On the very same day that they are due to learn their fate in life, twin sisters Lil and Kizzy are captured and enslaved by the boyar’s men, while their family and traveller community are slaughtered. Forced to work as slaves in the castle kitchens, the girls soon learn about the Dragon, a wicked and terrifying figure of legend who leaves the local lands untouched in exchange for certain gifts…

The Deathless Girls is essentially a re-telling/origin story of the Brides of Dracula. The plot is simple but well developed and filled with spooky vibes throughout, though it did feel quite short. I enjoyed Lil and Mira, but Kizzy felt a little one dimensional and unlikeable to me. As the story’s main focus is on the sisterly relationship between Lil and Kizzy, I think she could have used more substance and depth as a character.

However, my biggest complaint is that there weren’t nearly enough vampires. The majority of the story takes place during the girls’ time working in the boyar’s kitchen, which was fine, but I selected this as one of my Halloween reads and really just wanted more blood and gore.

I generally love everything that Kiran Millwood Hargrave writes - but sadly this one just didn't live up to expectations. While it was also YA and not adult, like her other books, I feel like it could have also been marketed a lot better, as it was not what I was expecting at all.

This was definitely not what I was expecting, and I think that took away from the experience a little bit. But regardless of that, the writing was beautiful, lyrical and atmospheric, and the twists and the ending were engaging and exciting. I also loved how dark this was (though, because I'm a psycho, I always wish that it was darker!) It was overall very good.

This is one of those marmite books that readers will either love or hate. I absolutely loved it, especially the lyrical prose and the cleverly crafted plot that reimagines the Brides of Dracula.

I really found it difficult to connect to the characters, somehow there wasn't enough to tether me to them. The pacing was way off and to be fair quite boring. I feel like I've been promised vampires and Dracula vibes with this brilliant setting, but didn't get any of that and I acutely felt the disappointment.

A wonderfully dark tale of the origin of two of Dracula’s brides and how, from their humble beginnings as nature-dwelling, folklore-believing twin Travellers they became Vampyre.
A great tale that will be devoured by anyone who loves fierce females, Travellers, vampires or who just enjoys a rollicking good read. Great stuff.

3.5 Stars

Basically for me this just needed to be longer. The beginning was so strong, Lil and Kizzy were super vibrant and compelling characters, the writing was beautiful and there was so much emotion. The ending was also great - chilling and dark and depressing, but powerful. It was the middle which was the problem - I felt like Lil and Mira's relationship was really rushed, which was a shame. I also feel like characters like Fen and Kem could have got a bit more screentime, and it does take us a rather long while to get to the strigoi and vampires, who are suitably creepy and gothic when they do finally appear.

So yes, mixed feelings about this one! Still worth a read though, and definitely feels like a proper Dracula spin off.

You see so many Dracula films over the years and the wives make snippet views.
This mesmerising story of Dracula’s wives is written so well that you are drawn in from the start.
I really enjoyed this book and would recommend this book is a must read.

I'm not sure if I liked this one or not. I'm not sure what I was expecting going into this. The writing was beautifully bleak and atmospheric but I didn't find myself invested in the characters much. While I could sympathise with the dreadful circumstances the girls found themselves in and shudder at how horrible it must have been, I think I was hoping for more of a Dracula themed novel, there were hints dropped throughout and it became more and more clear where the Dracula connection came in, it was only really at the end of the novel anything resembling vampires popped up. It was okay, just something missing for me.

I didn't really like this book? I thought the writing was really good but the overall story just didn't captivate me at all unfortunately

I went into this book not expecting to enjoy it, for the purpose of trying something entirely new. That turned out to be the best decision, I couldn't put this book down.

I've never read traditional vampire fiction, not even Dracula, or seen any of the countless movies, so I went into this book somewhat blind. I think that actually enhanced my experience because I wasn't familiar with any of the tropes, everything was new for me and unpredictable. Because of that, I couldn't stop reading this without having my questions answered, I haven't been so enthralled in a long time.

