Reviews with content warning for Gore - A Dowry of Blood

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Reviews tagging 'Gore'

A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson

252 reviews

aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition

fast-paced

4.75

I wasn't entirely sure what this was about when I first picked up it but ended up really loving it. If you're looking for a traditional horror about vampires, this isn't it. This is more a story on how power and infatuation can affect people and how that can be abused on a backdrop of vampirism. Super good and would've been a 5 star if we didn't get the last bit of pov from Alexi. I don't think his pov was necessary. Or if his had to be included, I wouldve liked to also see Magdalena's then as well.
READ TRIGGER/CONTENT WARNINGS. the author does provide them in the beginning before her book actually starts but I would def recommend checking them out even before that.

Content Warnings

starzzz's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad tense fast-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? Yes

3.5

The writing was beautiful. Each page you can find more than one sentence that really strikes you.

There were times where I genuinely felt myself getting sick when reading the things she was feeling or going through.

I found the storytelling to be really immersive. At times I did not find the sex scenes to be appealing, but I suppose it did coincide with the plot to show us the bonds in which they shared.

I think the book could have ended without the “An Encore of Roses” but that is merely my opinion. I guess it can appeal to those that want to see our main characters living a better life.

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codyjne's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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romaisa_azim's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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maeverose's review against another edition

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3.5

I went back and forth on my rating for so long because there were large sections of this book that I loved and large sections of the book that I really couldn’t have cared less about. It took me almost two weeks to get through it even though the book actually reads pretty fast. I just never wanted to pick it up because I was having such a mixed experience with it.

First the things that I loved:

The writing! This book has the perfect balance of poetic writing that flows really well and is easy and quick to read. It doesn’t drag the book down or make it feel slow and never tripped me up or felt tedious to read, all problems I often have with ‘pretty prose’.

The way it explores domestic abuse, while not something I’ve personally experienced, felt very well done. It shows how you can still have love for your abuser without at any point justifying the abuser’s actions or defending the abuser. It was done in a way that was believable to me.

I really liked the addition of (unnamed) Dracula studying vampires and how they work, I thought that was cool and something I don’t think I’ve ever seen in a vampire story before.

Now the things I didn’t like:

The first thing I noticed I was at least able to ignore throughout most of the book so it wasn’t too bad. That being that this isn’t believable as an epistolary novel at all. It’s supposed to be made up of letters that Constanta is writing to an unnamed Dracula after she kills him (this is revealed on the first page and isn’t a spoiler), explaining her side of the story and why she did it. But it reads like a prose novel where the narrator is speaking to someone. There’s no sense to when one letter ends and another starts, they don’t start and end like a letter typically does, it just starts and ends like a chapter in a book would. I get that the author wanted it to be reminiscent of the book Dracula by making it epistolary but it wasn’t done well. I just read it as if it was a regular novel and that made so much more sense.

The second and main issue I had was entirely subjective. That being the romance between Constanta, Magdelena and Alexi was extremely instalove/lust and felt forced to me. I didn’t buy their love for each other because of how quickly it moved. If you’re not bothered by really fast moving relationships then you might not mind, but I’m actually incapable of caring for a romance in a book if it’s instalove, so the parts that were mainly focused on that (as well as the sex scenes) I skimmed through because they were boring to me. Unfortunately those all make up a significant portion of the book.

Some quotes:

“You swept your hands over my cheeks, cupping my face and taking me in. The intensity of your attention was staggering. At the time, I would have called it proof of your love, burning and all-consuming. But I've grown to understand that you have in you more of the scientist obsessed than the lover possessed, and that your examinations lend themselves more towards a scrutiny of weakness, imperfection, any detail in need of your corrective care.”

“"They think me a baby-slaying devil," you supplied, with a cordial smile that made it sound more like an introduction.“

“You made it into an art form, this quiet sort of violence. You were so far into our heads your gentle suggestions so often felt like our own thoughts.”

"It would be easier if he hated us," she said. "But he loves us all terribly. And if we go on letting him love us, that love is going to kill us. That's what makes him so dangerous."

And lastly, because it made me laugh:

"You haven't seen anything. After that whole debacle with the Harkers he was sullen for months." "Who are the Harkers?" "Before your time, dear; just some dreadful Victorians."

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