Wednesday, February 7, 2018

Review: Hunting Prince Dracula (Stalking Jack the Ripper #2) by Kerri Maniscalco

Book Blurb:

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.

Find out more about this book on Goodreads

My Review:

5 Out Of 5 Stars

Genre: Historical, Mystery, Romance, Royal-Court, Suspense, Teen--

“You would miss me terribly and know it. Just as I would miss you in ways I cannot fathom, should we ever part.”

A few weeks after the events of Stalking Jack the Ripper find Audrey Rose and Thomas on their way to a forensic school in Romania. Audrey Rose aka "Wadsworth" is still trying to come to terms with all the truths she discovered, afraid that she is irrevocably damaged. Thomas will do everything in his power to help her heal, even convince her father to let her attend the school, but he may be keeping some secrets to himself. When a murdered body is found on their train, staked through the heart, the duo may have inadvertently found themselves involved in another murder mystery.

Hunting Prince Dracula was even better than book one, which I am so surprised to say because I was absolutely in love with Stalking Jack the Ripper! The mystery was so very unpredictable, with false leads and misdirection left and right, I had no idea who the suspect was and who the victims were- exactly how I want my mysteries.

Let's just mention how great a character Audrey Rose is- her ideals and thoughts so apart from the norm. A strong woman ahead of her time, who wanted to pursue her academic endeavors regardless of society and their rules and refused to need a man to make her life choices. She was willing to jump into tricky situations, be it dissecting a former acquaintance to stopping a murderer. She was her own hero, and not only that, but this is the second time that she was also Thomas' hero. I also appreciated how she refused to let her emotions get the better or her, such as anger or angst, and she faces up to her mistakes and apologizes to move on to better situations. Seriously, I love Wadsworth.

Gawd, that kiss was epic, hands down my favorite part of the book and I have been waiting two books (over 600 pages, thank you very much!) for this moment. Full disclosure, I may have a little (ok, huge) crush on Thomas. He acts with bravado and flirts, always with a snarky comment and a smirk, but his heart is true and he only wants the best for Audrey. And boy does he wear his heart on his sleeve, his honesty so refreshing. I want nothing more but the two of them to live happily ever after, but really this is not that kind of book, or the focus of the story, but still my favorite.

The set up for the next book (Spoilers- Houdini!!!) was absolutely perfect and also makes me mad since I have zero patience and must wait until a release so I can get my grabby hands on the next book in the series. I am an absolute fan of Kerri's words and I will gobble up anything I can can get from her. I HIGHLY recommend this series for fans of mystery, YA, historical fiction- heck, anyone who wants a good book, I suggest this series!

I listened to the story as an audio book (but I also own an ebook and my most treasured signed copy!) and I loved the narrator. I listed to the her read the first book and fell in love with how she brought Audrey and all the other characters to life and knew that I had to listen to the rest of the books read by her- and this is coming from the pickiest of audiobook people!

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