I spent weeks after finishing this book telling all the book lovers I know that they HAD to read it.

The Deathless Girls is Kiran Millwood Hargrave’s first YA novel, and unfortunately it makes me wish that she’d stuck to writing middle-grade.

Marketed as the story behind the brides of Dracula, I didn’t think there was any possible way for this book to disappoint me, which makes this review even more painful to write. The Dragon doesn’t even appear until the last quarter of the novel, making the vampire content minimal, something which I’ve noticed in reviews that people either love or hate. If you go into this book knowing that it’s supposed to be focused on the brides of Dracula then you end up disappointed, but if you’re reading this expecting a tale of a young traveller girl fighting for her freedom then you get a wonderful twist when sudden vampires appear!

The first few chapters of The Deathless Girls are gripping. The day before Lil and Kizzy’s seventeeth birthday their traveller community is raided, their mother and all of the adults murdered while the children and teenagers are taken into slavery. It’s heart-wrenching stuff and makes for a very difficult read, but the rest of the novel is uneventful in comparison. I had expected The Deathless Girls to be a difficult read, but considering how long Lil and Kizzy are in slavery – and how dreadful the slaves seem to be treated prior to their arrival – they get off very lightly, which doesn’t seem authentic.

The relationship between Kizzy and Lil is well-crafted, but at times it verges on annoying. Lil constantly wishes she were more like Kizzy and could stand up to the people who are oppressing them, but although she repeats this sentiment multiple times she doesn’t really act upon it until she has no other choice. Her character development is realistic, as she is forced to murder a guard who attempts to sexually assault her and she finds it hard to accept the choice that she made, but from the beginning to the end of The Deathless Girls Lil hardly changes at all. By the time the book finishes she is an avenger, determined to kill as many of the wrong-doers of Romania as she can, but she still lets Kizzy make the choices and follows in her footsteps.

This is a f/f story, as Lil falls in love with a Settled girl called Mira, another slave in the Boyar Valcar’s castle. However, their relationship is only very lightly explored, going from longing glances to stolen kisses without any real discussion between them. Considering the relationship between Lil and Kizzy is so fleshed out, it’s a shame that Millwood Hargrave didn’t dedicate more time to making us care about the romance aspect of this novel.

The ‘Aftermath’ is where the focus of the story should have been, as in the last couple of pages Lil is turned into a vampyr and quickly sums up centuries of her life with a few brief chapters. If the story told in The Deathless Girls had been part one of a duology, or had been trimmed down so it was the first half of this story, it would have been better: as it was it felt as though the story had finally started and was over as quickly as it begun.

I’ve seen a few reviews which have mentioned that the Romani representation in this is not up to scratch, but as I don’t have a Romani background this is something I don’t feel qualified to comment on.

Unfortunately I didn't enjoy this as much as I expected. I really enjoyed the writing style, but the plot wasn't well-paced and the characterisation was lacklustre. Not really the Dracula's Brides retelling that it's badged as.

Please note that this book is not for me - I have read the book, However I had to DNF and because i do not like to give negative reviews I will not review this book fully - there is no specific reason for not liking this book. I found it a struggle to read and did not enjoy trying to force myself to read this book.

Apologies for any inconvenience caused and thank you for the opportunity to read this book

I can’t review/rate this fairly as I didn’t complete it. It wasn’t bad at all but just not for me. I know the sort of audience I’ll recommend this to though for sure!

Leaves some questions unanswered but adds intriguing perspective to the Dracula myth.

Dracula. The most famous vampire story in literature, the father of them all. It's been adapted to death (pun intended), in books and films. For this Young Adult take, the narrative shifts from the vampires and vampire hunters to two sisters destined to background characters in the undead story in the future.

