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eleanora's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Blood, Death, and Confinement
Moderate: Suicide, Genocide, Grief, Miscarriage, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Islamophobia, Cannibalism, Murder, Racism, and War
prettiestwhistles's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Racial slurs, Abandonment, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Animal death, and Confinement
Minor: Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Dementia, Sexism, Death of parent, Genocide, Miscarriage, Alcohol, and War
mariebrunelm's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Fun fact: for the first few days I started reading this book, every time I joined my parents for meals (I live with them) I'd tell my mum: "Holy guacamole, did I tell you how amazing this book is?". Despite her feeling a bit fed up after the first couple of times, I needed someone to shout my love for this book at.
The beginning of April marked a new step in my PhD thesis, with the beginning of the redaction phase. This is a dreaded phase, mostly because it's the beginning of the end, so I wanted a book that would encourage me and spur me on. For that, I picked up a dark academia novel that I'd been saving for the Autumn, Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian, and sweet Eru was I right! This is the perfect blend of nerdiness, academia and Gothic vibes with tons of travelling involved, which soothed my lock-down self beyond words.
The cast of characters isn't too big, so that even though the story is split over 3 different time periods (the 1930s, the 1950s and the 1970s) I had no trouble following each narrative, which is saying a lot for me! They all revolve around historians or historians-to-be who discover a mystery surrounding the character of Dracula. As the size of the book may suggest, the pacing isn't too fast and leaves room for enchanting descriptions of all the locations the protagonists travel too across Europe and a bit of the USA. This book definitely soothed my wanderlust and put me in the right mood for my own academic pursuits!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Death, Genocide, Murder, and Torture
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