Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson

290 reviews

bashsbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

4.5

Such a sexy and engaging vampire novel. I love the bisexual drama of it all, and the eroticism of the blood drinking in particular is done so well. Epistolary novels are usually hit or miss for me, but this one was a hit - I think the fact that Constanta was speaking to Dracula the entire time was really in this novel's favor. I do think that marketing it as a Dracula reimagining is a little misleading as it doesn't engage much with the actual text of Dracula. If it didn't mention the Harkers in passing, it would easily be any other vampire story (and in this version of events, they survive the Harkers anyway? I was confused as to why we surpassed the point in time where they would've been). That said, I do love that one of the "brides" was a man. I also greatly enjoyed Gibson's take on vampirism as a slow-grade draining of humanity over a long period of time rather than an instant transformation. That was super cool, and I'd love to see that in more vampire media.

"Encore of Roses" was included in the version that I read; I thought it was a sweet epilogue to their story, and I love that Constanta, Magdalena, and Alexi remained important to each other while living out their own lives. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Homophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, and Classism

andi_ruok's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

Dark, dramatic, and emotional. The casted a spell on me from beginning to end, I am so proud of Constanta.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Murder

megsssss_'s review against another edition

dark emotional medium-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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

emily_dunn's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Infidelity, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and War

jojothefool's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

Perfectly succinct and beautifully written. Lovely story of love and abuse and fighting back and the struggles of standing up to an abuser. Polyamory representation is such a slay and put in seamlessly and beautifully. I enjoyed myself so so much with this one

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Murder

Moderate: Gore, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Gaslighting

apersonfromflorida's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Blood

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual content

Minor: Sexual assault and War

alex_wordweaver's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.5

I love the polyship in this book! It's great, and I love the book being from the point of view of Dracula's wives. For a minute, I honestly forgot the book was about Dracula. I had to ask my wife, the history buff, which fall of Athens Drac might've been referencing to Constanta, and she countered with, "Which fall of Athens?--there were three." I'm so glad I got the edition with Encore of Roses in it as well! It's a nice cap off. The only thing I wish there was more of was what Constanta calls "The Harker Incident." I know that side of things has been done to death, but I'd've loved to know what was going on with all that from the wives' perspectives.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Gaslighting

Minor: Body horror, Drug use, Self harm, Sexual assault, Alcohol, and War

kennyleigh1999's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.0

Well written villain. You really can understand why the characters are so easily manipulated by him, and it makes you hate him even more. There were multiple scenes where I wished I could reach through the page and drive a stake through his heart first! 

A rough read that definitely took me a while to finish, but was well worth it.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Blood

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Grief

sammy357's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Such a good book I am absolutely obsessed with it! Also one of the best audiobooks I've listened to

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Self harm, Alcohol, and War

Minor: Child abuse, Drug use, and Sexual assault

raisinreads's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.25

i like this better than the original dracula sue me

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, and Murder