Reviews with content warning for Torture - Blood Countess

This book was a rollercoaster, from the start to the finish. The authors writing style is beautiful, descriptive and conveys emotion so well. I picked up the book knowing the bare minimum of Elizabeth Bathory, The Blood Countess, one of my best friends mentioned her and her story. When I saw this book I was intrigued to read it and see where the storyline went. I also bought a copy for another best friend and she finished it before I even started it, which was handy because I was able to talk to her about it, tell her my ideas and theories, she of course didn’t say much until I had finished it.

There were so many quotes throughout this novel that I enjoyed. I wrote and underlined each one so that I can quickly flip to them and read them again because why not. The ending surprised me. I wondered how it was going to end, I wasn’t disappointed. It showed that even though the Countess was a murderer the love for her Son was strong, and she would do anything for him.

All in all I enjoyed this read and would recommend to anyone who is intrigued by the story of the Blood Countess and who enjoys a bit of Historical Horror.

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cyan_altaria's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

Blood Countess was a really enjoyable book. While I was not a fan of the romance in the beginning, and I thought Anna should have given Peter more of a chance, all in all I likes the book. Not knowing what crazy thing Elizabeth would do next really heightened the stakes. I would recommend this book to people who like historical fiction and dark stories. I will read more books by Lana Popovic in the future.

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melaniereadsbooks's review against another edition

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dark slow-paced

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

3.0

This book was incredibly bloody, as can be expected from a Lady Dracula retelling. I have to say I honestly hated both main characters, and that made it hard for me to enjoy this book. Obviously you are supposed to dislike Elizabeth, but I didn't find much to like about Anna either. I did enjoy the plot for a while, but ended up not enjoying the ending very much, as I thought things were resolved too easily.

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tahsintries's review against another edition

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dark

Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.75

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caidyn's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

On reread, I decided to bump it up to 3 stars but I still had the same issues with it as the first time. I plan on trying the second book in this series to see if I like it better.

CW: blood, murder, intimate partner violence, poisoning, and death

This was my most anticipated book of 2020. I was SO excited for a story that talked about Elizabeth Bathory (sorry for the Anglicized version of her name, but I don't have the keyboard that can do the accents). There's basically nothing about her and, personally, I feel that the charges are largely made up and they were put on her by men who wanted to control her. But that's me! Also, I was super excited that this book is queer with an F/F relationship.

So, what went wrong?

The book, overall, felt very amateurish. The writing felt like it was a first-time author. The plotting felt the same. The characters were just off. I did not like how Elizabeth was portrayed at all in this book. It didn't feel realistic with how much she changed and then that poor man's version of psychopathy that was forced on her. And Anna, the MC, was so bland and boring. I would have preferred it from Elizabeth's perspective.

The relationship between Anna and Elizabeth also sucked. It was like they were adversaries then, all of the sudden, they were lovers. And then hated each other again. I couldn't follow the characterization of their relationship one bit.

Overall, I was so disappointed with this book. I'm very glad that I didn't decide to buy it. I know this is going to have more books in it -- probably about another famous historical woman who's rumored to have killed people -- but I'll likely skip it.

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