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Princess Dracula #1
Princess Dracula
All power comes at a price…
Ruxandra learned everything she knows while growing up in a convent. Training to be the perfect nobleman’s wife, she relishes the prospect of a simple life. But everything changes when her father, Vlad Dracula, retrieves her on her eighteenth birthday. Securing her a marriage is the last thing he has in mind…
After he performs a mysterious ritual over her, Ruxandra gains uncontrollable supernatural powers. Alone, terrified, and faced with an unknown future, she is left to forge a new life for herself. There’s only one thing she knows: if she doesn’t learn to control her unnatural instincts, she’ll destroy every last shred of her humanity.
Princess Dracula is the first book in a dark fantasy horror series. If you like crisp writing, emotional gravitas, and intriguing retellings of classic tales, then you’ll love John Patrick Kennedy’s new twist on vampire lore.
Ruxandra learned everything she knows while growing up in a convent. Training to be the perfect nobleman’s wife, she relishes the prospect of a simple life. But everything changes when her father, Vlad Dracula, retrieves her on her eighteenth birthday. Securing her a marriage is the last thing he has in mind…
After he performs a mysterious ritual over her, Ruxandra gains uncontrollable supernatural powers. Alone, terrified, and faced with an unknown future, she is left to forge a new life for herself. There’s only one thing she knows: if she doesn’t learn to control her unnatural instincts, she’ll destroy every last shred of her humanity.
Princess Dracula is the first book in a dark fantasy horror series. If you like crisp writing, emotional gravitas, and intriguing retellings of classic tales, then you’ll love John Patrick Kennedy’s new twist on vampire lore.
203 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 17, 2017
676 people are currently reading
2030 people want to read
About the author
John Patrick Kennedy
13 books766 followersJohn has always had a taste for wanderlust and adventure. As a young man, he travelled the world with little but what he could carry on his back. He has climbed Denali, hiked the Amazon, and even spent a year in Japan, teaching English and feeding deer in the famous Nara Park. His love of Asian history and philosophy has led him to become a master at Jeet Kune Do and a practicing Taoist.
John now divides his time between two homes, one in New York City, the other in London. He is married with a beautiful little girl who inspires and captivates him. They share their homes with a loyal, loving, German Shepherd. A man of many interests and talents, John has been a world-ranked tennis pro, a ballroom dancer, chef... and of course, he remains, and always will be a writer. All of John's many interests and adventures have inspired his writing. In addition, his imagination is so vivid and dear, it is almost as if he lives part-time within a third home in his mind, an inner world his readers glimpse when they read his novels.
Unfortunately, he's still unable to get verified on Twitter and Facebook.
johnpatrickkennedy.net
twitter.com/JohnPatKennedy
facebook.com/AuthorJohnPatrickKennedy/
John now divides his time between two homes, one in New York City, the other in London. He is married with a beautiful little girl who inspires and captivates him. They share their homes with a loyal, loving, German Shepherd. A man of many interests and talents, John has been a world-ranked tennis pro, a ballroom dancer, chef... and of course, he remains, and always will be a writer. All of John's many interests and adventures have inspired his writing. In addition, his imagination is so vivid and dear, it is almost as if he lives part-time within a third home in his mind, an inner world his readers glimpse when they read his novels.
Unfortunately, he's still unable to get verified on Twitter and Facebook.
johnpatrickkennedy.net
twitter.com/JohnPatKennedy
facebook.com/AuthorJohnPatrickKennedy/
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 253 reviews
October 16, 2017
What a sexist piece of garbage.
This book is what happens when a man who only thinks of women as sexual objects writes a female protagonist. Ruxandra is naked for 80% of the book and the author reminds us of it constantly. The author cannot for the life of him cannot stop mentioning the word "breasts." Every female character is sexualized. Ruxandra initially has relationships with women, which would be great if her first experience with a man doesn't bring her to admit that he is sooooo much better than her female partners. Mixed in with the constant nudity and the sexual objectification is a lot of self-hatred of the main character, who I think we are somehow supposed to admire.
Also nothing actually happens in the book. Like really. I cannot think of a single interesting thing that actually happens. I spent the entire time cringing at how poorly written it is.
Books like these always have so much potential. Unfortunately this one is a complete failure that left me reading it just so I could more roundly criticize it.
