Welcome to Litsy!

A Dowry of Blood was my favorite October read, but I'll be surprised if it doesn't come down to The Stars Too Fondly and Sorcery and Small Magics for my top read of the year. Considering I've already picked one for Book Riot's Best Books of 2024 (you'll just have to wait and see which), that's probably pretty telling 😅 But you never know, there are 2 months and many good books left that could surprise me.

#BookBracket2024 @CSeydel

#WickedWhispers Day 30 prompt-blood
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs

#HauntedShelf #FrightClub team @Jadams89
#BookRecommendation

905 pts (previous) + 30 pts (current) =935 pts

One thing I will die mad about is that I had an indie 1st ed and my boyf‘s cat peed on it 😭 I did toss it and then didn‘t replace it until AFTER Gibson was trad published. My books are Hella protected now believe you me. Anyway, Constanta, marry me? Plz? Thanks.

4.5⭐️ | #horror #retelling #twowitches #hauntedshelf #cozyreads #spookoween #31by31 #readlikehellathon

In this retelling, a medieval bride of Dracula recounts her version of events leading up to her decision to kill the man she loved. It's a dark and twisted polyamorous love story, a story of abuse and survival, and a story of vampires watching the turn of centuries around them. An excellent gothic romance that has me wanting to start Gibson's Carmilla retelling ASAP.

I got this gorgeous edition from Pango and I‘m so excited!! I started this as a library read last year but didn‘t finish because life got busy smh. However, I was loving it so I will definitely read it this fall!! 🤗 #spooky #vampire #horror #coverlove #fantasy #historicalfiction #gothic #queer #lgbt #fall

Here‘s my review for a book I just finished reading.

I‘m counting it for 2 reading challenges:

Hebe | Goddess of Eternal Youth & Forgiveness: A book with an immortal character - #greekmythologychallenge

#bookspinbingo

The tagged book that I‘m listening to right now is available on Kindle Unlimited and it‘s also free on Audible right now if you want to read it. I‘m listening to it for free on Audible. I don‘t know how long it‘ll stay free on Audible because Audible tends to remove free audiobooks a lot so read it for free while you can.

I just started the tagged book. This will work for the #greekmythologychallenge prompt “A book with an immortal character”. This is a vampire book. I listened to the first chapter and I like it so far. The audiobook is only 5 hours and it‘s included on Audible for free right now with my Audible subscription. The hold list for this book at my library is 16 weeks so I might as well listen to it on Audible for free while I can.

It started really good. But i slowly kinda lost interest in it unfortunately.

#CvrWObscuredFace 🎭 #SpringSkies 🌺🌼🌸🌻🌨️☀️

#BookNerd 🤓📚💙

5/5 stars

I read this book during October #Rushathon @Andrew65
It was interesting. I liked those first pages where the character described so well her experience in turning to a vampire. We always have heard that vampires are selfish and possessive. Well, this story describes so well how they could be. But at the end it turns into a story about a dysfunctional vampire relationships🧛‍♀️🩸 😳☺️
3.5⭐️ Love that edition😍

I didn‘t plan it this way but I ended up finishing the #Scarathlon #BatBrigade Team Buddy Read on Halloween after donating blood 🤪 I enjoyed this book but felt it was too short. Soft pick for me, but I thought the audio narration was great as was the atmospheric mood of the book as a whole. #31by31 #Falling4Books #LittenListen #Rushathon #Spookoween #20in4 #FinalStretchReadathon #BookSpinBingo

252 word search words

3.5 ⭐️s
This one‘s a bit of a struggle to review. I don‘t typically give half a star, I keep my ratings pretty cut and dry. However, 3 felt much too low and 4 felt much too high. 😅 Much of this book felt like fanfiction. All of the relationships felt rushed. I understand the connection between vampires and sexuality but Constanta just falling into the nameless ones bed after he turned her seemed off. I did like the examination of how someone ⬇️

4/5 ⭐️ A haunting story of dracula's lovers. I loved the author's note at the end that even when you are in the darkness for so long & in so deep you think you'll never escape, you can still find light & keep going. She said this book was the result of her dealing with her mental illness & I definitely relate to that.

My edition also contained the short story An Encore of Roses (1.5) which feat. our trio in the future from Alexei's perspective⬇️

Sadly, this was underwhelming for me. One of those books where I wonder if I read the same thing as all these people giving it 5 stars. I loved the concept -- POV of one of Dracula's brides recounting him as an abusive spouse she eventually kills, with sapphic and polyamory representation -- but practically I found the writing cliche, the characters flat, and too much telling rather than showing. I probably should have DNFed this one 🤷‍♀️

I‘ll go first:

A Dowry of Blood with a Chainsaw

🤣🤣🤣

Telling the tale of Dracula‘s brides, one of them tells her story of his siring her & ultimately her murdering him (she reveals it up front). I don‘t care for the passive first person narration of her life; it is dull. Had the narrative been told as events occurred, it would have been exciting indeed. I was prepared to bail, or at least give it a so-so rating. But it just barely is a pick, the ending having saved it. I realized this is the tale ⬇️

My next audiobook, our #scarathlon #buddyread for #batbrigade. Yay!! @Catsandbooks

I wasn't sure what to expect from this one but I liked it a lot more than I thought. Excellent choice for the #BatBrigade #BuddyRead

Amazing artwork from here: https://www.tumblr.com/lilithsaur/650035955511721984/my-interpretation-of-the-ch...

