Hunting Prince Dracula: A Review

The Book:

Title: Hunting Prince Dracula

Author: Kerri Maniscalco

Series: Stalking Jack the Ripper #2

Published September 19th 2017 by Little, Brown & Company

Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery, YA, Romance

“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.

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?” –Goodreads

My Review:

Just like the first book, I loved this!

This one was almost more complex than the last one. The ending we never saw coming. The vampire lore that the story brought in was so cool.

I love how Maniscalco does so much research to make her books feel so real. I love everything about her writing so far. She spins real facts into this hauntingly beautiful story.

The library app I am listening to these books from is not giving them to me fast enough. I wait for a week for this book and I finished it within the day…again.

The story becomes even more intense. The stakes are so much higher. It is so enchanting how Maniscalco weaves death into a story about a girl making her way in the world of science.

A lot of people seem to dislike Aubrey in the first book and love her in this book. I would have to agree to an extent. I loved her last book, but she was kind of annoying with the whole “I am different” vibe. As I said in the last review, I hate that. I hate women putting down other women. In this one though, we get to see a more progressive side of her mind. She doesn’t shame the other women around her for liking the things they like.

That difference in the female portrayal also has a lot to do with how many more powerful and strong women are presented in this book. The last book, there weren’t a lot of females, and the ones there were not fully developed characters and their lives revolved around societal standards. In this book, Maniscalco provides a few women all with different personalities. They all have their strengths and weaknesses. It is important for fantasy novels to provide well-rounded portrayals of multiple people.

The book becomes so much more intense in this round. The protagonist is a lot closer to the murders. She also suffers from PTSD after the affairs of the last book. It adds more to that mythical “dead rising” that goes along with the story of Dracula.

I love this book series and cannot wait to start on the next one.

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Star Rating: 4.5

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Stalking Jack the Ripper Review

My Book:

Title: Stalking Jack the Ripper

Author: Kerri Maniscalco

Series: Stalking Jack the Ripper #1

Published September 20th 2016 by Jimmy Patterson

Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery, YA, Romance

Pages: 337

“Presented by James Patterson’s new children’s imprint, this deliciously creepy horror novel has a storyline inspired by the Ripper murders and an unexpected, blood-chilling conclusion…

Seventeen-year-old Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord’s daughter, with a life of wealth and privilege stretched out before her. But between the social teas and silk dress fittings, she leads a forbidden secret life.

Against her stern father’s wishes and society’s expectations, Audrey often slips away to her uncle’s laboratory to study the gruesome practice of forensic medicine. When her work on a string of savagely killed corpses drags Audrey into the investigation of a serial murderer, her search for answers brings her close to her own sheltered world.

The story’s shocking twists and turns, augmented with real, sinister period photos, will make this dazzling, #1 New York Times bestselling debut from author Kerri Maniscalco impossible to forget.” –Goodreads

My Review:

Why have I been avoiding this book?

I have been putting off reading this book for years. I did not think it was going to be super interesting or unique. But, recently I have had the motivation to read books that I would not normally get around to reading.

And omg I wish I had read this sooner!

This story was amazing. I was beyond speechless listening to it. I got it on audiobook and had it finished within the day.

I am as enraptured by Maniscalco’s writing as the main character is about autopsies.

Reading about gore is usually something I avoid, but this book made it so delightful to read about. I honestly thought it was so beautiful how even when we were not talking about a deceased body, there was a certain way the author related it to death like red was blood red.

The romance in this story is also so sweet. It is a little predictable, but that’s what romance books are in away. I did enjoy how the romance wasn’t outright. She was still her own person in this book and the romance was more of a slow burn.

Wadsworth was a super strong character. I have been getting really into victoria era books, so I loved this. Her obsession with the deceased and crime does not take away from the fact that she is a lady and likes beautiful dresses. She also likes to wear pants and boots. I don’t know why but I just loved that about her.

I do think she has that “not like other girls” vibe going on about her in this book, but it gets better in other books. I don’t like that vibe because I think it’s harmful to women who like “normal” girl things to like.

Thomas Creswell is such a respectful gentleman. He is smart, but he will always let Wadsworth figure out the crime scene first or give her room to talk. He is a perfect gentleman.

I loved this book so much and I am loving the series. Check out this book and also check out my reviews of the series as they come.

As always, thanks for reading,

A Bookie

Star Rating: 4.

Rating: 4 out of 5.