A Dowry of Blood

By: S.T. Gibson

Narrated by: Abby Craden

A lyrical and dreamy reimagining of Dracula's brides, A Dowry of Blood is a story of desire, obsession, and emancipation.

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.

Contains mature themes.

©2021 S. T. Gibson (P)2021 Tantor

A New Favorite

Absolutely incredible from start to finish. I couldn't stop listening. This book encapsulates the pain of surrendering to a toxic, all-consuming, poisonous love so thoroughly, and the recovery from such a love. I adored Constanta from the start, warmed to Magdalena as quickly as she did, and immediately fell in love with Alexei as they both did. The characters are so well-written and compelling, and you can feel the forcefulness with which their husband keeps an iron grip on their lives from their beginnings to his end. The entire book is wonderfully narrated and the narrator does an excellent job conveying the emotions of each scene. Overall, an incredible read.

Victim of the Hype Train

It was an interesting change in perspectives to see a classic vampire story from a bride's perspective, but I expected a lot more insight. I think with a longer book we could have gotten more into her head. There has been so much hype surrounding this, I expected it to blow me away but still an enjoyable read.

Two thumbs up

The narrator captivated me from the first sound! What a wonderful book! An unconventional love story.

Given the hype, I was underwhelmed

I am only halfway through March, but so far, March 2023 is the Month of the Duds. Dowry of Blood was not a bad book. It is fast-paced, gothic, and the prose has a lyrical quality to it. The novel's brevity, however, was also its downfall. While I appreciate that Dowry of Blood did not overstay its welcome, it was so short and moved so quickly through centuries that I never got a chance to get attached to any of the story's settings or, more importantly, its characters.

Also, Dear Authors, I am so tired of stories being told from the point of view of weak and not terribly interesting women. I know people like this exist in the real world, but it is not an interesting perspective to follow. Dowry of Blood would have been much more interesting if told from the point of view of the cleverer of the three brides: Magdelena.

There is a sequel to Dowry of Blood, but I am honestly not interested in it.

Wow

Heartbreaking and deeply enamoring, this book is one of the best of the year for me. The only reason I docked a star is because of the ick I got about the 18 year old heavily featured in the story and how they kept describing him as so young and so childlike, but still doing… things with him. Overall this is a very dark story with a hopeful ending and I very much enjoyed every moment of it.