Hunting Prince Dracula (Stalking Jack the Ripper, #2)

by Kerri Maniscalco

In this New York Times bestselling sequel to Kerri Maniscalco's haunting #1 debut Stalking Jack the Ripper, bizarre murders are discovered in the castle of Prince Vlad the Impaler, otherwise known as Dracula. Could it be a copycat killer . . . or has the depraved prince been brought back to life?

Following the grief and horror of her discovery of Jack the Ripper's true identity, Audrey Rose Wadsworth has no choice but to flee London and its memories. Together with the arrogant yet charming Thomas Cresswell, she journeys to the dark heart of Romania, home to one of Europe's best schools of forensic medicine . . . and to another notorious killer, Vlad the Impaler, whose thirst for blood became legend.

But her life's dream is soon tainted by blood-soaked discoveries in the halls of the school's forbidding castle, and Audrey Rose is compelled to investigate the strangely familiar murders. What she finds brings all her terrifying fears to life once again.

• ISBN10: 0316551678
• ISBN13: 9780316551670
• Publish Date: 25 October 2018 (first published 19 September 2017)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Little, Brown & Company
• Imprint: Little, Brown Young Readers
• Format: Paperback (UK Trade)
• Pages: 464
• Language: English

Reviews

[kalventure]

1. Stalking Jack the Ripper ★★★
2. Hunting Prince Dracula ★★★★★

It is rare that I love the second book more than the first, but Hunting Prince Dracula is one of those instances! The writing is beautiful, engaging, and fast-paced… I devoured this book in one sitting on a hot afternoon. I read along with the audiobook, and I have to say that the narrator (Nicola Barber) is incredible – highly recommend the audio for this series!

“Flesh-and-blood men were the real monsters, and they could be cut down easily enough.”

Audrey Rose and Thomas are off to Romania for a prestigious opportunity to study, but some bizarre murders in the region mean that our duo has another case to solve. The superstitious villagers think the Vlad the Impaler, also known as Dracula, has risen from the grave, but surely there is another explanation. Right?

“Time passed in frozen minutes and darkening skies.”

Maniscalo’s writing is beautiful, bewitching, and fast-paced. I found myself drinking up the beautiful sentences that Maniscalo crafted. The plot itself is gripping and it kept me guessing, which was a welcome contrast to the first book’s predictability!

I was equally enthralled by the plot and the characters I fell for in the first book. I appreciated that Audrey Rose grappled with the events of the first book. She went through HELL and it makes sense that she would be haunted by her grief. Thomas’ misguided attempts at helping her confront her fears added another layer of complexity to their relationship, resulting in compelling character growth for both of them.

“Science gave me a purpose. It was something to lose myself in other than my own mad thoughts.”

Our characters are just as vivid, vivacious, and sarcastic as in the first book. The banter between Audrey Rose and Thomas brings me to life. Even though they shared the kiss in the first book, tension and propriety between them carries into this book, and their relationship continues to develop slowly. It feels more realistic to me in that regard, but it also gives me the tension of “OH MY GOD KISS HiM!” There is also a f/f side relationship that is honestly beautiful.

“Monsters were in the eye of the beholder. And no one wanted to discover their hero was the true villain of the story.”

I loved how this book marries urban legend, history, and fiction together to weave a truly creepy mystery. Radu’s myth lessons were among my favorite and I loved wondering if the murders were being conducted by a supernatural being or not.

Overall, I absolutely adored this book and recommend it highly! The book is fast-paced, feminist, and beautifully written, and the whodunit is executed infinitely better than in the first book. I cannot wait to see what is in store for their next adventure in Escaping from Houdini!

REPRESENTATION: biracial rep (Audrey Rose is half Indian/half English), f/f romance, PTSD
CONTENT WARNINGS: death, referenced drug abuse, gore, murder, sexism

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[zooloo1983]

✮ My Review ✮
Audrey’s back, back again! This time we are hunting Prince Dracula dun dun dun. Hmm, how do I start this review? Talking about how refreshing it was with this new twist on Dracula? About how we pick up the story weeks after the ending of Stalking Jack the Ripper? How much I am in love with Thomas Cresswell? How amazing Nicola Barber still is at narrating this book? All this and so much!!!

