I absolutely adored the characters in this book and I was gripped from the start with the story they had to tell.

My issue is down to the pacing of the book the start seemed to drag on for sometime without the sense of a plot for at least the first 40% but when the plot did grab me I couldn't stop reading.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the digital ARC!

I got about 17% of the way through this before realising I probably should have read Dracula beforehand. As you might guess, I've never read it! So the only characters I know are Dracula, Van Helsing, Mina and Jonathan Harker.

Turns out there's more! And that includes Lucy Westenra, one of our two main characters. The other is a new character, Iris Goldaming. If you've read Dracula, you'll probably recognise her surname, too.

For a large portion of this book, we follow 3 separate timelines. Lucy in 1890, which is basically Dracula but from her POV. Then Lucy in 2o24, detailing everything she's done in her life since she 'died'. The other 2024 POV is Iris, who has come to England to find anything valuable to sell from her two inherited properties in her attempt to escape her dead mother's culty business, Goldaming Life.

Some of the main themes of this book are:

Feminism - the original Lucy in Dracula is a vulnerable heiress with 3 men courting her. She ends up meeting Dracula and gets turned into a vampire, before being killed by said 3 men. She has no agency in her life in this time period, which makes sense given her status in London society. Her story afterward is her taking charge of her life and doing what she wants, when she wants. Iris is also trying to find her way, and not be ruled over by men who have nothing to do with her now her mum is dead.

Male privilege - as said before, Lucy's human life is basically for her to be a wife and mother. The men don't care about her, and the later events in this book prove that. Dracula himself is basically male privilege personified - he exists to please himself, and women are just there for him to take. They have no agency in his mind, and the idea of them turning him down is propestorous to him. It's an excellent allegory for how many men feel an ownership over women's bodies, with no regard to their personalities or thoughts. Both Dracula and Lucy's suitors do this, even though one is a literal monster and the others are humans.

Queerness - Lucy is queer, she always was and always has been. In her human life, she was in love with Mina, her governess. Part of this was her desperation to be loved, her father is gone and her mother is a hypochondriac who pretty clearly feels nothing for her. She wants to be loved. After she's turned, she explores her sexuality liberally and becomes a confident queer woman. Iris is also queer, only she's a very confident queer woman. She knows what she wants, and is pretty happy going for it. Two side characters, Rahul and Anthony, are a gay couple whilst another is trans. Vampires overall, except Dracula, are pretty much always shown as queer in some way, whether it's sapphic or asexual. Lucy comes from a time period where queerness was not accepted, whereas Iris comes from a family where it isn't accepted.

Cults - this is ironically the second book I've read from Kiersten White about a cult set in Utah. Mister Magic is also about this, but this book is obviously more vampire focused. It's kinda hilarious that this cult is just a multi-level marketing company, which is very on-brand for Utah, imo.

Overall, I found this fine to read. It wasn't ground breaking for me, and some moments felt a little too over the top (WW1 and WW2, for anyone who's read it). Given I haven't read Dracula, I feel a lot of the backstory was lost on me until I read a summary of that book. Once it got out of the shadow of Dracula, it felt like it improved a lot more.

Really enjoyed this book. Really good story really good characters. Beautifully written gothic fantasy. Really fun read

Dracula is my absolute fave book so I simply MUST read anything to do with it.

The book is fine, but the way it jumps between POVs felt a bit messy, I got confused who was talking and where I last was with said character.

Other than that, it was fine. Nothing wow but nothing awfully bad either

I didn't think I needed this reinvention of a somewhat ignored and extensively maligned literary figure. But boy was I wrong!

The multiple timelines and POVs blend seamlessly, with the beautiful touch of the letters and transcripts that add a truly personal voice to both women. Lucy through the centuries is ever changing, driven by a siren song she doesn't understand but nonetheless drives her very existence. Iris is the perfect balance to her: she knows who she is and what she wants even though the world constructed around her is contrary and dangerous. Although Dracula features in the title, this really isn't about him in the slightest. He's peripheral, a side note, a bad dream everyone wants rid of.

