actual rating: 3.5★

what a wonderfully crafted book. the writing was exceptional, simple and written in second pov in the form of a letter. it was effortless yet hit hard, and i applaud the author for that.

however, i did expect more from the plot (?) or maybe i would have enjoyed the story more if it weren’t a vampire romance. so this rating is definitely due to personal preference.

i’d read more books by s.t. gibson, no doubt about that. a dowry of blood just wasn’t my favorite, although i enjoyed a lot of aspects about this book!

I have heard great things about this book, and I was very excited to find that I could request A Dowry of Blood on NetGalley - and even MORE excited when I was given access!

I think A Dowry of Blood was the first polyamorous relationship (m/f/f/m) I have read, and it was done so well. The author, S. T. Gibson, spent a good amount of time focusing on each of these relationships, and it showed. I really liked reading about the dynamics between each of the different characters and how they related to each other, and ultimately, how they were able to forge a new life after the death of their creator (not a spoiler: Constanta mentions that she killed their creator on the first page).

I also think the format of the book worked really well. It was written in epistolary form, with the main protagonist - Dracula's first bride, Constanta - writing letters to her deceased former creator about their life together and why he ultimately had to die. It was a very interesting format, and reminiscent of Bram Stoker's Dracula, which is also told in a similar epistolary form. I also enjoyed the small interludes that were beautifully written; some of these shorter sections were poetry written by the author, and I think they added another layer of depth to the story.

It was a beautifully written book that combined elements from fantasy & horror & romance genres, which I enjoyed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Nyx Publishing for a copy of this eARC in exchange of an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

𝑫𝒐𝒘𝒓𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝑩𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝑏𝑦 𝑆.𝑇.𝐺𝑖𝑏𝑠𝑜𝑛
🅢︎🅨︎🅝︎🅞︎🅟︎🅢︎🅘︎🅢︎:
Vampire's life is very solitary. Without some company it can turn into a hell. Because of that an old monster took three brides into his eternal life. Constanta, Magdalena and Alexis shared their bed and their love with the old vampire in exchange for eternal life. But nothing is perfect and there are all kind od ways to love somebody, and sometimes love can hurt.

🅣︎🅗︎🅞︎🅤︎🅖︎🅗︎🅣︎🅢︎:
This is a magnificent story told by Constanta, the first wife of a vampire. She tells us how her life slowly changed from a lovely days with a man she loved, to the days of frustration and pain given her by the same vampire.
The book is divided in three parts. In each part we find the story about a new bride that takes the vampire.
I loved the writing, it's delightful. I loved the way Constanta told us the story from her point of view. It's charming, magical and transmits all her feelings to the reader. I suffered with her, I was excited when she was, I was angry when she was, and I was happy when she was. And that's awesome when you can feel the story in your veins.
I loved how the author show us this toxic love, and try to tell us that it's a wrong way to love someone.
I loved Constanta, how she changes through the story, how she finally dared to face the vampire.
I highly recommend this book. If you a fan of Dracula or Anne Rice Vampire Chronicles, you must to read this book.

This book is a romance not a mystery like I suspected which is what ruined it for me. It's too overly sexual, which are books I tend to avoid.

A Dowry of Blood is a well-crafted novella with a powerful story of abuse at its dark, bloody heart. The story is told from Constanta’s point of view in an open-letter form to her abuser, the ancient, mysterious vampire who found her at the brink of death as a young woman after her village was raided and killed. Though it’s a letter, the descriptions and Constanta’s ruminations are beautiful, the prose lush and lyrical. Constanta never names her husband, never gives him that power, but instead the reader is meant to understand he is Dracula through subtle hintings, such as mentioning the Harker incident during the Victorian era. Through the centuries, Constanta and her husband add two more to their relationship, Magdalena and Alexi. We see through Constanta’s recounting the emotional, verbal, and occasionally physical abuse that Dracula doles out to his beloveds, and how each one copes to survive. The final part of the story is cathartic, and emotional release, as we learn how Constanta, Magdalena, and Alexi finally exacted revenge and found freedom, ending on an optimistic note. A Dowry of Blood is a heart-wrenching exploration of abuse, vampirism, and love.

What can I say about this story? One word...AMAZING! A reimaging of Dracula's bride? Such a fresh and chilling story. Constanta...what such an interesting character. Her character arc was quite unique. Dracula... dark as ever. The emotional journey of Constanta will keep you on an emotional roller coaster.

