What a gorgeous book. I was talking to a friend about it today and said that what I like about it most (aside from the queer poly vampires, of course) was how skilled the author is at getting the reader to fall in love with each character. The use of letters/diary entries, the epistolary style, felt so intimate I almost for a moment forgot where I was, that the book was not leather-bound parchment with ink scrawled by quill but a paperback advanced reader copy. The religious imagery, the sensual language, the themes of abuse and control (thank you, btw, for the content warning at the beginning) and of the cage that immortality can be. Oh! Don't forget found family. My favorite!

Thank you for the ARC!

I cannot express how much I loved this book. It was beautiful, sad, playful, sweet and anger-inducing. I loved the polyamory representation, and loved this new perspective on a Dracula story. thank you for this

I’m not quite sure what I was expecting when I picked up this book, but it wasn’t what I got. A Dowry or Blood has been popular amongst the Bookstagram crowd for awhile now, so I thought I should probably give it a try.

The writing was beautiful. I was actually shocked by how compelling the author told the story of Constanta. There were so many empowering points, mainly the decision to not give him a name, that made me root for Constanta all the more. The author’s decision to make her religious was also interesting to me given how vampiric literature and religion have always been tied together, but—and I may be incorrect—usually in opposition rather than in cohesion.

This book is hella dark. It is not a romance at all. The publisher has used desire, obsession, and control to describe the book, and that was very accurate. The main characters’ relationships were messy and unhealthy, yet I enjoyed (not sure if that’s the right word) seeing how it all came together.

My critiques of this book were twofold: the climax was disappointing and the timing was off. From the very beginning, we learn Constanta kills him (her sire), and yet the immediate events leading up to it along with the murder we’re lacking. It just felt anticlimactic. When it comes to the timing, the author is very vague most of the time (sorry!). Every now and then we get a date, and while I don’t think dates were necessary all the time, they did need to be accurate. My main example is that at the end it’s in the mid-1900s (definitely no earlier than 1930s) but the author still talks about the setting as though it’s much less advanced, with carriages and villagers holder axes. Sure guns were also mentioned, but really, this wasn’t a primitive time.

Everything I wanted from this book and more. Perhaps the best I've read to put feelings of a polyamorous relationship into words- from the initial unresolved envy to the deep bubbling up of relentless, abundant love.

This was a beautiful twist on the typical Dracula mythos, which puts his brides as the main focus of the novel. Constanta, Magdalene and Alexei are incredibly compelling characters, and when they struggle against the controlling nature of their partner and sire, you feel for them keenly, despite the emotional distance the fantasy setting gives you.

5 out of 5 stars. I can't wait to read more from Gibson.

An interesting take on a familiar story. But I didn’t feel it was as dark or romantic as I expected it to be.