The "heist" aspect fit in surprisingly well, accelerating the plot to breathtaking speed and ending with a crashing of cymbals that left me feeling and completely surprised. But I was never happier to be proven wrong about how a book was going to end.

This book is a mess.

I have to admit - I didn't really like the original Dracula. I thought it was boring and didn't live up to the hype I had been given to by various people all my life. At least Carmilla's not-so-subtle queer vibes made its story ten times more interesting than what Stoker tried to replicate. I thought White's reimagining would capture my interest through taking the POV from the only other significant woman character in Dracula and making her queer.

It really didn't. If anything, I'm left simultaneously confused and underwhelmed.

First off, there is too much going on. The first half of the book was split between Lucy's diary pov (Events before(?) and during Dracula), Lucy's therapy transcript talking about her vampire years after Dracula and before this book takes place, and Iris' pov, who spends the majority of her page time complaining about her mom, digging through Lucy's old house for cash, and ogling at Elle/Lucy. The order typically went Iris - diary - transcript, but that pattern is thrown out the window whenever its convenient. Even if it stayed structured as so, it completely stopped once Lucy's backstory was complete. Then we get present timeline Iris and Lucy with random insertions of other povs scattered throughout. I bet your brain hurt reading that, because it really is as head hammering as it sounds. I honestly cannot think of a book I've read that has been this chaotically dismembered and sewn together like this. It doesn't help that it's such a slog to read through; I started skimming around 300 pages because I just wanted it to be over, already.

Outside the abysmal structure and pacing, I never found myself caring for anyone? Or anything that was happening? It really felt like White was forcing her Dracula takes down your throat, to make you believe how she interpreted the story. This was especially apparent in Iris' pov when she was reading Lucy's diary only to spout out what villains the cast of Dracula were that poor, innocent girl to Lucy's face. White left absolutely no room for interpretation for the reader. I'm sort of torn how I feel about this. From a writer's pov, I get wanting to have your readers understand your work, but the reader part of me is sputtering but speechless. The reader part is definitely winning out here.

I don't know if it's accurate to say this book was a complete waste of my time? The vampire MLM is a hilarious concept that should have worked, but it didn't because this is a retelling of a gothic classic, not a meta-comedy. That's the one that that garnered my interest throughout the second half. Otherwise, I could care less about the other stuff.

Thank you to Del Rey, NetGalley and author Kiersten White for this eARC.

I have to start this review off with a confession - I have never read the original Dracula by Bram Stoker. I bought it many moons ago, but it's kinda just been sitting on my shelf, waiting. i know, I am ashamed of myself.
This just to say, that I am judging this book solely on it's own merit and not necessarily by how good a retelling / reimagining it is.

Let’s start with Lucy’s story. I really enjoyed Lucys POV. She is a well thought out characters with good characterization. I loved to see her her character develop over the course of her afterlife and I felt absolutely drawn in by her story and just wanted the best for her. It kinda reminded me of Addie LaRue, which I loved!

The psychiatrist sessions where so, so well done too and I loved the little “breaks” they gave. The diary entries gave more insight into Lucy and her life before becoming a vampire and gave a lot of context & background to the present time story.

Which brings us to the part of the book I didn’t really enjoy all that much. The present day story - the insta-love between Lucy and Iris was just boring and the whole Vamp-Cult-Wellness-Pyramid Scheme was kinda strange. Also I just really didn’t like Iris. She was boring and also for someone who supposedly is very paranoid she trusts random strangers real quick!
3.5 stars

The premise and blurb of this story had me from the get go, however, the jumpy time frames and narratives really threw me off and I found this quite hard to read. I also really struggled to personally relate to the characters. I have no doubt that this is going to be an amazing story for so many people, it just sadly wasn’t the book for me!

I love the idea of this story, especially as I'm really into Interview With The Vampire right now, but the jarring, jumping narrative was confusing, and I really struggled to connect with the characters. I mostly ended up being a mixture of bored and confused.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me an eARC of Lucy Undying. This was my first book my Kiersten White and I'll definitely be reading more from her!

