Black Rose

The Dracula Duet #2

by Karina Halle, Carolyn Eve (Narrator), Arthur Russell (Narrator)

13 hours and 6 minutes

Is it her destiny to love him?

Or is it her destiny to die?

Valtu Aminoff is no stranger to tragedy. Though many know him as the enigmatic vampire that inspired Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Valtu’s complex life is far more horrific than any fiction could imagine. When you lose the love of your life over and over again, it can do more than break your heart—it can corrupt your soul.
It's up to his new lover to decide if Valtu's damaged soul is even worth saving.

But destiny isn’t done with Valtu yet. And tragedy is always around the corner.

Genres: Fantasy, Vampires, Dark Romance, Romance, Paranormal, Paranormal Romance, Dark

14 pages, Audible Audio

First published December 20, 2022

About the author

Karina Halle is a screenwriter, former music & travel journalist, and the New York Times bestselling author of Grave Matter, Blood Orange, & The Royals Next Door, as well as 80 other romances across all sub-genres, ranging from spicy rom coms to gothic horror and dark fantasy. Needless to say, whatever you're into, she's probably written an HEA for it.

When she's not traveling, she, her husband, and their pup Perry, split their time between a possibly haunted 120 year-old house in Victoria, BC, and their condo in Los Angeles.

Reviews

[Hot Mess Sommelière ~ Caro · Rating 1 out of 5]

Am I the Asshole?

I (M, 500 yrs old) choked to death with my own bare hands the third incarnation of my one true love (F, 28 yrs). The feelings of guilt and misery were too much for me so I swallowed a forget-me potion and became a murdering asshole recluse who uses his friends as pimps and has barely half a good quality left to him.

Now my one true love (F, 21 yrs old this time around) has dropped her entire life to track me down in my hidden man cave castle and make me remember her.

Sure I treated her poorly while living in a dirty drafty shithole with my man-eating demon familiar I have no control over, but does she really have to be such a pill about my bloodthirsty dinner habits, my constant whoring and the fact that I dropped all my hobbies, my social life and any sense of decency in order to mope in a place where it's extra hard for everyone to cater to my needs yet I still demand to be front and center on everyone's mind like a diva?

It's not my fault this girl set out expecting a count instead of pig. All I did was say that if she loved me, she's lower her expectations to a realistic level so I can keep fucking and using her without any accountability.

Honestly, how does that make me the asshole? I don't see it.





When will women in books start shrugging and saying "y'know, this manbaby is really not worth all this effort. Imma head out and find some other hot piece of ass"?

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

**Review is spoiler-free and does not discuss plot as this is part of a duet. Book 1 is Blood Orange.**

I wasn’t ready to discuss this once I finished last night but if I don’t get my thoughts down now, I might forget.

I have been anticipating this release for months now. The author had delays, due to personal reasons, which I understand. However, I feel this conclusion suffered as a result of that.

Blood Orange was amazing. The story was captivating and I was eager to get the second book after that huge cliffhanger. This duet could have been epic but Black Rose was such a huge disappointment. I wish I had just stopped at Blood Orange and pretended everything worked out for the best in the end.

Black Rose was basically erotica. Which, if that’s what I wanted to read, then so be it. But it’s not and it isn’t what this story was supposed to be based on what I read in Blood Orange. I thought to myself several times while reading “this is like a cheesy horror film.” The dialogue was immature and filled with ridiculous sayings like “Christ on a bike.” The amount of cursing added nothing to the story and acted as filler.

Was it spicy? Yes. However, I felt like the majority of this book was nothing but sex with zero substance.

In conclusion, this story had zero build up, filled with sex, cheesy dialogue and a rushed and unsatisfying ending.

[monica ✨ romantasyreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was everything I wanted.

Black Rose is the conclusion to the Dracula duet. After the events of book 1, the story picks up 21 years later.

This book was way more than a spicy fantasy/paranormal romance. Karina’s writing moved me in a way that was unexpected but also so incredibly beautiful. Valtu’s grief wholly changed him, and watching his and Rose’s relationship develop under different circumstances than book 1 was so poignant and powerful. Because of past mistakes, the two of them are set on a different path this time around. I have never read a reincarnation book before, and I think it’s a new favorite trope of mine. I loved it so much.

This book touches on not only enduring love but also grief. Considering my recent experience with loss and my ongoing journey in grief, this book was so cathartic. I was a little apprehensive going into it because of my recent life circumstances, but it spoke to me so deeply. I could feel Karina’s own experiences with grief and loss while reading as well. If you have gone through a loss of a loved one, I think that this duet is going to be a perfect escape. It was for me.