I first heard of this book because of its GORGEOUS cover art by Marlowe Lune, so I jumped at the chance to read an ARC. As a content warning right up top, this book is about emotional abuse, and although the book contains fantasy elements, the descriptions of it are incredibly realistic.

This book is so uniquely narrated, in a second person point of view, and it lends itself to being so much more emotive than anything I’ve read in a long time. I very much fell for the narration of this one from the very beginning (“It was a sturdy name, warm and wholesome like a loaf of dark bread fresh out of the oven,” are you KIDDING ME?! GORGEOUS). It is heart wrenching story of a polyamorous family, told from the perspective of a victim to the abuser, that was hard to put down, even when it was hard to read. I loved the dynamics between the characters because you see them, very specifically, through the narrator’s eyes, and it made them so much more intimate than if it were written from any other perspective or point of view. While the story is sometimes predictable because it is a reimagining of stories of Dracula’s brides, it’s so original in its tone and queerness.

As an aside, there were multiple points in reading this where my brain just went “oh no, this book is sexy,” and I think that sets the vibe very well. It’s dark and intimate, it’s different from a lot of the Dracula-adjacent books I’ve read because it’s scary in a very real-world way, and I loved it for that.

i absolutely loved this book! a dowry of blood is a beautifully written story about sapphics and poly vampires. i really liked how complex the relationship between the characters were, i read this book in one sitting, even though we know how it ends from the beginning i couldn't put the book down. it also gave me deathless vibes (another book i love) so yes i definitely recommend it.

Thank you NetGalley and Nyx publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

“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”

A Dowry of Blood is a modern retelling of Dracula’s Brides, told by Constanta to her nameless lover and sire.

Filled with some of the lushest most swoon worthy writing I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading, truly a lyrical masterpiece, my inadequate words do not do justice to how fantastic this book was. I wanted to savour ever word and let them sink into my soul.

“We’ve waltzed through a hundred tiny apocalypses, you and I, walked unharmed through the ash of countless crumbling regimes. We feast on the ruin of empires,“

This was the vampiric tale of desire, obsession, and strength I have always wanted and with polyamory added in!

Ugh I loved this so hard, I’m off to go buy myself a copy.

I knew I was going to like this going into it, but I had no idea how much. This is my first five star rating out of 50 books this year because it was just stunning.

The book follows Dracula's brides (and groom) through a tumultuous relationship. The story unfolds as Constanta addresses Dracula with an explanation of why she disobeyed him. What follows is an incredibly dark recounting of the love she shared with him as he turned her, their second bride Magdalena, and their groom, Alexi.

Over centuries and across Europe, Constanta follows Dracula in awe and fear as he promises her love. While she is confused and frightened when he controls her and their partners, she ultimately believes he is good until things start to unravel.

There was nothing I didn't love about this book. I found it so unique in its writing style as Constanta addressed Dracula in the long explanation of why she ultimately murders him. The characters were all extremely captivating, Constanta and Alexei were my favourites.

The portrayal of the toxic relationship was extremely powerful in this book as the power hierarchies were mapped out. The ultimate freedom that was gained when Constanta organized the sires was excellent and delivered in a great crescendo.

I couldn't put this down, but I will be ordering a copy to put on my bookshelf.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A Dowry of Blood is a letter from wife, Constanta, to Dracula in which she recounts their journey together- from her immediate love through to her eventual loathing. The story spans centuries, during which time two “siblings” (an aristocrat& an artist) are picked up to complete the poly 4 person vampire relationship.

This is a beautifully written queer Gothic; poetic, dark, and haunting. We experience love&sex, blood&gore, fun&misery, freedom&chains. This tale is so all consuming. The prose are immaculate. I found myself dreaming of these characters. A truly breathtaking, heart-wrenching twist on Dracula.

Darkly intoxicating and told through luscious prose, A Dowry of Blood by S.T Gibson reimagines Dracula from the perspective of his one of his brides: Constanta. It’s written as her final love letter to him, recounting the time they first met up to the events ultimately leading to her freedom.

