This guest review is from Danielle Fritz. Danielle is a former librarian who has a special affection for children’s lit and books about the funeral industry. She first cut her criticism teeth as a fanfic writer. A resident of the upper midwest, she’s learned to love beer and tater tot casserole and tolerate long winters. Most nights will find her cuddled up with her pups and wearing out her wrists with yet another crochet project.

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I was an OG Twilight girlie — I read the flood of YA vampire novels that followed the success of Stephenie Meyer’s first series and wondered if I’d accept a bloody bargain for immortality if a pale, cold, and deeply attractive guy happened to pop the question. After reading a handful of IAD titles centered around vamps over the last few years and watching Robert Eggers’s Nosferatu (which is more gore than romance), I found myself searching for another vampire read. Enter The Vengeful Vampire.

Kathryn Ann Kingsley’s second entry into the Creature Feature series is fun romp, despite all the death. If I had to describe it in one word I would say “camp.” There’s a lot of humor to be found among the mild gore. Readers familiar with Bram Stoker’s Dracula will be tickled to see how Kingsley pays homage to the original novel.

Beyond the names and circumstances of the characters, there are many Easter eggs that brought me a lot of delight. I went into this book a bit wary, after the first book in the series, The Forgotten Phantom, fell a bit flat for this lifetime Phan. But The Vengeful Vampire was fun and the translation into the 20th century felt more creative than its predecessor.

It’s 1995. Mina Murray and her friends are mercenary thieves. She, Arthur, Quincy, and Renny source and steal treasures discreetly for their wealthy customers. This particular heist quickly goes south when the tomb they’ve been hired to open reveals a decayed-yet-still-undead vampire who swiftly relieves Quincy of his head (RIP Quincy) then turns his gaze (can it be a gaze if your eyeballs have rotted away?) upon Mina. And then his teeth.

Instead of heavenly gates, the next thing Mina sees is an ornate Victorian bedchamber, decked out in reds, and a very hot vampire who is very keen on making out. Over their brief interlude, he relays their connection — a previous incarnation of Mina helped trap him in the tomb.

“You are the moon in my night sky.” His words were nearly a whisper, but she felt them rumble through her like thunder. “Run from me all you wish. I am where you belong. It seems time herself knew what you could not accept, my Mina. She has brought you back to me at last.”

She didn’t know how to reply. Nothing he said made any sense. All she knew was that she could stay like this forever if he let her, caught in those red eyes of his.

Hands that were as pale as stone cradled her head, lacing fingers into her pink and blue hair.

“Change your hair. Change your face. Do as you wish. I will always know you. Because you are mine.” Lowering his head to hers, he captured her lips in a kiss.

An abrupt gunshot breaks the spell. Enter Mr. Baltimore, the not-quite-human monster hunter employed by the mysterious Institute. He manages to subdue the vamp and rescue poor Mina, who has been abandoned by Renny and Arthur. Reuniting the crew, Mr. Baltimore only offers a few cryptic answers and warns them away from meddling further, promising that he and his agency will take care of the vamp. Before departing, he privately gives Mina his card, promising to return if the vampire resurfaces.

Obviously squicked out and deeply grieving the loss of her friend, Mina finds relative comfort with her ho-hum fiancé, real estate agent Jon Harker, and her best friend Lucy, Arthur’s fianceé. The whole friend group resides together in a massive Victorian inherited by Jon. Mina is content enough with Jon, who is straight-laced and mild mannered in comparison to her more gothic sensibilities. For his part, Jon is questioning where he fits in Mina’s adventuring lifestyle. While it’s clear they care for one another, there’s no passion between them. I was reminded of a relationship between high school sweethearts that’s gone on a little too long.

Over the following days her run-in with the vampire stays heavy on Mina’s mind. And this matter isn’t helped by the fact that every time she sleeps she is met by the vampire in her dreams. Despite her fear and revulsion, she cannot help but to be drawn quite literally into the vampire’s open arms. He’s ready to go full-steam ahead with their relationship, but Mina is understandably unwilling to converse with…

While there is an innate level of attraction that draws her to the vampire, there’s also the influence of his thrall.

He leaned his head as if to kiss her.

Pulling back, she put her hand to his lips. He felt as cold as the stone around her. “Wait.”

“For?”

She blinked. “Good question. I—” She squeaked as he leaned forward again. “Hold on!”

“I am.” He narrowed his red eyes slightly at her. “Be sensical if you are going to interrupt me.”

That sounded like an order. And it resonated through her as if he had just tried to write something to her very DNA. Cringing, she turned her head away again. “Stop that! Don’t do that!”

“Why? You will struggle if I do not. You will rail against me and harm yourself needlessly if I do not calm the waters of your mind.”

Four times in that sentence, she tried to interrupt him.

Four times, she wanted to stop what he was saying, but…couldn’t. Simply couldn’t.

Be sensical if you are going to interrupt me.

He hadn’t just said it—he had—

The patriarchal belief that he had to “protect” Mina from upset had the potential to be really icky. It’s an antiquated view of women and their emotions that was likely mainstream whenever the vampire was last roaming the Earth in the 1880s. But when Mina insists the mind control is neither helpful nor cute, he respects her wishes without question. Just like that. In fact, throughout the book as Mina sets up boundaries or expresses concerns, the vampire continues to be considerate of her desires. We stan a respectful king!

It’s only a matter of time before they have another occasion to meet in person, and this time he’s full-fleshed out (literally), seductive, and challenging Mina’s resolve. There’s a moment when the vampire imparts the full experience of being trapped in his coffin for over 130 years, conscious, starving, and alone. It could’ve been a cheap moment of “and just like that Mina understood him perfectly!” but instead it’s only a step towards building trust and understanding. Despite the immense amount of sexual chemistry between these two characters, this HEA is hard-won and overcomes a lot of challenges (yes, including the friend-murdering) and misaligned expectations due to the characters’ massive generational difference, but even with these admittedly large obstacles, I was quickly rooting for the couple.

There is a lot going on, and I think one of the strongest points of this book is that the narrative isn’t limited to only Mina’s POV. We have chapters and sections of chapters from the POV of Jon, the vampire, Renny. Having so many perspectives makes it easier to keep straight all of the strings throughout, and it’s also reminiscent of the epistolary structure of Dracula, which relies on letters, journal entries, etc, from numerous characters.

This book isn’t exactly a 1:1 retelling of Dracula, but there’s a lot of familiar elements. We meet the seductive brides, there’s Lucy’s run-in with vampires, Renny’s stint as a thrall, etc. Mr. Baltimore is a good stand-in for Dr. Van Helsing, though with significantly less time on page than the good doctor.

At some point, adaptations of the book, such as Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 Bram Stoker’s Dracula and the 2014 Dracula Untold, have set Mina up to be the reincarnated wife of the vampire. Whereas in the novel, Dracula’s targeting of her character is strictly to seek retribution against the men in the novel. I happen to be a sucker for the reincarnation plotline, so the decision to center the romance around this was a big part of what drew me to the book.

There is a level of gore and violence that some readers might wish to avoid — heads are removed, people are staked, shot, and much like in the original, some significant characters die. Thankfully nothing too gratuitous, and we never linger on the grisly bits. However if you’re prone to avoiding media blood and violence, this might not be a read for you. I struggle to watch the Game of Thrones franchise, but found the level of blood fine for my sensibilities.

If you devoured books such as Vampire Kisses, Jessica’s Guide for Dating on the Darkside, The Historian, or any of the other vamp books of the mid-aughts, this paranormal homage to Bram Stoker’s biggest hit will definitely strike a chord.