I was initially a bit confused about the time jumps between the 3 POV's, however as the story went on I was able to cement the differences in my mind and follow the story without difficulty. I enjoyed having the different perspectives, was intrigued to see how they would all come together and how it was all relevant to the story. I particularly loved the integration of the past and present Lucy; it gave such a rich depth to her character and I could really see her development. I loved the woman that Lucy becomes, how she loves herself for who she is and won't accept anything less. I think this is a lesson that we can all learn.
I really enjoyed the acts of feminism- how we see past Lucy trying to make herself small and pleasant for those around her, how the men in her life only want her for one thing and have no understanding of who she really is. There was a quote that really struck me "Dear, dear Mother, who loves like a knife, slicing me into ever smaller pieces until I’m exactly the shape that pleases her the most". I know this is about Lucy's relationship with her Mother rather than the men around her, but it feels apt; having to cut away pieces of herself to fit the needs of those around her.
So going from that to the fierce and self-assured woman she is towards the end of the book was great to read and go on that journey with her.

I really loved most of the writing in the book, there was some beautiful poetic sentences that made me feel like I was reading a classic. However, there were also some that made me cringe. I think this was more about trying to demonstrate the change in time for Lucy and as part of Iris' character. However, for me, this removed me from the story a bit, especially sentences like "my butter chicken".

I thought that the relationship between Iris and Lucy was beautiful. They had such a great dynamic between the pair of them, they played off each other well and their slow burn into romance felt really well done. I think that Iris' utter devotion to Lucy no matter what, and her ability to love Lucy for who she was, was really beautiful and I loved reading how this affected Lucy's character development.

A main negative for me was that the book felt too long. There were parts that felt like they dragged on and could have been chopped from the story. This is a small criticism though and overall I really enjoyed the book :)

I thought I might like this book because I loved Dracula and the side character this book focuses on, but I was really confused reading this. The book focuses on Lucy Westenra in an alternate version of the story where Lucy survives as a vampire after the events of Stoker’s Dracula. Lucy’s story is told to us in different parts in a nonlinear timeline in three different povs: Lucy’s diary entries as a young girl, a transcript from her conversation with a therapist in modern day, and finally a pov from the girl who gets caught up in her story, Iris. All three fell flat for me.

The diary entries were the most disappointing and pretty useless, since everything that happens in them are also told to us by either Lucy herself in the therapy sessions or Iris, who is reading the diary. Iris is not reading the diary along with the reader, which would make sense, but instead she is reading and reacting to entries that we have already read like a hundred pages ago, which got old very quickly. The diary entries are the closest to a retelling of Dracula, since it is retelling the events of that book. In White’s version, every single character except Lucy is an evil villain out to take advantage of her. This also got old quickly. We constantly get told by both Lucy and Iris how baaad these famous characters like Arthur Holmwood and Dr. Seward are, but the reader is never trusted to make their own judgement of them based on their actions. This is one of my biggest problems overall: the characters are constantly explaining the plot and the twists to the reader, leaving absolutely nothing to the imagination. The diary entries feel very modern, Lucy reads like a 21st century feminist who is trapped in the Victorian age.

The other povs aren’t much better, I didn’t like the writing style in the modern chapters at all. At least Lucy as a character is a little likeable, but I thought Iris was insufferable, she made me cringe a lot. The pacing was really off too, nothing happens for 250 pages and suddenly shits going down. You find out what happened to Iris very late in the book, which makes her motivations unclear. The book just needs editing overall, the original name Lord Goldalming is written like Goldaming in the entire book; I think this is a mistake by the author, don’t know how nobody caught this. I give it two stars for at least keeping me interested in what would happen. Thank you to Netgalley and Del Rey for providing me with the e-arc i exchange for an honest review.

Iris has a rich heritage and an abusive and corrupt family. She is desperate to escape them and the cult like business that her ancestors created.
Iris's Mother is Dead, and so Iris travels from America to the UK to sell some properties in her family name and use the funds to run away and escape from the people who worked for her abusive Mother.

But whilst in the UK she requests the help of a beautiful historian Elle to price up any items in the old properties to help fund Iris' escape.

