A review by Elizabeth Manthos
When small town orphan Pandora English (coolest name ever) is invited to live with her Grear-Aunt Celia in New York, she is set on breaking out of her tragic past to make it in the big apple as a writer. But as always, for Pandora, things don’t always turn out the way she expects them to.
Beginning with the mysterious suburb of Spektor, a “mist-wreathed” mystery that doesn’t show up on any map and her great-aunts seemingly vacant gothic mansion, things around Pandora just got a whole lot spookier.
Her great aunt Celia is an enigma herself. A former fashion designer to the stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age, Celia is elegant, unnaturally young and always wearing a veil. But she’s not the only enigma of the novel, a ghostly soldier and other supernaturals traipse through the novel.
Pandora finally lands a job at a fashion magazine, with the help of her aunt, aptly called Pandora and manages to get an assignment covering the A-List launch of to Hollywood’s latest craze, a miracle cream that seems to work wonders. ‘Blood of Youth’ and its gorgeous model spokesperson Athanasia aren’t what you would expect.
The miracle cream’s secret ingredient is a secret worth killing for.
The Blood Countess is a refreshing novel from model turned author Tara Moss, which looks at supernatural lore in a whole new light. The thrilling novel centralises on Pandora English and the developments in her life, from moving from a country town to New York and all the drama that comes with it.
Pandora as a character is somewhat relatable and her character develops through the novel into a strong female lead. The novel is not without its dazzling love triangle either. The dashing Jay Rockwell and the dapper Second Lieutenant Luke Thomas are vying for her attention. One is a journalist with Men Only magazine and the other is a civil war ghost.
But they aren’t the biggest part of the novel. Blood of Youth and the people behind it will surprise you and frighten you all at once.
Tara Moss mixes fantasy and history all into the first instalment in the Pandora English series, I highly recommend this novel to anyone who likes a good read.
