My favorite of the Austra vampire books, Daughter of the Night begins with the exploration of how Elizabeth Bathori became who she was, with the expected wonderful Bergstrom subplots that so entice the reader and make the characters so vibrantly real. A must for Stephen and Charles fans, as well as any fans of the series.

a dark fascinating tale of lust, greed and deep bloodthirsty vampire love. get it today!

This is one of the best books about vampires I have ever read. It's well writen historical fiction about Elizabeth Bathori's (a real person) life. It's fasinating and terrifying at the same time.

Blood Alone very quickly sets the tone of the plots and subplots that fill its lovely pages. The setting is World War Two and the Austra family is attempting to save the world from extinction by taking sides in a human war. Paul Stoddard is a young architect who comes to Chaves to work for Stephen Austra and AustraGlass and quickly falls in love with Elizabeth, one of the family. We are introduced to several characters that will become dear to us through the course of the book: Laurence Austra, Gregory Hunter, Charles Austra, to name a few.

I would recommend reading this before Shattered Glass, its predecessor, as it clears up a few mysteries and makes the series easier for the new reader.

I liked this ravenloft adventure very much. It became an obsession after I struggled through the first (rather boring)chapter. Elaine didn't use the 'higher' Ravenloft-caracters and thats why she could do with her caracter what she wanted. It not an open ended story this time, its has a sad end, but that's Ravenloft. I preferred the Ravenloft adventures written by female writers, because it's not just the horror they are writer about, it goes much deeper. I should rather classify this novel as 'dark Fantasy' I loved it!!!

I bought "Shattered Glass" several years ago expecting it to be a great vampire book. After all, the review on the front cover said it was "The Most Terrifying Novel of Sensuous Evil Since Anne Rice's Interview With the Vampire". (I hadn't finished Interview yet, but I figured if they could compare the two books, it must be worth reading.) Unfortunately, this is one of the worst vampire books I've ever read.

It begins in 1955 with a prostitute being murdered by Charles Austra, brother to Stephen Austra. Both are vampires, but neither is very much alike. While Charles enjoys the darker, seedier aspects of life, Stephen is an artist and all-around good guy. He's also in love with his handicapped neighbor, Helen Wells. Her uncle, Dick, is the police officer investigating Charles's murders, and because the two brothers look so much alike, Dick thinks Stephen is the killer.

The book was confusing at times, but that may have been my own fault. I was already losing interest a few chapters into it. Even though it's not long (approximately 372 pages), it seemed to drag on forever.

I would only recommend this book to die-hard vampire fans who will read anything with blood and fangs in it. Otherwise, don't waste your time. Try Anne Rice's Interview With the Vampire instead.

If you've already read this book and enjoyed it, you might like the other two books in the trilogy: Blood Alone and Blood Rites.

This has to be my favorite vampire book ever, partly because it takes place in an area of Ohio I'm familiar with and relate. Elaine Bergstrom is an amazing writer and I highly recommend the whole series. If you are a fan of the vampire genre, this is a must read.

I've read this book a number of years ago (almost 10 years!) it still sticks in my mind as one of the greatest books I've ever read. I don't know why, but her characters touched me in a special way. In a genre that usually ends up being stereotypical and gorey, Bergstrom weaves a really sensual and artistic web. She creates a new vampire that is not a demon, but another creature altogether. She truly reinvented the myth.

I started BoB with the same timidity I did HoM, as the reviews I had read were not all that flattering. However, unlike HoM, this book almost deserved all the flak it got. Almost.

BoB is a fine novel, with a compelling storyline and a protagonist/villain you have to feel sorry for... for about half the book. Ilsabet Janosk is a great villain, and I finished the book with the question: what is she now? Kislova is also an intriguing domain, with interesting customs, perhaps once located in the Forgotten Realms (a reference to the Shaar being my only basis for that theory), and even though it takes 99% of the book to finally enter the world for which the book bears its logo, the means justify the end: this tale could not have been told any faster without maiking the book horrible.

My only complaint? It seemed to me that the author really wanted to make Kislova a domain and not a province, and got tired of waiting near the end, when a flurry of useless deaths and a contrived ending were all we received after 300 pages of well-crafted storyline to move the tale to its conclusion.

This in itself nearly ruins the entire flavor of the book, but it couldn't have gone on much longer without growing stale. In all, BoB is a good read, but one has to take the ending with a fine grain of salt to truly appreciate it.

Many of the books in this series are not up to the task of creating horror in such a specified area such as Ravenloft, but this one is. I liked it a lot.

this is the best book i have ever read in my life. it captures the true spirit of the untamable, and shows us all once we taste blood how can we stop ourselves.

Bergstrom's MINA: THE DRACULA STORY CONTINUES was a needless melding of Stoker's brilliant classic with the schmaltz and sub-par eroticism of Anne Rice. With BLOOD TO BLOOD, the author continues Mina's exploration of her libertated sexuality, while trying to decide if she still has a life with her husband. Back at Castle Dracula, the last of the Count's vampire brides, the half-mad Joanna, his own half-sister, ventures out into the world. Grabbing some gold, gems, papers, and a box of grave dirt, she acquires a young, Irish girl as her slave/blood donor/lover. Jonathan Harker starts to dream of her, which Van Helsing takes as a sign she is coming for revenge. Meanwhile, Mina has inherited a small fortune from Dracula's doppelganger, Lord Gance. Independent beyond her wildest dreams, she sets out to start up a charitible organization. Arthur Holmwood, fiance of Dracula's first victim, Lucy Westenra, is still agonizing over having destroyed her. Learning that Joanna has arrived in London, he sets out to learn all about her, eventually falling in love with her. But, Van Helsing has devined Arthur's dangerous scheme, and seeks only to destroy the last of Dracula's hellspawn women. In the end, the whole thing is a mish-mash of soap opera plots, vampire lore, softcore eroticism and lesbian interludes that will certainly please Howard Stern fans. What any of this has to do with DRACULA, though, is beyond me!

