Reviews tagging 'War'

A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson

157 reviews

pimklasagna's review against another edition

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, and Sexism

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Violence, and War

Minor: Incest

kelsokake's review

dark emotional 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

3.0

“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.”

• p17 

“War is the whetstone that grinds down all sense, all humanity.”

• p19

“I knew then I would chase your tiny moments of weakness all the way into hell and back. What is more lovely, after all, than a monster undone with wanting?”

• p32

“You are half my heart, Constanta,”

• p122

“Lying with her made me feel so vibrantly alive. It was almost enough to make me forget that I was already dead.”

• p124

“We all developed our tricks for dealing with you: my invisibility, her sweetness.” 

• p127

“You never once thought I would have the strength to disobey you, did you? The possibility that my will was stronger than yours never even crossed your mind.”

• p131

“‘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.’”

• p235

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Death, Violence, Domestic abuse, Blood, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: War, Sexual content, Confinement, and Mental illness

huntress's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, War, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting, Gore, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexism, Confinement, and Violence

colloreda's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: War and Sexual content

Minor: Rape

slinkmalink's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious slow-paced

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

4.5

It was a very genuine and emotional story about living in and escaping from an abusive relationship that I thought was compelling and also good at making you see how people get drawn into these kinds of situations.
And then also vampires are inherently sexy and I loved the developing relationships between the three ~spouses~ and how they were portrayed so differently than their relationships with Dracula 

though being a Dracula daily girlie I did not appreciate the harker slander my loves

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship and Blood

Moderate: Sexual content and Violence

Minor: War

foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, War, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Mental illness, Blood, Murder, Confinement, and Grief

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic

jbird_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Mental illness

Moderate: Violence and Gore

Minor: War and Death of parent

jemms's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Mental illness

Minor: War and Injury/Injury detail

samanthaleereads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, War, Gaslighting, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Physical abuse

growplantsreadbooks's review against another edition

• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

This one didn't speak to me like I thought it would. I appreciate the reframing - but it disturbs me that this book is often described as a spicy poly vampire romance when the entire book is about how the characters eventually break away from obvious abuse. 
It was well written and worth reading, but the non-dracula characters didn't feel like vampires.
It was definitely the authors intent to make this a clear allegory for abusive relationships, but ultimately it just made the brides uncomplicated characters. Their monsterousness, the gray morality of feeding on others, is not explored and often side stepped to make them easy to root for. Which is a disservice to the vampire archetype.
Ultimately, I appreciated the shift in perspective, but a Dracula retelling where Dracula is a BadGuy™️ isn't very interesting.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Blood, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: War