A Dowry of Blood - Gatti Ninja

Hardcover, 292 pages

English language

Published Oct. 4, 2022 by Redhook.

ISBN:: 978-0-316-50107-1

(1 review)

This is my last love letter to you, though some would call it a confession. . .

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.

6 editions

Katherine Villyard reviewed A Dowry of Blood by S. T. Gibson

None

3 stars

I know I wrote a review!

So, I love epistolary novels, and do appreciate An Attempt To Be Art, so stylistically I’m down for this! I also enjoyed the historical periods, and the casual reference to “the Harkers.” Also, I do like the concept.

But psychologically…

1. Too much insta-love. Honestly, it’s off-putting.
2. As someone whose parents are both dead, I would have expected more grieving from Constanta.

The emotion Constanta is feeling when Dracula rescues her and enables her to take her revenge? That’s gratitude, or should be, rather than love. Am I supposed to read this as Dracula’s gaslighting? He’s manipulative enough, but I expect more self-awareness because this isn’t written in the moment, but after she’s murdered him.