Review: A Bad Breed by Kat Ross

Synopsis

Pricolici.

A creature out of folklore. And nightmare.

January 1889. When a Romanian village suffers a series of brutal attacks, occult investigator Anne Lawrence is dispatched to the forests of the Old Country to hunt the killer – only to vanish without a trace.

The trail leads her mentor Vivienne Cumberland deep into the Carpathians to a remote monastery. As a blizzard rages outside, trapping them all with the pricolici, Vivienne risks sharing the fate of the woman she came to find. But is the culprit truly a werewolf … or something even more dangerous?

A man bent on revenge. And a love that was never meant to be.

Imprisoned in a decaying castle, Anne finds herself ensnared in a web of dark enchantment, at the mercy of a mysterious captor with a beast inside – and a memory as old as the ancient legends.

As the weeks pass, Anne learns his real identity, and slowly uncovers a complex and deeply passionate man. But is she willing to pay the price for falling under his spell?

Author’s Note: This darkly magical reimagining of Beauty and the Beast is the third book in the Gaslamp Gothic series, but can be read as a standalone with no need to start with Book #1, The Daemoniac.

What I thought

I have wanted to read the books in this series for a while now, and I kept putting them off for some reason.  I think it’s because the synopsis of the first one did not call out to me like the others in this series do. But when I saw the author say that they did not need to be read in order, I was immediately struck with the urge to read this one. I have read a couple of other books by this author, so I knew that I enjoy her writing, but I did not expect to be so sucked into this one.  I really had a hard time putting this one down.  This book is a wonderful balance of Mystery and Fantasy. I did not feel that either outshined the other.  I loved how the author bought in different folklore depending on the setting.  Yes, I looked some of it up to see if it was real and was happily surprised to see that it was really based on actual folklore.

The characters are written so well, even though I was jumping in at book three, I quickly felt connected to them.  I know that Nathaniel isn’t a main character in this one, however, I loved him in the story and I really hope I get more of him in other books.  However, my least favorite character in this one was Alec.  I’m not even sure why, but I just really did not care for him at all.  The female characters in this book were amazing, I love getting strong female characters that can take care of their own, especially set in this time period.

After reading Gail Carriger’s books, it has been so hard for me to find books in this time period that blend with the paranormal so well and don’t make me roll my eyes.  So I am really happy that I have found one!

I cannot wait to go back and read the first two books and then the rest of the series.   Because now I need to know all the things.

My Rating: /5

Have you read this book? If so what did you think? Tell me in the comments below.