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vigil's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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? Yes
4.5
this book had so many layers to it, especially in regards to the abusive relationship with constanta, magadalena, alexei, and dracula. constanta and dracula's relationship was easily the most interesting, followed by magadalena, and constanta. alexei was sweet (more innocent i suppose), but mostly window dressing to me.
i think a stand out moment of this book was the call back to the very beginning when dracula answers constanta's question of where the servants were with "fled or dead," the same phrase he uses when describing his past lovers, and inadvertently drawing a line between them, and the role of a servant, something he forces the three of them into during the years of their relationship. that contextualized a lot for me, and really hammered home for me (and eventually constanta) how much he needed to go. it's very fitting that she was the one who killed him. it would have been very unsatisfying to me if it were anyone else.
the prose was more dead on than it wasn't for me, though it had its fair share of questionable lines, especially in terms of dialogue which had a tendency to sound more modern than it should. i think the author gave as much information as necessary to the book they wanted to write, and that was largely enough for me, though i think it dampened alexei's introduction which felt, and stayed abrupt throughout the rest of the book. some of it was due to his naturally extroverted nature in what is, in my opinion, a very introverted book, but a large portion of it was due to his lack of intrigue or development. contrastly, i think s.t. gibson did great with magdalena.
i like the inclusion of the sex scenes, and wouldn't have minded more.
i think a stand out moment of this book was the call back to the very beginning when
the prose was more dead on than it wasn't for me, though it had its fair share of questionable lines, especially in terms of dialogue which had a tendency to sound more modern than it should. i think the author gave as much information as necessary to the book they wanted to write, and that was largely enough for me, though i think it dampened alexei's introduction which felt, and stayed abrupt throughout the rest of the book. some of it was due to his naturally extroverted nature in what is, in my opinion, a very introverted book, but a large portion of it was due to his lack of intrigue or development. contrastly, i think s.t. gibson did great with magdalena.
i like the inclusion of the sex scenes, and wouldn't have minded more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
saurahsaurus's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Physical abuse, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and War
nikenacs's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Infidelity, Physical abuse, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Addiction
babieyunie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Infidelity and Gaslighting
constellation_library's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Everything about this book was done exceedingly well, except for the fact that it did not feel or read like a Dracula retelling as Dracula's name is never directly mentioned in the story (purposely because of reasons you discover right in the beginning), so the big bad vampire could have been anyone. He didn't feel like Dracula through his descriptions, and he didn't feel like Stoker's Dracula I have read about and watched in the film. There is one small mention of the Harkers in the book, but otherwise, Stoker's universe is basically not connected to this one at all.
Apart from that, though, I felt that the characters were well built and interesting, and I felt that the writing was beautiful. It definitely falls more into purple prose, but it works for this style of story, in my opinion. It was also short, which I've been loving lately. If you're a vampire fan at all, give this one a try. There is also a poly relationship in it, and it is quite spicy.
Apart from that, though, I felt that the characters were well built and interesting, and I felt that the writing was beautiful. It definitely falls more into purple prose, but it works for this style of story, in my opinion. It was also short, which I've been loving lately. If you're a vampire fan at all, give this one a try. There is also a poly relationship in it, and it is quite spicy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Moderate: Confinement, Death, and Infidelity
Minor: Sexual assault
mooshake's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, spectacular, never the same, totally unique, completely not ever been done before, unafraid to reference or not reference, put it in a blender, shit on it, vomit on it, eat it, give birth to it
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Blood, Murder, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Sexual assault and War
Minor: Infidelity
natashaleighton_'s review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Stalking
Minor: Infidelity, Misogyny, and Gaslighting
readsandrants's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I thought the writing was absolutely beautiful and I loved what it had to say about power dynamics and controlling partners and whatnot but I didn’t otherwise care for the actual story playing out.
Like oh my god just read this writing.
“I never dreamed it would end like this, my lord: your blood splashing hot flecks onto my nightgown and pouring in rivulets onto our bedchamber floor. But creatures like us live a long time. There is no horror left in this world that can surprise me. Eventually, even your death becomes its own sort of inevitability.”
