⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5 stars
A Dowry of Blood is a novel about vampires, told from the perspective of Constanta, the first bride to him.

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

Getting a gorgeous edition from Fairyloot and the story being about vampires, I was excited to start reading this book! Vampires are awesome creatures and I love reading stories about them! Having had a very busy month, this book seemed perfect to start reading on my only free day this month hahaha. I loved the book so much that I started and finished it all in that one day!

I only really knew the book was about vampires, and from the cover it seemed historical, which really got me excited to start reading this book. What really took me by surprise was the way this book was written, as if Constanta was writing a diary and we were reading her entries. It was a very intriguing way to tell her story.

The plot itself wasn’t really much as it was mostly Constanta telling how she met him and how their little family came about. The writing was very easy to follow along and you really got a feel for the characters and their lives. Sometimes it was a bit hard to pinpoint the time period the story took place in, but it wasn’t hindering for the story itself.

Constanta was a woman who became quite compliant under him, but as she wrote the story after everything happened, her true feelings were shown quite early on and how she viewed what she did all those years in ignoring the problems. I liked the way she was depicted because of this. She had grown and recognized her own faults very well, which I really liked.

The other three characters weren’t as present, but still very much their own. All were shown from Constanta’s point of view and I believe they were written as she saw them. He wasn’t really likeable and you could most of the times see his faults and problematic behavior. While Magdalena and Alexei were “rival consorts” they never felt like that, because Constanta fell in love with them and was in love with them while writing her story. I could understand the jealousy, but rivals they never seemed to me. I liked how they gravitated towards each other and how different they all were. I also liked how the romance between all was different, but not less. It made each relationship really unique in its nature.

The ending did seem a bit sudden somehow, like his demise was somehow easy and somewhat convenient. On the other hand is seemed like a perfect ending for someone like him hahaha. I also really liked how hopeful the true ending of the story was and I really hope we’ll get to see these characters again in the modern world.

Overall, it was an unexpected, amazing novel with a really intriguing writing style that sweeps you in and hold you until you’ve finished the book.