Smitten by Books

Dracula, My Love
Author: Syrie James
Publisher: Avon A
Pub. Date: July 20, 2010
ISBN-13: 978-0061923036
Retail: $14.99
Pages: 480

Acclaimed author Syrie James approaches Bram Stoker’s classic Dracula with a breathtaking new perspective—as, for the first time, Mina Harker records the shocking story of her scandalous seduction and sexual rebirth.

Who is this magnetic, fascinating man? And how could one woman fall so completely under his spell?

Mina Harker is torn between two men. Struggling to hang on to the deep, pure love she’s found within her marriage to her husband, Jonathan, she is inexorably drawn into a secret, passionate affair with a charismatic but dangerous lover. This haunted and haunting creature has awakened feelings and desires within her that she has never before known, which remake her as a woman.

Although everyone she knows fears him and is pledged to destroy him, Mina sees a side to him that the others cannot: a tender, romantic side; a man who’s taken full advantage of his gift of immortality to expand his mind and talents; a man who is deeply in love, and who may not be evil after all. Yet to surrender is surely madness, for to be with him could end her life. It may cost Mina all she holds dear, but to make her choice she must learn everything she can about the remarkable origins and sensuous powers of this man, this exquisite monster, this . . . Dracula!

~*~*~

DRACULA, MY LOVE is a must-read for fans of the original DRACULA.

DRACULA, MY LOVE is told entirely from Mina Harker’s point-of-view in journal form. The book begins with a single Mina visiting with her friend, Lucy, and her mother. Jonathan Harker, Mina’s fiancé is on a business trip, but once he returns they will wed. Odd things start to occur and Mina writes in her diary to pass the time and to try and understand what is happening in the small town of Whitby. Mina meets a mysterious man and can’t get him off her mind, even though she is thoroughly in love with Jonathan.

I love the way this book was written. Normally I’m not a fan of first person unless it is done really well. Ms. James writes Mina in such a way that we are able to get glimpses of what the other characters are feeling through Mina’s observations. Both love stories in this novel (Mina and Jonathan/Mina and Dracula) have such depth. Although I knew how it will end and that Dracula isn’t all he seems, I became so caught up in the story that I really wasn’t sure who I wanted Mina to end up with.

One of my favorite passages comes from the very beginning of the book. It sets the tone of the story and immediately grasped my attention.

Now and then, when I spy a white mist gathering in the garden below, when a shadow crosses a wall at night, or when I see dust motes swirling in a bean of moonlight, I still find myself jumping in expectation and alarm. Jonathan will press my hand and catch my eye with a silent, reassuring look, as if to let me now that he understands that we are safe. But when he turns back to his reading by the fire, my heart continues to hammer in my chest, and I am overcome not only by the sense of apprehension that Jonathan knows I feel, but by something else as well…by longing.

Yes, longing.

And in the same prologue another favorite passage:

I loved him. I loved him passionately, profoundly, from the very depths of my being, and with ever beating of my heart. There was a time when I might have gladly given up this human life to be with him for ever.

Anyone who is a fan of Dracula or even those who just want to read a really emotional love story should read DRACULA, MY LOVE.

Rating: 9 (Excellent)

Heat-Level: 2 (Mild)

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