S. T. Gibson

A lyrical and dreamy reimagining of Dracula's brides, A Dowry of Blood is a story of desire, obsession, and emancipation. Saved from the brink of death by a mysterious stranger, Constanta is transformed from a medieval peasant into a bride fit for an undying king. But when Dracula draws a cunning aristocrat and a starving artist into his web of passion and deceit, Constanta realizes that her beloved is capable of terrible things. Finding comfort in the arms of her rival consorts, she begins to unravel their husband's dark secrets. With the lives of everyone she loves on the line, Constanta will have to choose between her own freedom and her love for her husband. But bonds forged by blood can only be broken by death.

A Dowry of Blood

Najwaf

so dark and sweet. I had never tasted anyone like you, with blood so perfectly aged. It was the rarest, finest vintage in the world, and it held such untapped power.

I was simply a non-entity when you weren’t looking at me, an empty vessel waiting to be filled by the sweet water of your attention.

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.

Am I sick to still think on you softly, even after all the blood and broken promises?

I fear I will go mad if I don’t leave behind some kind of record. If I write it down, I won’t be able to convince myself that none of it happened. I won’t be able to tell myself that you didn’t mean any of it, that it was all just some terrible dream.

claire

I was tired of carrying around the weight of a love like worship, of the sickly-warm rush of idolatry coloring my whole world. I was tired of faithfulness.

“It would be easier if he hated us,” she said. “But he loves us all terribly. And if we go on letting him love us, that love is going to kill us."

S T Gibson

Jordan

It always amazed me how you played victim and aggressor at the same time.

Love was no girlhood game. It was an iron yoke forged in a fire and heavy to wear.

Dracula always planned to turn Magdalena and was gonna convince her she wanted that too

You had manufactured my consent every step of the way, a mere formality.

I lost myself so entirely in charting the contours of my love for you that there wasn't any room for tracking time. There wasn't any room to examine the past or the future, there was only the eternal now.

Now I only remember it as a tome where we slept through our living death.

yaya

Laying with her made me feel so vibrantly alive. It was almost enough to make me forget that I was already dead.

I fell in love with her quickly, even as my head railed against the stupid machinations of my heart. There was an uncontrollable fire in her that was hard to look away from, much less resist, and the more time we spent together, the more my admiration for her grew. I knew I was lost when I caught myself lying awake dangerously close to dawn in a tavern room on the French border, watching her face while she slept. Every little flutter of her eyelashes fascinated me, and I catalogued the curve of her face as though I had been commissioned to paint her portrait. Even after you stirred awake and pulled me against you, shushing me back to sleep, all I saw in my dreams was her face. There wasn't much hope for me, after that.

Leonie

“Such spite and fury,” you said, your voice a trickle of ice water down my spine. It rooted me to the spot, like a rabbit entranced by a hunter’s snare. “Good. When life fails you, spite will not.”

Even loneliness, hollow and cold, becomes so familiar it starts to feel like a friend.

Well, how to catch me in a single paragraph. 

There is no horror left in this world that can surprise me. Eventually, even your death becomes its own sort of inevitability.

"Water your mother's flowers with their blood." I nodded, my breath coming shallow and hot. "Yes, my lord.

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. 

samantha lias

I made you into my private Christ, supplicated with my own dark devotions.

Katherine Marie Elizabeth

People aren't meant to live for ever. I know that now.

I craved you like maidens crave the grave, the way death burns for human touch: inconsolably, unrelentingly, aching for the annihilation in your kiss. I had no practice saying no to you. 

I was merely a supplicant, a pilgrim who had stumbled across your dark altar and was doomed to worship at it for ever.

I am only giving it four stars because I would've liked the provenance of our beloved. Other than that, it was a fun ride.

Karla

Audio book was read beautifully. 

