A Dowery of Blood | St Gibson

Favourite Quote: “I have one final promise to make to you, one I hope I will never break. I promise to live, richly and shamelessly and with my arms wide open to the world. ”

                                      Star rating: 5/5 Spice level: 3/10 Cover Art rating: 5/10

Synopsis;

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 realizes that her beloved is capable of terrible things. Finding comfort in the arms of her rival consorts, she begins to unravel their husband’s dark secrets. With the lives of everyone she loves on the line, Constanta will have to choose between her own freedom and her love for her husband. But bonds forged by blood can only be broken by death.

Review;

Where do I even start? I adored everything about this book. BUT let's go back to the first impression I had when i received it. This is where I am going to get picky because I don't actually have anything negative to say!!! I paid £8.99 and I was slightly disappointed by the size (only 250 pages), bearing in mind you can get 800 paged books for roughly same price! However, once I did start reading, I was still disappointed by the size but only because I didn't want it to end!

A Dowry of Blood is a a dark, gothic fantasy novel with LGBTQ+ elements. It is a beautifully written book that contradicts the expected assumption of vampirism. Throughout literature, vampires are known to be mindless creatures the moment they turn, their thirst for blood over rules everything. In some instances, they are truly hideous. Gibson gives the reader an alternative view; excitement, love and still a connection with the mortal world. The protagonist Constanta is one of three brides to a nameless fearful husband and the narrative highly implies it to be the infamous Dracula, whom in Bram Stoker's classic novel, there is reference to 3 brides. To add to this assumption, the lyrical words mirror the language used in Stoker's Dracula.

Having this in mind when reading, you get to experience the passion and the fear Dracula portrayed throughout his long life through Constanta's eyes. The brides voices & their history allows them to be more than just objects of seduction and become strong characters taking their desires into their own hands. It is so refreshing to read from a female's perspective in relation to such a classic character whom was born in a highly patriarchal society.

The narrative is set out like a memoir and the attention to detail regarding the text layout is so perfect & fitting for its aesthetic. Some pages only have a few lines of text, some are completely blank. This layout really sets the scene and I just couldn't put it down. The desire for a family and for freedom allows us to really connect on a personal level with the characters which makes the read even more personal. This style of writing and genre is not for everyone but i do know it will capture your attention if you do decide to read it!