Reviews tagging 'Blood'

L'Historienne et Drakula, Tome 2 by Évelyne Jouve, Elizabeth Kostova

26 reviews

internationalreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark informative tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Blood, Gun violence, Abandonment, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Animal death, Grief, Medical content, and Miscarriage

ruthmoog's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

4.75

Took me a while to get into but I thought it was great a couple of chapters in.
I really enjoyed discovering the history of Vlad and the legend of Dracula, the locations of the research making stories click together. The story also links

the legend of St George with Dracula -the dragon- which was a lovely touch although afaik the timelines are many years apart

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The story is told through a collection of letters and research, and set in several libraries. Is this dark academia?
By the very end, the depth of the title became apparent. Very satisfying 👏

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Blood

Moderate: Stalking, Kidnapping, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Alcohol, War, Suicide, and Confinement

bookbelle5_17's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Review of The Historian
By: Elizabeth Kostova
Our unnamed narrator is following in her father’s, Paul, footsteps by becoming a historian. She discovers a book with a dragon on it and a note from her father’s old mentor, Bartholomew Rossi, who believed he had a come across knowledge that Dracula is still alive. After Rossi disappeared, Paul goes in search of him with help from a daughter Rossi never knew existed, Helen. In the present, Paul is telling our narrator that story and when he leaves to look for her mother, our narrator goes in search of him.
This novel mixes, the Dracula mythology and history of Vlad Dracul creating a nice blend of creepiness, suspense, and deep dives into the histories of Eastern Europe. I loved the exploration into the cultures and the superstitious beliefs of these countries. We have a lot of scenes with the characters go to libraries as they try to find answers, which is fun to read, and I liked the two other professors Paul meets. The scenes where they are doing research and going to these other countries is my favorite part. Helen Rossi is a fun and feisty female character and her emotional journey is engaging to read. She is the daughter of Rossi and she thinks he abandoned her mother. I liked our leads Paul and our narrator, who are likable and relatable. The vampire aspects aren’t as prominent, but you feel Dracula and his minions are the shadow looming in the background. It is a more literary version of a Dan Brown novel. The writing is cozy and comforting to read despite the dark story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Gore, Kidnapping, and Murder

laurenw's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

3.75

Wonderfully atmospheric, with beautiful descriptions of the travels within. It did, however, ramble on a tad too much. The layers of story within the story were intriguing, and the research element was enjoyable to read, but there were a few stories that could have perhaps been culled. Ultimately, a good read, especially if you already harboured an interest in Dracula and his ilk. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Violence, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Abandonment, Blood, Torture, and War

Moderate: Alcohol

Minor: Terminal illness and Miscarriage

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

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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

maregred's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Miscarriage

Minor: Animal death, Confinement, Gun violence, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Torture, Xenophobia, Violence, War, and Pregnancy

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

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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

liteartha's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

hate to say it but this was boring. i love history and research and dense goddamn books but in this case i kept waiting for excitement that this just didn't deliver. the characters didn't feel like fully fleshed out people with their own motivations and relationships and though i hesitate to say this book was multi-pov, it did revolve around a "main" character (who remained nameless and added virtually nothing to the plot), her father recounting much of his past, and written correspondence from various characters with no notable stylistic difference between them

i did like the history elements around vlad iii and could see this being an ideal autumn read but all around this just missed the mark for me

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, and Death

Moderate: Racial slurs

Minor: Miscarriage and Suicide attempt

rini's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Car accident, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Racial slurs, Suicide attempt, and Violence

malloryfitz's review against another edition

dark

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Death

Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Miscarriage, and Torture

Minor: Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, and Slavery