Over the course of centuries, the story follow a polyamorous vampire coven's blood-soaked bonds and family melodrama as they live under the shackles of their tyrannical sire. It’s a pensive look at all the hedonism and delights of immortality as well as all the loneliness, ennui, and yearning that comes along with it

Now, this book doesn’t reinvent vampire lore by any means, and it doesn’t need to either. It pays homage to classical vampires in the vein of Anne Rice, Bram Stoker, and Sheridan Le Fanu—certain to delight lovers of the gothic and macabre.

A captivating, haunting reimagining of Dracula's brides with a centuries long quest for self-determination. The beautiful writing draws you into this world so completely that it is hard to put the book down until you reach the final words. It is a story of power, control, trust. fear, loneliness, self-worth, choice and also of love that knows no gender boundaries. The story begins as a young girls village is attacked and she lay mortally wounded, when a man finds her and tells her he can help her. So begins her life as Constanta, the bride of an immortal. taught by him, loved by him and chained by him. As the centuries pass and they move through the world, other brides are brought into the fold, Magdalena and Alexei. Each addition to the family brings love, tension and a growing sense that it may all come apart at any moment, as it has in the past. Finding the secrets he has hidden from them allows Constanta and the others to begin to dream of the freedom that each craves.
I loved how this story works on so many levels, from being just a wonderful story of vampires and how they lived their lives to an empowering story of finding your way through doubt and fear to a place where you can determine the life that you want to live. The ebbs and flows of the relationships and the sudden turns keep the tension throughout, and the flow of the story will keep you hooked all the way to the powerful ending. This is a wonderful novel for fans of vampire/gothic stories, just please be aware of the content warnings.

Thank you to Netgalley and Xpresso Book Tours for providing me with this book.

It feels like I’ve been holding my breath while reading this book. The dark and oppressive atmosphere; Dracula’s power over his consorts, his hold on them was so palpable that when I reach the end, I finally breathed, felt relieved and smiled. I also had tears in my eyes because the ending really pleased me. (And I do want more if I’m being honest, but the way it ended was perfect).

The way the story is told was amazing as it’s an open letter to Dracula - a letter written by Constanta, one of his wife, in which she explains why she did what she had to do. Constanta was such an intriguing and lovable main character. Reading from her perspective was a unique experience and I loved seeing her inner turmoil. Sometimes, she made decisions I didn’t agree with but deep down I understood why and I was rooting for her, always.

The sides characters - Dracula, Magdalena, Alexi - touched me for different reasons. The complexity of their relationship, the dynamic between all of them, their bond, their love and fear for each other, the abuse: all of these things were well-depicted.

It’s not the type of book I usually go to but thanks to netgalley and Xpresso Book Tours, I discovered the story of a tormented and devoted love - one so deep-rooted that you cannot go against it despite its wrongness, one that enslaved you until one day you decide to fight for a better future and your freedom.

The author's blurb describes S.T. Gibson as a poet first and I think that is the best way to describe her and this book. Reading "A Dowry of Blood" is like reading poetry in verse form. Every word seems carefully chosen yet also effortless. This book was truly a pleasure to read.

The book itself is a queer retelling of Dracula's brides from one of their perspectives. One of the most powerful points of the narrative is that Dracula is never named, so it almost feels like I shouldn't use his name in my review either. His lack of a name is very intentional on behalf of the narrator, Constanta, who refuses to give her abuser any more power. She only refers to him as "you" throughout her account and this creates a disquieting sort of second person narrative that made me feel like she was talking to me and thus I was responsible for what she was describing. I of course don't know if this was the intention, but it was successful either way.

I wish I knew how to put into words how impactful I think Gibson's description of abuse is in this book. She really perfectly describes manipulation, gaslighting, honeymooning, creeping normality and gradualism. I think it could be misconstrued in parts as a love letter to an abuser but I think that would be intentionally dense. I made the mistake of thinking of it that way before getting very far into it. Instead, I think it's a love letter to self-preservation. To resiliency. To friendships and platonic love and doing whatever you have to to get through each day. To queer identity. To destroying abusers. Thinking about this book makes me feel powerful. I already can't wait to read it again.