Read if you like
✨ dark paranormal romance
✨ reincarnation
✨ vampires, witches, and vampire hunters
✨ fated mates
✨ Dracula retelling
✨ gothic vibes

Thank you so much Karina and RRS for an arc. This book is out now 🖤🌹

[enqi ☾⋆˚*̣̩✩ · Rating 1 out of 5]

God gave me eyes and I abused them by reading this book

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This duet is for the reader who loves vampires, dark gothic vibes, and spice 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

No but really, the spice in this duet is immaculate. Maybe that’s because I have a thing for vampires.. idk.

I absolutely loved blood orange and immediately went into Black Rose. I did enjoy this one but there were some parts that made me want to rip my hair out!

While I did enjoy this duet I think the ending of Black Rose was slightly rushed. I still had an amazing time and I will recommend this duet to legit everyone.

The story is so different from anything I’ve ever read!

“The darkness in me calls to the darkness in you.”

“He is still my home. And I’m going to do whatever it takes so that he sees that, so that I can become his home again too.”

- Dracula retelling
- vampires
- reincarnation
- hate to love
- dark/ gothic setting
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

[Lana ❇✾DG Romance❇✾ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 STARS

My heart found his again. But his heart doesn’t know mine.

After the jaw dropping conclusion of Blood Orange, I have been on pins and needles waiting for the conclusion of this duet. Suffice it to say I devoured it in my eager anticipation.

The darkness in me calls to the darkness in you..."

I love an epic fated mates story and it doesn't get more fated that na love story that defies the ages through reincarnation. I felt like these two books were like two sides of a coin, different perspectives but same world. What I'm saying is, that if you expect a similar style of story to Blood Orange, this wasn't exactly it. It was different. Not in a bad way, but different nonetheless.

While Blood Orange had me in a fiery chokehold, this was more of a sizzling burn. Valtu is not the Valtu of book one, he's a vampire who lost his humanity to his pain. He lost himself to his grief and. willingly lost himself in the process. When he and Rose see each other, it's a different journey. We really get to see Rose unending love for him and his redemption and I was so here for it.

Admittedly, I felt the most riveting part of the book was also a bit rushed and saved for the final 10%. I would have loved to spend more time on this part of the story because this what the previous book was ultimately leading up to. It felt like there was some open ended answers and gaps that weren't fully filled. This may be intentional with a set up for what I'm hoping are more books in this world. Don't get me wrong, it was satisfying and the couple get a beautiful HEA. But there were things that were merely glazed over that I would have loved to get deeper into.

All that aside, I still greatly enjoyed this book. I loved seeing the darker side of Valtu and Rose's healing touch. I loved watching Valtu fall for her all over again and I loved the way they fought for each other.

ARC courtesy of author in exchange for an honest review

Find me on:

[Brittany Ferraro · Rating 5 out of 5]

All right, yeah so I finished this book in one sitting, which never happens for me. But as soon as I wrapped up Blood Orange last night (and that ending?!), there was absolutely nothing that could’ve stopped me from diving straight into this one.

This duet is dark and gothic. It’s full of vampires, witches, it’s got some seriously creepy vibes and it’s literally based on THE Dracula. It somehow was exactly what I didn’t know I needed. I love when a book completely takes me by surprise, those are the ones that really stick with me

This seriously altered my brain chemistry. Like, it did something to me. The writing was so beautiful, it felt almost poetic not just the story itself, but even the spice, which was a whole new experience for me. And let me tell you… this shit was spicy. I was not prepared. Who knew Dracula had a thing for spanking??🧛‍♂️

The way these two were just destined to be together, this whole star-crossed, fated, can’t live without each-other, find each other in every life vibe? I didn’t even know I needed that kind of thing until now, but it seriously moved me. Like, to my core.
Maybe the whole reincarnated lover thing has been done before, but it felt so unique and fresh here. Watching them love each other in every single life? I was obsessed. It managed to be both sad and incredibly romantic at the same time. They just overcame so much and it just makes that happy ending taste so much sweeter.

I was so overwhelmed with emotion. One moment I was laughing, and the next I was crying happy tears, sad tears, all the tears. It’s one of those books that takes you through the entire damn feelings wheel.

