ST Gibson’s writing is fantastic and had me highlighting quotes on every other page. The way the words seemed to flow together, and express love, pain, and abuse were tangible. Gibson does not try to necessarily sugarcoat the abuse that Constanta and her counterparts experience. As this story travels through time, it’s unique in explaining the history, the buildings, and the ongoing wars around it. If you’ve read any of my tweets or seen my vlogs: you know I don’t like smut. However, this is the first book I have ever highlighted smut in. The way it was written was gorgeous and sexy, terms I generally wouldn’t use for this situation. We aren’t given tons of character development aside from Constanta herself. For most, their characters degrade under the abuse. This is common, and it was interesting to see it in a fantasy and horror concept.
The gore in this was still written in a lush way, but there is quite a lot of blood lust in this. If that’s not your thing, be wary of picking it up. This truly could be the Interview with a Vampire for the Zillenial generation.

A Dowry of Blood is the sapphic, polyam Dracula retelling I didn’t know I needed until I saw the synopsis. And thankfully, it lived it up to the premise. This is a relatively short book, at about 250 pages, but it packs a hefty punch.

The main character, Constanta, is a Romanian peasant girl who is transformed into a vampire as she lies dying, her entire family victims of war. Constanta’s story is told as a letter to the unnamed Dracula, as she recounts her transformation from wide-eyed young woman to a wife trapped in an abusive marriage that lasts centuries. When two new ‘brides’ are brought into the mix – sharp Magdelena and fiery Alexi – Constanta realises the extent of her husband’s manipulation and begins to find the courage to break free.

It takes a little getting used to, but the decision to deliberately not name the villain (even if we all know who he’s meant to represent) is so powerful: in both fiction and real life, the names and stories of perpetrators are shared and remembered, while their victims become nameless, faceless women with no agency except to further myths and legends. (A great recent read on this topic was the The Five by Hallie Rubenfold, which aims to share the stories of the women murdered by Jack the Ripper). I am privileged enough not to have personal experience in this area, but I will also say the depictions of gaslighting and emotional abuse resonated very clearly: you can see the villain expertly pulling Constanta’s puppet-strings – and Magdalena’s, and Alexi’s – but you could also understand and empathise with why the characters might decide to stay.

As for the rest of this book, the writing is frankly gorgeous. It’s vivid, poetic and lush, and perfectly captures the sensual, Gothic feel of the original Dracula without ever becoming overly florid or self-indulgent. I definitely found myself stopping to re-read sentences to take in the imagery. The character work is also excellent. In the space of a short book, Gibson fleshes out Constanta’s relationship with her husband, her burgeoning relationships with Constanta and Alexi (both together and separately) and their relationships with each other. Each of these relationships feels distinct and directly related to the desires and fears of the individual characters, and it is so satisfying to see Constanta, Magdalena and Alexi each forging their own path towards the end.

There isn’t a lot of world-building – this book spans about six centuries, from 1300s Romania to 1900s Petrograd and Paris (and a sojourn in medieval Vienna, my favourite location in the story) but the sense of time passing is fairly superficial. That didn’t impact my personal enjoyment of the story – this is deliberately written as a close-knit tale rather than a sweeping epic – but if you expect deep historical insights from this novel you might be disappointed.

After this book, I’m keen to check out Gibson’s shorter work, and can only hope she comes out with another full length novel in the future.

4 stars. A dowry of blood is an exquisite Dracula retelling in the form of an open letter from his first bride, Constanta. A dowry of blood is an aching enthralling and beautiful book that captures life over the years. The writing was beautiful simplistic and the formatting was very intriguing. Thank you to the Nyx Publishing and Netgalley for providing me this arc.

4.5 stars. This novella is lush and thrilling – a quick read without being unsubstantial. I know absolutely nothing about the story of Dracula’s brides, but that didn’t dampen my enjoyment whatsoever. We know what ultimately happens at the end, but the story of the journey is suspenseful anyway. Also, while this book contains horror elements, I didn’t find it particularly scary.

