I Won the Powell’s Daily Dose for Review of DRACULA IN LOVE!

I left a review on Powell’s Books for Karen Essex’s Dracula in Love, and the write-up is featured in today’s Daily Dose! My prize is $20 towards an online purchase — rock on!

I redeemed my prize immediately and purchased the following used books:

• White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
• The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
• A Death in the Family by James Agee

Have you read any of these novels?

Here’s my Powell’s review of Dracula in Love:

“I have been a longtime fan of Karen Essex and have read all of her books. I admit I was a bit skeptical at first with Dracula in Love because a) it’s a slight departure from Essex’s historical fiction approach and b) I’m not a huge fan of “re-makes,” i.e., taking a classic novel and re-imagining it from a different perspective. But Essex blew me away with Dracula in Love — this novel is unique in its own right, imaginative, and utterly engrossing. I should have known better than to doubt, if even slightly, an author I have followed for the last ten years.

Dracula in Love pivots off of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, only it tells the story from Mina Harker’s perspective. May I venture to say that Essex does a better job than Stoker at fleshing out the Victorian setting, Mina’s ambivalent feelings towards fiance Jonathan and the Count, and how the past and future figure into the present love triangle? Okay, I guess I just said that very thing.

I love it when a favorite author continues to write exciting, high quality work. Essex is like a reliable friend who never disappoints and always opens my mind to new worlds. I recommend all of her novels and am wondering if indeed Dracula in Love is my favorite…hard to say considering all her novels are so dang good!”