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A review by melcanread
A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
4.5
The problem that I'm having right now is that I don't know how to write this review. I don't know what words to put down here because I have so many thoughts about this book that I just can't stick to a coherent sentence.
I loved it. I loved the way this book was written, the way the characters were, the way it dealt with difficult and traumatic things. And these were some deeply traumatic things these characters went through. The Vampire was an awful man, who wanted nothing but absolute control, and the fact that it was demanded of his "children" and the way he manipulated them to keep his power was terrifying and real. The way he employed Magdalena to help wear Constanta down to allow Magdalena to join in the marriage was both terrifying and clever. You would watch as he would do or say the right things to get the right response, just like that saying: "Your parents know what buttons to press because they were the ones who created them." You see it so much within this book. The way that he used his words and his influence to make Constanta so meek and vulnerable, and how he withered Magdalena's light down so a small glow. But then, you watch these women (and Alexi, of course), fight back and gain their freedom despite how terrified they truly were. You watch as that light returns and that they are able to go on with their lives the way they wanted to. I loved how it was written in the first person so it felt like you were Constanta and you were dealing with this trauma yourself.
I loved how there was a lot of love between the characters, despite their questionable labels for one another. Obviously we know that the Vampire used these familial terms to exert control and create a fabricated feeling of love and loyalty between the vampires he created. We know that no one was biologically related, or that no true acts of incest were actually performed. But it still added this element of creepy or strange that really helped to hammer home just how messed up this whole situation was. But even so, you felt the love and camaraderie between them all, and understood how scared they all felt or how close they were as if you were the one experiencing it for yourself.
I loved that it was polyamorous and queer.
Technically speaking, I loved the way it was written. S.T. Gibson was able to add beauty to such melancholy that meant so many of her sentences could be quoted.
I loved it. I loved the way this book was written, the way the characters were, the way it dealt with difficult and traumatic things. And these were some deeply traumatic things these characters went through. The Vampire was an awful man, who wanted nothing but absolute control, and the fact that it was demanded of his "children" and the way he manipulated them to keep his power was terrifying and real. The way he employed Magdalena to help wear Constanta down to allow Magdalena to join in the marriage was both terrifying and clever. You would watch as he would do or say the right things to get the right response, just like that saying: "Your parents know what buttons to press because they were the ones who created them." You see it so much within this book. The way that he used his words and his influence to make Constanta so meek and vulnerable, and how he withered Magdalena's light down so a small glow. But then, you watch these women (and Alexi, of course), fight back and gain their freedom despite how terrified they truly were. You watch as that light returns and that they are able to go on with their lives the way they wanted to. I loved how it was written in the first person so it felt like you were Constanta and you were dealing with this trauma yourself.
I loved how there was a lot of love between the characters, despite their questionable labels for one another. Obviously we know that the Vampire used these familial terms to exert control and create a fabricated feeling of love and loyalty between the vampires he created. We know that no one was biologically related, or that no true acts of incest were actually performed. But it still added this element of creepy or strange that really helped to hammer home just how messed up this whole situation was. But even so, you felt the love and camaraderie between them all, and understood how scared they all felt or how close they were as if you were the one experiencing it for yourself.
I loved that it was polyamorous and queer.
Technically speaking, I loved the way it was written. S.T. Gibson was able to add beauty to such melancholy that meant so many of her sentences could be quoted.
Even loneliness, hollow and cold, becomes so familiar it starts to feel like a friend.
You welcomed them with open arms, even brought some of them into our bed to toy with before you took your fatal bite.
You'd manufactured my consent every step of the way.
You made it into an art form, this quiet kind of violence. You were so far into our heads your gentle suggestions often felt like our own thoughts.
At first, I was concerned that this style of writing with the letter-writing narrative of the book mixed poorly, and it felt more like an emo diary than a series of letters detailing a person's trauma. But I am happy to say that the more of this book I read, the more I realised how wrong I was.
Overall, this book was deliciously dark and tragic. And I loved every second of it.