Literary Quote of the Month

"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies," said Jojen. "The man who never reads lives only one." - George R.R. Martin, A Dance With Dragons

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Dracula in Love by Karen Essex ...A Review

"I stared into the flames as they resurrected images and memories from my first days with him in this very room so many lifetimes ago. There is no explanation for love; no spoken words compare with its silent exhilaration. If that was true of the ordinary love between two mortals - if love is ever ordinary - then it was truer of a love that has contorted itself into different bodies in different eras over the centuries." ...Mina Murray

Dracula in Love by Karen Essex is seductive. It is the telling of a love story that had endured centuries, the love story between Count Dracula and Mina Murray, and part of that story is Count Dracula's rich history and how he became immortal. Karen Essex's prose is beautiful, draping itself around you and slowly drawing you in. Dracula in Love is erotic and passionate, and everything you'd want in a gothic love story. It's haunting, it's wonderful and I LOVED it!

In the original story by Bram Stoker, Dracula was everything that embodied evil, a blood sucking monster who almost destroyed the lives of a young naive lawyer he had hired, Jonathan Harker, and Harker's "prim & proper" fiance & soon to be wife, Mina Murray. Dracula's ultimate seduction of Mina was an act of revenge. But in Dracula in Love, the story of Dracula is told through Mina's eyes, with a backstory that has Dracula as Mina's soulmate, with a power over her that 700 years of yearning could not break. Even as she marries Jonathan Harker, she is drawn to him... in vivid erotic dreams she shares herself with the mysterious man she later knows to be Dracula. Her seduction is far from undesired, as the stirred memories of her past life with Dracula slowly open up a world that her victorian sensibilities should reject, but instead draw her even farther into the arms of Dracula.

Walk the dark, damp streets of Victorian England... Listen to the faint whispers of the night... watch out for the unnatural ones called vampires... OK, just read it! Karen Essex does an amazing job of creating a handsome, brooding, passionate Dracula any girl would love to invite in for a bite. And Mina is the ultimate heroine at first gentle and bound by the Victorian morals imposed on women of the time, but whose strong will and determination give her the strength to become so much more. And as if the love story weren't enough to satisfy any reader, Karen does a wonderful job of painting a true portrait of the women of the late 19th century, and what their place in society was. If walking the dark streets of Victorian England appeal to you, if a brooding handsome seductive vampire makes your knees weak, and if you love a girl who knows her own mind you will enjoy Dracula in Love! I was so fortunate to receive an ARC of Dracula in Love from Doubleday! Now I'm going to have to check out the other books Karen Essex has written because her writing in Dracula in Love was just so beautiful I want to read more.

Mark your calendars for August 10th, because that's when Dracula in Love will be coming to a bookstore near you!

*Hey, I'm sharing this with Cym Lowell's Book Review Party!

11 comments:

Autumn said...

I can't wait to read this book. Ever since I read what it was about I thought it sounded like a wonderful story! I'm glad to read your review and know that your enjoyed it.

Suzanne Yester said...

Hi Autumn!
Karen Essex's writing really does a wonderful job of setting the mood for this gothic story. I'm trying not to go too over the top in my review so everyone's expectations aren't too high, but it's hard to contain myself because I really enjoyed this so much! I can't wait for you to read it and hear your thoughts!

Darlene said...

I've seen this one around a bit and am very intrigued. It sounds so good! I'm glad to see you enjoyed it.

Aisle B said...

This sounds like a book I have to get NOW! Another great insight into why this book will be on MUST HAVE list.

Suzanne Yester said...

Hi Dar,
This book is right up your alley! Put it on your TBR list.

Suzanne Yester said...

Hi Aisle B,
I have read a lot of great reviews for this book and I think it will be getting a lot of buzz this summer from both vampire fiction lovers and people who don't necessarily read vampire fiction, but would enjoy reading a back story to Dracula's past. PUT ON YOUR TBR List!

Kacie Kratzert said...

I agree - I was also fortunate enough to read this book in advance and it was wonderful! Every place that the characters visit in the book come wonderfully alive for the reader with the author's well-researched descriptions and exceptional story-telling! As my first book my Essex, I have definitely added her other works to my 'must read' list!

Unknown said...

Being a hopeless romantic, Dracula In love was right up my alley. The epic love story of Mina and Dracula is both chilling and appealing at the same time. It draws you into world that one should reject but the way Karen has written it, it just draws you deeper. Phenomenal book!! A must read

Anonymous said...

My first vampire has to the the Halloween decoration I left up in my room all year round when I was a kid. Loved those things. They fueled my dreams and started me off reading and writing about the monsters. Love those guys.

Would love to enter the contest for Dracula In Love. Saw the cover at the store the other day and thought it was great.

Unknown said...

My first vampire has to the the Halloween decoration I left up in my room all year round when I was a kid. Loved those things. They fueled my dreams and started me off reading and writing about the monsters. Love those guys.

Would love to enter the contest for Dracula In Love. Saw the cover at the store the other day and thought it was great.

Unknown said...

I love Karen Essex! Leonardo's Swans was fabulous and ever other book of hers I've read since. I will now wait anxiously for Dracula in Love.

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