Reviews tagging 'Incest'

A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson

22 reviews

pimklasagna's review against another edition

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2.75


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lightscamerazaction's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-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? Yes

5.0


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emeliah21's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • 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? It's complicated

5.0

This story had me cheering, gripped, thrilled and I truly felt the emotions of the characters. 10/10 would read again, got me out of a massive reading slump 

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amy_reading_23's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.75

This book was an incredibly compelling read, so much so that I finished it in a day. I can't totally tell you why I found it so compelling. It's not necessarily the kind of book I'd usually enjoy, as it is quite dark and tense and uncomfortable. But it is beautifully written. And it's not exactly that I enjoyed it, I just was fascinated by it. It is a book which perfectly shows what it is like to be in an abusive relationship with a narcissist. And as someone who is familiar with those relationships, I found it interesting. But also because it is clear from page one that she kills him. I think that hope is what draws you forward to the end. That no matter what he does, he will be defeated. 

The characters are interesting. You are shown some of their complexities but also not enough of each to know them entirely. There are beautiful lines that are like poetry and some interesting comparisons to religion. I thought I'd be put off by how it is written in letters, but it is very immersive and most the letters are written long enough to be like scenes. 

I do love how she took his power away by not naming him (the abuser). Although this has been described as a retelling of Dracula and his wives, its not quite that, and we never quite know who he is. And that takes the power away from him. 

I could probably go on for ages talking about this book but I will say, I would have found this difficult to read a few years ago. It is hard hitting, uncomfortable at times, and there's some blurred lines between relationships being familial and sexual, which did make me a bit uncomfortable. So don't read this if you're not in the right head space. But if you are, and you want to read a book about a girl finding her own power while being bound by a narcissist, with a long dark period and a finally happy ish ending, then go for it. 

I wanted to say more but this is a bit of a spoiler. I loved how the book traversed time from the middle ages to now. I really didn't expect that. I thought it would stay as a gothic text living in history but instead it shows a vampire living through to our world. I would have liked to see more of what she thought of it but I know that wasn't the point at the end of the book. 

Everything the "Lord" does is characteristic of a narcissistic sociopath in a toxic relationship. He gaslights his wives, tells them they're paranoid, masks his control by making them think they have freedom, taking them away from friends or loved ones, isolating them, allows them scarce joy to keep devoted but derives them of most joy so they depend on him.  If you recognise someone in your life who is like this, it is best to seek help and leave. 

Last point, I wasn't sure about the ending. At Constantines last chapter I'd thought I wished there was more of their lives now, but then I actually found that I didn't totally like Alexi's bit. His possessiveness and dependency on them worried me a bit and I wondered if the ending was meant to be semi uncomfortable. But I might be overthinking, as otherwise I think it interestingly showed how a loving poly relationship can be without a toxic partner.

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katiegraham00's review against another edition

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dark reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0


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ellenigrace's review against another edition

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slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

2.5

Did its job of being a vampire book, though not a horror novel, and didn't blow me away. The ending frustrated me
because I didn't love that after spending a whole book freeing themselves from a man, Constanta and Magdalena ended up semi-abandoning their new lives for a different man.
I also think that if you're going to say in the blurb that the book is about Dracula, you shouldn't break Dracula canon the one time you allude to that fact?
Even if we allow that he couldn't die in the way he does in Dracula, the fact that the women have to explain who the Harkers were to Alexi means that at that point Dracula only had two brides, not three like in Stoker's canon. A very nitpicky point but it pulled me out of the narrative.

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mirroaoror's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0


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fromthefoxhole's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

***SPOILERS AHEAD*** 

The premise is cool af, the story of Dracula's brides x the story of Judith from the bible. 
I just personally can't deal with the whole faux-incest plot (I did my time with Cassandra Clare, okay?). 

The chapters are....kind of letters? Like the POV is from Constata, his first wife, but she's writing "you did x and I felt bad about it" so it's a bit clunky. 

For the plot, we watch as Constata is saved and turned by Dracula, and then realized beneath his charm and promises lay both a madman and an abuser.  He opens their marriage by force, setting her up to be the bad guy if she denied Magdalena and Dracula - but M is introduced as both a companion for C and a sister to her, as well as a lover. For a while, C manages to tamp down her jealousy and frustration, but watching him wear down Magdalena's extroverted and curious nature erodes her restraint. When he feels as though he has hit a wall with M and C, he pries the marriage open again, this time for Alexi, a youthful, exuberant arts model. His arrival brightens both Dracula and Magdalena, where C is wrought with a protective urge, and likens herself to his nursemaid. A, though, is young and bullheaded, and likes to pick fights with Dracula, arguing and  demanding, pushing the envelope as far as he can. When Dracula's restraint snaps, leading to him publicly killing a young woman Alexi had invited into their home and then slapping Alexi across the face while scolding him, C is finally sure. She schemes with her fellow brides, puts together a plot based on Dracula's own knowledge and research on the vampiric limitations, and they enter into a pact to murder their sire. 

Upon the completion of this gruesome task, all 3 brides wrestle with twin rivers of grief and relief winding through their ribs. They promise to write and meet regularly, then split and travel on their own. 

The epilogue is from Alexi's perspective, and he is sad that both M and C have taken other companions during their years apart. He worries they no longer care for him as much as they used to. Like any good quasi-related trio of lovers, they fuck about it.

For all it's contents, I think a Dowry of Blood most suffers from the POV, though that sort of incest piece is a very close second. I did enjoy the writing, both the quality and the gentle way Gibson approaches the abusive nature of the relationship between Dracula and it's brides. 

I won't read it again, but I'm not mad I read it.  

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sagadotter's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5


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mothie_girlie's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0


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