The Hungarian legend of countess Elizabeth Bàthory comes to life in this fictional account of the goings on in the late 1500s, when Bàthory is supposed to have tortured and killed hundreds of servant girls in her employ. About 200 years after her conviction, the legend evolves to claim she bathed in the blood of her victims to preserve her youth. The author of this novel does a great job of honoring the available historical documents concerning the trial, accomplices, other relations, and politics at the time. The end does not provide a clean conclusion of the countess’s innocence nor guilt, rather, leaves the reader with the historical facts to contemplate and draw their own conclusions. Very well done. I did sometimes have a bit of trouble following the characters relations to one another, and following who the characters were since some of their names are very similar. And there is something about a witch and one of the noble girls at the end that I didn’t fully understand… but I really enjoyed this story. **The author also includes authors notes at the end that explain the history behind the story! Very interesting.

In the summer of 1610, two servants searched in the Carpathian Mountains for young maidens willing to work for their Countess. "We have come from Cachtice Castle...what girl would not want to better herself at the Court of the Countess Erzsebet Bathory?...My lady needs maids and seamstresses...We will teach Boroka to better herself...". The old doctor who had raised and educated Boroka, a foundling, was skeptical having heard that girls who go to Cachtice Castle never return. He had to weigh life for her forever hidden in the Carpathians versus life in a castle of "cultivated grandeur, built from the very rocks on which it stands..." He did not know that the "castle's windows were dark and shuttered, blind to the outside world, keeping its secrets safe."

Boroka and Suzanna were roommates in a turret. Boroka, having been taught to read, was occasionally favored by the Countess. Suzanna was representative of "the common sort". The young maids brought to the castle served as seamstresses, the most skilled among them, attending lace school. Failure to produce perfectly stitched items was punished. Some girls worked in the kitchen or garden. Once yearly, a great wash of linens, bedsheets and towels, submerged in potash and hot chamber lye, was completed by girls who were neither adept at needlework or cooking.

In 1610, Hungarian Countess Erzsebet Bathory was arrested for murdering numerous girls. Four accomplices were named as well; Dorka, the Countesses senior servant, Ficzko, a young jack-of-all-trades, Ilona, former wet nurse to the Countesses children and Katalin, a washerwoman. Dorka stated, "My lady's benevolence is like the sun: The warmth is always followed by darkness."

In this gothic tale, the presence of a rosewood box in the queen's library was an eery addition. The box contained a ledger with entries that changed based upon who viewed the contents, at times, an inventory of death or a reveal of a life beginning.

For this reader, the jury is still out on whether Countess Erzsebet Bathory was "The Blood Countess". She seemed to be a patron of the arts. She ran a gynaeceum teaching upper class girls about literature, household management and rudimentary Latin. Of course, women were meant to learn obedience and fidelity. Suzanna told Boroka-"I do know what the gynaeceum is...It's where she tortures the girls...their screams carry on the breeze like dust." Suzanna's advice: "The one thing I learned living here is keep your head down and get on with your work. Don't notice anything, don't question anything, don't talk about anything."

Was she culpable? Erzsebet Bathory aka "The Blood Countess" was accused of murdering numerous young girls and bathing in their blood. What if her involvement in these crimes was a myth? What if her confidants were the culprits? Powerful kings wanted her eliminated in order to strip the widowed countess of her wealth and perhaps send her to a convent. A fascinating read of historical fiction I highly recommend.

Thank you Harper Perennial and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Nightingale's Castle: A Novel of Erzsébet Báthory, the Blood Countess by Sonia Velton is a great historical fiction that has a wonderful fantasy vibe that I really enjoyed.

This is such a unique and entertaining historical fiction. Yes it is based on a true historical figure, but the way the author created a fictional narrative with mystery, suspense, and infused with several elements of fantasy…makes for an engaging and memorable novel.

4.5/5 stars

Thank you NG and Harper Perennial and Paperbacks, Harper Perennial for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 7/4/24.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

What a cool book. I’ve heard about the blood countess before and as someone who enjoys a good vampire story I was intrigued. As with many of today’s retellings, this book somehow humanizes the countess and provides nuance and a whole lot to think about in terms of the historical and societal context. Very thoroughly researched and poignant. I’ll look out for more from this author.

As a vampire literature obsessed reader, I was well familiar with Countess Bathory and all the iterations her story has inspired. I was thrilled when this book came through- and that feeling stuck around the wholesome I was reading too. You get the perfect blend of well researched history, feminism, secrets, revenge, twists, turns, and shocking moments. Several times at the end of a section I had to stop reading to catch my breath! My first time reading this author- but it certainly won't be my last.

"...Ilona nods. It must be satisfying indeed, she thinks, to have the figure and hands of a girl not yet sixteen."

