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crosswarrior7's review against another edition
3.0
❧ Summary: Stalking Jack the Ripper ended with Audrey-Rose’s father's approval to study at a prestigious school along with Thomas. Hunting Prince Dracula picks up shortly after, placing us on the train ride as our duo heads deep into Romania. They encounter deadly trouble very soon into their journey, trouble that leads to whispers of the blood-drinking undead and the men who hunt them. Either a new killer is on the loose or Prince Dracula has returned with an unnatural hunger. Audrey-Rose will have to face a school intent on her fall, the demons of the Ripper’s rampage, a killer who seems to know she’s on their trail, all while dealing with the complications of her romantic feelings with the devilish Thomas Cresswell. Blood will spill. Can she solve the case before her own does as well?
(Sometimes I just have a lotta fun writing my quick story summaries... The one above is an example of such a case xD)
❧ Plot: I picked up this series. I read book 1 and continued to book 2. I obviously like this idea of mysteries that center around historical killers. This one dabbles with a supernatural killer which makes it interesting without going to the full-out brutality that was the mutilation performed by Jack the Ripper.
Suspense and tensions rise well throughout the chapters, leaving lots of questions and strings to attach. There’s more action and fun than there was in the safety of New York, and that was a real shift that I was delighted to read. I don’t think any of the other books will be able to do the same as the setting offered many dangerous situations, but we shall see.
The school situation itself was a nice change of pace. Audrey-Rose and Thomas both had more freedom and had less, and the story did a good enough job keeping the murders distant enough to the school that you weren’t bashing your heads wondering how the school is still running.
Alas, this book falls to the same issue as the prior one when it comes to the antagonist: sudden personality change. Again, I know that a person doesn’t want to be obvious about the villain. They want their reader invested, wondering, and in the end amazed by the reveal. And I won’t say Maniscalco doesn’t sprinkle around hints that you can see, especially upon re-reading, because I did see those hints when I listened to the audiobook of Stalking Jack the Ripper before reading this.
BUT hints in events doesn’t translate to hints in character, and the characters need to feel believably potential killers. One shouldn’t take so much time exploring red herrings because those red herrings have super in-your-face villain personalities and possible motives/abilities. I know it’s just sort of a cliché at this point to have over-the-top and super weird red herrings, and I probably wouldn’t have minded if it was taken down a couple of notches, but it wasn’t.
❧ Characters: I mentioned above how the characters tend to seem a notch or too high. This wasn’t anything new in this book. Audrey-Rose and Thomas have always been a touch over-the-top. Thomas, after all, is clearly inspired by Sherlock Holmes or at least that archetype, and they’re always a bit too unrealistic. Then you have Audrey-Rose, the modern-day woman trapped in historical times. The stories are interesting enough, though, so I just roll my eyes and go along with it because, once I just accept these characters as a bit too much, they’re fun enough to read about, especially since I’m a Holmes-archetype fan.
All of this said, though, I did really like the new angles that this story went with their characters. Maniscalco created more depths. Prior experiences actually had an effect on Audrey-Rose rather than just being left as the events from last book. Thomas openly struggled to grow into a better person, driven by the fact that he is trying to accept emotions better, even if it’s not his expertise.
Sadly, there’s still just a lot of over-the-top side characters with weird motives that make it seem more like they’re mainly made that way to be suspicious than them being actual, real characters.
We are introduced to a few new characters though that admittedly went an angle there at the end that I wasn’t expecting at all, and I’m actually a bit sad if this is the last that we see of them. A really interesting thing was set up with their lives, and I want to see more exploration of it.
I think the best way I see it is that Maniscalco has some basic problems that populate typical YA stories, especially with her characters (sighs really hard at the “strong girl” character type), but she’s far from the worst offender, so it doesn’t take too much from the journey when I’m just reading for fun.
❧ Romance: I like Audrey-Rose and Thomas as a ship. It’s not a Sherlock Holmes x Female Watson sort of feel, because Audrey-Rose definitely ascends more toward being on the same playing field as Thomas. So like Holmes x Holmes in the sense of detective work, but Audrey-Rose definitely has far more emotional connection than her counterpart. There is likely a more emotional female variation of Holmes that is popular, but as I don’t read enough older mysteries, I cannot make a comparison. Point is that it works, and it works well.
This tale continues their budding romance, and I liked the angles it took. Thomas, as just mentioned, is less in touch with his emotional side, and that is played upon well here. Maniscalco does a good job of having the weaknesses of Audrey-Rose and Thomas clash. The drama feels organic for the most part. There are moments that kind of just make me roll my eyes and are more forced for sure though. But it fits with the level this book seems to be aiming for if that makes sense, so I just shrug it off as something to be expected.
