Are you watching A Discovery of Witches? Based on the book by Deborah Harkness

I'm not normally a huge fan of fantasy. Witches, vampires, demons just aren't my thing but when the vampire is Matthew Goode and he's resisting his cravings for human blood the way author Deborah Harkness intended when she created the Discovery of Witches character, it seems to be another story.

The story belongs to the American witch Diana Bishop,  (played by Australian Teresa Palmer) in England to do some research at the University of Oxford's Bodleian library. Diana's discovery of the Ashmole 721 manuscript—an ancient document that may the original Book of Spells which reveals how the witches can rid the planet of vampires altogether—serves as the underlying inciting incident. 

Diana is one of those witches—not unlike Samantha in Bewitched—who resists her own use of witchcraft but I tell you what, if I had some power that enabled me to seduce Matthew Goode, I would make use of every power I had! All's fair in love and whatever, right? I have no idea why his ability to smell her adrenaline and clearly find it hard to resist her is so sexy but it is. There's something universal at play that has to do with the danger of giving in to our cravings at a very basic level, something about fighting the animal attraction that, even in our enlightened age, lies at the heart of what draws us to one another. It's dangerous to give oneself to another, to surrender to passion. But oh, the pleasure that comes with the pain! Anyway, the pair have deadly chemistry and it's good fun to watch the sexual tension and wariness between the species.  

Moi on the left with Teresa Palmer

Personal Connection: I met the lovely Teresa Palmer at a wrap party a few years ago for Message from the King in which she co-starred with Black Panther's Chadwick Boseman, and was struck by how sweet and down to earth she was. You can see how comfortable she is, slinging her arm around my neck as though we'd known each other for years. We talked about being mothers, a subject that made me feel completely at home and at my ease too.

Watch the sexy trailer.

A Discovery of Witches is currently airing on Sunday nights on AMC, you can catch up On Demand. Or watch the whole sexy shebang on Amazon Prime. 

Connecting with British Isles Friday via Joy Weese Moll