This book is what happens when a man who only thinks of women as sexual objects writes a female protagonist. Ruxandra is naked for 80% of the book and the author reminds us of it constantly. The author cannot for the life of him cannot stop mentioning the word "breasts." Every female character is sexualized. Ruxandra initially has relationships with women, which would be great if her first experience with a man doesn't bring her to admit that he is sooooo much better than her female partners. Mixed in with the constant nudity and the sexual objectification is a lot of self-hatred of the main character, who I think we are somehow supposed to admire.
Also nothing actually happens in the book. Like really. I cannot think of a single interesting thing that actually happens. I spent the entire time cringing at how poorly written it is.
Books like these always have so much potential. Unfortunately this one is a complete failure that left me reading it just so I could more roundly criticize it.
February 9, 2017
This. Book. Sucked. Do not waste your time. It is NOT a whole book! It is all set up for a 2nd book! The story doesn't even begin yet! There is no plot or climax! It is all prologue.. whoever wrote this needs to take a basic elementary story writing class. It feels like what should be 1 book is getting cut into 4 books just to make more money out of it. It's a scam. DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME!!! I CANNOT EMPHASIZE HOW ANNOYED I AM BY THIS BOOK THIS MAY BE THE FIRST NEGATIVE REVIEW I'VE EVER WRITTEN THAT'S HOW ANNOYED I AM. I don't think I've ever even written a review before but this book is soo skeezy of a rip off I am driven to take the time to warn others not to waste their money or time!
All about Benjamins baby! DON'T GIVE THEM YOUR $$$$$!
OH and another thing! When reading the "sex" parts the way the author is NOT describing her anatomy with very flowery words without actually saying I even thought to myself this author must be a man and he must be a virgin. At certain moments you can't even tell what body parts he's talking about. I'm 110% certain he's never seen a vagina before, let alone touched one in real life.
This man needs to take a WRITING CLASS and SEX ED!
Ok. I'll stop ranting now.
All about Benjamins baby! DON'T GIVE THEM YOUR $$$$$!
OH and another thing! When reading the "sex" parts the way the author is NOT describing her anatomy with very flowery words without actually saying I even thought to myself this author must be a man and he must be a virgin. At certain moments you can't even tell what body parts he's talking about. I'm 110% certain he's never seen a vagina before, let alone touched one in real life.
This man needs to take a WRITING CLASS and SEX ED!
Ok. I'll stop ranting now.
May 14, 2019
💯 Read for the 2019 MacHalo Splendiferous Book Bingo Thingie (MSBBT™) challenge over at the MacHalo Asylum 💯
•• 2. Judge it by the cover ••
"Judge it by the cover" was the right category for this. Cause the only thing worthy here is the cover, which is fucking gorgeous. And I don't mean that everything else is unworthy, its just that it was so pointless and MEH and boring.
Even though there's a story, a narrative, things happening and time passing and all that, nothing happens and nothing exists. Confusing, I know. Confusion is one of my core abilities. Hold on..
Imagine if you read about the process of making bread but from the very start, only the person making the bread doesn't even know what bread is. Even if you were a cook yourself and liked to read about baking and about people discovering baking, this type of writing would be tedious as fuck if it wasn't boring you out of your skull first. And when I say very start I mean very start, like cleaning the particular space you will work, washing all your tools and so on and so on.
This was necessary for the story but at some point it went haywire. The writing style didn't help either. I don't know, on the one hand this was a pillar in the foundation for the story to stand on but on the other we didn't need all this. Everything melted together and everything was miles apart at the same time.
Other reviews said this was sexist and all that and it might have been but personally I didn't notice it. It all seemed MEH & stupid to me sooo...
Will I continue? Of course I will, cause I'm wired that way, but also because of how this one ended. Cliffhanger galore. I still hold hope that the rest of the series might improve, since the idea behind this is a good one. Too bad the execution is a gallows one.
•• 2. Judge it by the cover ••
"Judge it by the cover" was the right category for this. Cause the only thing worthy here is the cover, which is fucking gorgeous. And I don't mean that everything else is unworthy, its just that it was so pointless and MEH and boring.
Even though there's a story, a narrative, things happening and time passing and all that, nothing happens and nothing exists. Confusing, I know. Confusion is one of my core abilities. Hold on..
Imagine if you read about the process of making bread but from the very start, only the person making the bread doesn't even know what bread is. Even if you were a cook yourself and liked to read about baking and about people discovering baking, this type of writing would be tedious as fuck if it wasn't boring you out of your skull first. And when I say very start I mean very start, like cleaning the particular space you will work, washing all your tools and so on and so on.
