Holy shit. Where to start first. First, you should read this with mood music. There are a couple great Spotify playlists if you type in a Dowry of Blood, and they're already artfully created to put you in the perfect state of mind to be reading this book in. He names her Constanta after he drinks her blood, turning her into the vampires she grew up hearing only superstitious whispers of.
From there on out, they parade around the European continent, hunting and blending in the best they can in their eternal message. That is, until, they get to Spain and he introduces Constanta to Magdalena. And then to Alexi. Three of them caught in their sire's eternal grasp, for better and for worse.
They may have been saved from death itself, but there are things worse than a mortal's end. This hauntingly dark and sexy retelling of Dracula's brides is told from the perspective of Constanta as she writes her second life story to him after his death. Dracula is never referred to by name in a conscious effort on Constanta's part, only referring to him as "you" as she pours her undead heart out onto the page of what led her to the mid s, existing without him.
Gibson is a breathtakingly remarkable writer, gorgeous prose flowing from every page and truly capturing the haunting tone that covers the whole book. Love is messy and raw in its mortal form and Gibson does not shy away from the agony of immortal love. Constanta's turn from love and overwhelming devotion to Dracula to jealousy and mistrust develops beautifully in such a short book; I felt that I was putting down a book at least double its page count when I was done. And I selfishly WISH Gibson had written hundreds more pages delving into the quieter moments between Constanta and Magdalena, Alexi's backstory, what happened to all three of them after the end.
Sexuality is a nonissue in this book, all four of them taking both sexes and each other to bed with no issue. It's beyond refreshing to have an author that has the ability to shape fantasy to her will and chooses to make sexuality a byline rather than a main focus of the book. It's great polyamory representation as well, representing both the beauty and joy of having multiple partners and the distrust and jealousy that can breed from veiled communication and relationship fault lines.
