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kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was good. I’ve always lamented that modern Dracula adaptations squander the concept of “vampire wives” by making them oversexualized, Uber-hetero, and/or catty; im looking at you The Invitation (kinda), Van Helsing, Dracula: 2000, etc. this book takes the concept and runs in a different, much cooler direction. The sexy bits of this book weren’t very sexy (for good reason imo), but they spoke of an intimacy and connection between the spouses I’ve always wanted to see.
this book was a really nice exploration of the inherent queerness in vampirism; if you live forever, completely transgressing any & all rules of humanity, what’s stopping you from swinging any way the wind blows??? nothing! there’s no quibbling about what kind of person any of the chars are sucking & fucking, and im living for it. it probably would’ve made the book too clunky, but i would have loved it if the author tackled gender identity in vampirism too. maybe something for next time! my only real complaint here is that there were no strap-ons or whatever the ancient equivalent would be. ye olde inventors could make intricate torture devices, but not a way for women to fuck men? I can’t believe that. where was the pegging! u can’t tell me Magdalena wouldn’t have been into that
on a serious note, this book was also a very real depiction of control and abusive power dynamics. the vampire spouses are inhumanly strong, never die, never tire, but their relative strength doesn’t preclude them from being gaslit and abused. information on their vampire anatomy, wealth, independence: “dracula” holds these over Constanta, Alexi, and Magdalena as someone older and more experienced in vampire life; he whittles them down to beings who can’t fathom how they’d survive without him as a guide, and puts them to work to keep each other content in his clutches. Constanta can’t even remember her real name; just the one he gave her at “birth”. a twisted, evil man to his core, empowered by his ability to “grant” eternal life to vulnerable, isolated people he handpicks. a serial abuser given the power to give and take life as he sees fit; now THATS what I call horror.
this take on the monster that is dracula is refreshing; in media he is almost always monstrous and manipulative, but this is the first time I’ve seen that reflected in his “family life”; usually he is just Bad Because Bloodsucking. Here his murder and bloodlust takes a backseat to the interpersonal violence he commits. incredibly well done
The best thing about this book, to me, was that it wasn’t really a dracula adaptation at all. He takes only a nameless villain role in the story of love and perseverance that is Constanta/Magdalena/Alexi. I loved Constanta, she was so earnest, so honest in her retelling of her history, nearly to the point of being unkind to her past self. she laments, she foreshadows, she rages, and I felt immense compassion and empathy for her and her spouses. I could read about her discovering pants and mp3 players for 100+ more pages; she is just that charming. She writes this “letter” to help herself process; dracula is a ghost on the page of a chapter she is ready to close. loved it!!!
That being said, I did not like the “you” POV or the near-epistolary style; it was jarring and a bit distracting. i found myself getting confused between “you” meaning the dead Dracula the letter was addressed to, and “you” meaning the person being spoken to in the actual dialogue. I’ve never liked epistolary novels, so i came in with that expectation, but the pov threw me for a loop. I much preferred the style in An Education in Malice. (I liked that book more than this one, and a good bit of the reason is style). just not my cup of tea, but the characters and story were enough to outweigh my dislike of the storytelling method.
I’ve rambled enough but I really liked this, and would be thrilled to read more from this author. I really fuck with her frank interpretation of what eternal life and preternatural power would mean for relationships, and the simultaneous love and harm that would inhabit vampiric spaces. fantasy often glosses over the unsavory parts of love & sex to get to romance, but Gibson instead respectfully hones in on those elements while still managing a love story in the end. bravo
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Blood, Gaslighting, Violence, Murder, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Infidelity, Confinement, Gore, and Sexual content
Minor: War and Pandemic/Epidemic
fink1129's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Blood, Confinement, Death, Gore, and Domestic abuse
boredarchivist's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Gore
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Abandonment
taylorreads17's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Gore, Blood, Infidelity, Violence, Death, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Body horror
Moderate: Physical abuse
gisblanketfort's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Violence, Death, Physical abuse, Cannibalism, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual content, Blood, and Toxic relationship
leedolee's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This was the most entertaining read ever. I love reading anything involving vampires and retellings of Dracula. It was a fast paced book and written as if it were in letters. I've never read a book quite like this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Physical abuse, Gore, Grief, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Death, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Sexual content, Torture, and Toxic relationship
kynarreth's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book would have been 5 stars if not for the last chapter "Encore of Roses". It ruined the ending/mood.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gaslighting, Murder, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Gore
themagicalworldofnian's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Getting into this book I didn't know that much about aside from that it is a dark, twisted, queer and sapphic story about vampires, which I later learned was a reimagining of Dracula's brides.
And OMG this book. I absolutely loved it and it is a new all time favourite.
The books starts of with "I never dreamed it would end like this, my lord: your blood splashing hot flecks onto my nightgown and pouring in rivulets onto our bedchamber floor. But creatures like us live a long time. There is no horror left in this world that can surprise me. Eventually, even your death becomes its own sort of inevitability". Reading this sentence alone, I knew this was going to be a 5 star read for me.
Just how lyrical the prose is, astounding. It adds to the amazing gothic vibe throughout the story.
The book is written in the form of an open letter from the point of view of Constanta, the first bride. It shows thin line between love, obsession and evil.
I just loved that it was written in the form of an open letter, since it made the book way more personal and you could just feel the on going struggle of feelings.
The ever changing relationships were also so intriguiging to see and be a part of.
Further the power dynamics, manipulation and gaslighting in the story illustrate how it can sometimes be very hard to see the abusive nature of a relationship. And the nature of consent, how it can sometimes feel impossible to say no.
This will definitely be a book that will reappear into my mind. And overall I cannot recommend this book enough.
However keep in mind the trigger warnings at the beginning of the book.
Triggerwarnings: emotional, verbal, and physical intimate partner abuse, gaslighting, war, famine, and plague, blood and gore, consensual sexual content, sadomasochism, self-harm, body horror, violence and murder, alcohol use, depression and mania.
And OMG this book. I absolutely loved it and it is a new all time favourite.
The books starts of with "I never dreamed it would end like this, my lord: your blood splashing hot flecks onto my nightgown and pouring in rivulets onto our bedchamber floor. But creatures like us live a long time. There is no horror left in this world that can surprise me. Eventually, even your death becomes its own sort of inevitability". Reading this sentence alone, I knew this was going to be a 5 star read for me.
Just how lyrical the prose is, astounding. It adds to the amazing gothic vibe throughout the story.
The book is written in the form of an open letter from the point of view of Constanta, the first bride. It shows thin line between love, obsession and evil.
I just loved that it was written in the form of an open letter, since it made the book way more personal and you could just feel the on going struggle of feelings.
The ever changing relationships were also so intriguiging to see and be a part of.
Further the power dynamics, manipulation and gaslighting in the story illustrate how it can sometimes be very hard to see the abusive nature of a relationship. And the nature of consent, how it can sometimes feel impossible to say no.
This will definitely be a book that will reappear into my mind. And overall I cannot recommend this book enough.
However keep in mind the trigger warnings at the beginning of the book.
Triggerwarnings: emotional, verbal, and physical intimate partner abuse, gaslighting, war, famine, and plague, blood and gore, consensual sexual content, sadomasochism, self-harm, body horror, violence and murder, alcohol use, depression and mania.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Gore, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Self harm, Blood, Body horror, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Murder, Violence, and War
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Sexual assault
storytime2390's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Murder, Blood, Death, Sexual content, and Gore
Minor: Classism, Confinement, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Mental illness
anxious_librarian's review
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Wow. Just wow.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Blood, Domestic abuse, Gore, and Death