A lot of people shelved this as horror, but it wasn't really something I'd consider horror. Most gore was pretty much off screen and the real fear was alluded to rather than shown. Not that it needed to have gore to make it horror, but there was no real tension or fear to make it what I'd consider a true horror book.

That doesn't make it bad, though. On the contrary, I did enjoy it. It was predictable, but I still liked the evolution of Countess' character and her ruthlessness. Most of the time, when characters like this are included in a book, they try to make them more redeemable (especially when a romance in involved), but in this case it was hard hitting and realistic and that made her a better character overall.