There wasn’t a single dull moment. Between the toe-curling spice ( because baby I’m telling you this shit had me gaggeddddd 🥵🥵) and the actually amazing plot, I was hooked from start to finish. That’s why I flew through it there was never a point where it dipped or lost momentum. I even loved the setting and the side characters.

Honestly, I’m so overwhelmed with all these big, messy, beautiful feelings that I don’t even know how to put my thoughts into words properly. Just know this, this duet is going to stick with me forever.

I am unwell. I am obsessed.

[Huda · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐
4/5 🔥 (ik the spice was very spicy)

My heart found his again. But his heart doesn't know mine.

I LOVED and ADORED was OBSESSED with the first book. The ending was ahh epic—not that I wanted it, but it was the thing that kept the story going.

In this book, I had great expectations like really high expectations, there was so much to happen in this one, the drama, the angst, the relationship all over again💔 and the plot twists.

The writing and the spice was spectacular. The spice got me sweating and swooning; it was *chefs kiss*. The thing I loved was the writing; it was so quotable and simple, very easy to follow. Reading about these characters again was a warm hug, I am so sad this is over.💝

The story starts immediately where it went off in the previous one, Rose is our (vampire😏) new character and I loved her. Her character was bold and badass type. She was determined to get him -actually determined is an understatement 😂

You don't just stop loving someone because they stop loving you. You don't forget about a relationship because someone else forgets it.

-- guilty.
Valtu is making his way to grief and sadness. He is going through so much pain and agony after what happens in the first book. He is in SO MUCH MISERY THAT he decides to forget her. *deep breaths*

Once he see's my heart, he'll recognize it for it is His

In my opinion, I can see why Valtu took that choice. His life had been terribly cruel to him, often ripping her away. However, THEN HE FUCKING DOES THAT ALL OVER AGAIN IFYKYK as soon as he met her again and as soon as they began to blossom into something called love? YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!

Vengeance isn't all its cracked up to be. Sometimes it's better to harbor justice in you heart than attempt to inflict it and fail.

My main issue is the abrupt change in Valtu's personality; in the first book, he was this brooding, enigmatic, attractive, and seductive guy who I couldn't help but fall for. Now, we have this horrible character in the novel, and ALL I WANT TO DO WAS STRANGE HIM TO DEATH. .

How can you exorcise grief if you don't acknowledge it?

*ATTENTION* I love miserable guys but choosing that to overcome his misery was just a big fat NO. It was more like a pathetic and coward move😒

In the first part of the book we are informed that he erased her. I felt a bit heart broken but kept going. After that things were so good it was so lovely i was in clouds, dancing through them I was in tears, I WAS IN HEAVEN. We could see things making there way to the good part.
And those horror scenes ksjsjjs i was so scared reading them.

I raise my hand and look down at the bed and watch as the covers move back as little, as if being tugged, as if someone is lying at the foot of the bed and pulling it.

---BYE I LITERALLY SHAT MYSELF READING THIS WHOLE SCENE .
But after the first 60% of the book, everything just went down the drain. Ugh, Ugh, I was practically trembling with rage as I was reading it. I don't know, I just wish the author had chosen an other path if any sort of drama was to occur; not that, just not that.

The ending felt so rushed the last 20% was on a train. It was HEA but the whole thing was rushed, it felt off.

The whole 'plot twist' was not given much attention, it could've been more explored.

Questions I wanted answers for
We never get to know why they took leif?
What did they do to him?
How did they used him?
What did they used him for?

There are still many questions left in my brain for this book. But it iz what it iz.
The epilogue was so cute😭😭😭❤ the second thing I loved in this book! But the baby name?💀

I still gave this 3 stars bcz of my attachment to this world and some scenes that will forever be my heart in a beautiful way. Other then that this book was a bit disappointment.

My dark rose.

He tastes my tears, just like he did once upon a time, "do you know what I taste in your tears?"
"Darkness"
"How did you know that?"
Because that's what Dahlia's tears tasted like. I want to say.

Considering I was born in the sixteen hundreds and you were born twenty-one years ago, yeah, I think that could be considered an age gap.

Sacrifices don't count if they aren't you own!

Yet I still have faithand hope inside my heart like a jar filed with fireflies. They can burn there, fluttering against the glass, wanting to escape, but I can't let them loose yet. Not yet.

____________

Um... okay I really need to think before rating this... y-i-k-e-s
*sighs* RTC

[amie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This rating is tough for me. I LOVED the first - blood Orange. Like - obsessed and rereading sections for weeks. The cliffhanger had me by the balls and I was HIGHLY anticipating this one.

