Synopsis: Fog And Fascination
Alba Spencer thought her past in Romania and the dark magic that haunted it was behind her forever. She is one of the first female barristers now, safe in London. But London has its dark side, too. A man called the Ripper stalks the midnight streets. There are rumors that her hated stepmother has found her again, suggestions that the nightmares of her childhood are returning. And with them appears the cursed Gypsy boy she once loved, grown into a man more seductive and more terrifying than she ever could have dreamed…
Dimitri Grigorescu has become a surgeon, a gentleman—and a vampire. The lusts that drive his body are scarcely under control, and even he does not truly know what he is capable of. To fight evil and confusion, Alba must rely only on her wits—and a desire that overwhelms her doubts…
Review: Being the fan that I am of crossovers and retellings of old tales, I figured this would be right up my alley, cheesy cover aside. I’m a sucker for Disney and I make no apologies for it. After reading it I can confidentially say that the story is definitely better than the cover suggests.
One of the challenges of doing crossovers and retellings is that the author has to make the plot flow as cohesively as possible. I felt like this was handled well for the most part though there were a few subplots I didn’t care about. Above all the novel needs to be able to stand on its own and I think there was enough original content, world building and history to accomplish that. Though I know how Jack the Ripper, Snow White, and Dracula end, I wasn’t able to predict the direction of this book, which is a good thing.
While the story was enjoyable, I thought the actual characters were fairly flat and I wasn’t totally invested in the romance. It was nice to see Alba Spencer’s character as a barrister (a type of lawyer if you didn’t know) and in a position to solve problems, but it just wasn’t as compelling as I was hoping it would be for the majority of the novel. Her position does become more relevant and interesting toward the end, but by then it was too little too late for me. Dmitri’s inner turmoil got a little tiresome at times as well, but his position as a surgeon leads to a few interesting plot twists.
If you plan to give this a shot keep in mind that this book is the second novel in this series, but it is written as a standalone. I haven’t read the first book, but it’s completely different and features different characters.
*ARC provided by the publisher.