Hi everyone! Welcome to Nox Reads, I'm "Nox", and this is my book ramble for Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco, which I'm rating as a GET ME ALL THE MERCH!
TRIGGER WARNING: Lots of gore and death; vivid descriptions of murder victims
If you didn't know, Hunting Prince Dracula is the sequel to Stalking Jack the Ripper, which I have a book ramble for here! While each book has different mysteries that don't interconnect, there are mentions of the effects that the previous case still has on Audrey Rose. So yes, this can be read without reading the first book, but I personally recommend reading this after.
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Alright, I have a confession to make: Thomas Cresswell may be warming up to me.
I know that I absolutely hated him in the last book, but he's starting to grow on me. He appears with less of a God complex, and he's more human. Cresswell still has the social skills of an agoraphobic lobster, but in this book, we see that he has layers and walls that he has set up to protect himself. He fiercely loves his family, which we see when we meet his sister Daciana, and through mentions of his mother, who he seems to reminisce about quite a bit. Even though he was one of two main characters in the last book, Thomas plays a larger role in this book than he did in Stalking Jack the Ripper, which I am surprisingly happy about. He still has moments where I swear I might've slapped him if I was Audrey Rose, but he improved as a character overall while maintaining his wit, banter, and ill-timed flirting. I hope he continues to evolve as a character in Escaping From Houdini, as well as his relationship with Audrey Rose.
Audrey Rose remains as amazing as ever. She's dealing with the aftermath of the Ripper case, and this leads to problems with her studies and Thomas. She is still fighting fiercely for her autonomy and to prove her worth, but she refuses to let anyone else make her feel like less than an equal. She's quick to befriend Ileana, Daciana, and Anastasia, and she shows her classmates she isn't to be messed with.
The main two things I want to talk about are spoilers, so if you haven't read the book, I highly recommend it. I enjoyed it more than I did for Stalking Jack the Ripper and I hope that Escaping from Houdini is also amazing.
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So although I said that Thomas Cresswell is starting to grow on me, there was one part that I truly can't forgive.
WHAT THE HELL MADE HIM THINK IT WAS OKAY TO PRETEND TO BE A DEAD BODY?
Especially since he had been so worried about Audrey Rose and her "constitution" because of the trauma of learning that her brother brutally murdered a bunch of women and drugged her father, and then seeing the decaying body of her long-dead mother and witnessing her brother's suicide.
Yes Thomas, deciding to pretend to be a corpse in a morgue after yet another series of murders to talk to your angry girlfriend is a GREAT IDEA. For someone who is supposedly so smart that is easily the most idiotic plan he could have come up with!
Yes, I understand that Thomas and Audrey Rose do have a Holmes/Watson dynamic going on (although sometimes it isn't clear to me who's Holmes and who's Watson). I also know that despite being book smart, Thomas doesn't exactly have the best people skills. He does explain that he thought it would make her laugh, but this girl has lost almost everything in the span of a few weeks. He knows that the Ripper murders still have an effect on her. Why on earth would this make her laugh?
Other than this part, I was fine with Thomas as a character. I enjoyed the reveal that he is actually Dracula's descendant, and seeing how worried he was about what Audrey Rose was going to think of him. That scene is what made me eventually move on, but not forgive, his actions. It was raw and emotional, and I loved it. I also loved the ending. Overall, I definitely approve of their relationship more in this book than I did in the last one.
Of course, a major plot twist was the ending when we learn that the murderer was actually Anastasia, who we thought died earlier in the book. Don't get me wrong: this scene was beautiful and creepy, but honestly, what the heck?
We learn that she is the descendant of Countess Elizabeth Báthory, a famous Hungarian serial killer nicknamed Countess Dracula. Anastasia (who is actually named after one of Báthory's daughters, which I find really cool) is convinced that she and Thomas, the last male heir of Vlad Dracula's, are meant to be together and take back the Romanian throne.
This was an interesting scene, and would've been amazing if not for one thing:
Countess Elizabeth Báthory is mentioned once in the whole novel before this scene.
Do you know how amazing it would have been if they had brought her up beforehand? The only reason I knew who she was (besides Anastasia telling us) is because of a Tumblr post. A Tumblr post. This is the climax of the novel. They found the murderer, they're at a tree made of skulls, and being a Báthory is the reason that Anastasia has done all of this. And she's mentioned once.
Nevertheless, Anastasia is killed by Iliena, who happens to be one of the members of the Order of the Dragon, along with Thomas' sister Daciana. Also, those two are so cute together, they're so in love, I love it.
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Despite the two scenes mentioned in the spoiler section, which were my main problems with the book, I really did enjoy it. I've said it before, but I'm so excited for the third book.
Thanks for reading! Here's a question: who would win in a fight, Jack the Ripper or Vlad Dracula? My money is on Jack. Have a good day!