I am only giving it four stars because I would've liked the provenance of our beloved. Other than that, it was a fun ride.

i could treat u better than him constanta 

Miranda Hall

If I knew this was about bisexual vampires I would’ve read it sooner

Alex

Mira <3

Kiran Aftab

tori 👻

"Every kindness you had ever shown me revolted inside me, rioting up in mutiny against my purpose. Every smile or small gesture was as sharp as a pinprick, inviting me to see the bright spots embroidered through the ugly tapestry of our marriage."


I've been a fan of horror for as long as I can remember. To me there is nothing quite like the eerie feeling you get from a story well told. I truly find it to be a beautiful genre that when well worked on, can create moving pieces as this one. But my favorite thing is when it's mixed with other sentiments, especially love.
Perhaps I'm too attached to the way it is described in The Secret History, the notion of beauty being terror, of quivering before beauty. Well, that is one of my favorite books after all.

I went into A Dowry of Blood completely blind, didn't even know it was a retelling of Dracula's brides. I'm glad I was clueless, since it was lovely to put the pieces together from the very first page and Constanta's first contact with him. That continues to be one of my favorite parts of the book, that start.
This is told through the format of a letter. A long letter to a lover. It was beautiful, melancholic, scary and touching all throughout.
A Dowry of Blood does not hold back on showing just how scary love can be, but at the same time shows the reader other ways of loving. The relationship between the main characters are complex by nature and they depict with no exposition the different ways one can love another.
Love and horror walk hand in hand in this book and sometimes it's terrifying to tell them apart. As it reads as a confession, as a shared letter between lovers, it's strong and honest and sad.
I found it hard to go back to the book every time I took a break from it, but couldn't put it down the moment I had it in my hands again. It's funny, since that mirrors Constanta's feelings towards her husband completely.

I feel like I want to write more, but at the moment I can't seem to find the words. Great read.

vampires, bisexuality, polyamorous relationship, poetic writing, gothic atmosphere, and addresses an abusive relationship.

kelsey

arwen

Helena Herruzo

i enjoyed it and the writing was nice but the way the story is told made it feel like it was a summary of the actual book idk

An exploration of manipulative, religious love and hate for an abuser. Recognizing what wasn’t her fault, validating her own confused feelings. It was heartbreaking and truthful in ways that hurt deeply but left room for hope and justice towards a life of well deserved freedom.

To write a story that spans centuries without ever losing the reader in the slow currents of tedious and dragging chapters of ennui, but still manage to catch the sweetly poisonous moments of privacy the characters experience… that takes a very good storyteller. And this was a very good story. It read fast paced with moments of slowness, of comfort and of seemingly endless despair. I suffered with the characters, felt with them and raged with them at times, all the while they fought to find their way. 

This is a sapphic book, one of passions and desires, set in a very dark and moody world. Whoever still needs their dose of gloomy storytelling, this could be a very good choice. 

I enjoyed it a lot and the only thing taking away from 5 stars was the length for me, because i would have wished it to be a little longer. Which might be a compliment in itself. 

To write a story that spans centuries without ever losing the reader in the slow currents of tedious and dragging chapters of ennui, but still manage to catch the sweetly poisonous moments of privacy the characters experience… that takes a very good storyteller. And this was a very good story. It read fast paced with moments of slowness, of comfort and of seemingly endless despair. I suffered with the characters, felt with them and raged with them at times, all the while they fought to find their way. 

This is a sapphic book, one of passions and desires, set in a very dark and moody world. Whoever still needs their dose of gloomy storytelling, this could be a very good choice. 

I enjoyed it a lot and the only thing taking away from 5 stars was the length for me, because i would have wished it to be a little longer. Which might be a compliment in itself. 

i’m not the same person i was one book ago

Ally Perkins

Archiell

fris🐝

Syahla Aurel

** spoiler alert **
           love this book, it was written very beautifully from Constanta’s pov, the whole book was like a final love letter to him before she finally let go of her past and started a new life 🥰

Amelia Lang 

TLDR: If you liked the 1992 dracula but wished it was more for girls who listen to fiona apple you'd probably like this. 

This is if the secret life of addie la rue didn't try to be intellectual and was also a lot better and more fun and cool and hot and sexy and better. 