The story really fell flat for me and was disappointing after the first maybe 8 chapters.

Plot A - the romance - was an interesting twist but it felt like it was pretty quickly resolved. The ending was too Happily Ever After for me even though I was technically happy with how they ended up. It’s just felt simplistic in how we got there.

Plot B - felt super thrown together and did not have any of the cool witch magic introduced in B.O - it felt more like Innate unclear super powers rather than traditional pagan magik and spell like those performed briefly in the first book.

My rating of 2 is on the harsher side but accurate for the book at face value. I lean more towards 3 stars just because I like the characters. I love valtu a lot. The vibes weren’t as cool as the first book either.

[Lb [worlds longest slump] · Rating 2 out of 5]

Damnnnnnnn, after the brilliance that was Blood Orange this sorely doesn’t measure up. I’m disappointed. ***spoilers ahead***

TW miscarriage, pregnancy, child abduction etc

Firstly, I didn’t really connect with Valtu as the love interest in this book, and I ADORED him in Blood Orange, so that was naturally a big issue. I know why he erases his memories but he turns into a downright cunt and stays that way for at least the full first half of the novel, meaning I wasn’t really rooting for him or his relationship with Rose and just thought he was being an asshole. Like he’s literally giving toxic alpha-hole and not in a hot way.

Then there’s poor Rose who just wants to love him regardless of literally anything. She loves him despite him murdering her… And for what?! When Valtu finally figures it all out he pussies out and erases his memories of her AGAIN?! Like fuck me man, you are being the absolute WORST. But don’t worry, because that little speed bump is resolved within the next 5 pages with the worlds simplest resolution and we magically have the old Valtu back. I mean, thank god, but still. We wait until 75% for this…

I didn’t really connect that much with Rose’s new family either. I think this is the problem of having her be a ‘different person’ in book one and book two. I know the author makes a point of continuously pointing out that she’s “all four of these women” but I was so connected to Dahlia from book one that the storyline of Rose’s parents and missing brother didn’t really move me. I just didn’t care about them? We get hardly any time with them so I was just like, meh whatever. Rose doesn’t actually get any of her own personality developed at all. I did, however, really like Dylan. He was funny and he had good chemistry with Rose in the few scenes he had. Him meeting Lief for the first time at the end was really sweet and funny.

I also feel like Rose was done dirty later on in that her whole development arc was basically glossed over. She becomes a vampire, hardly acclimatises to that before then also realising she’s still a witch/can wield magic, making her extremely gifted and powerful, and we get very little detail or exploration of this. She sort of just takes it all in stride and hardly bats an eye. I mean go off queen, but a little more depth here would have been nice.

Also what the ever loving FUCK was the ghost baby scene? My god, trigger warning as hell for miscarriage related shit. Christ on a bike INDEED. We literally did not need a full scene of a zombie baby crawling back up her vagina chomping on her cervix!!!! Seriously. This scene gave literal HORROR vibes which was soooo out of pocket with the rest of the book. Absolutely wild.

Don’t even get me started on poor Lief. They come in and turn his fucking world upside down and essentially abduct him back after killing his entire family and you’re gonna tell me he just merrily trots off with them afterwards cause of HYPNOSIS? Lmaoooooooo okay. All that meandering plot for this to be the outcome?

Not to mention that the entire secondary plot from book one is completely lost in this book. We get a few flashbacks at the start that show the crew decimating the siblings who are summoning the demons, Saara and Aleksi, which is resolved in like, 5 minutes? Then we find out Saara survived and has replaced her brother with some other random and they’re still working towards the same end goal of enslaving humans, but this is now apparently a non issue and no one cares about it anymore? They’re just like, welp oh well not my problem. Babe, why did you spend the whole of book one trying to stop them then? Also why do we keep mentioning Saara in this book if they’re no longer part of the plot?! I kept thinking all of this would tie in together in the end but it doesn’t. If it was going to be no longer relevant just kill her off at the beginning?

Alright, now on to the smut. Given I absolutely loved the smut in book one, I was let down in this one. There was just soooo much of it and I just didn’t care about it. Valtu has still got a mouth on him but he only uses it half the time. They basically fuck in missionary every time and she constantly comes within 0.2 seconds. Plus every scene is so fast paced and only last for a paragraph or two, meaning there’s little depth or descriptive language happening. There’s one scene towards the end where literal FISTING is just shoved in there (pun intended). Like he is fingering her and then just… immediately fisting… she barely says anything about it and then it’s completely glossed over. Ummmmm, girlfriend was a virgin two weeks ago???? Towards the end we also had a prime opportunity for some breeding kink that was poorly under-utilised. It was just lacklustre to me.

