internationalreads's review against another edition

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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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ruthmoog's review against another edition

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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
.
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 đź‘Ź

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bookbelle5_17's review against another edition

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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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laurenw's review against another edition

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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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eleanora's review against another edition

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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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maregred's review against another edition

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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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prettiestwhistles's review against another edition

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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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liteartha's review against another edition

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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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rini's review against another edition

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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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malloryfitz's review against another edition

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dark

4.5


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