The Brides by Charlotte Cross is a mysterious, enthralling retelling-of-sorts of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. But instead of focusing on the events of the well-known classic novel, Cross’ novel takes an interest in the titular brides of the vampire count and how they came to be the figures from the original story.

To be quite frank, I did not read the whole synopsis before going into the book. I just saw it was sapphic and gothic, which is exactly my vibe, so I decided I had to read it based on that. Flash forward, I was texting my best friend in excitement about the book being a Dracula-retelling at midnight (the perfect time to read it). Truly, I’m always down for a female-centric retelling of a classic (bonus points for being sapphic!).

However, The Brides was not simply a fun read to me. It is also an interesting portrayal of trauma and its effects on a person. The novel considers how trauma is formed and how the memories of those experiences may be triggered again after becoming dormant. Additionally, there are beautiful portrayals of different kinds of love—romantic, familiar, platonic, everything in between. And to feature a sapphic love story at the center feels very fitting, considering how interlinked queerness and vampires have been in literature and other forms of media.

Overall, a very enjoyable to read I am excited to hit the shelves next year.

Thank you, Pan Macmillan | Tor Nightfire & NetGalley, for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions and views expressed are my own.

THE BRIDES 🖤

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis:
1884. When Mafalda journeys to Budapest to care for her grieving aunt, her secret love, Lucy, hurries from London to comfort her, with chaperone and lady’s maid in tow.

But lady’s maid Alice, blessed and cursed with the Sight, is tormented by terrifying visions. When chaperone Eliza falls prey to a disturbing wasting illness, the women hope to seek the healing waters of Transylvania. At a nobleman’s invitation, they set out for Castle Dracula.

Review:
Wow. Wow. Wow. This is truly the most wonderful retelling of Dracula that I’ve ever read. I’m a huge fan of Dracula by Bram Stoker, and this book gives the exact same feel as the original. The gothic imagery, the characters, and the diary/letter entry style just blew me away.

This isn’t an action packed book. This is slow, but evenly paced. It really sets the scene for the latter part of the book wonderfully. It slowly fills you with dread over time, just as original Dracula does.

An absolutely amazing book that will be perfect for lovers of Dracula and slow, gothic, dread-inducing tales! 🩸🥀

A huge thank you to the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this wonderful book before its release!

This will be perfect for you if you enjoy:

🏠 Diary and letter entries
🖤 Female vampires
🔪 Gothic horror
☕️ Multiple POVs

🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

This was a wonderfully atmospheric and gothic read, perfect for this time of year.

I really enjoyed the this take on Dracula and spinning it so it was from the Brides POV. I loved A Dowry of Blood and have been searching for something that gives me similar feelings and this is definitely that!

I was so swept away in the world and the writing and I've been telling the girls in my book club to keep an eye out for it when it comes out!

A delightful, lush Dracula prequel told through letters and diary entries.

We have diary entries and letters from Lucy North in 1884 as well as letters from her accompanying servant who has visions.

In the present timeline, we have Sir John Seward’s personal diary from 1903 in Littlemore Hospital, Oxfordshire. Yes, the Dr. Seward from the original Dracula. This is him practising after the defeat of Dracula tending to a new patient with a strange case.

Lucy has a sapphic friends-to-lovers thread that is devastating. Not only was homosexuality not recognised during this time period, they were also unknowingly facing evil.

You start off unsure how everything will connect. Just a bunch of characters writing down their thoughts with a few editor’s notes within the text which only adds more mystery.
If you are more familiar with Dracula, I think this will come together more quickly for you.

This has great reflections on independence, reliance, gender roles and societal conformity.

<b>‘They have no idea how to deal with any emotion that is not anger, so they treat a sensibility like a deep universal truth rather the nonsense it is. A man having an emotion is the most important occurrence in the history of the world, and everyone else be damned!’</b>

This was very reminiscent to Dowry of Blood and it is clear Cross is aware of the many different vampire retellings alongside the original texts. This is both classical and unique. Exactly what you want from a retelling.

A great debut even if I did sometimes struggle with the formatting of how the plot was relayed.

Physical arc gifted by Tor Books.

The Brides is a haunting, female centred reimagining of one of the worlds most enduring vampire myths. Told through an epistolary structure of letters, diary entries, and psychiatric reports, it gives voice to figures long relegated to the margins. Dracula’s brides.

Rather than rehashing old ground, the book focuses on how these women came to the castle and what lingers after. It’s a slow burn exploration of female autonomy, sapphic desire, and the lasting effects of trauma, where memory and longing are as potent as blood. Dracula remains mostly unseen, yet his presence permeates every page as an ever looming force and threat.

Atmospheric, deliberate, and richly gothic, this is a perfect read for anyone drawn to vampire lore, epistolary storytelling, and narratives that reclaim power for women who were once only footnotes.