Honestly just so much of this writing and this plot felt lazy. There are a bunch of typos/sentences that don’t read correctly and there are soooo many breadcrumbs/tidbits that are thrown throughout that serve literally no purpose and have no meaning. For an interconnected series that was frustrating.

I didn’t like their HEA, I felt like it was easy and boring. I’m just going to pretend Blood Orange is a stand alone and make up my own end chapter tbh 😂

[Sloan MacDonald · Rating 3 out of 5]

well, the plot from the first book was nowhere to be found in this one. the first 300 pages were purely smut, and then we got maybe 50 pages of plot near the end.

[☆EmilyEverAfter☆ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure what I was expecting from book two, but it wasn't this. I'm going to erase the memory of my soul mate, then hate fuck her repeatedly and some how she will "take what she can get" from Valtu. By the end things smoothed out between everyone and she gets her revenge on Bellamy.. I'm glad they got their happily ever after but meh, it just wasn't the way I saw this book going. Oh well, reading is subjective and that why I love it 🥰

[Poppy Sabrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️ 3.2🌶️

I can’t help but feel a bit let down by this after giving the first book the easiest 5⭐️!

I felt like the amnesia trope was so unnecessary and frustrating, because of it we basically had a storyline from book 1 regurgitated into book 2-

her dying- being reincarnated- finding Valtu- falling in love

The storyline with the book, Saara being out there still and all the magic in the world had so much untapped potential and it just wasn’t explored!
I feel so much more could’ve been done with Leif etc too, I loved the magic etc in this and was upset to only find that part of the story come to fruition in the last 20% (if that) so it felt very rushed, plus like she just destroys the book out of nowhere and that’s it? Like literally oh it’s gone now oops.. so what was the point in creating this mysterious old book of dark magic with a demon keeper that consumes its owner to just have it all be destroyed so easily?!

Also (and correct me if I’m wrong) but is there not plot holes from the first book?
Didn’t Saara and Aleksi open another portal to another world where all these demons could come from but it hadn’t opened yet so we were kinda waiting and then it just never did?
And what happens with Saara isn’t she still out there roaming free, surely she’s not going to just let go what has happened
Maybe she plans on expanding with more books in this world idk

It’s not bad by any means, and I enjoyed the ending Rose and Valtu have together but there was so much potential for a really explosive storyline with the book and finding her brother etc!

[Em (semi-hiatus) · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was quite keen on serving nothing and organising a cringe fest. Moreover, there was no build up with the romance and the plot was just running boringly; just for the sake of it? Overall, disappointed.

[Betül · Rating 5 out of 5]

**ARC provided in exchange for an honest review**

Black Rose by Karina Halle is a super steamy dark gothic paranormal romance and an excellent sequel to Blood Orange, which was one of my favorite reads of 2022. I couldn't wait to get my hands on this book after finishing the previous one.

Karina's writing style is fast-paced, and she wastes no time jumping right into the story. I appreciated the absence of any dull moments. Additionally, there are some connections to characters from other novels, which I found surprising and fitting. We also get a glimpse of what Valtu had been up to in the last two decades, which broke my heart. However, I was relieved that Valtu and Rose were reunited early in the story, which I believe was crucial for the development of their relationship. Valtu is still one HOT vampire, and he's even more dark and dangerous in this book. There were a couple of scenes that felt straight out of a horror movie, and Karina didn't shy away from the gory details, which I appreciated.

“We are primal, we are raw, we are destined.”

Rose is an outstanding character, and I admired her persistence and loyalty. She fought for Valtu and their love even when he wasn't able to do so. In my opinion, Rose was the stronger of the two. Although she was strong in Blood Orange, she was even stronger in this book. Both characters developed as individuals and as a couple. Karina took her time with the important scenes and spread them throughout the book, making the story unpredictable. The twists in the plot kept me on edge. Valtu has become one of my favorite book boyfriends, and I love his dark and light sides equally. The sex scenes were incredibly steamy, and the fight scenes were full of action and gore. This was an emotional, steamy, and raw dark paranormal romance, and I think it was a great ending to Valtu and Rose's epic love story.

Lastly, the epilogue was perfect, and I hope Karina writes more vampire books!

