Publisher's Weekly Review
Anyone going into Gibson's purported retelling of Dracula expecting it to do what it says on the tin is in for a surprise; the few glancing allusions to the original are so brief as to be barely a footnote. The dark, seductive tale that Gibson (Robber Girl) delivers instead has far more in common with "Bluebeard." It takes the form of a love letter/murder confession from the heroine, Constanta, to the captivating but tyrannical unnamed vampire who turned her and made her his bride before becoming her abuser, chronicling their relationship from plague-ridden medieval Romania through a violent, whirlwind tour of Europe, to 1920s France. Along the way, Constanta's husband masterfully manipulates her into twice agreeing to expand their family, turning first Magdalena, a ruthless Spaniard, then Alexi, a boisterous Russian actor, into vampires and bringing them into their marriage bed. Passion and genuine love arise between "my lord's" three consorts, and it's Constanta's concern for Magdalena and Alexi that finally allows her to break her husband's thrall and see his strict rules and jealous rages for what they are. The result is a messy, in-depth portrait of emotional abuse that nails Constanta's complex intermingling of love, pain, fear, and anger in mesmerizing prose. Thorny, fast-paced, and unabashedly queer, this is sure to draw readers in. (Oct.)
Booklist Review
Gibson's latest horror-fantasy novel (after Robbergirl, 2019) reframes the classic Dracula tale as a survivor's narrative full of gaslighting, bloody vengeance, and emotional abuse spanning centuries. Constanta is Dracula's first wife, a peasant girl left for dead and saved through vampiric transformation. Centuries pass quickly as Constanta adapts to living on the fringes of society, preying on those who harm the weak. Dracula is often moody and violent, however, seeking to emotionally and physically exploit his wife by using his age and incredible powers to control her every thought and action. As the pair travels the known world, the cycle of abuse continues on a broader scale with the addition of two younger vampire spouses, until Dracula's iron grip forces the group to sacrifice everything to secure freedom. Gibson's lush prose will transport readers to a sumptuous and provocative world that is openly queer and unabashedly sexual, where the biggest danger is not dying from a vampire's bite but living under the relentless control of a manipulative narcissist.
Library Journal Review
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. VERDICT Perfect for readers interested in creative, gritty, and steamy horror retellings.--Jenna Harmison
