A Dowry of Blood

Gibson’s (Robbergirl) feminist restyling of Dracula (a surprise hit when it was self-published in Jan. 2021) begins with Constanta bleeding out on the ground, surrounded by the bodies of her family after the massacre of her village. Then Constanta is reborn and remade in the likeness of a powerful, mysterious stranger, and his dark appetites soon become hers as he introduces her to the world of the undead. Secrets and lies, as well as a malevolent kind of love, bind Constanta to him, but when creative, charming Alexi and intelligent Magdalena join their relationship, life as she knew it begins to unravel and she is forced to see her husband in a harsh new light. Constanta realizes that she must uncover her husband’s dark secrets that bind them all together and then decide if the cost of her freedom, along with that of Magdalena and Alexi, is worth the loss of the man they love. Constanta’s quest forces her to fight for herself and her partners and try to once again overcome the odds to survive.