[littlegirlbigbook · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5✨ two chapters in and it was already a mindfuck.
please beware of spoilers

my heart shattered into a million pieces for valtu. his sorrow is made me so emotional. he was so devastated i could feel it in my bones. his sorrow and grief and heartbreak was so incredibly huge. it was pure pain. then he went and fucking erased her and it broke me even more.
watching him want her and not knowing why >>>
calling her his dove out of nowhere >>>
sensing her familiarity >>>
and the audacity he had to plan to erase her again!!! but at the same time i feel for him cause he’s so empty and broken and he doesn’t even really know why.

when rose gained all those memories and the way they just barrelled into her was both incredibly well done and nearly heartbreaking. the way she’s so hopelessly in love with him is almost painful. her erased memories that were only half his and while you could feel his devastation over the loss of his love, you can feel her heartbreak just the same. for her to have those memories and constantly have him just out of reach… pain. she just wants to love him. to be allowed to love him for who he is. for who she knows he is.

like she’s literally telling him who she is and that she loves him and all she wants is to love him wether he remembers or not and he’s still just basically using him to ease his own heart!!!!!! what about her heart!!!!!!! it makes me so fkn emotional. screaming at him and then sobbing uncontrollably at their love. god they’re so beautiful together.

my complaint with lacking plot from blood orange definitely carried over into black rose. while the plot that was valtu & rose was amazing and addictive, the plot outside of them, with bellamy and the guild and leif, was far too lacking and the ending was too rushed. if there was a bit less spice (though i adored it and it was so hot) and more plot this could have been a five star read as well. also could’ve used some more grovelling but their love is just too beautiful to really care that much. that being said, i still adored this duet and i’m pretty sure i’ve found a new go-to author!

“I’d burn the world down for her if it meant bringing her back.”

”I want to ruin her and I’m afraid she’s going to ruin me.”

“Our hearts belong together because we had true love, and true love never dies.”

”She’s mine. Mine now. All of her.”

“You’re here, my darling. And I will walk to the ends of the earth and through to the end of time in order to never lose you again.”

• vampires
• fated mates
• second chance
• reincarnation

[Heather myfriendsdontread · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the second book in the Dracula duet which starts with Blood Orange. I absolutely loved this duet and couldn’t put it down! I also couldn’t stop talking to my husband about it for days.

I will say this book required a lot of patience because of the way the MMC was acting and the choices he made. But it all made sense for his character.

I don’t want to go into any details otherwise I’d spoil Blood Orange for my friends that haven’t read it yet. So I’ll leave it at that.

This duet is super good though and I will definitely be rereading it again.

[Sydni Donahue · Rating 2 out of 5]

Black Rose ⭐️⭐️
This is absolutely devastating. I like LOVED the first book and I was so Fucking excited about this. The ending of the first was insane. It wasn’t perfect and had some issues but I was still pumped for this. I really liked the beginning of this book. Her being a vampire made me so excited. And the flashbacks of then were awesome. Alright here goes my anger: I FUCKING HATE VALTU. You rat ass bitch. I didn’t even love you in the first book. You were whatever. Nothing special but I felt bad for you. Through out this book I wanted to kill you. I still do. I want to crush you. This book also made me not able to stand rose. At all. I realized severely during this I cannot fucking take it with the woman going after the man time and time again regardless of how awful he treats her and not giving a fuck about her. It made me angry. It made me embarrassed for her. I literally don’t give a fuck about all your past loves with him. How the fucking hell are you going to go to his place knowing damn well he did the cruelest thing ever by erasing ALLL THREEE VERSIONS OF YOU. And also killing the last version of you. AND THEN BEING TREATED AS NOTHING MORE THAN A WHORE AND BEING OKAY WITH IT? AND BEING OKAY WITH HIS DEMON THING TRYING TO KILL YOU? AND EVERYTHING HE PUT YOU THROUGH? GIRL I LIKED YOU IN THE FIRST BOOK WTF. How embarrassing. It was awful and terrible and I wanted to throw the book every five seconds. STAND THE FUCK UP! AND THEN WHEN YOU FINALLY YELL AT HIM AND STOP BEING A BITCH AND THEN HE REMEMBERS AND THEN YOU INSTANTLY FORGIVE HIM FOR EVERYTHING? YOU DONT MAKE HIM GROVEL AT ALL? I understand he suffered losing her many times BUT HE FUCKING EARSED HER AND DID ALL THAT TERRIBLE SHIT. I loved the first book. I loved the ideas. The story was so cool. I was so excited about this book but no. He never loved her more than she loved him and that’s evidently clear and that disgusts me. Also the end was so anticlimactic. I am happy for them and their happy ending I am. I wanted to love this so much you don’t understand. But also I LOVE SMUT DONT GET ME WRONG BUT THATS ALL THEIR RELATIONSHIP WAS. In both books. Just sex. Where was the love? The romance? Like she showed romance trying to get him back but again it was mostly through sex everything was sex. What kind of one true love shit is that? How am I supposed to believe that? And he has like no good qualities. None. And she annoyed the fuck out of me in this. I guess there was probably romance when he courted Lucy but we got cut out all those parts. Anyways I’m upset. This had so much potential and I feel like I wish to scream because of how much I loved the first one haha. I still love parts of this because of my connection to the first. The ideas of this world were awesome. The first so sexy. I am happy they were able to have a child that’s beautiful. Why the fuck that name though? Also mr dracuala being a flat out whore actually disgusted me I won’t even lie to you. I don’t like him at all. Loved the first and I wish this was like that

