Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Horror Reviews

Book Review: Dracula, My Love

By Sandy Amazeen Aug 4, 2010, 3:14 GMT

A THRILLING, PAGE-TURNING TALE OF ADVENTURE AND FORBIDDEN PASSION... Syrie James approaches Bram Stoker\'s classic Dracula with a breathtaking new perspective--as, for the first time, Mina Harker records the shocking story of her scandalous seduction and sexual rebirth. Who is this magnetic, fascinating man? And how could one woman fall so completely under his spell? Mina Harker is torn between two ...more

Best selling author of The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen enters the vampire genre with this retelling of Stoker’s horror tale told from the perspective of Mina Harker. Years into her marriage to Jonathan, Mina continues to be tormented by memories of her time with Dracula and decides the only way to free herself of the past is to record it. The story picks up just prior to that fateful summer when Mina first meets the Count and is surprised by their instant connection. As she begins to wonder if that’s all there is to the marriage bed, Mina continues to fall under Dracula’s spell until she is forced to make a choice that will haunt her to the end of her days.

While the first third of the book closely parallels events in previous versions, it then begins turning into something more akin to a Harlequin romance then a serious retelling. The additional development of Mina and Jonathan’s youth adds depth and Mina’s character is surprisingly progressive for the time period. The unusual portrayal of Van Helsing casts him more as a comical, bumbling professor then a feared vampire hunter and makes a nice change from the original tale. This is an entertaining retelling provided you don’t expect a great literary work.