Meticulous, methodic, and completely hypnotic.
Innocence is nothing more than a hazy memory for Amalina Dalca. That is no surprise for a young woman long beholden to a dangerous monster, one with a taste for ladies of culture. Still, indentured service to the Count has yielded certain advantages. Amalina has an open invitation to join the Count as one of his beloved changed ladies, an oddly tempting offer. And as long as she remains loyal, Amalina can keep a close eye on her dearest friends, is assured of her father’s safety, and gets to enjoy some of the finer things in life, opportunities never afforded as the daughter of a humble baker. However, not everyone is adaptable when trapped under the thumb of a bloodthirsty monster, so a revolution is afoot and Amalina is in the crosshairs. Her precarious position in the castle gives Amalina precious information she can use against the Count, but he is no fool. A series of moves and countermoves sees the Count outmaneuvering his adversaries more often than not. Will her proximity to the dreaded Count of Ardeel be an advantage when the time comes to launch an attack? Or will his persuasive nature prove irresistible, even to Amalina Dalca?
It’s rare for a horror story to read like a well-aged period piece, but that is exactly what you get with Episode 5 in the Count at Play and Slaughter Series, Amalina and the End of it All. C.L. Holmes wraps up this twisted saga with the horrors you’ve come to expect and the expansive cast you’ve come to love. At several hundred pages, this volume is substantial and fulfilling, tying up many loose ends, yet never becoming predictable. Pacing is weighed down by protracted dialogue, yet these very conversations are where the plot unfolds, keeping readers looking for the next trick, tactic, or deception. Amalina has been relentlessly planning out how to defeat the powerful Count, and she’s got a few tricks up her sleeve that will delight audiences. Her allies and friends all have their own unique agendas and readers won’t know where everyone lands until the dust finally settles at the end of this concluding episode. The twists and turns pull on plot points from all the other installments, making for a carefully planned and well-rounded series. A dark vampire tale with complex relationships at its core, Amalina and the End of it All is meticulous, methodic, and completely hypnotic.