~Nox
"I needed to heal myself before I could address anything or anyone else."
If you didn't know, Hunting Prince Dracula is the sequel to Stalking Jack the Ripper, which I have a book ramble for here! While each book has different mysteries that don't interconnect, there are mentions of the effects that the previous case still has on Audrey Rose. So yes, this can be read without reading the first book, but I personally recommend reading this after.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
S P O I L E R - F R E E T A L K
Alright, I have a confession to make: Thomas Cresswell may be warming up to me.
I know that I absolutely hated him in the last book, but he's starting to grow on me. He appears with less of a God complex, and he's more human. Cresswell still has the social skills of an agoraphobic lobster, but in this book, we see that he has layers and walls that he has set up to protect himself. He fiercely loves his family, which we see when we meet his sister Daciana, and through mentions of his mother, who he seems to reminisce about quite a bit. Even though he was one of two main characters in the last book, Thomas plays a larger role in this book than he did in Stalking Jack the Ripper, which I am surprisingly happy about. He still has moments where I swear I might've slapped him if I was Audrey Rose, but he improved as a character overall while maintaining his wit, banter, and ill-timed flirting. I hope he continues to evolve as a character in Escaping From Houdini, as well as his relationship with Audrey Rose.
Audrey Rose remains as amazing as ever. She's dealing with the aftermath of the Ripper case, and this leads to problems with her studies and Thomas. She is still fighting fiercely for her autonomy and to prove her worth, but she refuses to let anyone else make her feel like less than an equal. She's quick to befriend Ileana, Daciana, and Anastasia, and she shows her classmates she isn't to be messed with.
The main two things I want to talk about are spoilers, so if you haven't read the book, I highly recommend it. I enjoyed it more than I did for Stalking Jack the Ripper and I hope that Escaping from Houdini is also amazing.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
S P O I L E R - T A L K
So although I said that Thomas Cresswell is starting to grow on me, there was one part that I truly can't forgive.
WHAT THE HELL MADE HIM THINK IT WAS OKAY TO PRETEND TO BE A DEAD BODY?
Especially since he had been so worried about Audrey Rose and her "constitution" because of the trauma of learning that her brother brutally murdered a bunch of women and drugged her father, and then seeing the decaying body of her long-dead mother and witnessing her brother's suicide.
Yes Thomas, deciding to pretend to be a corpse in a morgue after yet another series of murders to talk to your angry girlfriend is a GREAT IDEA. For someone who is supposedly so smart that is easily the most idiotic plan he could have come up with!
Yes, I understand that Thomas and Audrey Rose do have a Holmes/Watson dynamic going on (although sometimes it isn't clear to me who's Holmes and who's Watson). I also know that despite being book smart, Thomas doesn't exactly have the best people skills. He does explain that he thought it would make her laugh, but this girl has lost almost everything in the span of a few weeks. He knows that the Ripper murders still have an effect on her. Why on earth would this make her laugh?
Other than this part, I was fine with Thomas as a character. I enjoyed the reveal that he is actually Dracula's descendant, and seeing how worried he was about what Audrey Rose was going to think of him. That scene is what made me eventually move on, but not forgive, his actions. It was raw and emotional, and I loved it. I also loved the ending. Overall, I definitely approve of their relationship more in this book than I did in the last one.
Of course, a major plot twist was the ending when we learn that the murderer was actually Anastasia, who we thought died earlier in the book. Don't get me wrong: this scene was beautiful and creepy, but honestly, what the heck?
We learn that she is the descendant of Countess Elizabeth Báthory, a famous Hungarian serial killer nicknamed Countess Dracula. Anastasia (who is actually named after one of Báthory's daughters, which I find really cool) is convinced that she and Thomas, the last male heir of Vlad Dracula's, are meant to be together and take back the Romanian throne.
This was an interesting scene, and would've been amazing if not for one thing:
Countess Elizabeth Báthory is mentioned once in the whole novel before this scene.
Do you know how amazing it would have been if they had brought her up beforehand? The only reason I knew who she was (besides Anastasia telling us) is because of a Tumblr post. A Tumblr post. This is the climax of the novel. They found the murderer, they're at a tree made of skulls, and being a Báthory is the reason that Anastasia has done all of this. And she's mentioned once.
Nevertheless, Anastasia is killed by Iliena, who happens to be one of the members of the Order of the Dragon, along with Thomas' sister Daciana. Also, those two are so cute together, they're so in love, I love it.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Despite the two scenes mentioned in the spoiler section, which were my main problems with the book, I really did enjoy it. I've said it before, but I'm so excited for the third book.
Thanks for reading! Here's a question: who would win in a fight, Jack the Ripper or Vlad Dracula? My money is on Jack. Have a good day!
~Nox
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