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A review by growplantsreadbooks
A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson
- 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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, and Blood
Moderate: War