❧ Writing: Maniscalco continues to have an easy-to-read writing style. It fits very well with YA, and although I don’t believe short chapters ever a requirement, she uses their shortness well to control the pacing of her story. I could see some complaining it’s too simple, but I think it works very well for her audience and makes understanding this historical setting easier.
❧ Overall: I give Hunting Prince Dracula 3 stars. It was an entertaining sequel, giving us a chance to explore different aspects of the characters introduced to us in the last book while delving into the Romanian countryside and the myths and history that prevail there. Definitely plan to continue the series despite the shortcomings I find.
(Sometimes I just have a lotta fun writing my quick story summaries... The one above is an example of such a case xD)
❧ Plot: I picked up this series. I read book 1 and continued to book 2. I obviously like this idea of mysteries that center around historical killers. This one dabbles with a supernatural killer which makes it interesting without going to the full-out brutality that was the mutilation performed by Jack the Ripper.
Suspense and tensions rise well throughout the chapters, leaving lots of questions and strings to attach. There’s more action and fun than there was in the safety of New York, and that was a real shift that I was delighted to read. I don’t think any of the other books will be able to do the same as the setting offered many dangerous situations, but we shall see.
The school situation itself was a nice change of pace. Audrey-Rose and Thomas both had more freedom and had less, and the story did a good enough job keeping the murders distant enough to the school that you weren’t bashing your heads wondering how the school is still running.
Alas, this book falls to the same issue as the prior one when it comes to the antagonist: sudden personality change. Again, I know that a person doesn’t want to be obvious about the villain. They want their reader invested, wondering, and in the end amazed by the reveal. And I won’t say Maniscalco doesn’t sprinkle around hints that you can see, especially upon re-reading, because I did see those hints when I listened to the audiobook of Stalking Jack the Ripper before reading this.
BUT hints in events doesn’t translate to hints in character, and the characters need to feel believably potential killers. One shouldn’t take so much time exploring red herrings because those red herrings have super in-your-face villain personalities and possible motives/abilities. I know it’s just sort of a cliché at this point to have over-the-top and super weird red herrings, and I probably wouldn’t have minded if it was taken down a couple of notches, but it wasn’t.
❧ Characters: I mentioned above how the characters tend to seem a notch or too high. This wasn’t anything new in this book. Audrey-Rose and Thomas have always been a touch over-the-top. Thomas, after all, is clearly inspired by Sherlock Holmes or at least that archetype, and they’re always a bit too unrealistic. Then you have Audrey-Rose, the modern-day woman trapped in historical times. The stories are interesting enough, though, so I just roll my eyes and go along with it because, once I just accept these characters as a bit too much, they’re fun enough to read about, especially since I’m a Holmes-archetype fan.
All of this said, though, I did really like the new angles that this story went with their characters. Maniscalco created more depths. Prior experiences actually had an effect on Audrey-Rose rather than just being left as the events from last book. Thomas openly struggled to grow into a better person, driven by the fact that he is trying to accept emotions better, even if it’s not his expertise.
Sadly, there’s still just a lot of over-the-top side characters with weird motives that make it seem more like they’re mainly made that way to be suspicious than them being actual, real characters.
We are introduced to a few new characters though that admittedly went an angle there at the end that I wasn’t expecting at all, and I’m actually a bit sad if this is the last that we see of them. A really interesting thing was set up with their lives, and I want to see more exploration of it.
I think the best way I see it is that Maniscalco has some basic problems that populate typical YA stories, especially with her characters (sighs really hard at the “strong girl” character type), but she’s far from the worst offender, so it doesn’t take too much from the journey when I’m just reading for fun.
❧ Romance: I like Audrey-Rose and Thomas as a ship. It’s not a Sherlock Holmes x Female Watson sort of feel, because Audrey-Rose definitely ascends more toward being on the same playing field as Thomas. So like Holmes x Holmes in the sense of detective work, but Audrey-Rose definitely has far more emotional connection than her counterpart. There is likely a more emotional female variation of Holmes that is popular, but as I don’t read enough older mysteries, I cannot make a comparison. Point is that it works, and it works well.
This tale continues their budding romance, and I liked the angles it took. Thomas, as just mentioned, is less in touch with his emotional side, and that is played upon well here. Maniscalco does a good job of having the weaknesses of Audrey-Rose and Thomas clash. The drama feels organic for the most part. There are moments that kind of just make me roll my eyes and are more forced for sure though. But it fits with the level this book seems to be aiming for if that makes sense, so I just shrug it off as something to be expected.
❧ Writing: Maniscalco continues to have an easy-to-read writing style. It fits very well with YA, and although I don’t believe short chapters ever a requirement, she uses their shortness well to control the pacing of her story. I could see some complaining it’s too simple, but I think it works very well for her audience and makes understanding this historical setting easier.