#31by31 #spookoween
@catsandbooks @thespineview

Too bad this wasn‘t on my bucket list but I made a spoopy artichoke pasta salad for dinner. Although.. my pasta might be part vampire. 🧛🏻‍♂️ #BatBrigade #Scarathlon

I‘m a bit behind because of not feeling well so not showing my whole list to catch up on my #Scarathlon points. #BatBrigade 850 points for the week 1 game using all the vampire books I could remember. @Catsandbooks

#scarathlon week one game results, to identify books with something in common—I chose the tagged book from our two buddy reads—and came up with 91 books (910 points). I could have had many many more, but I had to stop somewhere. #batbrigade @Catsandbooks

Yay our #batbrigade buddyread is free for those folks with an Audible subscription! Yay!! #scarathlon @Catsandbooks

I haven‘t gone to bed yet so even though it‘s after midnight I‘m still counting “today” as the 5th. It‘s not the 6th until I go to bed 🤪 Anyway, the photo prompt today was #blood and I immediately thought of this book. Forever languishing on my TBR even though I‘ve heard good things! Fingers crossed I can get to it soon…

#magicalmonsters #scarathlonphotochallenge #scarathlon

I'm about halfway through and I'm really enjoying this retelling of the brides of Dracula. Great choice for a #BuddyRead!

#BatBrigade #scarathalon #31by31 #spookoween #ScarathalonPhotoChallenge prompt #blood @catsandbooks @thespineview @clwojick @staycurious

#scarathlonphotochallenge #blood #batbrigade

4✨ I ended up listening to this book in one sitting while I was cleaning the house. We have our MC talking to her maker that we know very early on is dead. Going back to the beginning of when he made her a vampire and their lives together. Continuing through the others they met along the way. He was a very controlling master, but she stayed with him for a long time. I could have done without the sex scenes, but loved everything else about it.

Such a good book. 4 stars. #buddyread #scarathlon @Catsandbooks

So beautiful and lyrical- and SO satisfying, for such a short tale. Loved it. #DumpHim

I finished A Dowry of Blood last week for book club and it was a very quick read that I ended up really enjoying!
I'm using this for a Book with Monsters, as the story is told from the POV of one of Dracula's wives. #booked2023

This coven story about Dracula's first wife, Constanza, had its moments as far as beautiful language and creepy vampire-sensual scenes, but overall I never felt particularly invested and I doubt that I'll continue with the series.

Constanta is a medieval peasant saved from death by a mysterious stranger. As she awakens to her new life she finds she is now a vampire. At first she loves her new life but as the years pass she begins to feel dissatisfied and want to leave her lover. This book was well written with a flowery prose. There wasn‘t enough action for me. It was very introspective, a character study of Constanta. Overall the book was fine but not very exciting.

You looked at me like you looked at one of your books, like you wanted to drain me of all of my knowledge before tossing me aside. 👀

I‘ve been in a big reading slump - it seems most of the books I‘ve read lately have been very meh. This book was a welcome change! Steamy and bloody and fast and all the things I needed.
See also: my little bookends keeping me company while I read 😂
#catsoflitsy

🎧 BOO! MC is turned & becomes Dracula‘s 1st wife, he quickly gets a hankering for 2 fresh sex buddies girl/boy & it‘s a free for all.

No plot other than 4 people in a very dysfunctional relationship having sex.

The mewling MC went on & on about her love for Dracula but all I saw was fear & subservience. But she loved him. 🙄

There‘s no showing of how or why this love blossomed or faded (slap was hilarious). Was she glamoured? LGBTQ+

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

I was excited to read from Dracula‘s wife‘s perspective.But it definitely didn‘t give me what I‘d hoped for. The plot was almost nonexistent and the main character that was supposed to be Dracula could have been anyone. It didn‘t have any of the same feelings that Dracula had. Don‘t get me wrong. The prose is beautiful and atmospheric. There just wasn‘t any substance behind it.

Fun Palette cleanser. As far as vampire books go, it was good.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Starting out the new year with the story of Constanta, Dracula‘s first bride. Later in the nest there is Magdalena, patterned on Maddalena de' Medici and finally Alexi, a young Russian. Dracula is an abuser, controlling every aspect of lives. Ultimately, and unsurprisingly, the three kill their sire. There‘s not much of a story here but the novel is blissfully short. There‘s a fair amount of sex; hello, vampires?!?

🌟🌟🌟A well written story of the 3 brides of Dracula as told by the first bride. The writing is atmospheric and sets the tone wonderfully. However the story is lacking on so many levels. This was reduced to romance only. It could have been epic with more story about the brides themselves. A missed opportunity.

November's adult fantasy FairyLoot arrived in November! This one is a re-telling of Dracula.

Adult FairyLoot, October 2022.

A Dowry of Blood is a Dracula retelling from the POV Of a woman. The dust jacket is nice but the hard cover alone is sleek. The stenciled edges & unique end papers are nice.

Very pretty.

ALWAYS look under the dust jacket #ADowryofBlood#Halloween2022#STGibson#Dracula

Went to Utah's 1st queer bookstore today and got these beauties! I have a thing for female-led vampire novels ever since reading Carmilla and I could NOT resist! ♥️

Under the Umbrella is my new favorite bookstore; not only is it inclusive and inviting, but it is adorable, has a fabulous selection of books, and gives back to those in our community that are often overlooked. Would highly recommend!!!

#vampire #scarathlondailyprompts #teamslaughter

Special book delivery today! ❤️🖤❤️ This was originally a self published sapphic vampire book but today is its official publication through Hachette Books! Happy book birthday! 🎉💕📚 I'm going to try and squeeze it in with the rest of the campy books I have lined up for this month! 😄 #catsoflitsy #rumpel