Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson

20 reviews

amy_reading_23's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

This book was an incredibly compelling read, so much so that I finished it in a day. I can't totally tell you why I found it so compelling. It's not necessarily the kind of book I'd usually enjoy, as it is quite dark and tense and uncomfortable. But it is beautifully written. And it's not exactly that I enjoyed it, I just was fascinated by it. It is a book which perfectly shows what it is like to be in an abusive relationship with a narcissist. And as someone who is familiar with those relationships, I found it interesting. But also because it is clear from page one that she kills him. I think that hope is what draws you forward to the end. That no matter what he does, he will be defeated. 

The characters are interesting. You are shown some of their complexities but also not enough of each to know them entirely. There are beautiful lines that are like poetry and some interesting comparisons to religion. I thought I'd be put off by how it is written in letters, but it is very immersive and most the letters are written long enough to be like scenes. 

I do love how she took his power away by not naming him (the abuser). Although this has been described as a retelling of Dracula and his wives, its not quite that, and we never quite know who he is. And that takes the power away from him. 

I could probably go on for ages talking about this book but I will say, I would have found this difficult to read a few years ago. It is hard hitting, uncomfortable at times, and there's some blurred lines between relationships being familial and sexual, which did make me a bit uncomfortable. So don't read this if you're not in the right head space. But if you are, and you want to read a book about a girl finding her own power while being bound by a narcissist, with a long dark period and a finally happy ish ending, then go for it. 

I wanted to say more but this is a bit of a spoiler. I loved how the book traversed time from the middle ages to now. I really didn't expect that. I thought it would stay as a gothic text living in history but instead it shows a vampire living through to our world. I would have liked to see more of what she thought of it but I know that wasn't the point at the end of the book. 

Everything the "Lord" does is characteristic of a narcissistic sociopath in a toxic relationship. He gaslights his wives, tells them they're paranoid, masks his control by making them think they have freedom, taking them away from friends or loved ones, isolating them, allows them scarce joy to keep devoted but derives them of most joy so they depend on him.  If you recognise someone in your life who is like this, it is best to seek help and leave. 

Last point, I wasn't sure about the ending. At Constantines last chapter I'd thought I wished there was more of their lives now, but then I actually found that I didn't totally like Alexi's bit. His possessiveness and dependency on them worried me a bit and I wondered if the ending was meant to be semi uncomfortable. But I might be overthinking, as otherwise I think it interestingly showed how a loving poly relationship can be without a toxic partner.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Incest

n0elle's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Misogyny, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Gaslighting, and Pandemic/Epidemic

jackheart180's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, and War

anapthine's review against another edition

dark tense medium-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Incest, Fire/Fire injury, and War

brookey8888's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

3.75

I enjoyed this, but not as much as everyone else seems to. I enjoyed the way this was told(the audiobook was really good!). I do wish we got to see more of the relationships because I feel like we hardly got to see the man be like rude, you say it in small ways which I guess it what it it, but it was just a short time period. This doesn’t make any sense I’m sorry 😭 I did like that this different sexuality representation! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

a_libra_library's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Poetic! Dramatic! I cried the entire time... I'm weak.
Reimaging of Dracula's brides written in letter formats. It's not glamorous or sexy as vampires are usually portrayed. It shows how dangerous and seductive and abusive relationships can get. I feel weird since its an abusive  poly-relationship but the three brides find comfort in each other and are against Dracula.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and War

annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition

dark hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

some absolutely fucked up family dynamics: characters are siblings, mother/son, father/children, yet everyone has sex with everyone. the writing was pretty but frequently over-the-top with its figurative language. it had a monumental task of pacing its story across several millennia but i felt it succeeded, focusing on single scenes or letting decades slip away to emphasize the narrator's experience (especially relevant in her description of "plague time" o.o ).

despite this, i just unfortunately was not that into it, the sex scenes made me uncomfortable lol and not that much happened, but i did appreciate the ending.
speaking of calling her "the narrator," it's interesting that it shares this unnamed-woman-narrator quality with the last book i read, The Handmaid's Tale, but a notable difference is that here the narrator only refers to her Commander-equivalent as "you" and never his name in order to strip him of his power.

cover design review: ★★★★☆. love the presentation of the author's name at the top, the decorative border, the central image; not a fan of the title's presentation. i like the typeface but i think "Dowry" could be weighted more like "Blood", the line spacing between "of" and "Blood" is wonky compared to the first three lines, really don't like the "A".

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Incest, Infidelity, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Alcohol, and War

Minor: Cursing, Drug use, Genocide, Homophobia, Self harm, Sexism, Grief, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, and Fire/Fire injury

no biphobia. homophobia and lesbophobia are only mentioned once as a concern of the narrator but are never realized. adult/minor relationship and incest are debatable because of the characters being immortal vampires and having an …unusual family dynamic, but there's definitely something messed up there

bookishbailey's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This was such a beautiful love letter to finding yourself in the midst of someone else. Bram Stoker could never 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Kidnapping

Minor: Homophobia and War

rebeccaxpaige's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Blood

Moderate: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Murder, and Gaslighting

cgn's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

I don’t know what to say about this story other than it kept my interest. I don’t usually like dark stories, but this depiction of abusive relationships was extremely well done. Not a story for me, but I still enjoyed reading.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Confinement, Gore, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Medical content, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Colonisation