[Happy Who]

29 December feels light-years away and I’m itching for a book cover😭

[Michelle Boucher · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5⭐️ I can’t believe I didn’t love it. I absolutely adored Blood Orange, and while I didn’t give it a perfect rating since I felt the writing was lacking, I still devoured it. This just fell flat. Everything was expected and nothing surprised me. Within the first few chapters I already had guessed exactly how Valtu would get his memories back and what would happen in the epilogue. The magic system seemed way better in the first one. Honestly this book just doesn’t seem to have the same effort or quality as the first one. The writing appeared less edited and it felt immature compared to the first one.
As much as I love a good spicy book, I prefer the spice scenes to actually add to the story. There were multiple chapters of spice back to back with no real plot in between.
Finally, the “battle” (if you can call it that) was incredibly underwhelming. They lose the power of the book and go up against an enemy whose power they don’t know and can apparently do more magic then them yet Rose just stabs him right away and it’s over? Might as well of left that plot line out entirely.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you for the arc! I was a raging fan of Blood Orange, and this was a great bookend to the duology.

I loved the overall plot and moody setting of Venice of book one more, but I ADORED the second act of Black Rose. They were in a gothic castle and it was a chef’s kiss of monster-in-the-house forced proximity. Super creepy, super hot. We love a Beauty and the Beast moment, we live for it.

VIBES:
- Dark romance Dracula retelling
- Time-jumping plot that plays with the idea of memory
- Myth and monsters

I’m also going to need a Leif book, thanx 🙏🏼 He’s serving the Winter Solider, and I am here for it.

4⭐️ 4-5🌶️

[onthebooksel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cried so hard I got a nose bleed

[Kiandra 🦋 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t know I’m hating everything lately, this just had me wanting to stab Valtu repeatedly

[Lina · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG!!! I've been waiting for this book for so long and let me tell you something...It was mind-blowing. Rose and Valtu are the best couple ❤️‍🔥.

The story starts straight away from the ending of book 1. I was literally thrown to a loop. Literally from page 1, the story starts with twists and turns and with secrets hidden away for a long time. The chapters are from both MC's POV and we have past (21 years ago with Valtu's action and present. We also have visits from old friends from previous books.

Rose...She is a brilliant character. I do realize that she was good as Dhalia, but reincarnating into Rose made her even better. This time around she is a vampire/witch. She has that inner strength that I adore and she never gives up. She wanted Valtu back and she definitely got him.

Valtu...man, why did you have to take the cowardly way out??? Why? I know that you were dealing with grief, but this is not the way. Drinking the potion made you forget Rose, but it also makes you harsher, moody and closed off not only to the world, but to your friends. I love him as a character, but I still can't forgive him for that decision.

At one point I wasn't sure If Karina would do something so he could remember everything. Well, she did it and it was done beautifully.

Oh, I forgot to mention the smut...OMG the smut. It was soo soo good and kinky. We all know that Valtu has his kinky side. Well it was justified and even more 😍. The heat and the passion was literally off the charts and I had the feeling that my kindle caught fire 😁.

I was so happy that they found each other again. They deserved it. After Rose's incarnations as Mina, Lucy, Dhalia and Rose she finally reunited with her soulmate. When Valtu finally became himself and saw Dhalia like for the first time I was literally screaming.