Ms. Bergstrom does it again with another exciting vampire novel - this time a continuation of the author's earlier work, "Mina." I wasn't expecting to like "Blood to Blood," as much as Mina, but I did. The author's adept ability to create atmosphere and mood are here, as well as her right-on characterizations of Mina, Jonathan, Arthur, and Van Helsing. Bergstrom stays true to the characters Stoker created, but she lets us get to know them better. On center stage with Mina and her friends is the half-sister of Dracula, Joanna. I don't want to give any of the plot away, so I'll just say that the story is seductive, fast-paced, and suspenseful. Fans of "Mina," "Dracula," and other vampire fiction won't be disappointed.

The passion that Dracula taught Mina Harker remains deep in her soul although the evil vampire is dead. Once tasting life, Mina needs to escape from her Victorian prison. Her beloved Jonathan fails to emotionally help her because he still broods over Mina having had a lover. Instead, her ex-lover leaves her money so she can explore her new independent spirit. Mina wants reconciliation, but not back to what their relationship once was. As the couple works on their problems, Jonathan begins to have vampiric induced dreams that Van Helsing believes is the calling card of the late Count's sister Joanna Tepes.

With everyone else in the castle dead, the reclusive but lonely Joanna decides to travel to England to settle the score with her brother's killers. Along the way, Joanna picks up a servant girl who becomes more than just a friend. In England, Joanna forgets about her sibling's enemies until a Ripper-like maniac hurts her friend. This provokes a confrontation between the Harkers and Van Helsing on one side and Joanna on the other.

BLOOD TO BLOOD is a fascinating footnote to the Dracula legends. The story occurs six months after the death of Lucy. Elaine Bergstrom turns Victorian England and Transylvania into descriptive images that provide an intriguing look for readers. Ms. Bergstrom centers her tale on prejudicial profiling as not all vampires are alike with individuals needing to use sound judgment to form opinions based on facts not hearsay or stereotyping. Supernatural lovers, especially the vampire crowd, will have a great time reading this fantastic horror novel.

Harriet Klausner

Having been introduced to Elaine Bergstroms' vampires in Shattered Glass, I was thirsty to read more about what had happened to Helen Wells, of Austra blood and converted to full 'family member' by Stephen in that novel. In Blood Rites, she is the first in the family for many centuries to be able to bear children without the usual death or loss of desire for life that is the sad lot of every Austra female who chooses to have offspring. Helen and Stephen have twin boys, and she is happier in her new life than she would have dreamed possible. When her twin sons are kidnapped (and the kidnappers don't know that they've bitten off far more than they can chew - these babies aren't babies in our usual 'human' sense of the word) she goes hunting in a way she swore to herself never to do when she is changed over to her new, vampire self - hunting for humans, that is. To tell more would be to give away the resolution, but I would suggest looking long and hard for this sequel and NOT lending it out...I'm still trying to find another copy after 10 years!

The time travel aspects of the book enticed me to buy it but I was disappointed. I found myself skipping pages to get to the end. The characters were decidedly unlikable and unsympathetic. The plot was thin and you never really discovered what was going on and why.

I wasn't sure how I would feel about this book since I always see Elaine Bergstrom as a horror/vampire writer, but I should have known anything with her name attached to it would be wonderful. It was amazing how quickly the story drew me in and I couldn't put the book down. The authors research is wonderful and the story with keep your attention. For anyone who hasn't read Bergstrom's vampire stories because it's just not their cup of tea, this book may make you change your mind.

Very Cool Story. Lots of fun , I think anyone who likes time travel story's will be happy with this book. It isn't exact about the time line of one of the char's , but it is very well told (i'm not to big on Mr. Crowley history anyway). Expext a good story and alot of thinking (about what you would do)when you get this one , I expect a movie from it..

Having followed the exploits of Mina Harker in Alan Moore's "The League of Extraordinary Gentlement" it was interesting to read a different extrapolation of what happened to her after "Dracula." Obviously, this book focuses more on the original cast without bringing a host of other supernatural beings into the story. My complaint, like so many others, is that the retroactive overlaying of so much eroticism onto the original novel. There was some, but it was subtle and implied. Stoker was not writing soft porn. However, Marie Kiraly is--and without the benefit of the Count himself. You know what? This book would have worked a lot better if the story had not involved the title character. How's that for ironic?

An excellent read and sequel! Bergstrom tells the story mainly from Mina's point of view, and she captures her voice so perfectly that on the first page the reader is immediately drawn into the world one remembers from Stoker's classic. The author also recreates the sound and feel of the original Dracula, while adding her own exciting elements to the mix. Some of the characters from the classic are here and new ones introduced. Also, a mystery is added that keeps the reader turning the pages until the very end to find the answer. This book is very hard to put down, so count on losing at least one night's sleep.

I loved this book. Dracula was a novel I first read as a young teen and enjoyed, both the plot and the writing. Ms. Bergstrom did an incredible job of keeping the continuity and the tone of Stoker's novel and writing a ripping story into the bargain. I enjoyed her exploration of the inner struggle of the woman at once seduced by the Vampire's mesmerising pull and repulsed by the evil inherent in his nature. For anyone who loves Stoker's novel this is a total delight!