This was necessary for the story but at some point it went haywire. The writing style didn't help either. I don't know, on the one hand this was a pillar in the foundation for the story to stand on but on the other we didn't need all this. Everything melted together and everything was miles apart at the same time.
Other reviews said this was sexist and all that and it might have been but personally I didn't notice it. It all seemed MEH & stupid to me sooo...
Will I continue? Of course I will, cause I'm wired that way, but also because of how this one ended. Cliffhanger galore. I still hold hope that the rest of the series might improve, since the idea behind this is a good one. Too bad the execution is a gallows one.
February 7, 2017
I really wanted to love this book and might have even liked it instead of just finding it OK if it hadn't been for all the needless sex scenes. He didn't even wait to start throwing them in, the first chapter alone has a three way and then the third chapter has a demon with an erect phallus, "It pulsed, like a creature with its own mind..."; this is followed by random masturbating scenes throughout the book. The one sex scene that I felt might have belonged in the story was, in my opinion, overly descriptive. The story itself was actually interesting enough and without the useless sex I think I would have enjoyed his twist on the vampire. I do plan on giving him a second chance and I am hoping he will calm down on the sexuality on his next book.
February 7, 2017
This book started out really strong. It had some dark vibes to it for sure. I think the character depth was done amazingly well. The story execution was decent but I was disappointed with how it ended. I did not go into this read expecting it to be part of a series. At my time of purchase nothing in the blurb or elsewhere indicated that this was not a standalone. However, it ended with no real closure at all. I don’t even consider it a HFN feeling. If this does turn out to be a series (which I can only assume to be the plan, since it ended with so many loose ends) I won't be continuing it. At least it was offered as a kindleunlimited.
February 7, 2017
wtf did I just read. and yet, I'll probably continue. >.<
March 15, 2017
I wouldn't even give this one star
July 4, 2020
I was really into this for the first, like, 15% of the book. And then it was really the most boring thing I've read in a while. Even the fighting scene was just boring. I also give 0 fks about the ending, and I don't think I'm gonna continue this series, cause I really just don't care, even tho the covers are gorgeous.
The writing was easy to read, and it wasn't a problem to read it in a few days or less, even tho it wasn't good.
And I also don't know if it's only for me or what, but it's really weird for me to read sexual tension between females when it's written by a male author, I... don't know, feels like a personal desire that gets expressed via writing, but yeah I don't know, must be just me.
The writing was easy to read, and it wasn't a problem to read it in a few days or less, even tho it wasn't good.
And I also don't know if it's only for me or what, but it's really weird for me to read sexual tension between females when it's written by a male author, I... don't know, feels like a personal desire that gets expressed via writing, but yeah I don't know, must be just me.
February 14, 2023
I had no idea what to think going into this book to be fair. I picked it for the title to fit a guess in a reading challenge. I didn't see the reviews when I chose it, which is probably a good thing, because whew, those reviews were tough. haha.
Overall, this book..... was not great. The writing style was not.... great. The world building left a lot to be imagined. The character development was hit or miss.
The book was very clearly written by a male, hence why the FMC was naked for the majority of the book and his horrid descriptions of the females in general. I did not LIKE his character, at all.
The book ended abruptly as well. clearly set up for the next book. MEh, don't bother with this one.
Overall, this book..... was not great. The writing style was not.... great. The world building left a lot to be imagined. The character development was hit or miss.
The book was very clearly written by a male, hence why the FMC was naked for the majority of the book and his horrid descriptions of the females in general. I did not LIKE his character, at all.
The book ended abruptly as well. clearly set up for the next book. MEh, don't bother with this one.
October 1, 2018
Had a surprising start and really grabbed me all the way through. For a vampire book this came off as pretty original and refreshing.
September 11, 2017
Originally posted on Escaping Reality with Books: https://escapingrealitywithbooksblog....
I actually really liked this and I’m so glad that I did because look at that gorgeous cover! It would have been sad if the story wasn’t executed well but thankfully that’s not the case for this one!
I was hooked from the very first page and I didn’t want to put down the book- read 122 pages in one day (finished this in two) which is very, VERY rare for me. Mr. Kennedy’s writing just draws you in! Though I wasn’t exactly expecting the sex scenes, though done well, I’m glad they didn’t over power the story.
