and Gallowglass weren't present in this book. That's ok that they weren't, it wasn't their time to be.

I liked the cliffhanger, and I am looking forward to Diana's upcoming class and training with the Congregation to be an adept . I am not sure where this story will lead, but I hope that Diana will have the courage to face her heritage and destiny without fear and fully embrace who she is, and that Matthew will not hinder that. Same goes for the twins.

Maybe 3 1/2 stars

Ok. First the good. We get introduced to the Proctors (Diana’s father’s side of her lineage) and the way higher or dark magic is key witchly trait of the Proctors. I enjoyed many of the new characters, although we were introduced to too many of them and their ancestral connection to Diana got jumbled. Harkness provides a Proctor family tree, but not all the new characters are on it. Regardless, as a whole, the discovery of the Proctors opens up great storylines to explore.

The not so good is the lack of a true storyline. I’m assuming The Black Bird Oracles is the beginning of a new trilogy (given the book has many unanswered questions). Each of the books in the original trilogy had a defining storyline with great vignettes to savor. A Discovery of Witches was far better than The Black Bird Oracle in grabbing the reader and taking them on a satisfying ride, but also setting up the trilogy.

Lastly. I’m willing to cut Deborah Harkness a lot of slack. She’s been through hell over the past 3 years with her cancer journey. She has learned a lot about her body, how her life has been changed and how mentally she now chooses to live her life. In many ways, she uses Diana as a metaphor for herself in the book. Think about it after you’ve finished the book.