Flame in the Mist by Reneé Ahdieh

3/5 Stars

Published by Speak

Published May 16th, 2017

Synopsis: The daughter of a prominent samurai, Mariko has long known her place--she may be an accomplished alchemist, whose cunning rivals that of her brother Kenshin, but because she is not a boy, her future has always been out of her hands. At just seventeen years old, Mariko is promised to Minamoto Raiden, the son of the emperor's favorite consort--a political marriage that will elevate her family's standing. But en route to the imperial city of Inako, Mariko narrowly escapes a bloody ambush by a dangerous gang of bandits known as the Black Clan, who she learns has been hired to kill her before she reaches the palace.

Dressed as a peasant boy, Mariko sets out to infiltrate the Black Clan and track down those responsible for the target on her back. Once she's within their ranks, though, Mariko finds for the first time she's appreciated for her intellect and abilities. She even finds herself falling in love--a love that will force her to question everything she's ever known about her family, her purpose, and her deepest desires.

Being that this is the first book by Renée Ahdieh, a beloved author by the book community, that I have read, I definitely held it to high standards. After hearing for months that it was a dubbed a Mulan retelling, I held it to even higher standards. Unfortunately, I felt like I got the shorter end of both sticks and ended up jinxing it for myself. Flame in the Mist was far from the Mulan retelling I was expecting and in a way that let me down. It is a good story on its own, so long as you overlook the comparison to Mulan. I think this story definitely has room to grow in the sequel and I look forward to picking it up, especially because I craved so much more out of this one. I am highly impressed by Renée's sense of world building and attention to detail, as well as her incorporation of the Japanese culture (though I am unsure of whether it was represented 100% accurately or appropriately). This was an interesting book from start to finish, with quite a bit of loose ends left out in the open to be answered in the sequel, which is definitely what pushed me to finish this one in time for its release. 

Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco

4/5 Stars

Published by Little, Brown & Company

Published September 19th, 2017

Synopsis: Following the grief and horror of her discovery of Jack the Ripper's true identity, Audrey Rose Wadsworth has no choice but to flee London and its memories. Together with the arrogant yet charming Thomas Cresswell, she journeys to the dark heart of Romania, home to one of Europe's best schools of forensic medicine...and to another notorious killer, Vlad the Impaler, whose thirst for blood became legend.

But her life's dream is soon tainted by blood-soaked discoveries in the halls of the school's forbidding castle, and Audrey Rose is compelled to investigate the strangely familiar murders. What she finds brings all her terrifying fears to life once again.

After what seems like years without reading, I decided to pick this one up for a quick and enthralling read, and boy was it the right choice. Stalking Jack the Ripper was one of my favorite reads of 2017 and I just knew Hunting Prince Dracula would be right up my alley. In middle school I recall reading about Vlad the Impaler for fun in history class, thinking his story was certainly disturbing, yet incredibly fascinating. What I never expected was for his gruesome legacy to be taken to the pages of a YA novel in such an engaging and fun way. Maniscalco takes Prince Dracula's entire being and plays with his characterization like putty, crafting him into this figure that instills fear into the audience with even the slightest mention of his name. Obviously you should be scared of him from just the implication of his name, but Maniscalco was able to rewrite this story in such a way that made it so much more than the historical facts we know about Vlad the Impaler already.