Hey all, Dani here.
I finally made it to Thursday. Woohoo! For me, this means that it is now time for the weekend. That will continue to be my favorite part of being a 4 day/10 hour employee–I get a three day weekend pretty much every weekend…you know, unless I get pulled out of my regular job to go to a 5 day/8 hour job, or if work decides that we need to make more dryers so they call for mandatory extra work days (which has been happening quite frequently). I guess the appliance industry is doing well right now.
Anyway, enough about boring non-book related things. Oh, but in other non-bookish news, Damian and I are going to the movies sometime this weekend, probably tomorrow. We’re doing a double-feature date day/night situation. First up we want to see The Hustle, and then we are going to see Detective Pikachu. It should be a good time.
Okay, now onto today’s backlisted book review.
Summary
In this New York Times bestselling sequel to Kerri Maniscalco’s haunting #1 debut Stalking Jack the Ripper, bizarre murders are discovered in the castle of Prince Vlad the Impaler, otherwise known as Dracula. Could it be a copycat killer…or has the depraved prince been brought back to life?
Following the grief and horror of her discovery of Jack the Ripper’s true identity, Audrey Rose Wadsworth has no choice but to flee London and its memories. Together with the arrogant yet charming Thomas Cresswell, she journeys to the dark heart of Romania, home to one of Europe’s best schools of forensic medicine…and to another notorious killer, Vlad the Impaler, whose thirst for blood became legend.
But her life’s dream is soon tainted by blood-soaked discoveries in the halls of the school’s forbidding castle, and Audrey Rose is compelled to investigate the strangely familiar murders. What she finds brings all her terrifying fears to life once again.
My Thoughts
Rating: 5 stars
I actually picked up an ARC of this when I was at BookExpo in 2017, but didn’t get around to reading the series until last year, which is unfortunate considering how much I am enjoying them.
This is definitely my favorite of the series–and yes, I am including the third book in that statement. The developments and fallout from the first book were on display here, and then more details and complications were added on. Plus of course the murders and the intrigue and the investigations.
I loved Daciana so much. Thomas’s sister is a wonderful character, and I think I would be totally pleased to have more of her in the final book, or even getting her own novella or something.
Oh, and of course, I should admit that I’m pretty much a sucker for stories with a school setting, and this definitely has that. It was cool to see the interaction with the other forensic students, even if most of them did not exactly treat Audrey Rose the best. Then again, isn’t that pretty much expected when it comes to a female in a male dominated area? They think of her as less than them, though we have all seen that Audrey Rose is pretty darn capable.
Also, all the Cressworth feels! I feel like the relationship between Audrey Rose and Thomas has been developing so well. It definitely increases and intensifies in this book. I admit it, I may have swooned a little bit. I love when a relationship is done well. They are both so intelligent, and complex, and I just love seeing how they work together and how they start to come together even more as romantic partners. It’s fantastic.
I’ll hopefully have a review up for the third book soon enough, and I can definitely say that I am looking forward to the release of the final book later this year.
Where to Buy
You can pick up your own copy from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-million, Book Depository, or your local independent bookstore.
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