This was a beautiful book. I adored it from the very first page. It was so close to being a five star read for me and would have been, but I felt that the ending was a little too easy. It didn’t live up to the rest of the book.

It was a good adaptation as well. I can even forgive it for what it did to my beloved Mina, who is my favourite character in Dracula, because of the strength and beauty it gave to Lucy, who was foully mistreated by the original text. Lucy in this book is glorious. It takes her story and it adds more depth to it and it makes her more than just Dracula’s victim.

I really liked how this book was almost a love letter to abuse survivors. It took a bunch of women who had been through so much and gave them the agency and the strength to fight back. It was really a beautiful story.

As I said, I was only let down a little bit by the ending. Other than that this book is well worth the read!

Lucy Westenra has always been one of my favourite fictional characters of all time ever since I read Dracula when I was 17. So reading a story focused solely on her through a feminist lens was really exciting and well deserved since Lucy is a character oftentimes dismissed and overlooked for her sexual transgressive nature. She was the beating heart of the book— I didn’t find myself enraptured with any other character like I was with her. Following her life story was fascinating and surprisingly the romance was my least favourite. I just loved following her character journey alongside her trauma and nuances. The pacing was great and the writing style was perfectly decadent. I truly enjoyed myself as someone who has always loved Lucy.

I found the best vampire book of the year, and it's Lucy Undying. I loved everything about it. The humour, the Gothic vibes, the romance - it was great. Lucy was fantastic. Her narration had me laughing out loud several times, and I loved how Stoker's most maligned character was allowed to shine here.

The book also focused unapologetically on women and the relationships between women, both good and bad. I really appreciated the discussion of abusive mother-daughter relationships, how unsafe women are in society (even as vampires), and stalking. As such, the book is deeply feminist and portrays Dracula in a fresh, modern way. Without spoiling, White did some really fun things with the original characters that now make me see Stoker's story in a completely different light.

All in all, I have nothing to critisize. Lucy Undying was sexy, it was fun, and it was sapphic - what more can you ask for?

I very much enjoyed this book. Whilst I loved the concept of "Dracula", I found the original work itself a wee bit on the boring side. (Sorry, Bram.) The author says herself at the back of this book that the whole notion of "Lucy Undying" is that Lucy gets a girlfriend. Yes! And what a wonderful girlfriend she gets!

Don't expect this to be an action-every-five-minutes type of story, because it certainly is not that, nor is it as slow as "Dracula" was. The storyline is great, the characterisations excellent, and the hauntingly beautiful gothic "feel" spot on. I loved the way it was written, too. I lost my heart in here.

I chose to read an ARC of this work which I voluntarily, and honestly, read and reviewed. All opinions are my own. My thanks to the author, the publishers and NetGalley.

An absolutely unique story about Lucy, Dracula's first english vicitim, searching for revenge and a human girl in the midst of her families vampiric pyramid scheme. A must read for all lovers of Dracula and sapphics!!

4.5 stars

I was given an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

"He is Dracula, and you are young and lovely and vulnerable, and he knows exactly how this dance will end. You will invite him in."

Having spent the duration of my degree building up a reputation as someone who only writes about vampires, I was thrilled when I was gifted this arc.

Lucy Undying takes the story of Lucy Westenra, Dracula's first, tragic victim, and spins it into a world of loss, confusion, and blood. When Iris Goldaming, a young heiress with a mysterious secret, travels to London on family business, she soon finds herself embroiled in a scandal dating back to the 1890s.

I loved how truthful this was to the novel, and how well White plays with different elements of Stoker's classic to provide a compelling, alternative reading. This is clearly written by someone who knows Dracula's story inside and out, and wants to give a voice back to the often silenced female victims. Plus there are some great nods to other classics of the vampire genre!

The multiple POVs were really effective, and each character was exceptionally written. I particularly loved how she reimagines Lucy's behaviour, both before and after she is turned into a vampire, making her so much more than a sexual object. Iris is an equally entertaining narrator, adding a refreshing, modern voice into a novel that darts between the centuries.

