Unreliable Narrator: The book is written as a letter that Constanta is writing to her husband, Dracula. The unreliability comes from the fact that she tries to paint him as far more benevolent than he actually is, only to slowly start to discover that he's a depraved monster and sociopath underneath the kind facade he gives out. Really 700 Years Old: Dracula looks like a handsome, romanesque young man, but in reality he's over a thousand years old as vampires can only gain the ability to sire others into other vampires after they reach that age.

Letters are often written by those hurt in a relationship. This is a story that starts out romantic and transforms into something else. Like the beginning of a lot of relationships, secrets unfold and behaviors reveal themselves. Many that have been through hurt write a letter we don’t intend to send so we may go through all our feelings. We are delighted to announce that we’ve acquired S. T. Gibson’s A Dowry of Blood, a deliciously dark retelling of Dracula; a story of desire, obsession and the lengths to which we’ll go to protect the ones we love. It was previously published by independent press Nyx Publishing and has already established a dedicated fan base; Orbit plans to build on the novel’s cult success and break it out to a wide commercial fiction readership. With the lives of everyone she loves on the line, Constanta will have to choose between her own freedom and her love for her husband. But bonds forged by blood can only be broken by death. This is my last love letter to you, though some would call it a confession. I suppose both are a sort of gentle violence, putting down in ink what scorches the air when spoken aloud.

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A Dowry of Blood is a sumptuous novel by S. T. Gibson, who asks us to raise an intoxicating glass to the vampire’s carnal nature and drink deep. Though it implies that that most famous vampire, Dracula, is one of its central cast, the true protagonist is Constanta, his vampire offspring and bride. Bram Stoker’s Dracula featured three such brides, nameless seductresses to terrify his Victorian audience; Gibson gives these brides voices and histories, turning them from objects of desire to characters with wills and desires of their own. He opened his mouth to shout. I wrapped my fingers around his upper and lower sets of teeth and wrenched his jaw apart before he had the chance. Evil Genius: Dracula is fascinated with learning more about not just his own vampirism but human intellect. He has, over his long immortal life, carefully sought to learn and improve as much as he can and now is a genuine genius. He intentionally surrounds himself with intellectual minds in a search for more and more knowledge.

I’m not only talking about the incestuous undertones of calling lovers “sister” and “father” and so on. This book is also about power dynamics and abuse of those dynamics. The unnamed “father” wields his power with a veneer of elegance, but he’s really a common variety opportunist and manipulator. “We feast on the ruins of empire,” he declares with a grand flourish, forgetting that it makes him a scavenger, not a sovereign.Stand up, my dark miracle," you said, pulling yourself to your feet and holding your hand out to me. "Come and face the night." I received a copy of A Dowry of Blood from Nyx Publishing. This does not change my opinion of the book. A dizzying nightmare of a romance that will leave you aching, angry and ultimately hopeful’ Hannah Whitten, author of For the Wolf Crazy Jealous Guy: Dracula is very possessive of his harem despite the seemingly nice demeanor he initially gives off. This is because he views them less as people and more as possessions and has even gotten rid of any brides who he believes have outlived their usefulness. He explodes into violent tempers if he even thinks his harem have affection for anyone else. A thrilling and seductive Gothic rife with spine-tingling tension and dark romance. A Dowry of Blood left me breathless’Alexis Henderson, author of The Year of the Witching

A dark seductive tale. . . intermingling love, pain, fear and anger in mesmerizing prose’ Publishers Weekly

God," I rasped, coughing up bubbles of blood. Tears sprang to my eyes, half horror, half reverence. I hardly knew who I was talking to. "God, help me." Part love letter and part confession, A Dowry of Blood is an epistolary written by Dracula’s longest bride Constanta detailing her long life and relationship with him. Every detail that led to his murder; every detail that ever slowly pulled the wool from her eyes to show her the truth. An Eastern European peasant named Constanta finds herself dying and is sired and turned into a bride by Count Dracula himself. Dracula later adds two others to his harem, with Constanta realising that Dracula is far more vicious and evil than she's been led to believe. I had so many names for you in those days, my cup of devotion overflowing with titles worthy of your station. I used your name, too, the one your mother had given you, but only in our most intimate moments. When I comforted you during your rare displays of weakness or made a vow to you as a woman, as a wife. A Dowry of Blood is a glittering tale of obsession, seduction and power as told through the letters of Dracula’s first bride, Constanta.

Dracula: Dracula is the main antagonist of the book. He's depicted as thousands of years old and a brutal, if philosophical, monster who loves killing as well as seeking more and more knowledge. He also charms his lovers (of both genders) before he slaughters them. Atmospheric and lush. . . it will haunt you in the best possible way’Genevieve Gornichec, author of Th e Witch’s Heart But you found me alone, my lord. Beaten down to a shadow of my former self and very near death. It was as though fate had laid me out for you, an irresistible banquet. Revival" in The Fiends in the Furrows: An Anthology of Folk Horror edited by David T. Neal and Christine M. Scott (Nosetouch Press)You came to me when the killing was done, while my last breaths rattled through failing lungs. The drunken singing of the raiders wafted towards me on the breeze as I lay in the blood-streaked mud, too agonized to cry out for help. My throat was hoarse from smoke and screaming, and my body was a tender mass of bruises and shattered bones. I had never felt pain like that in my life, and never would again. Grudgingly, I parted my lips and took your blood into my mouth like mother's milk. If this was to be my only wretched salvation, so be it. You taught us to never feel guilty, to revel when the world demands mourning. So we, your brides, will toast to your memory and drink deep of your legacy, taking our strength from the love we shared with you. We will not bend to despair, not even as the future stretches out hungry and unknown before us. And I, for my part, will keep a record. Not for you, or for any audience, but to quiet my own mind.