So. I'm a bit peeved. Ten points to Griffindor if you imagined Peeves. I already wrote this blog post on my phone while waiting an absurdly long time at the doctor's office. But the world hates me and deleted the draft. Tears. I shall persevere! And attempt to remember what I so eloquently wrote while posted up in urgent care for two hours.
I really did not expect to like this book. "The Secrets of Life and Death" by Rebecca Alexander sounded like a cheesy vampire historical novel. It wasn't. It was awesome. I was THRILLED when the "vampires", which were never actually referred to as vampires, were evil. Like serial killer evil. Which is what vampires actually are. They don't sparkle, they don't all live in Mystic Falls and they sure as hell shouldn't watch you sleep creepily through a window. Don't get me wrong. I love Vampire Diaries and am guilty of reading Twilight. However, this was so refreshing and different that I couldn't put it down.
Alexander pulls true historical events and warps them, turing a 15th century serial killer into a mystical being. This story is two fold. Based off of historical events revolving around Elizabeth Bathory and the writings of Dee and Kelley, she creates a mythical history of magic, witches and the possibility of cheating death. Jumping forward to today, the story follows several individuals who were pulled into the same magic that existed hundreds of years ago. All revolving around the disappearances of girls and young women throughout history.
This novel was different, kept me on the edge of my seat and didn't romanticize the undead. If you're looking for a historical novel about some seriously evil vampires and some modern day witch craft mixed with a pretty attractive history professor, this is definitely the book for you.
I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.