So disclaimer u kinda have to turn your brain off to enjoy this one– it's far from perfect and has a couple plot holes, and there was probably an average of two similes for every paragraph. But this book is a wet dream for fans of decadent gothic lit. The prose is so lush it borders on cloying the whole time, and the imagery & settings are literally just vignettes of all my favourite scenes in gothic horror.

Although feminist retellings have been in vogue for a while now, it was honestly really refreshing to see this one done. The succubus trope hasn't really been given what it deserves outside Jennifer's body, and with dracula's brides being made sexually promiscuous animalistic predators literally every time they're portrayed when they're in a position that would normally make them victims, I'm glad their stories got explored. 

It does a good job of portraying abuse sensitively but effectively. It was a little heavy-handed at the beginning, but it plays out very effectively and its insidiousness becomes more apparent as the book progresses. I ended up becoming attached to the abuser in a way that I never have in books about the same topic.

Geoffrey Froggatt

The prose was immaculate. I loved the narrator and the choice for the story to be told through letters in past tense. I often think about how vampires would be sexually fluid since truly immortal beings would grow bored over the centuries, and this book understood that sentiment. I loved the power dynamics and vampire mythology in this novel. I loved the protagonist and watching her grow throughout the story. This has been one of the best vampire stories I have ever read.

This book is harrowingly beautiful - it is a tantalising gothic tale written in the form of letters from Dracula's bride, Constanta. 

"I saw every soft moment we had shared flicker over your face, and you were so beautiful. Desperate, vulnerable. Fear for your life made you look like a man who could really love and be loved, like you might hand over your heart and all its secrets without my having to crack your ribs open to get to them."

Gothic horror told in the form of letters

"Emotional, verbal, and physical intimate partner abuse

Sexual assault (not directed at any named character)

I'm going to say it plainly - I think this might be one of my new favourite books. I LOVED this book - it was so different to anything I can remember reading in recent times and it was absolutely beautiful. The writing style is breathtaking - I would compare it to the love letters in Pride & Prejudice with the addition of the gothic style. Oh - and vampires, of course.  

 Do NOT read past this point if you don't want to see spoilers! 

For such a short book, I became surprisingly attached to the brides - Constanta, Magdalena, and Alexi - and felt like I had an understanding of who they are. The ability to do that in such a small amount of space is underestimated and I really give the author props for being able to do so. I found the pacing to be very balanced - it is a short book and it does span hundreds (if not closer to a thousand years); however, I didn't feel as if it was rushed or dragged. It is a slow burn but, the letters written by Constanta are her reflection on her relationship with him and the misery that came with that so, it fits perfectly. When we first meet Constanta, she is on the verge of death after being brutalized during wartime and she intrigues 'him' with her ferocity even whilst dying. She is turned into a vampire on the battlefield and becomes 'his' first bride. After her transition, she is isolated in 'his' castle and, thus, begins their incrediblely unhealthy relationship. Due to the unfiltered emotions she works through in her letters, it is very easy to connect with Constanta; it is easy to feel her pain and her inner conflict even in moments of seeing her love for 'him'. Going into this, I didn't know if I would be able to get to that point due to it being written in 2nd person but, let me reassure you, the writing style does nothing aside from imbed the story in your heart. The writing is very poetic and if you grew up lovingly re-reading books like Pride & Prejudice or Wuthering Heights repeatedly - you'll love the flowery style. 

I won't give too much detail into how exactly 'he' is abusive within their relationship but, be warned that theirs is not a fairytale romance. The romantic relationships between the brides however- especially between Constanta and Magdalena in my opinion - are complex but, ultimately grounded in a very pure sense of love. A love that is not only romantic but, also, one that qualifies as found family. That being said, the only thing in this book that was a negative for me is that the brides were referred to as siblings by 'him' and would also call each other siblings. This went a horrifying step further when Constanta described her initial relationship with Alexis as that of a mother and son only to then become his lover later on. I understood when 'he' used the gag- inducing terms but, when they took it up themselves? NO, thank you. 