I enjoyed being in Constanta’s head, as she’s a character with a lot of heart and a lot of conflicting feelings. Ultimately, I found her to be the personification of strength throughout the book, which made the ending even more satisfying. I also enjoyed her complex relationships with Magdalena and Alexei and rooted for the three of them to take down the um, nameless dude.

I ADORED THIS.

The cover is amazing and I needed some vampire fiction and holy man, this was fantastic.

The novel is told in a kind of diary format, where our main character is explaining her actions and past to the reader. The writing is flowery, gothic and atmospheric and I enjoyed the whole vampire family dynamic immensely.

In short I'd describe it as polygamist vampire family drama.

Content warning for emotional abuse, gore, murder and violence.

The cover is perfection. What you get is what you see. #teamconstanta

Thank you so much Nyx Publishing and Netgalley for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review. This is a gem and if you like anything with Vampires, you have to add this to your TBR.

There’s little not to love about this novel. I have long thought about who Dracula’s brides were, what their story was, and how they would tell it.; this far surpassed my imaginings.

First, the way it is written as a long letter was so well done. I didn’t think I’d like it but it fit the story so well.

Constanta is everything. She’s bloody, angry, and despite being at the center of a fantasy novel felt very real.

I couldn’t put it down. Every lyrical line drew me in. The polyam relationship at the center was well thought out and honest. It made me so happy to see and I can’t wait to read more from the author.

Tw: blood, violence, abusive relationships

I ended up going through this pretty quickly, and it was super enjoyable, despite a slightly heavy subject manner. People forget that Dracula is in the public domain, so its always great to see authors tackle it. This is the first take that I’ve seen that focuses on the brides, and on the dynamics of their love for each other. I’m also impressed that Gibson takes the route of Dracula as abuser, as somehow before now no one has. It’s a heavy read at times, but also full of lots of yearning and support between the Brides and the triad that ends up forming in parallel to the triangle they have with Dracula. Definitely worth a read if you get the chance.

This is such a wonderful and creative reimagining of Dracula's brides!
In the form of an open letter to Dracula himself, his bride Constanta tells her story from the moment she met him. It's a dark, alluring, sexy and gothic book, written in gorgeous and imaginative prose that makes Constanta truly come to life. There is a constant atmosphere of dread whenever her sire is around, and his monstrosity is described in such a haunting way that I was really afraid for the protagonist and her fellow bride and groom, Magdalena and Alexi. It's also the kind of monstrosity that might seem outlandish insofar that Dracula is, after all, a vampire who kills and destroys. But that is not the scary part about him at all. S.T. Gibson presents a Dracula that has very realistic tones - he acts like abusers we know in real life, heightened by the fact that he is a blood-thirsty and powerful monster. This Dracula is truly scary not because he is an undead bloodsucker, but because he is a horrible, abusive, manipulative man in so many ways.
Reading about Constanta's love for him gave me chills more than once, and the same goes for the way she decribes Magdalena and Alexi's feelings for their sire and master. "A Dowry of Blood" is, first and foremost, an exploration of an abusive relationship in an atmospheric setting. A relationship that deserves a reckoning, and damn that reckoning is perfectly done too!

All the characters are fascinating and highly complex, and the three brides (or two brides and one groom) are loveable and memorable. It's a very queer reimagining, with all of the characters having sexual and, at least to some degree, romantic relationships with both genders. The relationship between Constanta, Magdalena and Alexi is incredibly nuanced and complex, with an abundance of development both personal and interpersonal, even though this is a rather short book. And it's also a positive depiction of polyamory, even if the reason they all find each other is a monster.

In conclusion, this is a dark and sexy quick read full of complexity, depth and a haunting and alluring quality to every single page, and while it does have its gory parts due to the nature of it being a tale of vampires, I dare say that you might even enjoy it if you're not really a vampire person too.