This is an origin story, going to be a four book series, so expect a cliffhanger. Which was well done by the way, I’m dying to buy the second book! Surprisingly I liked that we got to see how she lived in the wild, trying to live as a vampire without hurting anyone. You don’t see a lot of that and before it dragged too much, she runs into a human again and trouble starts up once more.
Overall there was enough action to keep me interested. Mr. Kennedy’s storytelling gives loads of detail, making it easy to slip away from reality! With the ending, I’m quite curious in seeing where Ruxandra’s story goes!
October 19, 2017
*I received a copy of this ebook through Kindle Scout. This has not affected my rating*
This book is the first in a series.
Princess Dracula was a quick but interesting read. There were a few errors such as spelling and words missing from a sentence. I was interested in the overall story but there were many sexual scenes that
were poorly executed. If they had given a bit more to the story, I could have understood them being included but I felt the initial scenes added nothing to the story or characters. I did enjoy reading this take on a classic tale of vampirism/Dracula/Vlad the Impaler. It was interesting to see how the MC handled her newfound life. I didn't care for the way the book ended but as it's the first in a series I feel like that's forgivable.
This book is the first in a series.
Princess Dracula was a quick but interesting read. There were a few errors such as spelling and words missing from a sentence. I was interested in the overall story but there were many sexual scenes that
were poorly executed. If they had given a bit more to the story, I could have understood them being included but I felt the initial scenes added nothing to the story or characters. I did enjoy reading this take on a classic tale of vampirism/Dracula/Vlad the Impaler. It was interesting to see how the MC handled her newfound life. I didn't care for the way the book ended but as it's the first in a series I feel like that's forgivable.
August 26, 2017
I am on a quest this year to read some books out of my comfort zone. With that in mind when my friend offered me this book and I decided to give it a try.
I found the book well written and interesting. The story line was okay but slow in spots. I got really tired of hearing Ruxandra whineing about having been turned into a monster as she put it. I was about to put the book down and not finish it I got so tired of the whining. My friend encouraged me to keep reading and I am glad that I did. It took to the last 50 pages of the book before it really got interesting though. And then left me with a cliff hanger that would make most people who like this type of book want to read on.
Unfortunetly I am not a fan of this genre so will not be continueing on with the series.
I found the book well written and interesting. The story line was okay but slow in spots. I got really tired of hearing Ruxandra whineing about having been turned into a monster as she put it. I was about to put the book down and not finish it I got so tired of the whining. My friend encouraged me to keep reading and I am glad that I did. It took to the last 50 pages of the book before it really got interesting though. And then left me with a cliff hanger that would make most people who like this type of book want to read on.
Unfortunetly I am not a fan of this genre so will not be continueing on with the series.
January 23, 2020
I didn't think the book was as horribly written as, it seems, a lot of other reviewers. It is a great concept, and I thought it was well written. Kind of dark. It's pretty serious, which I don't really go in for usually. I liked it. Reading the next one already :-D
May 30, 2017
A First Vampire Origin Novel
Many authors have written their own version of the Dracula story. With an immortal character and over six hundred years of recorded history between the time of Vlad Dracul's historic deeds and present day, there is an abundance of material for the imagination to grab, twist, turn, invert, convert, pervert, and revert into hundreds of stories. I've read a great many of them. This one takes a sharp left turn a the beginning and then just keeps accelerating into the inevitable, but spectacularly bloody, crash.
The story has some interesting takes on the Vampire legend, especially in regards to what makes them and what can kill them, but doesn't wander far from the more common tropes of the vampire.
Many authors have written their own version of the Dracula story. With an immortal character and over six hundred years of recorded history between the time of Vlad Dracul's historic deeds and present day, there is an abundance of material for the imagination to grab, twist, turn, invert, convert, pervert, and revert into hundreds of stories. I've read a great many of them. This one takes a sharp left turn a the beginning and then just keeps accelerating into the inevitable, but spectacularly bloody, crash.
The story has some interesting takes on the Vampire legend, especially in regards to what makes them and what can kill them, but doesn't wander far from the more common tropes of the vampire.
