The Shadow Prince (Mortal Enchantment, #0.5) by Stacey O'Neale Review

This is a spoiler-free review! The Shadow Prince is currently available for free on iBooks and Kindle.

I have been trying to get back into the fantasy genre, and a quick novella seemed just the thing to light that fire. As an introduction to the Mortal Enchantment trilogy, this novella allows readers to get to know the main character, Rowan, and the impossible task given to him in order for him to claim his right to the throne. I loved the elemental aspect of this story -- I feel as though it is so rarely seen in young adult and adult fantasy novels, with the only one coming to mind is the Akasha series by Terra Harmony.

For being such a quick read, the author does a great job at world-building in the limited pages, and when it comes to character development, Rowan is quickly presented with a number of moral dilemmas and does a decent job navigating them. Along with his best friend, Marcus, he is set up to face the ultimate choice alongside a number of obstacles once he travels from the mortal world back to Avalon.

I am usually not a fan of fantasy books transitioning between the mortal world and their magical land, but the author only references a few specific real world items during the story, which allows the reader to maintain their presence in the elemental courts. While being categorized as young adult, I could see the story well-placed in an adult setting, especially when it comes to the shape-shifters introduced -- there is something sinister with their significance in the story.

Rowan spends a decent amount of this novella battling his inner thoughts regarding the task of killing the princess of the air court, and while it is always important for us to see the lead character experience challenges, his back and forth was starting to get a touch old for my liking. Hopefully in Storm Born, he will be more decisive as his story unfolds. The side characters provide conflict for Rowan as expected, and I look forward to seeing him gain some allies in the rest of the series.

I would definitely recommend this to fans of The Folk of the Air series by Holly Black -- it reminds me so much of the world if you swap out faeries for elemental beings, and the stakes are just as high. This was a great way to get readers interested in starting a new series, and I certainly plan on continuing with Rowan's story.

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Dracula by Bram Stoker Review

This is a spoiler-free review!

Going into this book, I had a different idea of what the tone and focus of the story would be -- and I was pleasantly surprised on how much I enjoyed the formatting of this classic. Stoker utilizes diary entries, journaling, phonographs, and newspaper articles to string together Jonathan Harker's encounter with Count Dracula, and the consequences that followed. The use of multiple perspectives of side characters in addition to Jonathan allowed the story to unfold and the reader is able to see the true outcome of Jonathan's stay with the Count.

There were a few points in the story where I felt as though Stoker was losing his audience, and I found myself pushing through side plots that only aided the main story for a brief moment. The majority of the book, to my surprise, takes place in both England and in Transylvania, with a number of locations as the tale moves back and forth between Jonathan and his wife, Mira, as she waits for his return home. Rather than focus on the environment or surroundings in this story, it was more so the emotions that took precedence as the characters sought to protect themselves from tales of the undead.

Introducing a number of side characters to Jonathan's story, Stoker is able to give the reader a more enhanced understanding of the way society viewed the lore of the Count. With Mira's letters and diary entries, along with Dr. Van Helsing and numerous other individuals, readers are truly given the full perspective -- if only we were able to have a single chapter from Dracula's point of view. There were times where chapters from Mira's entries felt as though they were taking away from Jonathan's story, and I was frustrated with the focus being turned to her worrying about him for forty pages instead of actually seeing what was going on with him and Dracula at his estate.

Humor is sprinkled in throughout the story, and while sparse, it does make the characters more enjoyable and personable, especially for the characters that do not have nearly as many dedicated chapters to their thoughts and diary entries. Some of the reasoning of solutions that characters would come with in order to protect themselves were downright hilarious, especially when claiming a string of garlic was actually a flower necklace.

As far as pacing goes, it takes a minute to readjust yourself to the language of the story, but a few chapters in and you will have the hang of it in no time. When Jonathan was while Dracula, the story moves quickly and entices the reader, but I found myself losing a touch of interest when we abandoned Dracula and moved to a new subplot. Once Dracula was no longer the main event, the story began to drag on and the last 15% of the book was tough to push through, but I was determined to see this classic to the end. I wish Stoker had expanded more on Jonathan's experience with Dracula, rather than only showing their interactions briefly compared to the aftermath.

An excellent piece of gothic literature that explores the horrors of men and monsters while remaining open to interpretation regarding the true nature of violence and society. A true classic and essential piece to truly understand the genre as a whole as well as one of the most popular characters in horror.

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