A review by _tilly_
A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson
2.0
Story -
"Saved from the brink of death by a mysterious stranger, Constanta is transformed from a medieval peasant into a bride fit for an undying king. But when Dracula draws a cunning aristocrat and a starving artist into his web of passion and deceit, Constanta realises that her beloved is capable of terrible things."
Strengths -
• Intrigue
• Set up
Weaknesses -
• Plot
• Atmosphere
• Marketing
Overall thoughts -
A Dowry of Blood had so much potential. It started out with amazing atmosphere, and the setup was fantastic, I was annotating anything and everything, and I thought I was going to have a new favourite.
Unfortunately, that was not the case. Maybe this was my fault because I went into this story not knowing much, not knowing it was a Dracula retelling of which I've never read the original and not knowing the focus of the plot, but when I started reading it I thought I was going to get a revenge story, a kind of dark version of Rosalie's (Twilight) backstory.. that's how it began anyway and then the atmosphere and the story telling dropped.
So far in it's main focus became lust, sex, erotica.. not the gothic horror I was promised. I'm more than happy to read within the genre, too, but when I'm being told that I'm going to get something completely different.. yeah, I just wasn't into it. I also have to add that I wouldn't have cared for a sex scene or two, but it literally became THE story.
So yes, this may have been a me problem, but I've also read other reviews that have had the same experience as me and by people who have actually experienced the original Dracula.
(Thank you, netgalley, for the ARC)
"Saved from the brink of death by a mysterious stranger, Constanta is transformed from a medieval peasant into a bride fit for an undying king. But when Dracula draws a cunning aristocrat and a starving artist into his web of passion and deceit, Constanta realises that her beloved is capable of terrible things."
Strengths -
• Intrigue
• Set up
Weaknesses -
• Plot
• Atmosphere
• Marketing
Overall thoughts -
A Dowry of Blood had so much potential. It started out with amazing atmosphere, and the setup was fantastic, I was annotating anything and everything, and I thought I was going to have a new favourite.
Unfortunately, that was not the case. Maybe this was my fault because I went into this story not knowing much, not knowing it was a Dracula retelling of which I've never read the original and not knowing the focus of the plot, but when I started reading it I thought I was going to get a revenge story, a kind of dark version of Rosalie's (Twilight) backstory.. that's how it began anyway and then the atmosphere and the story telling dropped.
So far in it's main focus became lust, sex, erotica.. not the gothic horror I was promised. I'm more than happy to read within the genre, too, but when I'm being told that I'm going to get something completely different.. yeah, I just wasn't into it. I also have to add that I wouldn't have cared for a sex scene or two, but it literally became THE story.
So yes, this may have been a me problem, but I've also read other reviews that have had the same experience as me and by people who have actually experienced the original Dracula.
(Thank you, netgalley, for the ARC)