February 6, 2017
A unique perspective where vampires were born. Ruxandra's father, Vlad Dracula, betrays her on her 18th birthday for power. However, the demon satisfies his request for power by transforming Ruxandra into a creature of the night. Sadly, the demon gives her no knowledge or instructions on how to deal with her new life. This book follows Ruxandra's journey to discover who or what she is becoming. I enjoyed the cliff hanger ending and I'm looking forward to reading book two. (Kindle Scout)
February 7, 2017
Princess Dracula (Princess Dracula #1) by John Patrick Kennedy gave vampires a new dimension and I liked it. It was very dark but at the same time, surprisingly human. I liked that it wasn't the same old vamp book, a new twist and turn on the subject that was refreshing. Vamp books are gore and blood and you bet that was in here but if you are reading a vamp book that isn't, well just get out your glitter, blah! Gag me! This was a great book and I enjoyed it tremendously.
July 2, 2017
Well this was a fair read, there wasn't much action, but there was a lot of explanation and scenery. So much so that I had to put the book down a few times. I did like the fact that she still tried to maintain her previous ways even though she was turned into the monster. I'd hope that the next book had more action but good read anyway!
September 25, 2017
It was okay, Very ironic since I just finished reading 'The Historian' which is about Vlad Dracula. I feel for Ruxandra she did not deserve what happened to her, I hope she learns in time to accept what she is. It was a little short and ended on a small cliffhanger, I hope the sequel is longer as the start of it sounds good.
August 1, 2020
Yuck. I think the author has cooties. Hell with it--I wanted to read some more spooky fiction, since it's late October, but I'll resume reading Nasty Women: Feminism, Resistance, and Revolution in Dump's America.
June 1, 2017
This is a simple story about one girl’s strife to cope with her primal instincts. A familiar theme, but really effective.
The beginning even if only briefly, touches on the harrowing cruelty carried out by The Roman Catholic Church at the time and which reputedly continued for centuries. The story begins with Ruxandra, the daughter of Vlad Dracula, in her room at the convent, a day before her father comes to fetch her and her eighteenth birthday. Her two friends Adele and Valencia sneak into her room. The three girls are caught in a lesbian sex act and punished by Sister Sophia. They are flogged with leather straps, naked outside in the winter cold night. This punishment came across as torture to me; the Sister seemed to derive great pleasure in humiliating the girls. Isn’t every Christian taught that the convent or the church is a place of tolerance and compassion? How can religious people teach the love of God and mistreat the ones in their care? Whether what they were doing is wrong or not, our responsibility or privilege as Christians is never to hate but to love, and God is the only one who can judge us because He alone is pure.
The story does not delve deeper into Vlad’s Dracula’s character; Most of what we know about him is what Ruxandra recounts. He is a true nationalist and is known for his breathtaking courage and cruelty: He does not have any redeeming qualities because he comes to collect Ruxandra, after ten years in the convent on her eighteenth birthday and barely says anything to her. When Mother Superior tries to tell him of Ruxandra’s accomplishments, which were basically an example of limits that were expected and encouraged of women, he doesn’t seem interested at all. And we find out why. He is a man who has no compunction about doing what he thinks needs to be done to save the Turks. Including sacrificing his daughter. For Power. Whether he desired power out of need or want, it breaks all moral dimensions of parenthood.
It resonated with me that the fallen angel Vlad summoned says to him. “You believe that betraying your own flesh will give you power?" It is a powerful statement in its utterance. However positive, in a succeeding flow of dialogue, Ruxandra unknowingly sells her soul to this deceiver. “…Do you want to die?” Ruxandra hesitates to answer because of everything she has been taught about fallen angels in the Convent. In a haze of glamor, she gives an affirmative answer, and the fallen angel feeds her her blood. Her life changes forever and now she has this uncontrollable hunger. For blood.
Confused and horrified, after killing her father and some of his men, Ruxandra makes her way to the first village she finds. News of her father’s death and her disappearance has already spread. Amid all this, Lady Demetra offers her a sanctuary. Still trying to reconcile with her metamorphosis, against her will, she drinks the blood and kills Lusa who is supposedly a maid in Lady Demetra’s household.
Branded a demon, Ruxandra flees and spends the next few months in the forest, learning to use her cursed power, avoiding humans and killing animals instead, to curb her hunger, in the process identifying her limitations as a vampire until she stumbles across Neculai Lupei. He is woodcutter with a cabin in the woods not far from his village. She is automatically drawn to him. She knows nothing about sex with ‘men,' but he stirs more than her bloodlust.
