Hi Claudia,
After reading it again, I was wondering about the end of Edge of midnight where Anna's father hint that her mother is not dead, will she have a part in the sequel of The Circle?
Now, about The Circle, all I can say is: great! I really loved it!
The Gabriel and Anna from the past are really believable, and the whole part 2 fit so well with the comments of Dracula in the movie, with the 'brothers in arm' stuff and all!
I still love the realism of your story, your characters seem always so alive, so… convincing, like one expect a person from the 15th and 19th to act… 15th-Gabriel is chivalrous, and Anna as a 'fighting' maid is really cool (she'd never have fit in the role of damsel in distress – no reason for a lady to take the arms against evil)
Also, your story is not too bloody, just what's needed for it to be plausible and it wouldn't have been realistic without all the 'whoring' stuff…
Jinette is still a bastard even though he's a bit more polite to Anna… but withholding information from Gabriel, tss, tss, naughty Cardinal… rather opportunistic…
Few questions are really answered and new ones arise.
Carl was not very prominent in the Circle, will he have a bigger part in the future? I understand the story was more Gabriel centred but I really like him, with all his inventions and he's the only one that always nice with Anna and really express his feelings.
How are the Anna and Gabriel of the past related to those of the present? Is it some kind of reincarnation? Time travel? Divine intervention?
If I understood correctly, those from the past were about to be married before dying suddenly… Are Gabriel and Anna not meant to have an 'happily ever after'?
I was sad about their losing another baby… can I still hope for a happy ending by the end of the whole story?
I really look forward to the sequel!
I hope you're still working on the fourth part!
Lucy

(And now I will file ‘Edge of Midnight’ as CANON in my head because goddamnit, it’s so believably accurate, I WILL believe it is CANON.) And oh, sorry for the continuous reviews that you may receive, but the site, as I said earlier, butchers my reviews into something pathetically abbreviated. (… and forgiven me for lurking, but I glanced through your LJ, read the other smut69 fics and there’s a copy of Disney’s ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ on Youtube, uploaded by rockhard. On the other hand, it’s a ‘private’ video and I think it involves friending her… or something. eflol had previously uploaded it for public viewing but someone reported her, but she did say she might put it up again.)

And I never thought Jinette was so scheming, but eh, I guess it fits.

And then, ‘The Circle’; I swore to myself I’d review after reading it, but then slacked off again… But yes! It was completed and the relief that I had with continually reading on was that ‘there won’t be a cliffhanger until Part 4! Surely I can wait until then!’. I probably need to rethink that now…

Somehow, reading this is cementing that the Order is partially doing what the Inquisition did in covering up their gruesome details at some point of their history. Speaking of history, you did the accuracy of the dates and info on Vlad the Impaler really well. (Although he was, apparently, particularly concerned with female chastity; on the other hand, these were towards the boyars and peasants. Also, when the story mentions ‘pheasants’, is it supposed to be ‘peasants’?) Anna’s incarnation was exactly like her, and somehow, her and her child dying was oddly reflective to what happened in the ‘Edge of Midnight’. *sniffle* And I would like to believe that Gabriel is some sort of amnesiac, immortal-ish being and that he didn’t get killed, as Valerious the Elder said…

And then at ‘Edge of Midnight’, it was almost disappointing to see Anna shoved into the corner by the Vatican, with them trying to hide her away because she was a woman. (Because, I swear, she would the best feminist ever.) The whole underground conflict plot between the Order and Gabriel, the Roman vampires and Anna was the most entertaining part in this, what with the Vatican trying to hold her back and she being so close and Gabriel being so close but not quite there… and the tension between Gabriel and Anna was delicious. No other word for it. Although both of them being upset at each other was really interesting to read (especially on how they thought about the other and the d-e-n-i-a-l,) it was really sad too. :( The ending was really good though, with the whole thing finally finished and done, although I’m not sure why Gabriel didn’t… turn into a vampire, after being bitten and all. The part where Anna was bleeding and Gabriel was trying to rush her to help was very touching… but… well… the ENDING ending where she tells him that ‘they can’t be together’ didn’t leave the strain between the two of them resolved. Although, I admit, it does leave a cliffhanger about their relationship and how it would be resolved. (Hopefully in a ‘happily ever after’ because ‘I cannot love you and at the same time do what I was born to do,’ sounded like something the Vatican would want her to say.)

In a brief sentence about your Van Helsing AU Saga: it is bloody awesome. (‘Bloody’ wasn’t a pun. I swear.) Everything about it, from the plot to your style of writing, is just… fantastic. Really really fantastic. (Somehow I probably need to cut this review up because the site keeps savaging my reviews.)

I actually started with ‘Red’ (which now I won’t stop imagining as a canon scene when I watch the movie again) and then got pulled into reading ‘Sweet and Tender Beasts’. It was… well, really long, but it was definitely worthwhile to read and why is there only 3 reviews?! D: The only thing I found confusing was the breaks between some scenes, because it jumped around a little (but not to the point where it was obscure), and I couldn’t summon the imagery at where Dracula and Anna meet in Castle Frankenstein at the part where she ‘crashed through the window’. But that’s all, because everything else was described wonderfully and how you built on Anna’s character was awe-inspiring. I especially like Gabriel still having the traits of a wolf (and the primal instincts), shown especially in that dinner/honey crumpets scene, and how you kept that theme recurring whenever he’s near Anna. :D

This is a great story. I know you've finished it already, but I simply wanted to praise you for weaving such a wonderful plot. I'm not sure why more haven't reviewed for your story. I sincerely hope that you'll write another Anna/Van Helsing like I hope this will turn out to be. Anyway, I felt that this story deserved much more praise than it received. I'm not entirely sure if this will serve as a moral boost of sorts, but I appreciate your writing :)

Absolutely beautiful. The language flows like music and the characters' emotions are real and heartfelt. Wonderful job.

Hi Claudia!
I loved it! So far, the story definitely works!
So Anna got her title back, she's not queen of the gypsies but she's still a princess… and Jinette seems to be a lot more respectful, is that because of it? Or because of the painting?
Marko seems interesting, he's falling in love with Anna, will Gabriel get jealous?
That UST between Gabriel and Anna… I hope there will be some resolution later on…
If Gabriel was really the one who killed Dracula back in the 15th century and if he really knew him like Dracula implied, it's likely he knew his family too… this woman who looks like Anna, is she a sister? A cousin?
Well, I'm eager to read next chapter!
Lucy

okay, blackmail is not neccessary. ^)^

i want to know what the connection is! did Gabriel love one of Anna's ancestors? will that ** Anna off to no end? did she live before? is she a reincarnate? is Carl still sporting that horrible haircut?

gah! you drive me nuts.

love it love it love it love it.

It's Van Helsing, when he first arrived at the Vatican!

Yes, The Circle is finally there!
Sounds really promising, I hope you'll update soon!
Lucy