The more I am invested in this series the more I love Audrey Rose and Thomas! Nicola is yet again absolutely amazing at bringing these two epic characters by Kerri alive with her narration. I still can’t believe when listening to this that it is just one person doing it!

Following on merely weeks after the horrific events of Stalking Jack the Ripper, we meet up with Thomas and Audrey Rose, with their chaperone en route to Transylvania! I was so excited when I knew this was our destination and I was so intrigued to see where we would be taken on this journey! Would I be disappointed? No siree!

What I always seem to forget with Hunting Prince Dracula is not the fact that is set in 1888 and so times were different for women and the interest in death was not proper for women. No, it was more that Audrey is only 17!!!! Yes, that is right 17! I completely forget and I think when Audrey is not pining/hating for Thomas she forgets! She has seen and done a lot more than a lot privileged 17-year-olds for sure!

I loved the journey we were taken on and the urban legend himself Dracula. There were so many twists and turns and so many people to suspect of the killings. Set in the cold winter, it was perfect as we play detective in a whodunnit scenario. I will have to say one thing I really DID NOT appreciate were the blinking SPIDERS! Seriously did there need to be so many of them and did they have to be so bloody big *shudders*. Sometimes when you listen to audiobooks they let you down as you can not skip bits especially when you are driving and your skin is crawling, ick.

The castle itself was a living breathing entity. Listening to the story unfurl, I could imagine the dark corridors, with flickering candlelight. The dampness and the cold from the snow outside, with the cackles of the fires as the only source of warmth. The setting emphasised how cut off from the world and everyone they were, so when the murders started well there was nowhere to run to.

I love the introduction of the new characters and I loved seeing Audrey come into her, especially at the end. And the chemistry between her and Thomas was just sizzling. Two people who love each other so much but won’t admit it! Normally I would be bored of the will they won’t they situation, but the banter between them and the respect keeps it going and you just can’t help falling in love with them.

I also loved the little nod in this book to the next one in the series Escaping Houdini – cleverly done!
Despite all the darkness and evil doing, this Hunting Prince Dracula will leave a smile on your face as you know the next adventure is on its way

I absolutely adored this book, however, the journey to the revelation felt too insane for me. Sure, there were rooms where people were killed, some full of bats, spiders, that made sense. However, the journey to the room that gets filled with water, the insane journey to get out of it, and be dumped somewhere, without any good reason? That just seemed too much for me. I am not sure if building something like that was realistic for it’s time – although that was not even really a problem. It seemed out of place and unnecessary for the plot of the story. Come on, we already knew Audrey Rose and Thomas would not die.

Besides that part, I adored the Romanian culture, folklore, and history that is added in this book. As far as I could find from native Romanians who reviewed this book, there were no errors when their language was used, which is always something I am scared about when an author uses a language that they do not speak.

[inlibrisveritas]

I really enjoyed this once I found time to sit down with it.

Full review to come!

[Empress of Sass]

Proper review to come later. I enjoyed this one. Audrey Rose and Thomas’ banter is delightful. I found the story a little slow and draggy in the middle but overall it was a great autumn read.

[nightingalereads]

A tenuous three stars.

Hunting Prince Dracula did not quite match the same level as Maniscalco's first book, Stalking Jack the Ripper. The plot was more meandering, and I found myself raising an eyebrow in disbelief more than once. For instance, at one point in the novel, the protagonists find themselves deep underground in booby-trapped tunnels. Then, after a series of chaotic events, a new chapter starts and they've somehow made their way out of the tunnels without any evident struggle. There were multiple small instances like this where I felt like problems were resolved too easily or with no explanation. However, despite the slight dragging pace of the plot, I still enjoyed reading this. Kerri Maniscalco knows how to write an entertaining story and how to keep you engaged. Overall, this series is nothing to noteworthy for my tastes, but still a fun ride. I will probably continue with the next installment.

[cornerfolds]

Read more of my reviews at Cornerfolds.com!