Karina Halle is one of my favourite authors. She delivered a beautiful story, that was definitely worth the wait. I loved the conclusion of Valtu and Rose's story. They are finally together again.

***I received an ARC of this book from Karina Halle and this is my voluntary review.***

[megan ◡̈ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 maybe

90% fucking 10% a really good plot 🥴 got extremely boring

[Raye · Rating 1 out of 5]

So here is my rule with a DNF before we get started. If I read 50% or more I will write a review. Anything less than 50% I will just move on. However, by 70% I had to call it on this book and I am so disappointed. I was looking forward to the conclusion of Blood Orange and had high hopes. I LOVED Blood Orange, it was such a beautiful retelling of Dracula and his love. Black Rose fell so short and honestly, some of the scenes were a bit unnecessary and traumatizing. There are things I can never unread lol I will explain them below. If you do not want spoilers do not read on.

If you were looking for another beautiful and exciting story with Grade A spice, you need to look elsewhere. The only thing you will get is spice. There is zero substance to this story. Valtu is a dick to put it simply. He willingly chose to forget his supposed love of his life/soul mate and Rose is a simp who lets him do anything he wishes just to get him back, get him to remember her. It honestly put me off to the whole book. They would fight, then f^$k, then there would be some demon gore, then the process would start all over. Mind you, I read up to 70% and this was the whole story to that point.

Before anyone comes at me, yes, I checked the trigger warnings. I am not squeamish by any means. But what happened in this book will haunt me for a while. If you are squeamish and have any qualms with blood and gore and deceased children being reanimated by a demon don't read the books and don't read on.

There is a very graphic scene where Rose is chained to the bed by Valtu, spread eagle. She hears creepy noises (a child giggling and wet dragging on the floor). Her unborn dead child from a past life (who is let's just say in less than stellar condition and has fangs) crawls up the bed and drags/forces itself back into her body from between her legs (this is my version the version I read was gross and I still get the chills thinking about it). I am not sure why this wasn't in anyone else's reviews but yeah... scarred for life lol. Also, this scene and most of the gory stuff seemed unnecessary IMO.

With all that being said, I think I am done with Karina's books for a while. This was the first and only book I have thoroughly disliked from her. Read at your own risk and while I always say check trigger warnings, sometimes you get unexpected triggers lol. Happy reading!

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

tis the season for vampire smut 🤘

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

do you like to read vampire romance?

—dark, gothic romance
—reincarnation
—vampires
—professor/student
—Dracula retelling

If you don’t know, Karina just knows how to write sexy af stories. And The Dracula Duet was no exception. Reincarnation, vampires, twists, spice spice galore, Blood Orange & Black Rose gave me all the 🦋. I loved every minute and had such a hard time putting these books down.

Valtu is a centuries old vampire who lost his humanity when he lost his true love, found her, then lost her again. Along comes Dahlia, a student of music, a witch, and sent to kill him, Valtu & Dahlia embark on a journey of destiny, trust, & love. If you’re in need of a spicy vampire romance, grab this duet & enjoy.
Blood Orange’s ending had me in tears, just an FYI 👀

✨Check TW first please (I don’t want anyone to be uncomfortable). ✨

Thank you to Karina for sending me a copy of Black Rose with the sweetest note printed in the book ♡

[saralouisereads · Rating 5 out of 5]

5🌶️ 4.5⭐️ i swear this duet was some of the spiciest books ive ever read. 🥵 Valtu is everythingggg. the romance in these is perfection. the love these characters have for each other is felt through the pages. i would highly recommend these for the spooky season!! plus we get an HEA at the end, which i literally cannot live without in my books. this one was a lil creepy at times but it wasn’t enough to steer me away, i do not do horror well 😅 i also didn’t know Karina wrote books for the other characters in this duet and im so excited to read them!

[Pasquaspages · Rating 5 out of 5]

My heart was broken at the end of Blood Orange but Black Rose put it all back together!

This duet is a fast-paced, dark, gothic paranormal romance. I’ve always been a sucker for a Dracula retelling but this was just so unique. I also enjoyed that it tied in characters from her other paranormal novels. If you haven’t read them, don’t worry, it won’t ruin the experience from this book… but I highly recommend them!

Tropes:

• Dark Academia
• Gothic PNR
• Vampires vs Witches
• Reincarnated love
• Dracula re-telling
•Fantasy romance

The romance and spice was exactly what I expect from Karina and it’s always so well done.

Black Rose is not a standalone and you must read Blood Orange first.

I received an ARC for an honest review.