Reviewed by Stephen K.
TITLE: The Viscount’s Prey
AUTHOR: Julia Leijon
PUBLISHER: Independently Published
LENGTH: 40 Pages
RELEASE DATE: October 28th 2015
BLURB:
Benjamin, a new lawyer in Victorian London, aspires to nothing more than a quiet, unremarkable life. When he is sent to Transylvania on business, he looks forward to demonstrating his steadfast and reliable nature.
Nothing prepares him for Vlad. The handsome, forceful viscount seems to cast a dark spell over his young guest. And then the dreams begin. Vivid, frightening, but strangely alluring, they are full of forbidden desires … and sharp white teeth at his neck.
Slowly seduced by the castle and its master, Ben must decide if escape is what he really wants. But if he stays, can he ever be more to Vlad than prey?
REVIEW:
Completely appropriate for a quick Halloween night read, this freebie retells Bram Stoker’s basic tale with a bit of an M/M bent. Given the number of times that this tale has been re-told, there’s not a lot of latitude for much here that is new, but it is enjoyable to revisit this, particularly close to Halloween.
It’s sufficiently well told and evocative to be an enjoyable read and at just 40 pages a quick one. Told as a series of journal entries, this tale covers all the standard bases from the three weird sisters, to the aspiring lawyer; here a young man named Benjamin rather than Jonathan Harker who travels to Transylvania where he meets and falls into the thrall of Count Vlad.
The Victorian era young man has a cousin back home that is his intended. But once he meets Count Vlad, that plan, and the young man himself, are doomed.
While this felt like it might originally have been intended as a teaser for a M/M series, the author hasn’t published any other vampire stories that I’m aware of. I’ve not read any of Leijon’s other works, but her writing here is sufficiently well crafted that I am very curious about two of her other books, Ice in Sunlight, and The Warrior’s Boy. When and if I get to them, I’ll be sure to report back but in the mean-time if you’re looking for a thriller to curl up with this Halloween, you could certainly do worse than The Viscount’s Prey.
RATING: 
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