A review by kat_twn
A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson

2.0

Based on the other reviews I had expected this book to turn my world upside down, it did not. The writing itself is incredibly beautiful, the author definitely knows how to charm words to create a richly coloured scene. However, the characterisation and plot of the story are where it was entirely lacking for me. In the story we follow the perspective of Constanta who we follow for hundreds of years - yet it is only about 75% of the way through the book where any part of her character changes at all! I felt like I was not given enough reason in the slightest to root for her character other than her caring for others. There was huge dissonance in Magdalena's character. She is apparently one of the smartest people alive with a political mind that plays with world politics like a lyre and yet she lives with a narcissistic manipulative abuser for centuries without ever making a fuss or attempting to escape at all. The only person who tried to truly speak against their abuser was Alexi - and that was only at the very end of the book, (I recognise that this sounds rather rude but it is also my honest experience and the energy I felt from the book and the words written in comparison to the rest of the book) by the time he arrived to the story I felt as though the author had given up on it and was slurring it along in order to finish it fast enough. If you read through the passage when Constanta meets Magdalena versus the one where she meets Alexi, this difference is palpable. The attention to detail in the explanations and emotions experienced throughout the scene, they are a world apart. Honestly, I was sad about it because I was so excited to see the meeting with Alexi after how richly written the one with Magdalena was. Anyway obviously this is all entirely subjective, but I suppose I have no patience for narcissism so to see three powerful vampires put up with it for centuries made me bored and feel as though they had no autonomy (because they weren't fully realised characters!!!) I wish more attention had been put into each character's growth and their time and experiences together that didn't revolve around the other guy being an absolute dick.