Name: A DOWRY OF BLOOD
Rating: 4.185810810810811 (296 reviews)
ISBN: 9780356519319

S.T. GIBSON

A DOWRY OF BLOOD

Mahsa

Sam Pulliam

Leonie

Romy

yaya

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

Jordan

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.

Ciara Janae ۵

This is making me raise expectations, how did those first pages go so hard ???

If you can still hear me wherever you are, my love, my tormentor, hear this:

Katherine Marie Elizabeth

Jolien De Landsheer

Emory

Isabela Miranda Araujo

You did not let me keep my name, so I will strip you of yours. In this world, you are what I say you are, and I say you are a ghost, a long night's fever dream that I have finally woken up from.

I will render you as you really were, neither cast in pristine stained glass nor unholy fire. 

What is more lovely, after all, than a monster undone with wanting?

Steph

A Dowry of Blood is one of those books that you know it’s good, but it still manages to surprise you with how absolutely amazing the book is. The portrayal of the relationship between Constanta, Magdelena, Alexi and Him are tremendously well-developed. From the time he approached Constanta, i knew he was bad news, but i still can’t help but fall for his charms, his words, his promises, his undying declaration of love. Just like Constanta did. Constanta is definitely a complicated character. I love how her character went through multiple developments. She started off as the doe-eyed girl who’s dependent on him, until he betrayed her by bringing a “sister” into the family. It’s interesting how her character was written here, she was unwilling yo go through with it, but she bit her tongue and said yes to him anyway, because she’s afraid of losing him. The thought of losing him outweighs her own desires and needs. And all i can say is, i felt that. She’s so hopeless in the situation. He was giving her a choice, but it was just an illusion of choice. She knew, deep down, that she had to say yes or she’ll lose him forever. In a way, i feel like Constanta represents a lot of women trapped in an abusive relationship. Constantly enabling, giving herself up, compromising until she’s nothing but a husk. Too afraid to leave but at the same time too afraid to stay. He brainwashed her into thinking that she cant survive without him and the power and control he had over her, over magdelena and alexi was so strong, they wouldnt dare to defy him. The way he gaslighted and manipulated all of his “loved ones” made me physically sick. He never love them, he only wanted to own them because he knew that he cant survive alone. He needed people to sing praises to him, which is why he collected them like dolls until they no longer serve their purposes. He’s like the epitome of an abusive partner, who claimed he loved you but never let you be happy. I’m just so glad they finally had the courage to end him. And that was a satisfying conclusion. I’ve read pages after pages of them getting tormented, so it’s satisfying as a reader to know that they decided to take charge of their lives and end their abuser once and for all to gain their freedom. It gives me hope that i can, too, rewrite my destiny, and that there’s always light at the end of the tunnel.

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

The prose was beautiful but the storyline was lacking. 

Nicole Neuman

Wow. The narratives flows so perfectly it almost seems like it’s poetic prose. The representation of intricate toxic relationships in a household was so beautifully achieved, the depiction of the difficulty of breaking this "cycle of brutality and tenderness" impressed me. It felt so real, it felt so deep. Also, the vampire representation, as monsters, as beautiful, dangerous monsters but monsters nonetheless whether they are cruel or kind as a lamb delighted me.

this was so boring. i liked the ending but god the rest of the book was such a drag. alexi was a cutie tho, love him 🫶🏻

kaii

Grace Stanger

this was so boring. i liked the ending but god the ready of the book was such a drag. alexi was a cutie tho, love him 🫶🏻

Ummmmm, no, not for me. In the book’s defense, I read it based on some false advertising about its contents (tik tok!), so it was not what I was expecting. An easy read I guess, but overall, ‘meh’ sums it up. 

Sophia 

S T Gibson

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

claire

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

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

A DOWRY OF BLOOD

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