Book Review: A Dowry Of Blood by S. T. Gibson

‘A Dowry Of Blood’ by S. T. Gibson was released in 2021. It was her third book. The novel is vaguely epistolary, a long, poetic love letter to the late Count Dracula, written after his untimely demise. It explored the complex feelings of Count Dracula’s first bride, Constanta, from her first death and rebirth into vampirism in Romania, and how her immortal life was, living under his thumb.

The book is divided into three sections, which offered insights into how Constanta perceived time: her time before Magdalena joined their family, the time with Magdalena, but prior to Alexi joining their family, and the time after Alexi joined them. These reflections on Constanta’s life chronical how she and her “sisters” felt during their time being loved by Dracula, with Constanta learning with relative haste in the narrative that she was not his first wife in immortality, and his existence dated far longer than he’d previously indicated. She understands that to be loved by him isn’t as permanent as she first thought. Surviving hardship in mortal skin is a completely different battle to surviving immortality as one of his wives.

There was a lot to love about this book. For one, the prose was incredibly powerful, imbued with a strong sense of lyricism and poetry, whilst flowing together in punchy prose. I was so caught up in the story, I didn’t even notice I’d read over 100 pages in the first two hours. You end up enthralled too. It’s fantastically done.

I also loved the character of Magdalena, and how poignant it is for Dracula to literally suck the life out of her. Unlike Constanta, who he was enamoured with due to her flattery, and willingness to submit to his whims, he loved Magdalena due to their similarities. She dabbled in politics, offered advice to figures of prominence across Europe about how to prosper. She was young, wealthy, influential and intelligent. A socialite with a lot of suitors. But she was captivating, interesting, and I loved seeing the bond between Magdalena and Constanta established itself.

It begs the question: does Constanta accept Magdalena because she is in thrall of Dracula? And is that why she and Magdalena are so willing to accept Alexi, despite their reservations about his youth?

The relationship between Constanta, Magdalena and Alexi is so interesting, there’s a tenderness and tentativeness in how Magdalena and Constanta loved each other, in Dracula’s orbit. But the introduction of Alexi, a young, ambitious, angry young man threw everything into a new flow. Alexi being the catalyst that inspires change in Magdalena and her decades of depression, and the catalyst that inspires Dracula’s ire and Constanta’s revitalised sense of love was incredibly powerful. It was a coven unlike the likes of Meyer’s ‘The Twilight Saga’, which, in my opinion, gave the vampires a sense of humanity that wasn’t inherently romantic. I really enjoyed that. And I loved how the bonus chapter from Alexi’s perspective was a great glimpse into how he loved his “sisters” and would have gone with them to the ends of the earth.

I really enjoyed this book, it was a captivating, fascinating read, and the downfall of Dracula is written with so much emotion. The depth and scope of feelings depicted in those final few chapters are intense! Especially considering how fascinating the vampire lore that Constanta alludes to, (and the lore she doesn’t) is. I loved everything about how that was written! I’d certainly recommend it!