Reviews with content warning for Gore - A Dowry of Blood

this book was marketed as a sapphic retelling of dracula’s brides. however, it was actually a look into an extremely toxic, abusive, manipulative, polyamorous, borderline incestuous vampire family in which two sapphic women appear kissing once. i’m extremely disappointed and did not enjoy this at all

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molls's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

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just_one_more_paige's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Although I have been on hold for this one at the library since early October (ish), there was definitely some kind of delay in the process because our copy didn’t arrive/get processed til mid-December. And despite the fact that we are now deeply past the “spooky” season this read was meant to be for, I don’t even care because a Dracula retelling/spin-off with a cover like this is absolutely going to be at the top of my personal TBR no matter what season it is.

As she lays dying after a raid on her small village in Romania, a young woman is “saved” by Dracula, who turns her into a vampire, renames her Constanta, and takes her as his wife. Over the years, her intense feelings for and obsession with her savior are the cornerstone of her existence. Dracula introduces her to so much of life, and love, that she had never imagined. But as the centuries pass and two new consorts, a politically savvy aristocrat (Magdalena) and a starving artist (Alexei), are added to their “family,” Constanta begins to face the darker aspects of Dracula’s love for them. Finding solace, intimacy, and partnership with both Magdalena and Alexei in different ways, she begins to realize that her husband’s secrets are more dangerous that she’d ever imagined, and the three will have to make some impossible choices in the fight for their freedom.

Now, I usually don’t go in for horror (though maybe I need to revise some of that because I also read and *loved* Nettle & Bone earlier this year), but I have a major soft spot for vampires (always have), so I knew I was going to give this one a try. And I am so glad I did. Although it’s listed as adult fiction, and I totally understand why and agree, it’s written with a style and narrative voice that felt very YA to me, so I flew through it in just a few short sittings. What a haunting, terrible romance this story was. We are dropped right into things with the perfect Dracula-esque opening scenes of bloody pain and vengeance and things remained just as atmospheric until the finale. Although the bloodiness abated through the middle, the same sinister and desire-sodden vibes remained throughout, in slightly different (but spot on for their characters) forms, as Magdalena and Alexei are woven into the story. And the end brings back all the violence and drama that the death of someone like Dracula has always inspired for writers and readers.

I could not get enough of the complex intertwining of savior and wanting and desire and safety and fear and manipulation, all in a heady rush of confusion and ecstasy and terror, that was Constanta’s every moment with Dracula. It was intoxicating, enthralling and I absolutely lost myself in it. There was also a fascinating combination of the toxicity of (mentally and emotionally) abusive relationships and the magical toxicity that is often present in fantasy that addresses the day-to-day of immortality. It’s not hard to see how that kind of reality can take a dark turn, which makes the relationships that Constanta, Magdalena and Alexei are able to form under those dual shadows that Dracula casts, and lean into that as their [only] power, in order to make their final stand altogether, no faltering, that much more affecting.

I think, as a side note, that this is the first polyamorous “romance” that I have ever read. And I can say for sure that it will not be my last. I was fascinated by the dynamics and roles that each character fell into, both with and without Dracula in the picture. I honestly just loved how much love and support there was (obviously discounting Dracula here) and the finale chapter from Alexei’s perspective was honestly one of the most tender and heartwarming things I’ve read in awhile. Just, I loved seeing the three of them forge something whole and safe and beautiful from the darkness and horror of their shared past.

This novel was a whole mood. What an incredibly fresh take on a well worn classic, with all the dark intensity that a reader would want from anything Dracula-related, but with a more hopeful ending than one usually gets from this kind of “descent into horror/madness” style read. Though the writing was basic, it was affecting, and I loved the complexity and authenticity of the relationships as they were molded and re-molded to fit each other. Atmospheric AF.

“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.”

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

“Love makes monsters of us, Constanta, and not everyone is cut out for monstrosity.”

"There was no huge argument that predicated my decision to betray you, no ultimate act of tyranny. I simply broke under the weight of a thousand tense nights, a thousand thoughtless, soul-stripping words. I felt like I was losing my mind in that place, and eventually my desire to do something about it, anything about it, outweighed my fear of you." (What a perfectly anticlimactic, and all the more affecting for it, in its simplicity and authenticity, moment.)

“You had debased us all over time, as slow as dripping water wearing a hole in stone. We couldn't abide you, but we couldn't live without you.”

“Being around him is like burning up with fever. I know I'm not well, but I'm too delirious to do anything.”

“It would be easier if he hated us [...] But he loves us all terribly. And if we go on letting him love us, that love is going to kill us. That's what makes him so dangerous.”

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rachelcotter1's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional inspiring sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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clairew97's review against another edition

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dark reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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danyels_denouements's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes

4.5

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reading_rainbows's review against another edition

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dark reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

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opalia's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This is literally my new favorite book. Won over so many classics. It has such beautiful writing, and deep and great characters. Don't even get me started on the prose. I am about to translate it in my mother tongue just to do a whole propaganda to anyone I meet. The message is delivered in the best way, the aesthetics are incredible, the description of human lives and behaviors? I'll literally never get over this, this book is a fever dream, argue with the wall.

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