Whilst looking through the house's belongings, Iris stumbles upon a century old journal belonging to Lucy Westenra. It tells the tragic life she is experiencing and the unrequited love she holds for another woman.

Iris after reading the journal finds herself connected to Lucy and finds their situations quite similar. But little does Iris know there is more to Lucy then she knows.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The atmosphere is so enticing. The world building interesting and captivating. The characters full rounded with so much depth and charisma you can't help but love and connect with them.

I loved this spin on one of Dracula's victims and how Kiersten brought so much life to an undead character. I really, really hope you write a sequel because I need to experience more from Lucy and Iris

I have read a lot of books by Kiersten White and loved all of them, this was no exception! Kiersten White has a very intricate yet gripping writing style that I love and find truly captivating to read.

I am a huge fan of Bram Stoker’s Dracula and it’s amazing to see another rendition of the characters and their stories. Kiersten White has given us a whole new perspective of the under appreciated Lucy and it’s such a fabulous read. I highly recommend this if you’re a fan of sapphic horror fantasy as this ticks every box!

If I could give 100 stars to the cover alone, I would.

The book, however, gets a 3.5 from me. I thought the concept was fantastic and I am glad Lucy Westerna is finally getting her flowers - she is so criminally overlooked in the original Dracula.

I found the three timelines format to be disjointed. Every time I would find myself immersed in the story, the next chapter would feel like whiplash. There was no cohesion between the three, to the point where I would have to remind myself that it’s the same character in all three. I could forgive this when the gap is over a century (the times have changed and so has our girl Lucy), however the therapy session and present day are only a month apart but she feels so completely different - none of the same quirks, mannerisms, way of speaking.

My favourite timeline was definitely Lucy’s journal in the 1800’s. The writing in these chapters was far better than the rest, like White put in more effort to create the gothic atmosphere needed here. The clash between then and present day was the worst - and I think by extension of this made Iris seem much more annoying and brash than I suspect she truly was. Iris felt gimmicky - look at this modern woman!!! She’s so zany!!! Whilst she and Lucy shared some well written, tender moments, overall the insta-love of their relationship left much to be desired.

I did really enjoy Lucy having to acknowledge her past in order to face her future, and I LOVED the inclusion of The Queen, The Doctor, and The Lover. They were fantastic! Really glad they were a part of Lucy’s story and that White explored how immortality and Dracula’s influence would affect people in different ways. The Dracula chapters were very well written, too.

Thank you to Random House UK, Cornerstone | Del Rey and NetGalley for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this retelling, reading about Lucy and how she takes back her power, and identity in this gripping romantic novel.

Iris is a force to be reckoned with in her right even before the end, I love how her and Lucy found each other despite their very different back grounds. Dracula was a waste of text, but I’m glad Lucy stood up to him finally, the predator became the prey.

Thank you Random House UK, Cornerstone and Del Rey for the ARC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The synopsis promised a 'epic, seductive gothic fantasy' and boy do I love Sapphic vampire retellings.

The breathtaking cover of Lucy Undying already set the tone for me because I don't know if I loved it or am unsettled by it.
Most of the novel felt the same as that. At certain moments I couldn't put the book down, at others the pace was so slow I had to skim read to get through the chapters. I don't honestly think the book benefited from having 3 different POV's and timelines, on top of short chapters that makes the entirety feel disjointed.

The prospect of hearing the voice of the first of Dracula's victims is what drew me in initially. We meet the titular character, Lucy Westenra and Iris Godalming, who's paths are eerily similar, both hoping to able to break free of their past and live as normal people. I loved the contrast between the characters of a newly-turned, nineteen year old Lucy penning down her diaries and the transcripts of a century old Lucy, carrying bits of all the people she met and the lessons she learned along with her., allowing her to grow close to Iris.

Overall, I feel like the book doesn't truly reach it's potential, which is a shame.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'Lucy Undying: A Dracula Novel' by Kiersten White.