“I will render you as you really were, neither cast in pristine stained glass or unholy fire. I will make you into nothing more than a man, tender and brutal in equal measure, and perhaps in doing so I will justify myself to you.”
“You did not let me keep my name, so I will strip you of yours. In this world, you are what I say you are, and I say you are a ghost, a long night’s fever dream that I have finally woken up from. I say you are the smoke-wisp memory of a flame, thawing ice suffering under an early spring sun, a chalk ledger of debts being wiped clean.”
“Laying with her made me feel so vibrantly alive. It was almost enough to make me forget that I was already dead.”
“ I had become intimately acquainted with violence and the sins of the world, but I had not come away unblemished. Only violence felt like holiness to me anymore.”
And these are only a selected few from the first half of the book.
Also a little mad that they changed the original beautiful cover and you can’t get it anywhere :(
Like oh my god just read this writing.
“I never dreamed it would end like this, my lord: your blood splashing hot flecks onto my nightgown and pouring in rivulets onto our bedchamber floor. But creatures like us live a long time. There is no horror left in this world that can surprise me. Eventually, even your death becomes its own sort of inevitability.”
“I will render you as you really were, neither cast in pristine stained glass or unholy fire. I will make you into nothing more than a man, tender and brutal in equal measure, and perhaps in doing so I will justify myself to you.”
“You did not let me keep my name, so I will strip you of yours. In this world, you are what I say you are, and I say you are a ghost, a long night’s fever dream that I have finally woken up from. I say you are the smoke-wisp memory of a flame, thawing ice suffering under an early spring sun, a chalk ledger of debts being wiped clean.”
“Laying with her made me feel so vibrantly alive. It was almost enough to make me forget that I was already dead.”
“ I had become intimately acquainted with violence and the sins of the world, but I had not come away unblemished. Only violence felt like holiness to me anymore.”
And these are only a selected few from the first half of the book.
Also a little mad that they changed the original beautiful cover and you can’t get it anywhere :(
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, and Gaslighting
tinybluepixel's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you very much!
I've been sitting and stewing on this review for a while, just not finding the words to express my feelings, because I think this is a brilliant little book, but it just wasn't for me.
Not to get all TMI here, but I have a really hard time with poly relationships. Not because I'm morally against them; actually, I wholeheartedly support them. But, once again, we have a saying in Germany: The burnt child shies away from the fire. And my daddy issues won't let me appreciate poly relationships for what they can be.
Whew, my therapist would be proud of me for saying that. So yeah, realm of TMI: I can't deal with poly relationships because they remind me of my cheating father. And, to be even more honest, the main "villain" of this book had to much in common with my father for me to enjoy it.
This book is a brilliantly written reimagining of the three brides of Dracula. In the original novel, they're three women who are actually not confirmed to be Dracula's wives; however, it is generally accepted that they are. This is not a retelling of Dracula, it's more of an examination of how this relationship came to be and how it ended.
Our narrator is Constanta, Dracula's first wife, and after his death, she writes him letters, maybe to gt it all ofher chest, or to explain, or to apologize. So this point of view is absolutely interesting and actually something I have never read before: Constanta writes these letters adressed to Dracula, from first person perspective, and Dracula's name is actually never ever mentioned. She only adresses him as "you". As she tells her story, we learn how Dracula transformed her into a vampire and made her his first wife, and then how he added Magdalena and Alexi to this relationship.
The relationship between these four people is generally a very toxic one, mostly because of Dracula's manipulation. Constanta, Magdalena, and Alexi seem to generally love each other, and they work together to, in the end, band together and murder their captor and husband. This is not a spoiler - it's literally mentioned on the first page. The plot of the original Dracula is barely in this book - it's just a single line, actually. I liked that. This book really focuses on that relationship.
As I mentioned before, the writing is absolutely gorgeous. Constanta's personality shines through her sentences, and the point of view is so innovative and new.
However, I just couldn't. I had to put the book down more than once because Dracula reminded me too much of my father. And then I had to put it down again because that relationship is so fucked up and it physically hurt me.
