Bookalicious

Goodreads: Many have read and loved Bram Stoker’s Dracula. But questions remain. What is the true story of Dracula’s origin? What if Mina could not bring herself to record the true story of their scandalous affair—until now?

In Dracula, My Love: The Secret Journals of Mina Harker, Syrie James explores these questions and more. A vibrant dramatization, told from Mina’s point of view, brings to life the crucial parts of Stoker’s story while showcasing Mina’s sexual awakening and evolution as a woman, and revealing a secret that could destroy her life. Torn between two men—a loving husband and a dangerous lover—Mina struggles to hang on to the deep love she’s found within her marriage, even as she is inexorably drawn to Dracula himself—the vampire that everyone she knows is determined to destroy.

I read Dracula at a young age. Probably younger than I should have. Bram Stoker instilled a love of the paranormal in me at this tender young age and for that I am very thankful. I moved on to Frankenstein, then Let the Right One In, and I have always enjoyed a good vampire horror over sparkly emo vampires any day.

James takes us back to the simplicity of horror from Mina’s point of view. The story follows closely to the original novel while giving us new info to work with. New explanations to things that Stoker never gave us. I fell in love with Dracula instead of fearing him but a slight bit of unease was always present.

The only criticism I can offer is the use of van Helsing’s foreignness. James wanted to show that since he was Dutch he would not speak English correctly and I applaud her for that, however the broken English she had him speak through-out the novel was not equivalent to how a Dutch person would speak English. It was more Eastern European, like how a Romanian would speak the language.

James made me feel sympathy for Dracula even in the end. If you have loved Dracula, or any of the horror classics you should read Syrie James. She breathed new life into a favorite book. It was like reading it again for the first time.

FTC Disclosure (lame): I received this book for review from the publisher.