A Prince to be Feared by Mary Lancaster

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Obtained from: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

Read: May 1, 2013

Europe’s most fearsome prisoner, Vlad Dracula, gifted military commander and one time Prince of Wallachia, the notorious Lord Impaler himself, is about to be released after twelve long years, in order to hold back the tide of Ottoman aggression. The price of his new alliance with his Hungarian captors is the king’s cousin Ilona. Ilona does not wish to be married. In particular, she doesn’t wish to marry Vlad. Gentle, faded and impossibly vague, Ilona is hardly fit for court life, let alone for dealing with so difficult a husband. But Ilona’s wishes have nothing to do with Vlad’s reputation and everything to do with a lifelong love affair that finally broke her. Ilona’s family blame Vlad; Vlad vows to discover the truth and sets out by unconventional means to bring back the woman who once enchanted him. Among court intrigues, international manoeuvrings and political deceptions, Vlad reveals himself more victim than villain. But he’s still more than capable of reclaiming his lost rights to both Wallachia and Ilona; and Ilona, when it counts, has enough strength for them both.

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By Chatsam (GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0),
 via Wikimedia Commons

I loved what Lancaster did with A Prince to be Feared. Just the basic idea, the juxtaposition of taking Vlad Dracula, a character largely vilified and humanizing him, is truly captivating. Perhaps it is because I know so little about the history involved, but her work, despite being fiction, really makes you reconsider who this man might have been. Was he the tyrant of legend or a maligned hero?  

Another noteworthy aspect of the piece is Ilona. Lancaster counters her larger than life male lead with an equally impressive love interest, balancing his vivid energy against her subtle and steady strength. As a reader, it took me longer to appreciate Ilona, but in the end I think she is actually my favorite of the entire cast. 

Perhaps my only true complaint is that the book has no historic note. Granted I read an advanced reader's copy and can't speak to the final edition, but I personally like to reflect on what is fact and what is fiction and unfortunately could not do that without some sort of notation. 

Different yet memorable, A Prince to be Feared, offers a unique perspective on the three-time Voivode of Wallachia.

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She was biased, of course, because she loved him. But there had always been something about him, some brilliance that drew others and held them.

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check out all the stops on Mary Lancaster's A Prince to be feared VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR 

Monday, May 13
Review & Giveaway at Flashlight Commentary

Tuesday, May 14
Review at The Musings of a Book Junkie
Review & Giveaway at Unabridged Chick

Wednesday, May 15
Review at Oh, For the Hook of a Book!

Thursday, May 16
Review at A Bookish Affair
Guest Post & Giveaway at Oh, For the Hook of a Book!

Friday, May 17
Feature & Giveaway at Broken Teepee
Guest Post & Giveaway at A Bookish Affair

#BookReview: Dracula My Love: The Secret Journals of Mina Harker by Syrie James

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Acclaimed Author Syrie James Approaches Bram Stoker's Classic Dracula With A Breathtaking New Perspective-As, For The First Time, Mina Harker Records The Shocking Story Of Her Scandalous Seduction And Sexual Rebirth.

Who is this magnetic, fascinating man? And how could one woman fall so completely under his spell?

Mina Harker is torn between two men. Struggling to hang on to the deep, pure love she's found within her marriage to her husband, Jonathan, she is inexorably drawn into a secret, passionate affair with a charismatic but dangerous lover. This haunted and haunting creature has awakened feelings and desires within her that she has never before known, which remake her as a woman.

Although everyone she knows fears him and is pledged to destroy him, Mina sees a side to him that the others cannot: a tender, romantic side; a man who is deeply in love, and who may not be evil after all. Yet to surrender is surely madness, for to be with him could end her life. It may cost Mina all she holds dear, but to make her choice she must learn everything she can about the remarkable origins and sensuous powers of this man, this exquisite monster, this...Dracula!

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Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆   |   Obtained from: Local Library   |   Read: September 23, 2011
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Bram Stoker's masterpiece is one of my favorite classics. Lucy and Mina are the quintessential embodiment of Victorian chastity, purity and virtue. Stoker's Dracula is especially evil as he seeks to corrupt these women, seducing them and thus corrupting their innocence. They play an essential role in Stoker's work but for all that, they are victims of shallow characterization, necessary personalities in a fundamentally masculine novel.  

James' story beautifully remedies the situation. Dracula, My Love is a fleshed out re-telling of the story from Mina's perspective, something I don't imagine to have been easy as Stoker wrote little of her character in the original. According to Dr. Abraham Van Helsing, "[Mina] has a man's brain - a brain that a man should have were he much gifted - and a woman's heart." I was frustrated with the inconsistencies in Mina's character but for the most part, I was really impressed with what James was able to do.

Mina is deeply in love with Jonathan but like a moth drawn to the flame, she finds herself attracted to the darkly sensual Dracula. One represents a pure, innocent affection. The other, a dangerously passionate seductiveness. Mina finds herself caught between two very different men and questioning the very nature of love. Very similar to the situation Christine Daae faces with the Phantom and Raoul in Gaston Leroux's Phantom of the Opera, but intriguing just the same.

The plot revolves around this conflict of the heart which is why I was concerned by the lack of connection between Mina and Jonathan. James spent a lot of time revamping Dracula's character but I don't think she gave Jonathan the same amount of attention. Dracula is dark and interesting where Johnathan is conventional and drab. Mina's character grappled with her indecision but for the life of me I couldn't understand why. Johnathan's inattention and disregard for his wife turned me off almost from the beginning. James' story could have been much more convincing if she extended the same amount of consideration to both of her leading men.

Characterization issues aside, Dracula, My Love is a wonderfully engaging read that breathes new life into Stoker's well known tale. Recommended to fans of Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian.

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Oh! Why must I dream of him? What treacherous thing the subconscious mind was! Such dreams and imaginings, I believed, were as much a betrayal of my marriage vows as any physical act. And yet, I found myself in the dark for several shameful minutes savoring the imagined memory of his embrace...

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