I picked this up by chance at the used bookstore with honestly barely skimming the back cover for the synopsis. I don't know if I've ever been this lucky in finding such a stunning read. History is a great love of mine and it's where my heart always wanted to take me in academia and while I haven't had the opportunity to explore that world, this scratched that itch as nothing else has. Truly, the writing was extraordinary and Kostova had me hooked from the beginning. I loved the time jumps and going back into other characters' footsteps to find more and more information to uncover the mystery. Add in the fact that we're talking about Vlad Dracula, perfection. I'm already looking forward to re-reading this in the future.