❧ Overall: I give Hunting Prince Dracula 3 stars. It was an entertaining sequel, giving us a chance to explore different aspects of the characters introduced to us in the last book while delving into the Romanian countryside and the myths and history that prevail there. Definitely plan to continue the series despite the shortcomings I find.
thereticentseer's review against another edition
5.0
Hands down the best book among the Stalking Jack the Ripper series. This is where I really fell in love with Audrey Rose and Thomas. Well, mostly falling in love with Thomas and his charms lol.
abbyl819's review against another edition
4.0
I’m a bit conflicted with this series. There are continuously moments where I lack interest in the plot during these books, but I am so invested in the characters that I am going to continue. These books are more character driven than you would typically expect from a mystery series. I will say that the plot of this book is better than the first, with much more suspense, action, and drama. I love Audrey Rose and Thomas’s relationship and am looking forward to seeing them in the next books.
kellyvanboom's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
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
4.0
maimona's review against another edition
4.0
This one was another brilliant mystery romance book from Kerri.
The main characters Audry Rose and Tomas Crasswell are well-written and developed.
The dynamics between them are brilliant and the chemistry is chef kiss
The main characters Audry Rose and Tomas Crasswell are well-written and developed.
The dynamics between them are brilliant and the chemistry is chef kiss
issianne's review against another edition
3.0
Okay, so these books aren't amazing but I'm not saying they're bad. The pacing for this book seemed odd, and it felt like it took forever for Audrey Rose and Thomas to actually get to the bottom of something. The big reveal at the end felt forced (a bit like the first one) and you could tell that Maniscalco was trying to really throw off her readers. But, it's hard when you reveal the villain, and they give the long monologue, and the reader still doesn't fully grasp how they're the villain. I felt that this was how it felt to have Anastasia be the killer--shocking but not completely understandable as to why/how. But, here I am, still in love with Thomas Cresswell and really being quite smitten with their romance. His come-ons are a little gregarious at times but I still appreciate his ability to give Audrey Rose her space.
aceinit's review against another edition
4.0
Ye gods, I unabashedly love this series. I need, like, 30 books with Audrey Rose and Thomas flirting incessantly and solving crime. Why are there only four of these?
lenaoknihach's review against another edition
5.0
V prvním díle museli Audrey Rose s Thomasem vyřešit záhadu okolo Jacka Rozparovače a teď míří studovat do Rumunska, kde na ně čeká krvežíznivý Vlad III.
Hon na knížete Draculu je oproti Po stopách Jacka Rozparovače vymazleným dílem. V knize nechybí mapa, fotografie, psané dopisy a navíc je o více než 100 stran delší.
Audrey Rose a Thomas patří k mým oblíbeným hlavním dvojicím. A vážně stojí za to je poznat, protože se skvěle doplňují, pálí jim to, nenechají si nic líbit, stojí si za svým, nechybí jim odvaha ani kuráž a ta chemie mezi nimi! Ta je teprve něco.
Hrad Bran autorka popsala fenomenálně. Temná a lehce strašidelná atmosféra z knihy jen dýchala. Tajné chodby, tunely, noční výpravy do lesa, kde číhají vlci a samozřejmě legendární Drákula. Je to napínavé, čtivé a naprosto úžasné pokračování série, kterou všem doporučuji.
Hon na knížete Draculu je oproti Po stopách Jacka Rozparovače vymazleným dílem. V knize nechybí mapa, fotografie, psané dopisy a navíc je o více než 100 stran delší.
Audrey Rose a Thomas patří k mým oblíbeným hlavním dvojicím. A vážně stojí za to je poznat, protože se skvěle doplňují, pálí jim to, nenechají si nic líbit, stojí si za svým, nechybí jim odvaha ani kuráž a ta chemie mezi nimi! Ta je teprve něco.
Hrad Bran autorka popsala fenomenálně. Temná a lehce strašidelná atmosféra z knihy jen dýchala. Tajné chodby, tunely, noční výpravy do lesa, kde číhají vlci a samozřejmě legendární Drákula. Je to napínavé, čtivé a naprosto úžasné pokračování série, kterou všem doporučuji.
sam_hartwig's review against another edition
4.0
These books are so easy to listen to. I'm drawn straight into the world and lives of the characters. One thing I absolutely I love in books is witty dialogue between main characters, and this book certainly delivers.
It had just the right amount of intrigue, romance and horror to keep me engaged from start to end.
Can't wait to see what adventures Audrey Rose and Thomas get up to in the next book.
It had just the right amount of intrigue, romance and horror to keep me engaged from start to end.
Can't wait to see what adventures Audrey Rose and Thomas get up to in the next book.