Many many thanks to Nyx Publishing and Netgalley for this amazing arc!

“Desire makes idiots of all of us. But you already knew that part, didn’t you?”

🧛🏻‍♀️ A Dowry of Blood is a new look at the tale of the wives of Dracula, specifically Constanta. The story is lyrical, often more driven by emotions than the story itself. Throughout the story we see Constanta struggle with her love and hatred for her captor and the ‘life’ he has given her. It’s a ugly tale that clings to beauty where it can. Overall A Dowry of Blood gets 3 stars from me and is worth your time if you’re a fan of vampires! 🧛🏻‍♀️

This queer retelling of Dracula's brides is a great, atmospheric character study and perfect for those who are interested in vampires, polyamory rep in fiction, and gothic settings.

When I saw that this was about LGBT+ vampires I just had to jump on this! This was difficult to put down and it was beautifully written.

The story begins with the protagonist, Constanta, writing a goodbye love letter to Dracula. Going through the first few years with him alone, traveling, and receiving constant love and affection from Dracula. Then, eventually Dracula brings in two more into the relationship, Magdalena a powerful woman from Spain and Alexi a young starving artist from Russia. Though Constanta wasn’t thrilled at first about bringing others into their relationship, she eventually grew to love and the want to protect both Magdalena and Alexi. Constanta doesn’t believe Dracula has been completely honest with her and notices how she is constantly being gaslighted by him. She began to fear for their well-being.

ARC provided by Netgalley and Nyx Publishing for an honest review.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Nyx Publishing for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts!

Sometimes, you begin reading a story and from the first page, it carves out a special place in your heart. A Dowry of Blood was one of those rare instances where a book managed to touch the deepest parts of my soul, making me devour it in one sitting and then jumping straight back in to read it again.

The writing style in this was nothing short of stunning. Beautiful imageries, combined with lyrical expressions really managed to draw me in. This is exactly the style I adore in books - if you're not into flowery and introspective writing, I completely see why this wouldn't appeal to you, but it checked all the boxes for me.

At the center of the story, we have Constanta, writing a letter to her vampire lover, reflecting on the rise and downfall of their long romantic involvement. The main theme that was explored is emotional abuse in relationships, which is something that I personally can relate to all to well. The way these actions were conveyed touched me deeply, and I loved the way it was addressed throughout the story.
All of the characters were incredibly compelling, their relationships complex and heartfelt. I especially appreciated the polyamorous relationships within their little "family unit" - that's something you rarely see in fiction, and that I'd love to read more of!

So, if you're into lyrical writing that deals with difficult topics - be sure to check this one out!

Thank you to NetGalley and NYX Press for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

I wish I could put into plain words how enamored by this book I was. From the first paragraph to the very last, it was like pulling teeth when I had to put this book down. It’s been a long time since a book was so different from what I normally read, but was still able to catch, hold and keep my attention until I finished. What a twist on a retelling! A damn good one I might add.

From Constanta, Magdalena, Alexi to the ever looming “you” figure, each character was complex, well rounded and so intriguing. I loved Constanta and her growth, her resolve and her ability to stand on her own. The relationship between Magdalena and Constanta was probably my favorite. The way they knew but continued to develop between themselves was a complete joy to read. I loved every second of it.

This book is flowing, lyrical genius & I don’t think I’ll be able to stop thinking about it anytime soon!

Thanks to Netgalley for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinion.

A story within a story about a young vampire navigating through her new eternal life with a rag tag group of vampire family and dracula? Consider my interest piqued with that description.

I finished this book in a short four days and upon finishing my final thoughts were that this book was...interesting. I'm conflicted with my review of this because I'm not totally sure what I thought of it upon completion. I think I just liked it, not hated but I didn't love it either. I'll be honest that I read this because the descriptions/reviews that I was seeing was promising me a prominent sapphic vampire story, and I don't think that is what I ended up getting which was a little disappointing. I always appreciate LGBT vampires, but man, I wanted more.

