Recent Reading: A Dowry of Blood

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My latest commute audiobook was A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson, a vampire novel that strides along at a brisk 5 hours run time. I have to admit upfront I did not have high hopes for this book. I somewhat warily added it to my TBR list, but I feared tired romantasy tropes that don't hit for me, and that the queerness which had landed it on my radar would turn out to be little more than additional titillation for a straight audience looking for a tale of decadence and indecency. I'm quite pleased to report neither of those concerns came to fruition!

 

As the title might suggest, there's a level of melodrama in this book you have to accept to enjoy the story. It reminded me in some ways of AMC's Interview with the Vampire in its shameless embrace of all those usual vampiric tropes and in the extravagances of its characters and its prose. Throughout the introduction, I was trying to decide if this was fun, or overwrought. I came down on the side of fun.

 

The story is told in the form of a memoir, narrated by Dracula's first wife, Constanta, to her husband. Dracula is never named in this story—Constanta says outright in the beginning that what the world remembers of him is now up to her, including his name, and so she never gives it—but of course, we readers know who he is (and I did laugh out loud at a reference to "all that business with the Harkers"). 

 

The beginning of the story does give off some of those romantasy vibes. Constanta is immediately drawn in by Dracula's dark beauty and power, and she's willing to submit herself entirely to be saved (he finds her dying after some form of raid on her village). She finds his possessiveness romantic, his rages and moods evidence of his wounded heart, and his controlling behavior a sign of care and love. However, based on the introduction, we know that her viewpoint changes. I don't know if I can call this book a deconstruction, but it certainly paints a grim and realistic portrait of where that type of behavior ultimately leads. Constanta's naivete is also understandable. As a young woman from rural 15^th century Romania, she does not have the background most readers have that might inform her that Dracula's behavior is concerning. Where we might expect a protagonist of our own era to have her guard up immediately over some of his statements or actions, it makes tragic, perfect sense that Constanta doesn't see the red flags.

 

Constanta is eventually joined by additional spouses of Dracula, and there is such tension and heartbreak in watching how all of them are at the start of their engagement with this dysfunctional family, and where they end up. Gibson creates such a captivating  tableau of how Dracula breaks these people down day by day until they are little more than beautiful ghosts in his shadow, dependent on him for everything, and unable to imagine a life outside of his control. 

 

On the relationship front, all four of the main cast appear to be bisexual and the story has room for their individual relationships with each other as well as with their group dynamic and their relationships with Dracula. Constanta's relationship with her sister-wife Magdalena is every bit as layered and complex (and lustful) as her relationship with Dracula, and when brother-husband Alexei enters the picture, he and Dracula have their own fraught and simmering romance. 

 

This book obviously isn't long, but it never felt short in that I felt it took just as much time as it needed to tell the story. Could it have included more details? Certainly. Did I think it lacked for not having them? No. 

 

We know, based on Constanta's introduction, the biggest story beat coming down the road, but Gibson still manages to elicit delicious tension and a rising fervor as we know we must be approaching that moment. There was something that felt, to me, so realistic in Constanta's admission that there was no one big blowout fight or dramatic moment where she realized what Dracula was doing to them was wrong, but that it just made itself apparent after centuries of racked up abuses—both towards herself and her fellow spouses.

 

The writing itself is, as noted, melodramatic, but it suits Constanta's viewpoint I think, as well as the genre. I ended up enjoying it quite a lot, and Gibson has some very Romantic turns of phrase that fit the story and its themes quite well.

 

I would so love to know what these characters get up to after the denouement, but I think the places Gibson left them make perfect sense. I was so pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this one, and very glad I gave it a chance! I really enjoyed Abby Craden's narration in the audiobook as well. Very entertaining!

Crossposted to books  and fffriday .