Reviews with content warning for Sexual violence - A Dowry of Blood

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

caughtbetweenpages's review against another edition

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emotional reflective tense 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? Yes

4.5

I absolutely loved this story. It was sold to me as “polyamorous Dracula’s wives join together to overthrow him”, and honestly? I wish I hadn’t heard that. Not because I felt it spoiled things, but because I think it cheapens the impact of the story.

Constanza’s (I regret calling her by that name, because it was given to her by Dracula/her abuser) (who is never directly named and thus afforded power by way of adding to his mystery) journey of self discovery after her identity is stripped from her is empowering, and her reclamation of her religious/ethical convictions, sexuality, and understanding of her intelligence and power was exactly the story I needed when I read this book. The relationships between her, Aleksei, and Magdalena, as well as the hints to the original story of Dracula, are just icing on the cake. I absolutely devoured it.

We follow the point of view of Dracula's first wife, a young woman named Constanza. I regret calling her by that name, because she has forgotten her real name and Constanza is the name that Dracula gave her when he sired her after a incredibly traumatic event happened to her and her family. And she comes back to life as a vampire and takes revenge on the people who hurt her, and feels tremendous amount of debt to and love for the person who (she feels, at the time) allowed her to save herself. But as the story goes on and as her sire's selfishness and cruelty and calculation become more and more evident, Constanza finds herself in an increasingly tense and difficult situation, one in which her agency is stripped from her and she is sort of forced into a role of learned helplessness. Never before have I read something that evoked in me the tension of being in an abusive relationship, the terror of being powerless in your own home against someone you still love and are connected to deeply.

I keep calling him Dracula. He's never actually named within the book. There are a couple hints--like there is a passage where they're talking about some annoying English people called the Harkers in Victorian England that the family has to deal with at some point--and there's a tremendous amount of, like, vampiric lore that I feel was popularized if not created by Bram Stoker within Dracula. But regardless, he is never directly addressed by name as such. As I said, the novella is told in Constanza's point of view but it is also told with the direct address: YOU did this, YOU are a monster, with the "you" being Dracula in this case. For much of the story, while he holds the majority of the power, this distancing, this almost mythologizing of this incredibly powerful figure, not even giving him a name because that would be to make him base, gives him a tremendous amount of power. But towards the end given what happens the "you" goes from just a telling of what's happening to an accusation. It's Constanza's taking back her agency, it's her reclaiming The Narrative that was taken from her the moment that she was killed. Her journey of self discovery after her identity is stripped from her is empowering, and her reclamation of her religious/ethical convictions, sexuality, and understanding of her intelligence and power was exactly the story I needed when I read this book.

But until we get to that point of empowerment I cannot describe to you the degree of tension that this book holds. The power and balance is is so skewed as to almost not need to be mentioned, C and D, they're on such stratospherically different levels of control within this situation. It's one of the most accurate depictions that I have ever read about of an abusive relationship and it was absolutely chilling. The introduction of Dracula's other partners with Magdalena (who Constanza has a, like, very deep depth of emotion towards) and then Aleksei (who she also loves but in a slightly different way) it's that love and it's the those connections that finally empower them. But it I feel like the way that they love is so inhuman and vampire in nature; I think St Gibson did a really really good job of demonstrating that there is a monstrosity to this type of thing as well. Though the novella was quite short and it predominantly focused on the reclamation of agency for Constanza (and then also of Magdalena and Aleksei to a lesser degree), I feel like it also did an excellent job of addressing, like, classical vampire preoccupations, like the things that are at the cornerstones of most vampire stories. So we address themes of religiosity; of what it means to actually be a monster; of the unchanging and unadaptable nature of vampirism and what that means in its positives, like the sort of eternity of beauty, and what that means in its negatives, in terms of stagnation and how that can disallow you to continue existing in a modern sense.

I truly think that vampires are probably the sexiest monster and that that is an intentional thing; there's a tremendous degree of like sensuality and sexuality within this novella and I really enjoyed how St Gibson played with the themes of, like, vampiric obsession versus love, of ownership versus agency, of queerness, of stagnating beauty, about how the sort of societally prescriptive ideas of what love and romance are meant to look like don't necessarily play well with the mythos of this thing, and does the monstrosity come from the fact that you are undying and you need to consume blood and Life Force to live forever or are you a monster because people consider your way of living and your way of being monstrous? I don't think it's coincidence that many queer people attach ourselves to stories about monstrosity and I think St Gibson plays that line and sort of makes it evident as to why those connections exist in the first place. I absolutely loved A Dowry of Blood I will be reading everything St Gibson has to write from here on out.