This is a very poetic take on gothic fiction, for sure. It reads almost like a novel in verse, with more impressionistic writing than finely tuned details and plot. I was intrigued to see it was written in second person, and I thought that mechanic was well employed. I wish the characters and settings had been more fleshed out, though I do also understand that these kinds of things can be slight when you're leaning on the genre itself to fill in some of the gaps. The one thing that was a little disappointing to me was that the book began by telling us the ending, and I was hoping for something unexpected about the way that ending played out, but there really wasn't

A Dowry of Blood is a story about Dracula and his brides, from the point of his first bride, Constanta.
The whole book is written as a confession from Constanta to him (him meaning Dracula but his name is never mentioned in the book - he does not deserve it). From the beginning we know he is dead, killed be his brides, and Constanta unravels the story of how she became the first bride and how came the others.
I found this narrative style difficult to connect with, at first. But once you'll get used to it, it offers you a very intimate look into the character's head. We only get this point of view from Constanta, which is enough. She was the first and suffered through life with him the longest.
It's a story about love, but it's a terrible kind of love, love which suffocates, makes demands and only takes. Constanta never really had a choice, though he certainly made it look like he was giving her options. Life with him is full of emotional abuse and gaslighting which the writting made it very real and vivid. In a stark contrast to his love are the comforting relationships between the brides.
Honestly, the writting was the best part for me. There isn't that much going on in the story - they move, find a new bride, he gets bored, they move again. But the lush language and great characters made it very enjoyable.

The mythos around vampires has always fascinated me. From reading the classic novel Dracula at a young age and subsequently the offshoots of lore around such a figure (Dracul, Castlevania the show, the more recent Route of Ice and Salt, etc), I tend to be drawn towards any further takes and retellings of this classic tale.

Dowry of Blood is the first Dracula retelling that is from the perspective of one of his wives, and this book does not shy away from commenting on the nature or even existence of consent in a relationship between an immortal predator and the object of his desires. Full of toxic relationships and messy characters, Dowry of Blood details cycles of abuse while maintaining the classic existential vibe of the Dracula lore- what is the meaning of life when life never ends? What is an individual reduced to in that situation?

This book has beautiful prose and was a really fast read for me (I read it over a couple hours on a day off). This book is everything a gothic horror can provide and more-- I'd recommend Dowry of Blood to anyone who enjoys the genre and are familiar with the Dracula mythos.

Thank you to Nyx Publishing and Netgalley for a copy of this Arc in exchange for an honest review!

There were parts of this book that I really loved and parts that really, really didn't. The premise is fantastic, of course, and the characters drawn with a power and immediacy that almost makes up for the fact that the book is written in long letter form, in second person past.

I've read several epistolary books that I have not only enjoyed but loved (most recently, This is How You Lose the Time War), but all of them were written by two authors and if they weren't comedic the whole way through, they at least had a lot of humor. The two books in letter form that I have not enjoyed as much were The Tiger's Daughter, which I ultimately DNF'd, and this one. Both are long, somber, highly stylized letters with no back and forth and a lot of the time it's just a slog to read through.

Dowry of Blood managed to save itself for me with truly lovely prose when the character wasn't addressing her letter's subject directly. The pacing was also set really well, helping to pull me along even when I wasn't engaging with the way Constanta was addressing "You" directly.

I enjoyed the evolving relationships between the four characters and I thought the ending was good. I was promised sapphic yearning and sapphic yearning I received.

All in, it barely squeaked into the four star category for me, but readers without my pet peeves will likely be more receptive.

“What is more lovely, after all, than a monster undone with want?”

“I still wanted to believe I was living in a fairy tale, that I laid down every night with a prince instead of a wolf. I wanted to believe you.”

A beautiful and dreamy reimagining of Dracula’s brides, as told from one of the brides. It recounts her death, her rebirth, her life, and ultimately the ending. It deals with the bonds of love, of family, of trust, and above all, the bonds that are tested when love is corrupted. The story follows Constanta, a medieval peasant turned into bride, into Dracula’s Bride. It shows how her love is twisted and turned, of how it went from first love to obsession, to hurt, and ultimately to survival and freedom. She slowly starts to see under the veil of her new life and how her prince, her husband, is not as princely as he seems. It was a gorgeous book to read. I absolutely adored it! It even had a little name drop of our favorite victorian family, the Harkers, haha. It’s a great read for fans of Dracula and gothic romance! It’s a story of family, of survival, and of the love that twist and turn in all of us. If we love a monster, does that in turn make us monsters?

*Thanks Netgalley and Nyx Publishing for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*