Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson

43 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

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

thewitchykitty's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition

fast-paced

4.75

I wasn't entirely sure what this was about when I first picked up it but ended up really loving it. If you're looking for a traditional horror about vampires, this isn't it. This is more a story on how power and infatuation can affect people and how that can be abused on a backdrop of vampirism. Super good and would've been a 5 star if we didn't get the last bit of pov from Alexi. I don't think his pov was necessary. Or if his had to be included, I wouldve liked to also see Magdalena's then as well. 
READ TRIGGER/CONTENT WARNINGS. the author does provide them in the beginning before her book actually starts but I would def recommend checking them out even before that.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

mogojojo1013's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

3.5

The writing in this book is exceedingly slow and incredibly decadent. I felt like I was watching one of those Dove chocolate commercials only for blood and vampirism. I spent most of the book just WAITING for that jerk to die (not a spoiler, she tells us right at the beginning that she kills him) and damn was it worth the wait.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

rachelblair's review against another edition

dark tense 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder

rbuhrke'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? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Grief

Minor: Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Classism

kinsportch's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Physical abuse and Sexual content

Minor: Death of parent, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

crispynugget's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

I picked this book up on a whim before a flight and was pleasantly surprised but how captivated I was by the story. It is short and flows very well. Without giving away too much, the story is about how DV and DA change the people involved over their lives. What keeps it interesting is that the characters are all vampires in a poly relationship. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Violence, Gaslighting, and War

Moderate: Death, Blood, and Death of parent

Minor: Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Grief, and Murder

bookswithbethx's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Minor: Death of parent and War