Nineteen year old Pandora has big dreams, dreams that involve getting away from her stuffy small town and moving to New York, and luckily for her that's just what she is doing. Stepping of the plane, being met by a chauffeured driver, having an interview with her dream job lined up for the morning, Pandora couldn't be happier.

But then she discovers her new home to be a strange old building in a suburb that no one seems to know exists, she is awoken in the night by a spectre who is as surprised to be seen as Pandora is to see him, and her interview for Mia magazine that was to be her big break into fashion journalism turns out to be a disaster.

Despite the setbacks Pandora manages to find a job with another fashion magazine. She also exposes an age old secret to youthful beauty and in doing so manages to make some powerful enemies, inhumanly powerful enemies who have been a long time dead. Vampire is such a nasty term for these beings, but then some of these beings are particularly nasty.

The Blood Countess introduces Pandora to the world of fashion, journalism and the undead. The sanguine (vampires) are making a profit from the lives of the innocent and taking over the New York fashion scene. Pandora, like her name sake, is a girl with hidden gifts, gifts that she is only now starting to understand. A somewhat naive but very likeable female leads in this fun new gothic series. ( )

Not a bad book overall, easy and surprisingly quick to read, although it takes a while to get going. It's written in a YA style, and could have been much darker if written in a fully adult style, but it's appropriate for a story with a 19 year old lead character. This is clearly an introductory book to the series, and so not that fulfilling to read on it's own, which is a little disappointing. There is some good action towards the end though. ( )

Wonderful! It has a fresh YA feel on one hand and on the other it's a pretty sophisticated social satire. I loved it. Looking forward to more Pandora English! ( )

I really enjoyed this book as I had no idea what it was about before I started reading it. I was not expecting a story of vampires, zombies and a girl with supernatural powers. Absolute pleasure to read. ( )

The Blood Countess is a clever, intense and delightful read that blends the glamourous world of fashion with the shadowy paranormal would that lies within to ours. I can’t get over how much I loved this, and can’t wait to continue Pandora’s adventures in the next books.

The story sucks you right in with Pandora’s unique and vivacious narration, and very soon you’re immersed in her life. She’s a great character: spunky, nervous but brave, courageous and intelligent, all the things I love in my protagonists. I love that Moss didn’t feel the need to imbue Pandora with a closed off attitude, feelings of inferiority or clumsiness to make her accessible to readers, I think it will be easy for anyone to relate with her character because Moss focusses more on Pandora’s situation, a small town person now living in New York, rather than on traits to make her seem normal. She has her fatal flaw: insatiable curiosity, but it is tempered by her cleverness.

The world Tara Moss creates in this book is sumptuous and vivid, perfectly balancing the mystique and glamour of working in a fashion magazine with the peculiar and arcane happenings of the paranormal world. I love the glitz of the fashion runways, the travel in expensive cars, luxuriated in the expensive clothes vicariously through Pandora. Since I rarely read blurbs, I was surprised when it turned out Pandora started working at a fashion magazine and I had The Devil Wears Prada flashbacks, but I think it’s cleverly done and enjoyable. I also liked how Moss recreates the paranormal aspects, and how it’s emphasised how dangerous the creatures are, rather than romanticising them.

I really liked The Blood Countess, and believe anyone looking for a light, quirky paranormal read will enjoy it. It has something for everyone: romance, adventure, vampires, fashion, and is a great example of awesome, Australian writing. I’ve added the next two books, The Spider Goddess and The Skeleton Key, to my pile of holiday reading!

You can read more of my reviews at Speculating on SpecFic. ( )