Between him offering her his cloak, giving her his dead sister's dress, towel and lilac-scented soap to starting to fantasize about him and their late night conversations, trying not to sink her fangs into his neck is a struggle. Eventually, she loses her virginity to him. In the throes of passion, she bites him. Neculai turns into a rogue vampire. Ruxandra has fallen in love with Neculai in an understated way, and she has to wrestle with the necessity to kill him when she realizes he is a perverse version of what she has become. I found myself expecting Ruxandra to ultimately help him and for them to live happily ever after but we are presented with his tragic execution. Tut-Tut!
I just got goosebumps when she revealed her name to the villagers after killing Neculai. And when one of the males circled around and ready to kill her, he declares she is not who she says she is because she is dead. Ruxandra does not dispel this rumor. “…I am dead, and I am still her.”. We get a glimpse of her power. I could picture it in my mind: the fear gripping the villagers and their mouths agape at her declaration. And in the same scene, I got the impression, some of the villagers or at least one would have given her a chance. One of the men dares to, though fearful, stand with her after he and countless others witnessed Ruxandra mutilating Neculai. That in itself suggested to me that even if he sees her as some kind of monster, she is on their side. I just wanted the author to do more with it, just a little.
By a knife assault, she discovers a weapon that can end her existence. Ruxandra delivers the weapon to Mother Superior at the Convent and tells her to keep it in case she needed to be stopped. She lives her coming years as a recluse until Countess Elizabeth Bathory captures her, holds her prisoner and feeds her human blood: unleashing the beast that she had tried so hard to suppress.
I am leery of most vampire anything whether be it a book or movie. We all know about vampire myths because so many stories have been retold so many times in so many different ways. And that could be boring. But I forgot I was reading fiction and got so emotionally invested in what Ruxandra was going through and felt bad for her. Patrick did a great job to make us visualize the impalpable; he gives us an insight into her thoughts and feelings as she undertakes her transformation, the intensity of her struggle to hang on to her humanity took me places I have been before. Nearly three-quarters of the book is about her mental process and physical discovery about what the change signifies. What does the Bible say “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak,” Her flesh shouted loudly when it wanted to feed, and the ruckus it made easily drowned out the desires of her spirit. Ruxandra didn’t want to be this monster. I really dig it.
The final scene is serialized, it’s a set up for a sequel (which there is by the way and I will put it on my reading list), but if there had never been one, I don’t think I would have been disappointed. It can be read as a stand-alone.
Purchase:
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The beginning even if only briefly, touches on the harrowing cruelty carried out by The Roman Catholic Church at the time and which reputedly continued for centuries. The story begins with Ruxandra, the daughter of Vlad Dracula, in her room at the convent, a day before her father comes to fetch her and her eighteenth birthday. Her two friends Adele and Valencia sneak into her room. The three girls are caught in a lesbian sex act and punished by Sister Sophia. They are flogged with leather straps, naked outside in the winter cold night. This punishment came across as torture to me; the Sister seemed to derive great pleasure in humiliating the girls. Isn’t every Christian taught that the convent or the church is a place of tolerance and compassion? How can religious people teach the love of God and mistreat the ones in their care? Whether what they were doing is wrong or not, our responsibility or privilege as Christians is never to hate but to love, and God is the only one who can judge us because He alone is pure.
The story does not delve deeper into Vlad’s Dracula’s character; Most of what we know about him is what Ruxandra recounts. He is a true nationalist and is known for his breathtaking courage and cruelty: He does not have any redeeming qualities because he comes to collect Ruxandra, after ten years in the convent on her eighteenth birthday and barely says anything to her. When Mother Superior tries to tell him of Ruxandra’s accomplishments, which were basically an example of limits that were expected and encouraged of women, he doesn’t seem interested at all. And we find out why. He is a man who has no compunction about doing what he thinks needs to be done to save the Turks. Including sacrificing his daughter. For Power. Whether he desired power out of need or want, it breaks all moral dimensions of parenthood.
It resonated with me that the fallen angel Vlad summoned says to him. “You believe that betraying your own flesh will give you power?" It is a powerful statement in its utterance. However positive, in a succeeding flow of dialogue, Ruxandra unknowingly sells her soul to this deceiver. “…Do you want to die?” Ruxandra hesitates to answer because of everything she has been taught about fallen angels in the Convent. In a haze of glamor, she gives an affirmative answer, and the fallen angel feeds her her blood. Her life changes forever and now she has this uncontrollable hunger. For blood.