Lil and Kizzy are twins and part of a close-knit traveller group, about to be told their destinies on their 17th birthdays, when their community is attacked and the young members carried off by men working for Boyer Valcar. Suddenly they are slaves. Lil goes quietly, while Kizzy makes herself visible by fighting their captors.
"...'you are making it easy for them,' spat Kizzy. 'You are being so obedient, they will see you as a slave, as nothing.'"

And so the twins' temperaments are set and the tone is set for the plot, with two clashing personalities each trying to keep the sisters alive ("All my life I saw my inaction as harmless. I was happy to stand by while Kizzy made decisions, while she ran toward danger or threat, answered back to insults."). Which approach will work?

We know as readers that the story must send the sisters towards the 'Dracula' character. We know where the story must end, and the plot takes several turns for the sisters to finally arrive at a position where the two stories can cross (again, pun intended).

It's a dark tale, very evocative of the period and the location. The threat feels quite real, it's a lawless and menacing setting, and Lil as narrator watching over her sister as she blazes her way to the centre of the action.

I was a little disappointed not to have more detail of 'the Dragon', but the build-up does give a wonderful feel for the world surrounding him and the people who would have heard of him and built up the myth. Great idea, and beautifully dark and exciting for the target readership.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing an advance reading copy.

Really enjoyed this one! It gripped me from the beginning and kept me enthralled throughout. I loved the character of Lil and that the story was told through her POV.

I adore anything supernatural, in particular, Vampires. My all-time favourite classic is Dracula, so as you can imagine this book was PERFECTION.
This book was described to me as Gothic, Feminist and Romantic and it was that and so much more. The prose was lyrical, the settings were lush and everything had me sucked in. I shall be buying the paperback, I already have bought the hardback, I mean look at this book. It is beautiful inside and out. Miss Hargrave is so talented, I can't wait to read more from her. I already have a copy of her debut adult novel 'The Mercies', to read and I can't wait to start that one.

I enjoyed this a lot - so intriguing to get the 'brides' stories. This was a beautifully told, richly imagined story, which gave them their own story and full agency in a way I never thought possible. I loved the fact that, even though I knew where we were going to end up, that inevitability never lessened the tension or reduced my desire to read on and see what was coming next. At times heartbreaking and often nerve-racking, I would fully recommend this to anyone even vaguely curious about it - definitely worth your time.

When I first heard that Kiran Millwood Hargrave’s YA debut would be based on the Brides of Dracula I was desperate to get my hands on a copy of this book. I love Dracula and all things related, and his brides are characters are definitely characters I would love to see more of. The story follows twin sisters Lil and Kizzy as their lives are ripped away from them and they become slaves of the vicious Boyar Valcar. As the harsh reality of their new life sets in they hear about the infamous Dragon, a bloodthirsty ruler who takes girls as gifts. When Kizzy is taken to the Dragon, Lil along with the help of her new friend Mira, must fight to save her sister.

The Deathless Girls is a really beautiful and engaging take on the Brides of Dracula. It’s a compelling tale and I found it so easy to fall into this story of evil rulers and bloodthirsty monsters. I had sort of expected this story to be about the lives of the vampires, but instead it is focused on the story that leads to them becoming the deathless girls. It wasn’t quite what I had thought it was going to be, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Hargrave’s writing is incredibly beautiful and I’ve really enjoyed every book of hers I’ve read previously – The Deathless Girls is no exception. It’s a cleverly plotted tale and I really liked going on this adventure with the characters. I similarly thought the characters were really interesting and complex – Kizzy is the beautiful one is often in the limelight, with Lil being in her shadow. I liked seeing the dynamics between the two sisters and watching them grow as characters as they race to the Dragon’s castle.

I’m not particularly a big romance person but I really enjoyed the romance in this story. I thought it was really well executed – the tentative, nervous beginning of the relationship to something much stronger. The Deathless Girls has some dark themes and also explores quite a wide range of topics. It’s a clever and intense story, one I think a lot of readers will really fall in love with. If you’ve read Hargrave’s other works too I think you’re definitely going to want to pick this one up.