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casswife 's review for:
A Dowry of Blood
by S.T. Gibson
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm not sure where to begin this review.
I loved the entire story, the characters, the obsession, the complexity of everything, and the views on love. I think it portrayed obsession quite well, as well as the intricacies of vampire life. I do believe that someone who's lived for that long is incapable of genuine, honest, loyal love, and so is Dracula's character.
There are many elements in this book that I would've usually criticised if it were any other book:
1. Repetitiveness - it's present throughout the whole book, repetition of points we already know, of the same sentence just in a different formulation. And while I usually am not a fan of that, I think it fits the point of the book, which is for Constanta to finally let it all out, stop gaslighting herself and thinking that it happened differently, just to justify Dracula's actions.
2. Tell, don't show - Do not get me wrong, there is still a pretty good amount of showing and not telling; however, there are many parts where it is told and not shown, or it was shown and clarified. Since the style of this book is Constanta writing letters for her own peace, I think that part was also really relevant to the story. Also, there were a few times where it would've been better for something to be shown instead of told in this book, EVEN with the whole concept of letters, but I think it's passable.
I think there have been many things, many points, left for your own perception, for you to find your own meaning behind it, and an explanation for it. And I personally quite like that. The story was beautiful and really does capture the whole dynamic with a person who hurts the one he loves, loves them in his own way, that's not good, not enough, but it's love to him. I adore when it's explored, plus how attached people become to their abuser, and how attached the abuser becomes to their victims. UGH. They're horrible. I love them.
There is also a tiny thing that I did not really like, and that is the sudden change of pace near the end. I felt like it was very different from the rest of the book, which didn't really appeal to me. It might've been because Constanta's emotions changed over time while writing it, but it still caught me off guard. I did enjoy the majority of the book, though, and I think it's really well written, with such a good representation of complex, but still lovable characters.
I loved the entire story, the characters, the obsession, the complexity of everything, and the views on love. I think it portrayed obsession quite well, as well as the intricacies of vampire life. I do believe that someone who's lived for that long is incapable of genuine, honest, loyal love, and so is Dracula's character.
There are many elements in this book that I would've usually criticised if it were any other book:
1. Repetitiveness - it's present throughout the whole book, repetition of points we already know, of the same sentence just in a different formulation. And while I usually am not a fan of that, I think it fits the point of the book, which is for Constanta to finally let it all out, stop gaslighting herself and thinking that it happened differently, just to justify Dracula's actions.
2. Tell, don't show - Do not get me wrong, there is still a pretty good amount of showing and not telling; however, there are many parts where it is told and not shown, or it was shown and clarified. Since the style of this book is Constanta writing letters for her own peace, I think that part was also really relevant to the story. Also, there were a few times where it would've been better for something to be shown instead of told in this book, EVEN with the whole concept of letters, but I think it's passable.
I think there have been many things, many points, left for your own perception, for you to find your own meaning behind it, and an explanation for it. And I personally quite like that. The story was beautiful and really does capture the whole dynamic with a person who hurts the one he loves, loves them in his own way, that's not good, not enough, but it's love to him. I adore when it's explored, plus how attached people become to their abuser, and how attached the abuser becomes to their victims. UGH. They're horrible. I love them.
There is also a tiny thing that I did not really like, and that is the sudden change of pace near the end. I felt like it was very different from the rest of the book, which didn't really appeal to me. It might've been because Constanta's emotions changed over time while writing it, but it still caught me off guard. I did enjoy the majority of the book, though, and I think it's really well written, with such a good representation of complex, but still lovable characters.