Confused and horrified, after killing her father and some of his men, Ruxandra makes her way to the first village she finds. News of her father’s death and her disappearance has already spread. Amid all this, Lady Demetra offers her a sanctuary. Still trying to reconcile with her metamorphosis, against her will, she drinks the blood and kills Lusa who is supposedly a maid in Lady Demetra’s household.
Branded a demon, Ruxandra flees and spends the next few months in the forest, learning to use her cursed power, avoiding humans and killing animals instead, to curb her hunger, in the process identifying her limitations as a vampire until she stumbles across Neculai Lupei. He is woodcutter with a cabin in the woods not far from his village. She is automatically drawn to him. She knows nothing about sex with ‘men,' but he stirs more than her bloodlust.
Between him offering her his cloak, giving her his dead sister's dress, towel and lilac-scented soap to starting to fantasize about him and their late night conversations, trying not to sink her fangs into his neck is a struggle. Eventually, she loses her virginity to him. In the throes of passion, she bites him. Neculai turns into a rogue vampire. Ruxandra has fallen in love with Neculai in an understated way, and she has to wrestle with the necessity to kill him when she realizes he is a perverse version of what she has become. I found myself expecting Ruxandra to ultimately help him and for them to live happily ever after but we are presented with his tragic execution. Tut-Tut!
I just got goosebumps when she revealed her name to the villagers after killing Neculai. And when one of the males circled around and ready to kill her, he declares she is not who she says she is because she is dead. Ruxandra does not dispel this rumor. “…I am dead, and I am still her.”. We get a glimpse of her power. I could picture it in my mind: the fear gripping the villagers and their mouths agape at her declaration. And in the same scene, I got the impression, some of the villagers or at least one would have given her a chance. One of the men dares to, though fearful, stand with her after he and countless others witnessed Ruxandra mutilating Neculai. That in itself suggested to me that even if he sees her as some kind of monster, she is on their side. I just wanted the author to do more with it, just a little.
By a knife assault, she discovers a weapon that can end her existence. Ruxandra delivers the weapon to Mother Superior at the Convent and tells her to keep it in case she needed to be stopped. She lives her coming years as a recluse until Countess Elizabeth Bathory captures her, holds her prisoner and feeds her human blood: unleashing the beast that she had tried so hard to suppress.
I am leery of most vampire anything whether be it a book or movie. We all know about vampire myths because so many stories have been retold so many times in so many different ways. And that could be boring. But I forgot I was reading fiction and got so emotionally invested in what Ruxandra was going through and felt bad for her. Patrick did a great job to make us visualize the impalpable; he gives us an insight into her thoughts and feelings as she undertakes her transformation, the intensity of her struggle to hang on to her humanity took me places I have been before. Nearly three-quarters of the book is about her mental process and physical discovery about what the change signifies. What does the Bible say “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak,” Her flesh shouted loudly when it wanted to feed, and the ruckus it made easily drowned out the desires of her spirit. Ruxandra didn’t want to be this monster. I really dig it.
The final scene is serialized, it’s a set up for a sequel (which there is by the way and I will put it on my reading list), but if there had never been one, I don’t think I would have been disappointed. It can be read as a stand-alone.
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October 5, 2021
In this tale, Vlad the Impaler is not Dracula. He is just a king at war with the Turks. His daughter Rauxandra has been in a convent for 10 years. She has spent her childhood there. Until Dad shows up and says, come with me. Turns out daddy has nefarious plans. His warriors strip her naked and lay her out in a pentagram inside a cave to call forth a demon. Vlad demands power to defeat the Turks and offers his virgin daughter as a sacrifice. But the fallen angel wants nothing to do Vald. It asks Rauxandra if she wants to live. When the answer is Yes, the fallen angel gives Rauxandra everlasting life and Princess Dracula is born. But this book does not Follow most Dracula stories. Rauxandra spends most of the book learning and dreading what she has become. There are scenes that try to be spicy, but it’s a man writing sex scenes for women and it reads like one. It has Sapphic moments as Rauxandra and her her best female friends experiment so they are knowledgeable for their future husbands, but these parts of the story are not done well. Overall the book is intriguing. I am not sure I will read the rest of the series. Book 1 ends with a note of what happens 132 years later in order to get you interested in the next book, and while intrigued, I’m not sure, I’m intrigued enough to continue.