Below are my two favourite quotes about how she felt about Magdalena and Alexi respectively:

"Laying with her made me feel so vibrantly alive. It was almost enough to make me forget that I was already dead."

"Even if you were sunlight itself, I would still scorch myself to be close to you."

I got this book nearly a year ago and waited for autumn to finally read it and, now, I don't think I will ever stop recommending this book! 

Victoria Sutton

4.5 stars 

This book is harrowingly beautiful - it is a tantalising gothic tale written in the form of letters from Dracula's bride, Constanta. 

"I saw every soft moment we had shared flicker over your face, and you were so beautiful. Desperate, vulnerable. Fear for your life made you look like a man who could really love and be loved, like you might hand over your heart and all its secrets without my having to crack your ribs open to get to them."

What to expect: 

Gothic horror told in the form of letters

Purple prose 

Standalone 

Short book with high impact

Queer & polyamourus 

Found family trope 

(Author provided) Trigger warnings! 

"Emotional, verbal, and physical intimate partner abuse

Gaslighting 

War, famine, and plague Blood and gore

Consensual sexual content

Sadomasochism

Self harm

Body horror

Violence and murder

Alcohol use

Depression and mania

It also contains brief references to:

Sexual assault (not directed at any named character)

Drug use

Drowning"

Overall opinion - 

I'm going to say it plainly - I think this might be one of my new favourite books. I LOVED this book - it was so different to anything I can remember reading in recent times and it was absolutely beautiful. The writing style is breathtaking - I would compare it to the love letters in Pride & Prejudice with the addition of the gothic style. Oh - and vampires, of course.  

 Do NOT read past this point if you don't want to see spoilers! 

For such a short book, I became surprisingly attached to the brides - Constanta, Magdalena, and Alexi - and felt like I had an understanding of who they are. The ability to do that in such a small amount of space is underestimated and I really give the author props for being able to do so. I found the pacing to be very balanced - it is a short book and it does span hundreds (if not closer to a thousand years); however, I didn't feel as if it was rushed or dragged. It is a slow burn but, the letters written by Constanta are her reflection on her relationship with him and the misery that came with that so, it fits perfectly. When we first meet Constanta, she is on the verge of death after being brutalized during wartime and she intrigues 'him' with her ferocity even whilst dying. She is turned into a vampire on the battlefield and becomes 'his' first bride. After her transition, she is isolated in 'his' castle and, thus, begins their incrediblely unhealthy relationship. Due to the unfiltered emotions she works through in her letters, it is very easy to connect with Constanta; it is easy to feel her pain and her inner conflict even in moments of seeing her love for 'him'. Going into this, I didn't know if I would be able to get to that point due to it being written in 2nd person but, let me reassure you, the writing style does nothing aside from imbed the story in your heart. The writing is very poetic and if you grew up lovingly re-reading books like Pride & Prejudice or Wuthering Heights repeatedly - you'll love the flowery style. 

I won't give too much detail into how exactly 'he' is abusive within their relationship but, be warned that theirs is not a fairytale romance. The romantic relationships between the brides however- especially between Constanta and Magdalena in my opinion - are complex but, ultimately grounded in a very pure sense of love. A love that is not only romantic but, also, one that qualifies as found family. That being said, the only thing in this book that was a negative for me is that the brides were referred to as siblings by 'him' and would also call each other siblings. This went a horrifying step further when Constanta described her initial relationship with Alexis as that of a mother and son only to then become his lover later on. I understood when 'he' used the gag- inducing terms but, when they took it up themselves? NO, thank you. 

Below are my two favourite quotes about how she felt about Magdalena and Alexi respectively:

"Laying with her made me feel so vibrantly alive. It was almost enough to make me forget that I was already dead."

"Even if you were sunlight itself, I would still scorch myself to be close to you."

I got this book nearly a year ago and waited for autumn to finally read it and, now, I don't think I will ever stop recommending this book! 



A Dowry of Blood

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