Reviews with content warning for Kidnapping - A Dowry of Blood

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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emilywemily6's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad medium-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

3.5

There are lots of things about this book that give it merit, but it just didn’t quite do it for me. The writing is beautiful and gripping, and the characters are all very interesting. I think my expectations didn’t align with the book itself as I thought this was more of a retelling than a “reimagining,” so it was hard to appreciate this story when it kept going against the original Dracula novel. The darkness of this book was found more within the toxic relationship with Dracula than with the nature of vampires; I thought this book would show more of the wives’ descent into evil. This take made them seem like immortal humans rather than devilish creatures of the night. I liked seeing the progression of the toxic relationship and how the “wives” came to see Dracula for who he really was. This gothic tale strays from the original novel and tells a very different kind of story. This is a polyamorous relationship also, which took me by surprise. Overall, I’m not sure how much I enjoyed the book as a whole, but I’ll be thinking about it for a while.

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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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