September 19, 2021
Ummm, the cover is stunning....contents sucked so bad though. It's very clear it's written by a man, not in a good way. It's ironic that the cover shows her in a beautiful dress because she didn't wear clothes for most of the book. It was so sexist. She also lost her virginity in this book and said it didn't hurt her even a little bit, it was just amazing. 😂 I feel like a sexist guy wrote down all the things he wanted to be real or decided to jot down some fantasy he had in his head.
October 23, 2018
SO BAD!!! Like horny teenagers creative writing class assignment bad!!
January 1, 2021
Okay so ...
This was an oversexualised book about a naked girl and her big breasts basically. And big penises and group sex. Not what I anticipated, but what else to expect when a man writes a fantasy with a female protagonist.
When there is nothing about breasts [...], there is hunting, blood, bathing and hiding from the sun. Nothing more.
The ending ... so rushed and why would she even reveal herself to the nuns???
What a ride. Felt like a brick of a book, but it was only 169 pages.
This was an oversexualised book about a naked girl and her big breasts basically. And big penises and group sex. Not what I anticipated, but what else to expect when a man writes a fantasy with a female protagonist.
When there is nothing about breasts [...], there is hunting, blood, bathing and hiding from the sun. Nothing more.
The ending ... so rushed and why would she even reveal herself to the nuns???
What a ride. Felt like a brick of a book, but it was only 169 pages.
May 10, 2020
What a strange outcome … I mean I know Vampires are usually portrayed in a very sexualized manner but man this one takes the cake. With the intense focus on certain body parts, it very much felt like a soft porn novel which really didn’t add anything to the overall plot of the story.
I did appreciate reading about the struggles Princess had right after she turned. I feel like a lot of Vampire books skip over the turning and learning how to cope with their new powers and what that change means. Though brief, I loved the Vlad did play a play a part in the book. The book started to pick up towards the end and I thought it ended well enough knowing it’s part of a series. However, I don’t feel invested enough to continue in the series. Such a shame too, the book covers are gorgeous!
I did appreciate reading about the struggles Princess had right after she turned. I feel like a lot of Vampire books skip over the turning and learning how to cope with their new powers and what that change means. Though brief, I loved the Vlad did play a play a part in the book. The book started to pick up towards the end and I thought it ended well enough knowing it’s part of a series. However, I don’t feel invested enough to continue in the series. Such a shame too, the book covers are gorgeous!
July 26, 2019
I'd give this 1.5 stars if I could.
The MC is naive and as 90% of the book is her being on her own, sucking dry animals in the forest, it's kind of meh. Especially as the author keeps talking about her being naked - the scene of her first time running while nude was so strange? idk, the first few chapters were decent and then it all went downhill quickly.
To sum it up in a few words:
The MC is naive and as 90% of the book is her being on her own, sucking dry animals in the forest, it's kind of meh. Especially as the author keeps talking about her being naked - the scene of her first time running while nude was so strange? idk, the first few chapters were decent and then it all went downhill quickly.
To sum it up in a few words:
February 8, 2017
Full Review at: What's Beyond Forks?
The story itself was well told and made this a hard book to put down. Ruxandra was thrust into an impossible situation, and she has nothing to guide her.
With a Dracula story, you need to have some sexual themes going on, but in this case, it seemed like they were more for shock value rather than value towards the plot, and that really disengaged me from the story.
The ARC of Princess Dracula by John Patrick Kennedy was kindly provided to me by the Kindle Scout program for review. The opinions are my own.
The story itself was well told and made this a hard book to put down. Ruxandra was thrust into an impossible situation, and she has nothing to guide her.
With a Dracula story, you need to have some sexual themes going on, but in this case, it seemed like they were more for shock value rather than value towards the plot, and that really disengaged me from the story.
The ARC of Princess Dracula by John Patrick Kennedy was kindly provided to me by the Kindle Scout program for review. The opinions are my own.
January 13, 2022
I got this series with the impression that it gets better as the series continues. I hope that is true. While one hand, I could understand why she is afraid of what she becomes, I don't read vampire books to have the vampires hide in the woods for half the book. It was Grizzly Adams meets Dracula. And then there are all the references to her living without wearing any clothes. While it wasn't completely illogical, the author kept pointing out all the time that she was naked. I downloaded the whole series so I'm hoping that this will get better in the next book.
April 22, 2017
Some individuals have given this title a scathing review and to each their own opinion. This new spin on the Dracula classic is refreshing at best and at worse the character development of Ruxandra can get better. I believe that in time the series has a chance to become more than what it is.
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