During the month of October, I asked a few of my friends, what their favorite Monster is (some are not so scary) and what book(s) they read that they loved that associated with the Monster they picked. The answers are great and the recommendation are even better! Enjoy!
Vampire
It’s easy for me to pick which monster is my favourite, and it’s definitely the vampire! And I’m not talking about the sparkly lovey dovey kind of vampires either (though I have nothing against those either!) but the proper gothic Dracula style vampires. I got into the gothic classics quite early on (after all I live in a country where making 13 year olds read Lord of the Flies is common practice…vampires are tame compared to kids running wild on an island!) and to this day Dracula remains one of my favourite books ever. I think that may also be something to do with my love of Whitby (where parts of Dracula are set). It’s about a two-hour drive from where I grew up, and there’s the old ruined Abbey complete with (apparent) ghost and pirates’ graves in the churchyard (they’re upside down pointing towards hell, it was a game of mine and my brother’s to try and find them…not really making Yorkshire sound like a good place there!) and they make a big deal out of Dracula in Whitby too! These days vampires seem to most commonly be more tame and so I loved discovering The Vampire’s Daughter by Leigh Anderson earlier this year, it reminded me of the more Dracula-like potential of vampires!
Mini Review
I loved the classic vampire feel of this book! I don’t mean in the vampire-trying-to-be-good way either. I mean in the Dracula-humans-are-food way. I could definitely see and feel the influence of the classic vampires throughout The Vampire’s Daughter, and I liked the way that that mixed with Victoria’s later conflict about being a half vampire. There were a lot of twists and turns in the book, and one of the characters who did start out as at least a little sympathetic became more and more twisted as their true motives were revealed. Some of it I could anticipate happening, especially with the clever foreshadowing that was in play, and some of it I didn’t realise. I liked that the author paid attention to the little bits that made the whole end game more plotted out and evil. The role of faith was quite strong in the book, which kind of goes hand in hand with the classic evil vampires. Before I say anything else about it though I do feel that it added a sense of authenticity to the time period in which the book was set. Faith was important to both Victoria and Ethan and was partly what spurred them on, though I don’t think that it was overwhelming or preachy in any way. I liked that though faith played a good role for some characters, it did also cause characters to do bad things as well.
The Vampire’s Daughter
by Leigh Anderson
Published March 22nd 2016 by Rogue Phoenix Press
The Book’s Info:
When Ethan discovers that the love of his life, Victoria, is actually the child of a monstrous beast and must marry another man to save her family, he retreats to a monastery to live out the rest of his days alone.
But the Church has other ideas.
Ethan’s mentor asks him to lead famous vampire hunter Dom Calmet back to his home village to rid the town of the vampires that plague it. Ethan must then take a journey, emotionally and literally, back to the town of his youth and choose between love and faith when he once again meets The Vampire’s Daughter.
Containing many tropes of a classic Gothic novel combined with the sensuality of a passionate romance, The Vampire’s Daughter will leave you gasping for more.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27972077-the-vampire-s-daughter
https://www.amazon.com/Vampires-Daughter-Leigh-Anderson/dp/1624202322/
About the Guest
Laura started trips down imagination road as a book blog back in 2013 (though before that I used the same page as more of a general blog that did include some book reviews!) I read a bit of a mix of genres.
Link: a-reader-lives-a-thousand-lives.blogspot.co.uk
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TripsDownImaginationRoad/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/lauramg_tdir
Thanks for stopping by to check out A Monster and A Book!
Have a fantastic day!
ox
Vampires are a favorite “monster” for me as well, Laura, and as Dracula was my first vampire “love”, I think The Vampire’s Daughter would be right up my alley. It sounds very atmospheric. I’m adding it to my wishlist right now! 😀
I think you’ll like it Brandee!
I love vampires – all kinds! I absolutely loved Dracula – it’s what made me realize I like vampire novels actually. So visiting Whitby would be so cool! This book sounds great, I’ll have to add it 🙂
Dracula is a great book! It was my introduction to Gothic literature and even to this day it’s one of my favourites! Whitby is amazing! It’s also the epitamy of corny British seaside towns but I love it all the same!
This sounds awesome, Laura! I want vampires who really see humans like food every now and then 🙂 Becasue hey, that’s supposed to be how they survive, right? Thanks for sharing!
Exactly! Not that I have anything against more romanticised vampires either, they have their place, but every now and again I want reminding that they’re dangerous!
Those are my favorite types of vampires too! I will have to put this book on my list. 🙂
It was a good read! I think you’ll like it Storm!
I love vampire stories but I tend to like my vamps as unearthly and nasty, so I agree with you. And the idea of humans as mainly food- yes! Exactly. And I agree about faith- I love that idea that faith can protect vs vampires to some extent, just like in the old movies (and maybe in Dracula too- it’s been so long I don’t remember?).
I’ve never heard of this book but I’ll be checking it out now!
Faith played a small role in Dracula! It was the cross repelled them and they can’t spend time on Hallowed ground (Dracula shipped dirt from Romania to combat this, though not sure how that worked!)
Vampires are complex monsters and sometimes it’s definitely good seeing them as purely the bad guy!
Thank you for having me Michelle! 🙂
Thanks for doing it for me, Laura!
I’m pretty sure I have this book on my Kindle. I must remember to look for it because it sounds like the type of vampire book I enjoy. I used to read a TON of vampire books but since I’ve discovered all the other books out there, I don’t read them as much. However, I love discovering new reads and I can definitely see why vampires are your favorite!
This one is definitely worth a read Barb! It’s just the right mix of traditional evil gothic vampires with a little bit of a more modern twist in the daughter! There is a bit of religion in it but given the era it’s set in that adds to it!