The Blood Countess

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I really loved the historical aspect of a story that seems so mysterious and horrific. I liked that the countess was made human and seemed to be so different from all the versions that we can read of her today. It was a fascinating read overall. 3 stars.

Many of us have heard the story of Elizabeth Bathory, the Blood Countess, an alleged Hungarian serial killer of young girls. This book provides a different history. A story about a noble woman trying to survive the political and religious turmoil of the times. Bathory's tale is intertwined with a female academic from the present. It is full of mysticism (which was confusing at times). The book also portrays the suffering of woman and the power of stories.

This book is intense. I liked the historical aspects of the story. The magical elements were a bit complicated but they definitely added to the story. I loved the message of the heart and love.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Troubador for a copy of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Matador Publishing for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of this book.

Wow, what a fascinating and thought-provoking read! This book boldly rewrites the narrative of the notorious Blood Countess, Elizabeth Bathory, and I was hooked from start to finish. I loved how the author wove together the parallel stories of Bathory and a modern-day academic, both driven by a passion for uncovering the truth. The historical details transported me to Renaissance Hungary and Transylvania, and I was captivated by the portrayal of Bathory as a subversive printer and smuggler of banned books. The themes of feminism, power, and the manipulation of history resonated deeply with me. I also appreciated how the author highlighted the cutthroat world of academia, where rival scholars will stop at nothing to discredit one another. Overall, this book has left a lasting impression on me, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a compelling and intelligent read.

The cover is what drew me in and I’m so glad I got to read this, it had a great story and I loved the historical fiction element. It took Bathory and created a great story with it, I kinda loved the supernatural elements to this book and getting to go on this journey. I could tell the author researched the Countess and it showed.

This book has such a fascinating and interesting concept. In the character list all of the main characters are linked to different scientific principles, like photons and dark matter, and the ways that they interact with each other are supposed to reflect how these principles interact with one another. I'm not a scientist so I couldn't say whether this works throughout the book but it's certainly a fascinating and original concept.
Several elements of this book actually reminded me of 'The Yellow Wallpaper' by Charlotte Perkins Gillman and is quite unsettling and sinister. You're never entirely sure whether what's happening is real (within the world of the book) or imagined.

The history books have not been kind to Elizabet Bathory. The Guinness Book Of Records lists her as the most prolific female murderer of all time and Hammer Films portrayed her as Countess Dracula. Annouchka Bayley's version of her life is as unlikely as it is likeable.
This is a richly atmospheric novel. It is packed with political intrigue, torture, questionable morality, greed and treachery. It overflows with thrills and mysteries and dark fantasy with characters falling through the very fabric of time itself.
It is a gripping story from start to finish with the complexities of the plot adding layer-upon-layer of suspense. It is also an indictment of the way women across the ages have been ill-treated.
A tour de force of epic storytelling.

I love the cover, and the history is very well done. The fantasy elements are a little less gripping but this book takes on some of the issues of inequality between men and women in an easy to process way.