Mini Reviews: The Stunning Sequels Edition (Hunting Prince Dracula And Fireblood)
Hey friends!
Today I’m going to be bringing you mini reviews of Fireblood
by Elly Blake which is the second book in the Frostblood trilogy (read more:
Frostblood book review) and Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco which is
also the second book in the Stalking Jack The Ripper trilogy (read more:
Stalking Jack The Ripper book review).
I was so excited for both the sequels after having loved the
first book in the series and I’m so excited to be sharing my thoughts for them
with you!
Thank you to Date A
Book for sending me these books for review however all thoughts and opinions
are my own and this is an honest review.
FIREBLOOD by Elly
Blake
As I said before, Fireblood is the second book in the
Frostblood series and I absolutely loved Frostblood! It totally surprised me
because I was not expecting to enjoy it as much as I did. I was also super
excited to have the next book coming out within the same year because I hate long
waits for sequels.
I really enjoyed Fireblood, however, not as much as
Frostblood (which is okay, because the first books are always the best!). I
loved that Ruby moved away from her initial setting and discovered more about
herself, which means more character development, which of course I adore. You
could really see Ruby grow into herself and the person she was meant to become
as she was able to harness her abilities and learn about her heritage.
I also liked Kai, although I wasn’t so excited about the
love triangle. I don’t hate love triangles as much as others but I certainly don’t
like them and I was nervous about the love triangle in this, but I think it got
resolved at the end of this book so I’m not too worried.
There were a few twists and turns, some of which I predicted
(go me!) and some of which I didn’t. The writing was simple as before, but it wasn’t
a huge issue for me, although it would be cool if the writing was better able
to emulate the subject matter of the book (the book is about fire, so the writing
could be more passionate).
The only real problem I had with this one was the lack of
world building and the plainness of the fantasy world. I didn’t mind this as
much in the first book, but in this one, I was hoping there could be more world
building and greater attention to the intricacies, but I was disappointed. This
book didn’t expand on the world much or give me a clear picture of what it was
like. It also lacked the exciting and well-planned plot of most fantasies. While
the plot wasn’t bad, it was too simple for a fantasy and especially for the second
book in a fantasy series.
Nonetheless, I am going to be reading the last book when it
comes out next year titled Nightblood
and I can’t wait to see what happens with the characters, especially since Fireblood
ended on such an exciting note.
HUNTING PRINCE
DRACULA by Kerri Maniscalco
Like what I said above, I liked the first book, Stalking
Jack The Ripper better. This one, while enjoyable, wasn’t nearly as exciting.
I did like the mystery aspects of this as per usual. I feel
Maniscalco has great thriller reads that strike the perfect balance between mystery,
romance and historical fiction. No one element over powers which makes for a
really balanced read. As per usual, the character interaction was enjoyable! There
is quick and witty dialogue and lots of character development, similar to the
first book.
I liked that the characters moved away from their initial
setting to Romania for this book, because it fit the creepy, mysterious theme
SO WELL and I liked the blend of Romanian culture for the telling of this
story. The use of language and old myths created a very rich and authentic
element to the story. The writing is simple but smart and enhances the story as
it directs the focus towards the plot and character interactions.
One criticism I have for the story is the author drew the romance
out so much in this book that it was honestly a little ridiculous. I got so frustrated
with the characters, especially Audrey Rose, whom I loved in the first book.
They just kept making bad excuses as to why they couldn’t be together, and don’t
get me wrong, I am ALL for slow burn but this just felt unnecessary. The romance
was one of the aspects I loved in the first book so much and this book ruined
it for me.
Another criticism I have is the murder mystery elements. I found
them so much more exciting in the first book but this one just fell flat. I’m
not trying to constantly compare everything to the first book because I understand
that second books are hard to write, but the mystery wasn’t even a little
gripping in this book. While it was harder to guess who the murder was, it was
less exciting and addictive. It also felt very repetitive to me and I’d have
liked this book to be a continuation of the mystery from the first book, rather
than a new one.
This is not to say this book wasn’t good. It was good
compared to other books. But not as good as the first book and sadly suffered
middle-book-syndrome. Still, I will be reading the third book, set to release
in 2018 and hopefully it ties everything together.
Have you read either
of these two book series? What did you think? And what do you think of middle
books? Do you like them usually?
5 happy thoughts
I really enjoyed Frostblood but I thought it just didn’t have enough energy to make it a 5 star read, but definitely perfect for beginner readers! I’m currently listening to Stalking Jack The Ripper on audible and I’m enjoying it I guess haha ���� I LOVE your blog! I can’t believe me it took me so long to check it out but I’m glad I finally did!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Ella! And I feel like SJTR would be SO good on audio so glad to hear you're enjoying it!
DeleteI really enjoyed Hunting Prince Dracula, but, like you, I liked Stalking Jack the Ripper more. I think part of the reason for that is I was prepared for this to be SO MUCH BETTER than the first book based on a few reviews I read prior to the publication. Alas, it wasn't. I feel like creating a truly hard to guess mystery is just not the author's biggest strength, and the romance wasn't good enough here to make up for that. Still 4 stars, but very weak ones. Great review! :)
ReplyDeleteVeronika @ The Regal Critiques
YES I KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN! And it felt kinda off to me so glad I wasn't the only one that thought that!
DeleteSo glad you enjoyed Fireblood as well! I'm looking forward to reading Nightblood now. And I need to read Stalking Jack the Ripper asap and read this one because they sound like great reads!
ReplyDeleteLeave me a comment below! And feel free to leave your website URL so I can come visit!