Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson

410 reviews

kennedyasdfghjkl's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

I will maybe never be able to think about this book without crying. The story and atmosphere were so beautifully gothic, with poetic language that broke my heart at every page. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Gore

sydneymartinnnn's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Domestic abuse, Blood, Emotional abuse, and Grief

karapillar's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense slow-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Violence, Grief, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Death, Gore, Confinement, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Kidnapping, Stalking, Infidelity, Religious bigotry, Torture, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Addiction, Physical abuse, and Pandemic/Epidemic

tori_borialis's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Murder, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting

Moderate: War

cadence_e's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-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

3.0

This books prose and style was enchanting, it pulls you in and feels so very real. It's incredibly vivid and poetic, however it lacked certain depth, particularly in the plot.

I found the romance to very strong lean towards insta love, especially when it came to Magdalena and Alexi. I understood the allure and love surronding Dracula a bit more  especially where it leaned towards manipulation.  However, the depth of love and affection towards the fellow spouses felt a bit unexplained. 

The characters were interesting, but were a bit too closely tied to lust, while claiming the love and passion of actually affection. This left me feeling like I was seeing the characters perspective and feelings with the prose, but without any lasting impressions.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Murder, Blood, Body horror, Gaslighting, Death, Cannibalism, Domestic abuse, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Rape, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

imskylow's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

This book had me strapped in. I ate it up like a person starved. I listened to the entire audiobook in one sitting. I have nothing but great things to say about it. It's lyrical. It's moody and gothic. The prose had a lovely rhythm and the characters and relationship dynamics had me feeling all sorts of things. I didn't know whether to like him and accept that vampire life and culture is different from humans or to want him to die. The ending, however, left me incredibly satisfied and I loved how it tied everything together. Obviously, with how vague I'm being, I don't want to give much away but I definitely recommend this book. And if you like audiobooks, the narrator does a fantastic job reading. It's as if Constanza's is reading her own journal to you.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Blood, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Violence, Gore, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Death, Murder, and Infidelity

thegayestghost's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gore, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Murder, Violence, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Death, Blood, Body horror, and Infidelity

gogglor's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes

5.0

This begins with one of Dracula’s brides telling his corpse that he *had* to die, and then becomes a memoire of an abusive relationship. It also handles polyamory astonishingly well. It’s just so well written, I cannot recommend it enough.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Gaslighting

mogojojo1013's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

3.5

The writing in this book is exceedingly slow and incredibly decadent. I felt like I was watching one of those Dove chocolate commercials only for blood and vampirism. I spent most of the book just WAITING for that jerk to die (not a spoiler, she tells us right at the beginning that she kills him) and damn was it worth the wait.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical abuse, Blood, Confinement, Violence, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Sexual content

wynnerad's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.5

Wow. I truly have never read a book like this before, a book that detailed intimacy in a way that (once I shut it) did not make me feel icky or gross. This was BEAUTIFUL and full of gorgeous writing that was old-timey but not too flowery or hard to understand. I also loved how the book was structured into three sections representing three types of love, and ended with a unique epilogue that reminded readers what the entire book was truly about.

Only complaint I have is that the end felt a little messy and abrupt, so the flow that made precious chapters and sections work so well was lost.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Blood, and Domestic abuse