4.5 stars
This was a great book. A young woman who’s in way over her head, fantasy creatures from cultures all over the world, nosy cop buddies, and tyrannical government agents all mashed up into a vampire hunting plot. What more could you really ask for in a modern Dracula novel?
The main character, Cammy, while well-intentioned at heart, is ignorant and naive to the cruel and magical world she lives in. She can also be rather impulsive, which gets her into a world of trouble more than once as she searches for her missing friend. Her duo with the ancient, experienced, and sometimes jaded Dracula makes for an interesting mix as they try to deal with the other’s rough edges.
I loved the obvious amount of research that went into the lore of every fantastical creature and the historical Vlad Dragulya. From beginning to end, Vlad is constantly assaulted by the misconceptions made popular in various fictions and the assumptions about his personal character. Even Malcolm the werewolf is met with false assumptions, though he doesn’t seem to take it as personally.
There were a couple of strange POV changes that threw me a little and a scene at the end that felt a bit out of place, but aside from those two minor hitches, this thing had me from start to finish. I was lucky enough to get to read the beta for this book, but I also have the Ebook now, and I would highly recommend Dracula’s Guest to anyone who wants a fun, smart, and humorous read.
For those of you on Minds, you can follow Amaya at @UsagiTenshi for more updates on this series and also a ton of great artwork.
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Dracula was the best character in this by far. His uncompromising and direct manner mixed with a touch of arrogance was exactly what’d you’d expect from a centuries-old Romanian vampire who’s had a rough life. If Cammy weren’t so short-sighted, she’d do well to recognize the wisdom a person like him could offer. I have a feeling that she will eventually learn to see some parts of life from his perspective, but that might take a while with how stubborn she is.
Cammy, for her part, just wants the world to be as rosy as she thought it was. She’s overly confident in her abilities, doesn’t think things through before acting, and is quick to judge anything that doesn’t immediately sit well with her. That last trait in particular never sits too well with Vlad, and she pushes the line several times with him on this point.
Boise, while comically aggressive, is a little overkill sometimes. This works out against Dracula’s cool-headed approach to most conflicts, but it does take away from Boise being a serious threat sometimes as he always seems to be out of control or on the verge of a meltdown.
By the end I was wondering if Cammy might be some kind of creature/part creature and part human and just doesn’t know it yet. That’s a pretty big leap since there was nothing in the book that directly suggested it, so just take that as wild speculation. Something about Dracula taking her under his wing so aggressively as he did combined with her mom being so psycho, along with the extra trauma it would cause if she were to find out she wasn’t human must have set off that hunch. But I can’t find out the answer to that till the next book it out, so I’ll be eagerly awaiting it!