It did take me a little while to get fully into the narrative, but once I got a sense of some of the loose ends waiting to be resolved, I was hooked. If you're looking for a poignant retelling of a well-worn classic, this is definitely one to watch.

Books with similar vibes - A Dowry of Blood by S T Gibson, Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törsz, Interview with the vampire by Anne Rice, and Our Hideous Progeny by C E McGill.

This is the first thing I have read by this author, and only read it because it was a story around Dracula, one of my favourite novels of all time. It was written in a very familiar fashion as Bram Stoker’s book, in epistolary diary form, and it really added to what this really is – a follow-on regarding Lucy Westenra, one of the first victims of Dracula when he came to Whitby on the ship Demeter. The prose were vey lush, very gothic, and the love story (in present day) between her and Iris was gorgeous. Lucy is a very maligned character in Dracula, and in this she shines and becomes her own woman / immortal. I do believe the cover for the book should have an award by itself!!

Thanks to Netgalley UK and the publisher for letting me read this early for an honest review.

Lucy Undying is a retelling of Dracula by Bram Stoker, focusing on Dracula, Mina, Lucy and Jonathan. The story is told through journal entries, therapy transcripts and regular narrative but also had multiple POVs - in first second and third person and time jumps.

The idea White had for Lucy Undying is commendable but for me the execution fell flat. At times during the reading of this I wanted to give up, it was quite slow going until about the 60% mark at which point we go from slow pacing to foot on the pedal. Neither of which worked. I found the plot reveals to be predictable which is fine - this isn't a murder mystery but I wish they weren't there. I feel like we had a good thing going till the final reveal at which point it, the whole surprise reveal became a caricature of a plot twist taking away from the novel rather that adding to it. There were other issues, such as the romance between Lucy and Iris, I'm sorry but "butter chicken" freaked me out, and Iris basically fell in love with her at first sight which didn't help the case that there was nothing really between them in my opinion to substantiate a relationship except for maybe three lines.

It's a shame because I liked that Lucy Undying is sapphic and examines what it really means to know ones self and who can provide that for you, which is why it's got three stars but it felt like a chore at time to read and I wish it hadn't.

Thank you to Del Rey, Netgalley and Kiersten White for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Wow this was breathtaking!! I love when a book has different timelines where it goes back in time so we can learn more about the character and her past. And this book has three timelines!! 🤩

I loved the history of Lucy and how she navigates her life as a vampire, the first half of the book has her personal journal entries and I loved these so much they make the book so much more interesting and vibrant with plot!! My favourite was definitely the timeline of her being turned and navigating her life through Europe.

This book is deliciously slow, taking time with what happens to her and her history, and with the many POVs. loved it this way without any rush to the story and you could really connect with Lucy with the chapters that were about her past and her journal entries.

I also loved how with every journal entry the real story unwinds that Lucy is unaware of as she doesn’t have a third point of view at the time. Loved trying to guess the truth by all the plot twists!

Couldn’t recommend it enough!!😍

A sapphic vampire retelling of Dracula it sounded very much like my cup of tea. The book is filled with LGBTQ+ and diverse characters, both main characters and side characters. Something it’s great to see. Also in true Kiersten White fashion, the writing is great and the gothic atmosphere is on point. Sadly the multiple POVs in first person made it hard to follow the story. The short chapters combined with constantly jumping between characters makes the story just feel disjointed. There’s also an obsessive insta-love that I couldn’t get behind.
Lucy Undying had a great concept, but the execution left me disappointed.

This slow-paced romantic thriller with a touch of comedy is a cleverly crafted narrative that retells the story of Dracula. The story revolves around Lucy Westenra and Iris, two women from different times connected by shared experiences and encounters with Dracula.
In this reinterpretation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Lucy, Dracula’s first victim, is given her own voice. The author delves deep into her character through diary entries and therapy transcripts, portraying Lucy as a witty, determined, and inspiring figure.

The storytelling is enthralling; it evoked laughter, gasps, and even moments of frustration. The unexpected plot twist involving 'Goldaming Life' had me on edge! Kiersten fearlessly explores challenging themes, making this tale about self-discovery and personal choices.

"Lucy Undying" exceeded my expectations and quickly became a favorite read. It even motivated me to purchase Bram Stoker’s Dracula over the weekend!

