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    Blood Countess
    Blood Countess
    Blood Countess
    Audiobook9 hours

    Blood Countess

    Written by Lana Popovic

    Narrated by Jennifer Mudge

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    A historical YA horror novel based on the infamous real-life inspiration for Countess Dracula

    In 17th-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.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAbrams Books
    Release dateJan 28, 2020
    ISBN9781419748660
    Author

    Lana Popovic

    Lana Popović studied psychology and literature at Yale University and law at Boston University. She is a graduate of the Emerson College publishing and writing program and works as a literary agent with Chalberg & Sussman, specializing in YA. Her books include Wicked Like a Wildfire and Fierce Like a Firestorm. Lana was born in Serbia and spent her childhood summers surrounded by the seaside and mountain magic of Montenegro. She lived in Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania before moving to the United States, where she now calls Boston home, subsisting largely on cake, eyeliner, and aerial yoga. Visit Lana at www.lanapopovicbooks.com or follow her on Twitter @LanaPopovicLit.

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    Reviews for Blood Countess

    4/5

    75 ratings4 reviews

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    • 5/5
      An interesting twist from another person's perspective of Elizabeth Bathory. Though it was a bit disappointing it was not factually correct I.e the fact she had children from the marriage to Ferenz but I get it was a novel not a true history book. Other than that I loved it.
    • 4/5
      The narration was well-done. The story was interesting, however I'm not a fan of the main character being quite full of herself. This MC is difficult to sympathize with and relate to. Regardless, it's still a decent retelling of the Countess Elizabeth Báthory.
    • 3/5
      If you're looking for historical accuracy, this isn't the book. Blood Countess is almost a historical fantasy in the way that it plays around with the mythology, picking up details or putting them down depending on if they suit the story. A few descriptions of Bathory play around with the legends and stories about her, while her children with her husband are cut from the story completely.

      We all knew that the main character, Anna Darvulia, saying "I'm going to bang Elizabeth Bathory. RIP to everyone else but I'm different" was going to turn into a disaster.

      One thing I didn't care for was the disconnect between the prose and the perspective. With a first person narration, you're in the main character's head, what you're reading is supposedly their inner monologue. My issue was that Anna, while an adept midwife and herbalist, she's admittedly illiterate and that makes the expansive vocabulary of her narration seem slightly off.
    • 4/5
      Hello Darkness, my old friend. What began as pure, turns dark and deadly in this bleak fantasy. Anna, sixteen, is a budding midwife and healer. When her mother's age and weak hands make plying her crafts challenging, Anna takes on much of the work, hoping to earn enough to feed her family. It's challenging because her father, a cruel drunk, swills away most of the family coin. When Anna is summoned to heal a child, it begins a very dark, gory and frightening journey. It's one that is not for the faint of heart, but very fascinating and well crafted.