A Dowry of Blood

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As this is a dark vampire story, the author has a list of possible triggers at the beginning of the book and on Goodreads (in her review). Just as she was about to die, Constanta was saved – or cursed. No longer a medieval peasant, she is transformed into a bride fit for a vampire lord. Content at first, she soon realizes that she has no say in her husband’s activities. She’s soon joined by a politically savvy aristocrat and a starving artist, all who do their best to please their savior and creator. But as Constanta becomes more discontent, she begins to uncover secrets that will cause her to question her reliance on her husband and if she truly has escaped death. As her husband adds two more people to their dysfunctional group, Constanta gradually realizes how brutal and suffocating his love could be. Dracula was a major red flag the way he controlled everything and just knew how to manipulate each one of his lovers based on their personality was impressive like god he’d been doing it for centuries. At the start he even had me thinking that he’s swoon worthy only to be a deranged control freak 😂😂😂💀

THE WRITING. The fact that the name "Dracula" wasn't actually mentioned the whole book was really interesting from a reader's perspective and given that it's told from second POV just made the narrative that much easier to drown myself in. It really sold the vampiric passage of time on me, a little change here and there but not really enough for it to make a big difference. Given the plot and it’s a little more about the “romance”, I love that it focused more on the agelessness of vampires rather than other supernatural abilities. And, SPOILERS AHEAD, I honest to God cannot take any vampire book seriously that positions this as its climax: I will never lift a hand against you, Constanta,” you said quietly. “Never in anger, or in lust.” I can see what she saw in him because I would have folded 🥵💀 Atmospheric and lush. . . it will haunt you in the best possible way' Genevieve Gornichec, author of The Witch's Heart

A powerful tale of possession and liberation. This is a Dracula retelling unlike any other – undeniable and unforgettable’Rose Szabo, author of What Big Teeth The story starts off with Constanta apologising to her lover for murdering him which I must add had me intrigued. It then moves on to how she was lying there in blood vulnerable cold and barely breathing until he found her and gave her a new life. By Siring her and taking her as his wife they both travelled and had fun until they grew bored and then they were met with Magdalena a beautiful rich independent women who was full of life. He promised her a life that was Endless and due to her nature she took it and they both became Dracula’s wife’s. The cycle continued whilst the 3 were all infatuated with another they eventually grew bored and they met with Alexi a young painter Dracula promised him riches and a life worth living for an offer which Alexi could not deny . So they all got together until one day they realised he was controlling manipulative and possessive and that’s when they decided to end it all. That’s it that’s the book A delectable jewel of a tale, shimmering with dark, beautiful prose’ Tori Bovalino, author of The Devil Makes Three

A delectable jewel of a tale, shimmering with dark, beautiful prose' Tori Bovalino, author of The Devil Makes Three I was weirded out from the start Constanta’s parents had literally been murdered and she goes and sleeps with Dracula like hello … well I guess that’s her way of grieving 😂😂😂 That slap snapped me out of a reverie I had been living in for hundreds of years. It obliterated any grace I had left to give you, any lies I was still telling myself about your good intentions and your savior's heart.Side note, I found it curious that characters who were supposedly: a peasant from medieval Romania, a noble from medieval Spain, and a poor actor from early 20th century Russia all spewed references to Anglo-Saxon popular culture. Almost as if... the author drew that from own experience. I'm not saying they couldn't know these things, The force of your love nearly drove me to my knees. I was no woman; I was merely a supplement, a pilgrim who had stumbled across your dark altar and was doomed to worship at it forever. I don't know what I have been thinking, supposing I was strong enough to leave." Story of an old vampire, I won't call him Dracula because he was never given a name throughout the book, and his brides that he takes over the time. Story was told from the perspective of one his bride, Constanta. She started with how she was turned and how it was love, devotion, and adoration for a long time until he decided to take another into his family. His new bride, Magdelena. It was jealousy at first but soon she too come to love Magdelena and life was again roses for sometime until the consequences of having a long life hit Magdelena and to some extent it effected Constanta too but she suppressed it. Soon it was depression, fear, insecurities, and melancholy surrounded the brides. But things hit a low point as Alexi entered the family. Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author. If I were you, I would go into this more for the the lyrical writing than a grand plot in case that’s something you’re expecting. It’s more focused on character relationships and dynamics, which isn’t a problem for me but it might affect you.

I thought it would be a bit spicier than it was, considering most vampire books I’ve read are heavy on the spice. The open-door scenes were pretty brief. This work inspired by the Brides of Dracula was everything I wanted it to be. I loved how the story was told as Constanta writing a letter to her husband. It allowed us to learn everything Constanta thought and how she changed and grew throughout the work. It also was a fantastic way to explore abusive and controlling relationships, and the positive and negative feelings that can arise in polyamorous relationships. The characters were wonderfully written. They were all unique and well developed and continued to grow and evolve throughout the work. A dark seductive tale. . . intermingling love, pain, fear and anger in mesmerizing prose’ Publishers Weekly It’s kind of … you know that bit in Interview with a Vampire where Lestat, Louis and Claudia spend, like, two hundred years being a kind of weird asexual/pansexual queer family murder unit? And it’s secretly the best bit of the book, despite the whole queerness/paedophilia conflation thing, while also being glossed over in a few paragraphs?Writing that is purely aesthetic and distances your reader from everything that is happening in your story is bad writing, period. I love me some pretty prose—when it has actual meaning and isn't a surface level attempt to sound poetic and literary. It's just bad, y'all, like please keep the superfluous metaphors. It's at best irritating and really just embarrassing. In the words of the amazing Ocean Vuong: metaphors should amplify meaning—and when they are there merely to sound cool, well. You get exactly what this is. A dizzying nightmare of a romance that will leave you aching, angry and ultimately hopeful."– Hannah Whitten, New York Times bestselling author of For the Wolf If you've been considering reading Dowry, I urge you to nab yourself a copy (if you don't have one already) and treat yourself. It's a beautifully queer novel with an important lesson at its dark, beating heart. they lived in various places, but how come they never ever referenced anything from their cultures? Never felt influenced or shaped by their country of origin and upbringing, like a real person would be? US-centrism never rests, and why even try to put yourself in the shoes or your Eastern European characters I suppose. I'm only bothered by it because I'm Polish, anyway. The most prominent thing about this book is Gibson's gorgeous writing. Gloomingly lyrical and rich, her writing is particularly efficent to portray the obscure setting of the book. I have been thoroughly impressed as the book progressed because how fitting her gorgeous writing is in accord with the book.