"Lucy Undying" offers a fresh and captivating twist on the timeless tale of Lucy Westenra, one of Dracula's first victims. This novel, however, reimagines Lucy not as a mere footnote in Dracula's legend, but as a powerful protagonist in her own right. Rising from the grave as a vampire, Lucy embarks on an eternal journey of self-discovery and defiance against the sinister clutches of her creator.

Set in twenty-first-century London, Lucy's undead existence takes an unexpected turn when she encounters Iris, a woman equally desperate to break free from her own dark past. Iris's family empire, built on a chilling secret, reflects the novel's themes of legacy and control. The relationship between Lucy and Iris is beautifully crafted, their connection both intense and tender. It provides a poignant counterpoint to the dark forces that threaten them, including Iris's manipulative mother and the ever-present menace of Dracula himself.

"Lucy Undying" is not just a story of escape and survival, but also a poignant exploration of what it means to reclaim one's life and seek out genuine connections in a world that often seems devoid of them.

This was one of those books that I read in between other books. I wanted to put it down, but at the same time I didn't want to put it down because I felt like maybe I could find something interesting in it or that maybe the story had something hidden to show us and I was going to miss it if I stopped reading. Unfortunately, for me, it didn't and I ended up reading it just to finish it.

I couldn't connect with the story or the character, although the way it is told is interesting, yes. When I read the synopsis of Lucy Undying I thought it was a very interesting premise that I wanted to read the other version of what happened in Dracula, seeing how one of those characters that goes completely unnoticed in the original story has another weight. And while we did encounter Lucy's story, certain merdekas, and interesting character development over the years, I didn't find it interesting, intriguing, or motivated to continue with the story.

The booklet says 'epic, seductive gothic fantasy' and... I didn't find any of that. Maybe gothic fantasy yes, but well... half and half.

Anyway... it was a 'nono' for me, but I'm sure other readers may find it captivating.

Thank you Random House UK, Cornerstone | Del Rey for the ARC I read on NetGalley a change from an honest review.

“Ask me to spend my afterlife with you.”

I had the best time with these sapphic vampires! This was a beautiful blend of gothic, historical fantasy and modern day with effortless timeline transitions throughout. I fell completely in love with Lucy and I adored Iris! I think the mix of povs with the therapy transcripts and diary inserts was handled beautifully. At no point did the author get lost in the narrative and I can’t compliment that aspect highly enough.

The big reveals were rather predictable, but that didn’t diminish my enjoyment of the story. If anything it helped solidify the connections between our characters. The humour was perfect and the romance was delicious. I could have spent even longer with this pair!

I would highly recommend Lucy Undying, especially if you are a lover of historical romance with a healthy dose of sapphic vampires!

3.75 ⭐/5

As soon as I saw the cover of Lucy Undying by Kiersten White, I knew I needed this book. 👏🏻 5 stars for the cover! 🩸

🦇 The dark, gothic style had me anticipating a more mature, haunting tale. And while the book leans slightly more into the YA genre than I expected, it doesn't diminish the enjoyment of this unique twist on a familiar vampire narrative - Dracula.

♥️ At the heart of the book, Lucy is a vampire whose stubbornness and determination drive a thrilling revenge mission. Although she hasn't matured significantly, her character remains compelling. Her relentless pursuit of vengeance and her spirited nature kept me engaged from start to finish.

👎🏻 The pacing was rather slow and having multiple POVs, can be hard to juggle for some! I did find myself at times struggling to remember who was experiencing what and where one left off and the other began.

📚 What truly sets this novel apart is the romance. Sapphic vampires are definitely a vibe, and Lucy's relationship with her love interest is beautifully portrayed. There is a significant layer of emotion and depth.

The narrative structure of Lucy Undying is another highlight. The story bounces from past to present time, incorporating therapy sessions transcripts dated in the 1800s to modern-day events set in 2024, maintaining a momentum that leads to an epic finale.

Overall, Lucy Undying offers a unique take on vampire gothic lore with its intriguing characters, compelling slow romance, and creative narrative structure.

🖤 It's a book I highly recommend for those looking for their next gothic reimagining of Dracula's sapphic vampires and those who enjoy a detailed, multiple POV read.

Thank you to Kiersten/ NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC. 🦇