I'm so happy this book got to be traditionally published so more people can discover it! It's one of my favourite books ever and I'm so excited to receive the new edition and to reread it.

Here's my original review from December 2020:

I saw one (1) tweet about this book talking about vampires, an all bi cast, sapphic longing, & a polyamorous relationship, and I was sold. We all know I have a soft spot for vampires and gay girls, so I had to get my hands on this book.

A Dowry of Blood is written in the point of view of one of Dracula's brides, Constanta. It's an open letter from her to Dracula, telling him about her feelings, about the way she experiences her life with him, about her relationship both with him and with the other brides, about her love, her jealousy, her fear, her doubts.
The writing is beautiful, it reminded me of Deathless in so many ways. And any book that reminds me of Deathless is an absolute wonderful book. I've highlighted so many gorgeous quotes.
I fell in love just as Constanta did, with Magdalena, with Alexi, with Dracula even. I fell in love with their family, their relationships, their love. It's a book about love, but also about power, and violence, and abuse, and freedom. It's a journey, from loosing yourself to finding yourself again, finding out who you are and what you want and need.

As soon as I had finished this book I preordered a physical copy (update: this was a copy from Nyx Publishing, since then I also preordered another physical copy of the new Orbit edition because I love this book so much), and I know I'm definitely going to reread it, that's how much I loved this book.

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest and fair review.

"A lyrical and dreamy reimagining of Dracula’s brides", YES YES YES. Check trigger warnings before reading.

Constanta was his first bride. Costanta was the name he gave her when he gave her a new life. She only felt devotion and love for him for a very long time and she felt loved by him, until he chose a new bride to add to their family, Magdalena. Costanta was jealous, yet she fell for her even if she didn't want to admit it at first. They spent many centuries together until, again, he decided to make Alexi join them and become his husband. However, once Alexi became one of them, everything started to slowly fall apart.

This book is so beautiful, evocative and haunting. It's written as a diary/letter addressed to "him" and it's written in first person by Constanta, our main character and narrator. She never gives her husband a name, but we can guess he might be Dracula or a vampire just like him. The writing style is so fascinating and captivating I couldn't put the book down. I really felt the emotions and the thoughts Constanta poured in the words she wrote for him. To me, Constanta wanted to tell him what she actually perceived and felt everything that had happened to her and around her and explain why she felt the need to do what she did to you.
I loved her, Magdalena and little Alexi. These characters were so full of life, feelings and independence and he tried to take them all away from them. All this while Constante acted motherly toward Magdalena and especially Alexi to protect them from him. Everything she did was for them. Furthermore, I really loved how Alexi called her Constance as a nickname and how he felt protected with her and in her arms.
Sometimes I felt the story was becoming slightly repetitive and all of a sudden it almost became way too fast-paced, while I actually wanted to savour it some more, especially at the end.

TWs: blood, sa, abuse, gaslighting, self harm, depression, violence, murder, physical/verbal/emotional partner abuse, etc.

"It was never my intention to murder you. Not in the beginning, anyway."

My rating: 4!

A Dowry of Blood is honestly a work of art. I loved this book so much when I read it for the first last year, and that love didn't fade in the reread. The writing is lush and descriptive, so atmospheric and beautiful. My favorite characters were Constanta and Magda, although I adored Alexi too. It's a dark read, with some trigger warnings, but ultimately its quite powerful. I love how the characters grow and gain strength. Definitely one of my favorite books ever.