I will admit, I was in no hurry to read Hunting Prince Dracula (obviously, since it took me almost a year to get around to it). I enjoyed Stalking Jack the Ripper, but I didn't particularly love it. I had a hard time connecting to the main character and just found the book to be okay. But when I found out I'd get a chance to read book three in the series early, I decided to give the audiobook a try just to see and I'm so glad I did!

Audrey Rose and Thomas Cresswell are back, this time on their way to attend a school in Romania. On their way, they encounter a murder on the Orient Express (I chuckled) and that sets the tone for the book. Once at the school in Romania, things really pick up and I quickly realized I was going to enjoy this installment a lot more than the first.

While I found the romance between Audrey Rose and Thomas to be a bit silly and underdone in Stalking Jack the Ripper, in this book I really felt that they came into their own as a couple. There were moments that I still found myself getting annoyed at Audrey Rose's constant lamenting about the impropriety of it all, but I can partially forgive it because of the time period Hunting Prince Dracula is set in. They still had the same fun banter from the first book, but there was less ridiculous tiptoeing around one another and more actual relationship building.

I also really loved the setting of the school much more than the streets of London! I have a morbid fascination with Vlad the Impaler retellings and this one, while not quite a normal retelling, had me on the edge of my seat. The atmosphere of the Romanian castle was amazing! I loved creeping around the halls and secret passages with the characters as they tried to discover who the killer was. The larger mythos and world building was also very well done and I enjoyed the insight into the story of Vlad and his heirs, although I knew a bit of it already from reading the And I Darken trilogy.

And of course, I have to talk about the murders and the mystery! When combined with this setting, the murder mystery worked so well for me. Kerri Maniscalco writes a great mystery, something that isn't always the case in YA. I truly was kept guessing until the very last minute, which was also the experience I had with book one. I'd almost like to read it again, knowing who the killer is, to see if I can pick up on any clues.

While I did enjoy Hunting Prince Dracula much more than book one, it wasn't perfect. Like I already mentioned, I still had a bit of trouble connecting with Audrey Rose, partially because of her constant talk about how her family name would be ruined/she'd be scandalized/she'd no longer be welcome in society if she was caught doing basically anything near Thomas. Again, I understand why, but it got old pretty quickly. Still, this book was so much fun and I'd definitely recommend it to murder mystery fans, even if you didn't love the first one!

[limabean74]

I was a huge fan of Stalking Jack the Ripper, I loved the first book and it's the characters that keep me coming back. This one wasn't as awesome as the first but I still enjoyed it.

• They mystery of Dracula was interesting and having the fear that Vlad the Impaler might still be roaming the halls of the old castle kept me engrossed in the book.


• I love Audrey Rose and Thomas Croswell, I love the banter between the two but in this book I felt like that wasn't as up front as the first book. I also felt like he wasn't in it enough.


• The Story is told in her POV but I wonder if I wished it was more in both of their POV.


• They spent a lot of time in classes and learning which I sort of felt was more than needed


• The story had a nice level of creepy and sort of makes you a little jumpy.


• Audrey is a very strong female character and I love her sharp thinking and strong will. She will have no boy or man tell her what to do or protect her. She is quite capable of taking care of herself.


• Thomas is dreamy but I wish their interest would advance a little more and a little more quickly. I love them together and he totally cracks me up.

Over all I enjoyed it, it wasn't as awesome as the first but I am looking forward to the next story. Off to American to tangle with Houdini. Highly recommend this series, especially the first book.

Thanks for stopping by to check out my review.

Have a great day and Happy Reading!

This review was originally posted on Because reading is better than real life

Finished my first book for Bout of Books 21 and the year! This book is so SO good. Not only is the story grossly entertaining and perfectly grotesque, but I absolutely ADORE Audrey Rose and Thomas Cresswell. Can’t wait for the next adventure!

[readingwithwrin]

It took me a little longer to get into this one than it did in the first book of this trilogy but I know it was because of school and not because of the book. Rose and Thomas still have the best banter ever for the time period and I fell more in love with them. I loved getting to learn a little about Romania. The castle was extremely creepy as well as several of the occupants. I loved this book and Thomas Novella as well that I got for preordering it. Once again I didn’t get who the person was that was doing it until it was discovered. Still one of my favorite trilogies!