Content Warnings

karleeursta's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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

Strong trigger warnings for relationship violence and interpersonal abuse. It’s a beautiful story but it is very difficult subject matter that not everyone might be prepared for all the time. For those who are emotionally and mentally prepared, it’s a moving and powerful message of hope and survival that provides sympathy for and understanding of survivors of abusive relationships.

Content Warnings

wickeddelights's review against another edition

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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? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I loved this book. It made me feel so many things, and gave name and words to parts of myself still healing. It is told in a beautiful and impactful way, and it is inspiring. A story of survival, and self actualization, reflection, and love. I am so glad I read it, and proud to call this my first 5* read of 2024

Content Warnings

crispynugget's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

I picked this book up on a whim before a flight and was pleasantly surprised but how captivated I was by the story. It is short and flows very well. Without giving away too much, the story is about how DV and DA change the people involved over their lives. What keeps it interesting is that the characters are all vampires in a poly relationship.

Content Warnings

bree_h_reads's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense slow-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

5.0

I lack the words to do this book justice. I knew it would shatter me the moment I started reading it and it did.

Every line is written so beautifully and it feels so unique and special. Half, if not more, of my notes are just quotes that sunk into me. Like the most beautiful rose surrounded by roses that are stunning but only a sliver less beautiful.

Each relationship and character feels so unique and well written. There’s a realism to every dynamic, every character that’s stark and clear. The abuse within the home is so carefully laid out, but as Constanta looks back and speaks on it she feels gentle with herself. Like she truly understands why it all happened and that it’s not her, or the other’s fault, they fell into the situation they did.

The narrator was also stunning. Her voice has the perfect quality and every time there was dialogue she so perfectly captured the character and how they had changed over time. It’s easily my favourite performance for an audiobook I’ve ever listened to. Just absolutely amazing.

Overall just a soul achingly beautiful book that I will, without hesitation, recommend to anyone who asks. It’s shattered me and I’m so grateful for it.

Content Warnings

livfowler's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

ameliabee33's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

Bonds forged by blood can only be broken by death.

"A Dowry of Blood" is a poignant tale of Dracula's wives, the tale of the abuse Constanta and the other consorts face at the hands of a monster. Constanta was the first, the oldest, she has existed with him the longest. Learned how to make herself in his image, so she can stay safe. The others don't know how to do that. Until they do. Constanta wants out, but escaping an abuser isn't easy, especially when she has two others to worry about. Together, the three consort unwrap the mystery that is their husband, lover, in the search for freedom. But monsters don't let their prey go easily.

This is a story of abuse. It isn't a lighthearted book, it portrays and shows in detail what it is like living in an abusive relationship - so please check the tws before you dive in. It shows how difficult it is to break out and escape from the abuser. It also shows the lengths the abused will go to justify their abusers actions. Because he loved his wives. He really did. He just took away their autonomy and freedom.

He's a good man Savannah! (Not really)

It is written from the perspective of Constanta, in a series of letters to her beloved, justifying why she and the others did what they did. The prose is very lyrical and I found the letter format to be a very compelling mode of telling the story. Readers really get drawn into the relationships between all the characters from Constanta's pov because she is always there, watching. Her realization that this isn't how love is supposed to be and her initiative to investigate her beloved to be a great start of a character arc for her. However, it was short and rushed, I believe it should have gotten more on-page time. I wanted more evidence of growth of Constanta's character on page. I was left with the feeling thay the revenge plotlinr was only half done.

The relationship between Constanta, Magdalena, and Alexi is very sweet at times, that they have such love and support from one another. However, Constanta takes on a sort of "mother" role with Magdalena and Alexi which makes their romantic physical relationship a bit odd to me. As I was reading it, it just felt weird. There is some comments where Magdalena insists that her and Constanta become sisters. And then there are many times where Constanta refers to Alexi as her son, the only relationship they have is emotional (until it's not). I know they aren't biologically related, but I'm just personally not into the taboo and it came off as awkward while reading it.

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