Another thing I didn't really like was the oversexualization of vampirism. The brides of Dracula are contantly protrayed as overtly sexual, and it's a point of general annoyance with me - I would prefer to see them just as cold, calculating, and brutal as their husband - but it does fit with the overall theme of the novel. I just personally didn't like it very much. (Also, Dracula is like, so unsexy. Maybe it's because I was reading the original novel at the same time, but those two people did not fit together, even though they're supposed to be the same character.)
So, yeah, tldr: Great novel, beautiful writing, not for me.
I've been sitting and stewing on this review for a while, just not finding the words to express my feelings, because I think this is a brilliant little book, but it just wasn't for me.
Not to get all TMI here, but I have a really hard time with poly relationships. Not because I'm morally against them; actually, I wholeheartedly support them. But, once again, we have a saying in Germany: The burnt child shies away from the fire. And my daddy issues won't let me appreciate poly relationships for what they can be.
Whew, my therapist would be proud of me for saying that. So yeah, realm of TMI: I can't deal with poly relationships because they remind me of my cheating father. And, to be even more honest, the main "villain" of this book had to much in common with my father for me to enjoy it.
This book is a brilliantly written reimagining of the three brides of Dracula. In the original novel, they're three women who are actually not confirmed to be Dracula's wives; however, it is generally accepted that they are. This is not a retelling of Dracula, it's more of an examination of how this relationship came to be and how it ended.
Our narrator is Constanta, Dracula's first wife, and after his death, she writes him letters, maybe to gt it all ofher chest, or to explain, or to apologize. So this point of view is absolutely interesting and actually something I have never read before: Constanta writes these letters adressed to Dracula, from first person perspective, and Dracula's name is actually never ever mentioned. She only adresses him as "you". As she tells her story, we learn how Dracula transformed her into a vampire and made her his first wife, and then how he added Magdalena and Alexi to this relationship.
The relationship between these four people is generally a very toxic one, mostly because of Dracula's manipulation. Constanta, Magdalena, and Alexi seem to generally love each other, and they work together to, in the end, band together and murder their captor and husband. This is not a spoiler - it's literally mentioned on the first page. The plot of the original Dracula is barely in this book - it's just a single line, actually. I liked that. This book really focuses on that relationship.
As I mentioned before, the writing is absolutely gorgeous. Constanta's personality shines through her sentences, and the point of view is so innovative and new.
However, I just couldn't. I had to put the book down more than once because Dracula reminded me too much of my father. And then I had to put it down again because that relationship is so fucked up and it physically hurt me.
Another thing I didn't really like was the oversexualization of vampirism. The brides of Dracula are contantly protrayed as overtly sexual, and it's a point of general annoyance with me - I would prefer to see them just as cold, calculating, and brutal as their husband - but it does fit with the overall theme of the novel. I just personally didn't like it very much. (Also, Dracula is like, so unsexy. Maybe it's because I was reading the original novel at the same time, but those two people did not fit together, even though they're supposed to be the same character.)
So, yeah, tldr: Great novel, beautiful writing, not for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, and Gaslighting
celestriakle's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
4.5
Read this book for prose alone. The language is poetic and beautiful and flows so nicely that it makes this a quick read; I finished the last two sections in one sitting. The intensity of the relationships each "wife" has to Dracula is gripping. It's fascinating to see how the dynamics slowly shift over the long timespans of the book, and how differently each character reacts to Dracula's abuse.
The main weakness of the book however is the characters relationships outside of Dracula. The book ends withall 3 in a romantic relationship, and supposedly they fell in love this whole time, but they never have very much chemistry. They read far more like sister-wives trying to protect each other from Dracula than lovers with their own relationship outside him, with nothing to keep each other together once he's gone.
The main weakness of the book however is the characters relationships outside of Dracula. The book ends with
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Murder, and Abandonment
Minor: Homophobia, Misogyny, Torture, Death of parent, and War
I tagged for incest, but it's not true incest: all four main characters are not related, but are frequently described with family terminology, despite being in a romantic relationship. Alexi and Constanta in particular are constantly described as mother/son, with Alexi's youth compared to everyone else frequently mentioned, but they still end up romantically entangled and share a sex scene.