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A review by sgbrux
A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson
5.0
"This is my last love letter to you, though some would call it a confession. I suppose both are a sort of gentle violence, putting down in ink what scorches the air when spoken aloud.
If you can still hear me wherever you are, my love, my tormentor, hear this:
It was never my intention to murder you.
Not in the beginning, anyway."
I hadn't intended on starting my readthrough of this so soon, but as I stole peeks at the dedication page and then that gloriously dark and fascinating first chapter, I found I couldn't stop. I read and read until I was finished—and oh my god was this an unexpected delight of a book.
At less than 250 pages (50K words), I think perhaps this is slightly too long to be called a novella—I like to think of it as more of a concise novel, lean, but its length is perfectly suited to the storytelling and style of the work. Anything longer and it risks feeling as if it drags. This is absolutely a character-driven story—which, those naturally pace slower anyway, so the brevity is perfectly suited for this particular story.
We are given one POV, Constanta's, and believe me when I say that it reads as an achingly intimate farewell letter to an unnamed Dracula. That's right—this entire work is written to Dracula in the second person, which was a spectacular treat for me personally.
At its soul, A Dowry of Blood is a really, really shrewd examination of a centuries-spanning toxic relationship of the highest order—abuse, physical and emotional; manipulation; greed; lust; dominance; masterfully crafted scenes of gaslighting... This book was an excellent character study on what goes through the thoughts and behaviors of a victim when they find themselves in an abusive situation.
Marketed as a loose reimagining of Dracula, A Dowry of Blood balances what a complex M/F/F/M polyamorous relationship would be like given the circumstances and gothic setting while highlighting interesting bits of history and glimpses of Stoker's original. Exceptionally well done.
If you enjoy lush, lyrical prose, brooding vistas, and a good character study, you might want to read this one. It also contains violence, sex, and head games, and you can read it in one sitting. I'm glad I picked this one up as it was one of my anticipated new releases on my booktube channel.
"Love is violence, my darling, it is a thunderstorm that tears apart your world. More often than not, love ends in tragedy, but we go on loving in the hopes that this time, it will be different. This time, the beloved will understand us. They will not try to flee from our embrace, or become discontent with us."
If you can still hear me wherever you are, my love, my tormentor, hear this:
It was never my intention to murder you.
Not in the beginning, anyway."
I hadn't intended on starting my readthrough of this so soon, but as I stole peeks at the dedication page and then that gloriously dark and fascinating first chapter, I found I couldn't stop. I read and read until I was finished—and oh my god was this an unexpected delight of a book.
At less than 250 pages (50K words), I think perhaps this is slightly too long to be called a novella—I like to think of it as more of a concise novel, lean, but its length is perfectly suited to the storytelling and style of the work. Anything longer and it risks feeling as if it drags. This is absolutely a character-driven story—which, those naturally pace slower anyway, so the brevity is perfectly suited for this particular story.
We are given one POV, Constanta's, and believe me when I say that it reads as an achingly intimate farewell letter to an unnamed Dracula. That's right—this entire work is written to Dracula in the second person, which was a spectacular treat for me personally.
At its soul, A Dowry of Blood is a really, really shrewd examination of a centuries-spanning toxic relationship of the highest order—abuse, physical and emotional; manipulation; greed; lust; dominance; masterfully crafted scenes of gaslighting... This book was an excellent character study on what goes through the thoughts and behaviors of a victim when they find themselves in an abusive situation.
Marketed as a loose reimagining of Dracula, A Dowry of Blood balances what a complex M/F/F/M polyamorous relationship would be like given the circumstances and gothic setting while highlighting interesting bits of history and glimpses of Stoker's original. Exceptionally well done.
If you enjoy lush, lyrical prose, brooding vistas, and a good character study, you might want to read this one. It also contains violence, sex, and head games, and you can read it in one sitting. I'm glad I picked this one up as it was one of my anticipated new releases on my booktube channel.
"Love is violence, my darling, it is a thunderstorm that tears apart your world. More often than not, love ends in tragedy, but we go on loving in the hopes that this time, it will be different. This time, the beloved will understand us. They will not try to flee from our embrace, or become discontent with us."