Blood Countess (Lady Slayers)

By: Lana Popovic

Narrated by: Jennifer Mudge

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.

©2020 Lana Popovic (P)2020 Amulet Books

graciously intriguing

I hung on every word waiting for the next line to be read. My heart and ears could see and feel the torture and love though out the the story being told.

good book, just not factual

I am fascinated by Elizabeth Bathory, but I thought this book was going to have a lot more facts in it, not just a made up story. worst of all they say her name wrong, it is pronounced "ba-chory" there are a LOT of facts in it, just not the story I was looking for. I wanted more of a documentary type

Absolutely wonderful

I absolutely loved loved this audiobook. What a great way to bring a old story to a new form and it was so entertaining. The narrator was great:)

A little overwrought, but a good Gothic romp

If you put "Carmilla" and "Dracula" in a blender, this is just about what you'd get. The prose was a little much at times: "I am so engorged with the possibility of Clara's freedom..." and "...she whispered, with a throaty whisper."

I wish they'd given the editor enough time/money to catch all the odd inconsistencies that came up in various metaphors. Our illiterate Hungarian peasant was apparently up on Irish folklore ("like a banshee") and Sufism (Elizabeth compared to "a whirling dervish"). But there are just some errors that slip through when authors, editors, and publishers are all trying to produce a book that was probably more of a risk than the next cookie-cutter straight romance. So hats off to everybody involved, honestly!

It's really nice to see authors exploring darker historical fiction in this way. I will absolutely be checking out any new books from this author. She tells a rollicking old-style Gothic yarn, and I enjoyed it.

A Solid Story with a Complicated f|f Relationship

This book had some moments I thought were fantastic, but also some that I felt could've been pushed just a little further. The dynamic between Anna and Elizabeth was the absolute highlight of the book, and every version of their relationship was well done. I thought the buildup to the historical Elizabeth that most people are familiar with was interesting, kind of a descent-into-madness style.

The last hour of the audiobook felt a bit anticlimactic to me, and there were a few moments which I won't spoil that I just felt underwhelmed. But to each their own.

If nothing else, it's a fantastically complicated f|f relationship with a complicated and fully formed female villain, and that's what I came here for!