Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - A Dowry of Blood

I made you into my private Christ, duplicated with my own dark devotions. Nothing existed beyond the range of your exacting gaze, not even me. I was simply a nonentity when you weren’t looking at me, an empty vessel waiting to be filled by the sweet water of your attention.

A woman can’t live like that, my lord. No one can. Don’t ask me why I did it.

I think this might just be my favourite retelling. The dynamic between Constanta, Magdalena and Alexi is so touching and tragic, soaked in blood yet so enticingly erotic and horrific. I’m left in awe of how S. T. Gibson weaved this masterclass in depicting the centuries-long abuse of these three lost souls by an intricate web of gaslighting, isolation, love-bombing and manipulation. Equal parts a love story and escaping a monster, I am so in love with this novel. I cannot wait to read more of this author’s works.

Content Warnings

psychominnie624's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective 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

To those who escaped a love like death, and to those still caught in its grasp: you are the heroes of this story.

Constanta was never the focus of the original story but in this retelling she finds her strength and love in the partner's that she never asked for but who love her in ways that save her from the monster who claimed to do so.

This book does not hold back from the brutality of the tale and I urge readers to look at the content/trigger warnings to make sure they are in the right headspace before reading.

Through the use of unaddressed letters we see Constanta struggle to find herself when forced into a new life by the villain we all recognize, but who is never named he is simply "you." Her relationships with Magdalena and Alexi are a source of hope but also a mirror that forces her to see the reality around her. The relationship dynamics are compelling and the prose is evocative and beautiful even at the most tragic points.

Many quote the stripping of his name but for me this has stuck

I simply broke under the weight of a thousand tense nights, a thousand thought-less, soul-stripping words. I felt like I was losing my mind in that place, and eventually my desire to do something about it, anything about it, outweighed my fear of you.

Content Warnings

bjww34's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

xapoptosisx's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I have no words for how good this book is, it has absolutely enamoured me and I think everyone should read.

Content Warnings

comradeghost's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I have nothing bad to say about this book. This was healing for me to read. I see myself so much in the MC. I felt genuine love for her companions and anger and resentment towards the antagonist. Gibson does an incredible job at investing the reader personally in this story. Inspires a range of emotion that caused my heart to swell with love and cry from anger and hurt. So good.

Content Warnings