stalking jack the ripper & hunting prince dracula by kerri maniscalco; a review

title: Stalking Jack the Ripper (#1) & Hunting Prince Dracula (#2)
author: Kerri Maniscalco
genres: Young Adult, Historical, Mystery
publisher: Jimmy Paterson
release date: Sept 20th, 2016 & Sept 19th, 2017 respectively
spoilers: vague to none
Goodreads Summary (book one): 

❝Seventeen-year-old Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord’s daughter, with a life of wealth and privilege stretched out before her. But between the social teas and silk dress fittings, she leads a forbidden secret life.

Against her stern father’s wishes and society’s expectations, Audrey often slips away to her uncle’s laboratory to study the gruesome practice of forensic medicine. When her work on a string of savagely killed corpses drags Audrey into the investigation of a serial murderer, her search for answers brings her close to her own sheltered world.

The story’s shocking twists and turns, augmented with real, sinister period photos, will make this dazzling, #1 New York Times bestselling debut from author Kerri Maniscalco impossible to forget.❞

in my wicked anticipation for escaping from houdini – the third installment in the series, which is coming out september 23rd of this year, i decided to review the first two novels. i listened to the stalking jack the ripper audiobook last summer on a bus trip to the seaside, but could not concentrate enough on it so i ended up rereading the book a year later and fell in love! i devoured hunting prince dracula immediately after that, because i couldn’t get enough of kerri maniscalco’s writing.

the first book follows the events of september 1888, when the infamous jack the ripper was terrorizing the streets of london. the historical accuracy in this book is phenomenal, and it is crystal clear that maniscalco has done her research well. (of course, there are a few tweaks here and there, but such creative liberties are explained in the author’s note.) i found it so fascinating how maniscalco manages to connect real figures and events to her fictional story in such a seamless way – even down to the minutest details. it feels like you’re reading a real life victorian lady’s journal entries!

the wicked king by holly black; a non-spoiler review

title: The Wicked King
author: Holly Black
genres: Young Adult, Fantasy
publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
release date: Jan 8th, 2018
source: Edelweiss
Goodreads Summary:

❝You must be strong enough to strike and strike and strike again without tiring.

The first lesson is to make yourself strong.

After the jaw-dropping revelation that Oak is the heir to Faerie, Jude must keep her younger brother safe. To do so, she has bound the wicked king, Cardan, to her, and made herself the power behind the throne. Navigating the constantly shifting political alliances of Faerie would be difficult enough if Cardan were easy to control. But he does everything in his power to humiliate and undermine her even as his fascination with her remains undiminished.

When it becomes all too clear that someone close to Jude means to betray her, threatening her own life and the lives of everyone she loves, Jude must uncover the traitor and fight her own complicated feelings for Cardan to maintain control as a mortal in a Faerie world.❞

i received this advanced reader’s copy from the publisher via edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

the wicked king is the second installment of holly black’s trilogy ‘the folk of the air’, which follows the story of a mortal girl, jude, trying to navigate her way through the politics of elfhame – the faerie island she lives on. i feel so lucky to have gotten a hold on this so early, but at the same time i regret it because the wait has gone from a few months to almost two years until queen of nothing is released. regardless, the wicked king is everything i had hoped for, and more!