Hi Cara,
I was a lucky winner of an arc of Blood Countess by Lana Popovic. Previously I had read Lana Wicked like a Wildfire and loved her writing style and her storytelling. This is one of the reasons I was interested in reading Blood Countess.
In 16th century Hungary, Anna Darvulia has just begun working as a scullery maid for the young and glamorous Countess Elizabeth Báthory.
When Elizabeth takes a liking to Anna, she’s vaulted to the dream role of chambermaid, a far cry from the filthy servants’ quarters below. She receives wages generous enough to provide for her family, and the Countess begins to groom Anna as her friend and confidante. It’s not long before Anna falls completely under the Countess’s spell—and the Countess takes full advantage. Isolated from her former friends, family, and fiancé, Anna realizes she’s not a friend but a prisoner of the increasingly cruel Elizabeth. Then come the murders, and Anna knows it’s only a matter of time before the Blood Countess turns on her, too.
(Synopsis from Goodreads.com)
Blood Countess is a historical fiction that has female romance, mystery and murder.
A good section of the book is the build-up to Countess Elizabeth crime. I enjoyed the world-building but I prefer the second half of the book when Anna starts to realise how dark Elizabeth is. Anna is our leading lady and I liked the fact that she wants to see the best in people. One of my favourite aspects of her personality is the way she can heal people with herbs and flowers.
When I started reading I had forgotten that Countess Elizabeth Báthory was based on a real person. It wasn’t till towards the end and it clicked into place. As the countess end is well-known in history. I liked the fact that Lana didn’t make her a caricature. That there was a reason behind her madness.
Blood Countess is full of gothic themes, creepy castles. I would day its dark in places but it’s not as dark as I thought it would be.
My rating for Blood Countess is 3.8 out of 5.
Thank you to Abrams book for running the Twitter giveaway that I won the ARC copy of Blood Countess from.
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Thanks for reading,