I feel churlish, once again, after completing #thenightingalescastle, b/c it didn't grab me the way it seems to have grabbed others. Well researched and well-written, in terms of language, but it went off the rails for me about 3/4 of the way through. Some plot points did not make sense to me (i.e., Ficzko/Boroka). I did appreciate the ambiguity of the countess' culpability and was reminded (once again) of how hard it was/is to be a woman in a man's world.

P.S. Thanks to #edelweiss and #netgalley for the ARC.

The story of the "Blood Countess" told with just the right amount of mysterious whimsy and bloody truth

Rating: 4.5/5 ✰

Background:
As an avid lover of vampire lore and stories, I already had some knowledge of Countess Erzsébet Báthory and all the supposed horrors she took part in throughout her life. This is the woman who they say ripped apart servants with her teeth and then bathed in their blood to attain eternal youth and beauty. With such twisted appetites and the way she seemed to wantonly abuse her power, she inspired countless books, movies, and games - maybe even inspiring the story of Dracula himself. I thought it would be interesting to see a more personal account of her life without so much of the sensationalism that came with time and imagination, and this book did not disappoint.

Told through the lens of various servants or people related to the Countess, The Nightingale's Castle adds a sympathetic touch to not only her, but also the overall direction of her life. There are still some fantastical elements, like a box whos contents magically change depending on who opens it, but thankfully they never detract from the more real, historical aspects. I loved all the dark little details (especially in the acknowledgement in the author's note at the end where she talks about what she decided to include or leave out) and how it forces us to ask questions about both the Countess and the society of the time. What was this "Blood Countess" really like? How true were the myths told about her? Who had the most to gain from her downfall, and how far will people go to protect themselves when they feel threatened? In history it's always the winners who get to write the story - and women were rarely ever the winners.

Characters:
Told mostly through the perspective of Boróka, as well as other prominent servants in the castle, we get to slowly unravel the character of the Countess and what her normal life looked like. Each of the characters had their own solid personalities and voices, which made it easy to differentiate between them when the perspective changed - something I appreciate. I did find it a bit difficult to get fully engrossed in their individual stories because of all the split perspectives, but I did like how it allowed us to slowly get different understandings of the Countess based on who was interacting with her at the time. All the characters had sympathetic backstories and some level of depth, but it just wasn't enough time for a real emotional connection. In this kind of book, that's not really a bad thing necessarily - I only wish that we had more time with the characters.

Closing thoughts:
There's a certain spoilery part in the summary that we don't find out until much later in the book, and since this was framed as a sort of twist I feel like it would be better if readers don't know that detail going in. It caused a bit of confusion for me at the beginning when there seemed to be all this mystery and intrigue around it, and since it's not a well-known historical detail I still don't understand it being in the summary if it's supposed to feel like a dramatic revelation later on. Overall though, I don't think this detracted from my enjoyment too much; I really enjoyed reading this and definitely look forward to the official release in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own and not sponsored in any way.

This was such a unique read. I loved the inspiration from Dracula. This book was very well written and I would recommend it!

A beautifully written book about the "Blood Countess" that examines the myth and mystery behind her story. Was she the brutal murderer of hundreds of young women, or a misunderstood woman wrongfully accused by men who wanted to take her land?

My main issue with this book was that a few sections dragged, but overall it was engrossing. I also found the book description very spoilery. Other than that, it's a gripping read that fans of historical fiction are sure to.enjoy.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins Publishers for this ARC.

This story is based on the myth of Countess Erzsébet Báthory from Russia in the early 17th century who was accused and remembered as one of the largest female serial killers of all time. She was accused of killing more than 600 young girls.

This story told her story beautifully. The gothic tale mainly follows a young girl named Boróka as she comes to live with the Countess and work as a servant. However, there are so many characters we meet that we are told their stories through their perspectives throughout the book. This is done so beautifully, and these accounts flow seamlessly with each other.

I couldn’t stop reading as an ominous tale unfolds in the beginning followed by a whodunit style storyline through the rising action leading to an explosive ending with twists I didn’t see coming. The entire story is so dark and gruesome yet hopeful and consistently told with the same energy to the final page.

It releases on May 2nd, so definitely read it when you have the chance!

I requested this randomly as I am trying to find some unique books for our library and I’m glad I did. It had some really interesting gothic kinda Dracula vibes and I was very immersed in the story. As a women I really appreciated some of the themes of this book and it drew me in. I feel like it isn’t for everyone and it’s a very different almost fantasy almost historical fiction kind of its own thing but those who give it a chance and go in with an open mind will enjoy. There were times I got a little bored but just because it was a bit outside my normal reading interests.