A Dowry of Blood Paperback – January 1, 2021

This is a very creative way of talking about abuse and abusive relationships and from the very first page you know what you're dealing with. It's poetic, without trying to glorify horrible behaviors, and it's straightforward without diminishing the reality of the topic either. It is just told.. as it is.It's a story about survival, self love, family and that internal battle between what you think is normal and okay in a relationship and realizing you deserve better and fighting for it. It is told from the the survivor's pov addressing their abuser directly, uncovering and confronting all the subtle ways they've been abused and neglected and how they finally manage to see and live with that reality.I devoured this book in a day! - I kept waiting for them to reach their breaking point and taking action and when you get to that point... it is absolutely glorious! It is a very real and current story, told through the eyes of a hundreds year old vampire, with blood and gore and tears. You can't help but empathize with them and cheer them on throughout their journey and celebrate the end.Cannot recommend it enough.

Constanta's story is not new, but it is unique. Swept away by a dark and handsome stranger, she finds herself completely dependent upon him for survival. While he offers her physical intimacy, and is initially warm and loving, the situation subtly shifts. He keeps her comfortable, but becomes gradually more distant and cold. He experiments in secret, allegedly trying to catalogue the differences between vampires and humans. He mocks Constanta for her attempt to only target miscreants for her necessary feedings. He isolates her, tossing her crumbs of tenderness for good behavior, and meting out rage and cruelty for any perceived deviation from what is sanctioned by him. He lures others into their lives, unbeknownst to her, only to repeat the same vicious cycle with his new "pets". Constanta suffers these violations, afraid to defy their dark master. Pushed to act, or face annihilation, Constanta and her siblings do the unthinkable. This was better than I thought it would be, dragging me through the darkness, to a hopeful end.

I bought this for a family member one Christmas since she loves to read and it was recommended for her genre preference. I don't think she finished the book completely, (maybe 70% of it?) as she complained the narration, (or writing style), was a bit confusing for her. She also mentioned the story skips over important details/leaves them out and jumps scenes too many times. She recommended it 3-stars as there were some good portions of the book and it doesn't deserve less than 3 stars.

I felt every emotion with the FMC lust, betrayal, excitement, lies, love, joy, and relief. I went in blind and I'm so glad I did! This book was incredible. At first, I really did feel betrayed and almost wanted to dnf this book because it wasn't what I presumed, but WOW! That was a perfect balance of ever emotion, and I loved the ending.

A dark romance with actual twisted romance and a little steam. I liked the plot narration by Constanta. The last chapter being narrated by Alexi was a little jarring but not unpleasant.

It’s so good and it’s such a good vampire book that doesn’t kill off the main character with a stupid death scene like in most books.also lgbtq plus friendly.

This creation of a story takes you on an intrinsic journey through toxicity, love, and rebirth.In some ways their stories were beautiful and alluring, while in other ways haunting. A perfect ode to gothic horror. I think this’ll be a gothic tale that exposes the rawness of love and devotion in a very dark, emotional way.Stunning work on the characters, their expressions, the motifs and the elements of sexuality. Definitely a great read!

Ok sooooo this book was all over my tiktok, so I had to read it. I enjoyed it somewhat, but omg, so not my thing. If ur into orgys and stuff, then this is definitely the book for you, lol. I found myself frowning as I was reading because I found some of the content a little gross, lol. But, did I have to finish it? YES!!!!!! I did not care for the audible version of this book. It's just not my cup of tea. I believe the writing is good. The story was good, and it is a quick read.