Listen, it wasn't a terrible book, but I definitely didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would.

The narrative of abusive relationships was probably the best written part of the book and having Constanta as the narrator and subject of said abuse made it much more real and compelling to read. I appreciated that Constanta was a layered character, and a self admitted flawed one. The way the book chronicled her life from her death to becoming a vampire made you really get to know her on a deeper level so that when the finale of the novel happened you felt vindicated and joyous with her when she got what she wanted. Hurrah for justice!

I have to mention one thing in particular and that is that the prose was beautiful! There were so many well written moments that even if the plot wasn't interesting me I was always impressed with the prose. It was almost poetic at times. It took me a little while to get used to the way the story was written, as a letter being written and the switching tenses, but once I did I enjoyed it. It was fun, and not something I have read before.

If you're a fan of vampires, and complicated mess that is eternal love and devotion then you just might like this book. It's a quick and easy read so it won't take too much time to devour it once you start.

LGBT+ vampires??? Um.. yes please!
I enjoyed every second of reading this! It was such a dark, atmospheric, powerful read. The writing is beautiful, and all the characters were intriguing. It was also nice to see some polyamorous representation that wasn’t just sex. Everything about this book is amazing!

An extremely imaginative plot, one that I haven’t seen before. The characters were fully fleshed out and realized, and the story was well written.

Serving us a a sensual and splintered narrative that pulls you in with powerfully poetic prose and a subtly queer poignancy that holds you spellbound, S.T. Gibson renders it ragingly evident that there's monster and then there's monster, and love in all its renditions - or lack thereof - has an unerodable role in its ruling. Meaningfully etched with muted historical references and modest religious motifs to its very end, a dowry of blood deftly strings together a story of dreamlike delirium that slowly unravels to be nightmarishly noose-like, and Constanta's extreme emotional calisthenics across the centuries spent in the clutches of her captor are recounted with a voracious candor that is both electrifying and engrossing, right through to her violent emancipation.

Cover? stunning
Concept? STUNNING
Execution? SSSTTTUUUNNNNNIIINNNGGGG

I knew I wanted to pick this up solely based on the beautiful cover, but after reading that it's a queer (f/m/m/f polycule) reimagining of Dracula's brides... I knew I NEEDEDDDDD it. This story is told in such a beautiful and lyrical way. I was absolutely captivated by the writing style and felt instantly connected to the characters. A very easy 4.5 star read for me. One of the only things I found disruptive to my full enjoyment of the story was that I did feel some of the characters, Magdalena in particular, were inconsistent in their development and personalities. I kept finding myself envisioning Magdalena differently throughout the novel and it threw me off quite a lot. Regardless, I still can't recommend this enough. It was everything I wanted and more and I will certainly be picking up a final copy!

Thank you to Netgalley and Nyx Publishing for an advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

***eArc provided by NetGalley & Nyx Publishing in exchange for an honest review.***

Sometimes you find the exact right book for your sensibilities completely by accident. That's what happened with me and A Dowry of Blood. Queer Brides of Dracula certainly sounded like something I would like, and boy did S.T. Gibson deliver. She toes a wonderful line of being poetic and of the time the story is set in, while being thoroughly modern. THIS is the queer vampire content I've been absolutely craving my entire life and I'm excited to shout at people about it.

A Dracula retelling with sapphic main characters? Sign me up! I was so into this that I read it in a single day, and while it's not a super long book it still took a couple hours but once I picked it up I didn't want to put it down. Does a really good job representing an incredibly controlling and abusive relationship and it was nice to see Dracula's brides take center stage in a way that is actually about them and their feelings and not just like ~lady vampires hot~ [although lady vampires are indeed, pretty hot ;)] One thing I did find a little bit weird was the writing style which was in first person but addressing Dracula as 'you' throughout the whole thing, as if the narrator was saying all of this to him afterwards. A bit weird but overall the language is very compelling and I quickly got used to this quirk.