For lovers of gothic, seductive character-driven fantasies with vampires and sapphic romances, this captivating read is a perfect fit.

What a fun gothic twist on Lucy’s story! Kiersten White is an auto-buy author for me and this book did not disappoint. A gothic fantasy filled with vampires, sapphic romance, memorable prose, and engaging characters - I couldn’t get enough! I loved how the story unfolded through Lucy’s 19th century journal entries and through client transcripts. It made for such a fun read. There’s female rage galore and Lucy is such a badass. I loved everything about this book!

I have really enjoyed Kiersten White's writing in the past, which is why I was excited to see this new release from her. Especially since vampires are always an interest of mine. So for the most part, I did really like the book and the narrative, but I found myself with the classic dilemma of preferring one POV over another. Or in this case, different timeline. The book follows a wife of Dracula through the ages, and I really loved following her in the contemporary era, but then felt disjointed when pulled back to when she was first turned into a vampire. Other than that note, I really felt immersed in the story and enjoyed the book immensely.

I feel like the story as a whole was really interesting and well done, but I found a lot of “Americanisms” slipping in from the narrator and main character. For example saying they use kilometres in London instead of miles which is not the case.

I need to start with how stunning this cover is. I am famously not a fan of people on covers but holy sh!t - this is one of my all time favourites. There’s so much hidden detail within that image and it fits the book so, so well.

Ok, this book. I don’t even know where to begin. Probably with the fact that I haven’t read Dracula, I’m only vaguely familiar with his story. Safe to say, you absolutely do not need to have read the classic to enjoy this book. A friend said to me, “Fuck the man’s perspective,” and I can’t think of anything more fitting.

I honestly can’t put my finger on what makes this book so great. On paper, there’s a lot of things in this book that I wouldn’t usually like; it’s slower paced, it’s filled with transcripts and diary entries, there’s not a huge amount of plot… But I simply couldn’t put this book down. The character development and the relationship development between characters was second to none.

To me, this is a story about women reclaiming our power, unlearning what we’ve been taught and saying a big ‘fuck you’ to the patriarchy. All of this wrapped up and gothic, sapphic bow!

I have to to say I really enjoyed this. It wasn't quite what I was expecting but I think blending a modern plot line in between Lucy's pre and post vampire story lines kept the story moving. I think for some, that newer story might feel like it's taking away from Lucy but I loved it and gave the book more depth.

I really loved how Lucy was written and how her voice evolved. It's been a long time since I read Dracula so I am not sure how much that voice matches the original Lucy but I loved her.

What a brilliant read! I have never read Dracula so Lucy’s history was lost on me. I did some research whilst reading this one and got up to speed.

I’m so glad the author decided to give Lucy’s story a new timeline. She deserved the ending she got in this version. We get three POVs in this story to go between. Young Lucy, Vampire Lucy and Iris.

I must admit, all of them had me hooked and wanting to get to the answers to all my questions. I think it was a good decision to write the book with the interlacing timelines. I was desperate to know who Iris was in this story and how it connected and why it was her that the author decided would be Lucy’s happily ever after.

My only point of contention was how long the book was. I felt like 15% of the ending could have been edited a bit more as it didn’t need to be as drawn out as it was. But apart from that, my love for Vampire books continue.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I love a good gothic tale, and somehow White has crafter a thoroughly modern one in Lucy Undying. We get glimpses of Lucy's human life through journal extracts, and of her vampire existence through recorded therapy sessions (yes, even vampires go to therapy), but much of the action takes place in the familiar 21st century world we know. In parts a romantic gothic romp, and in others a fast-paced thriller, this was a fairly easy read I raced through in a day.

Pick this up if you're looking for a sapphic twist on the Dracula story, or just fancy a fun comparison between leeching MLMs and vampiric society.

Dracula was one of the very first so called classic novels I remember reading as teenager so I was so excited to see a retelling that took a wider lens of Lucy Westenra than was in Brams version. Utilising the same narrative devices as the original KW has used diary entries, psychiatric notes to tell the story of Lucy over the centuries since she was turned combined with Iris’ perspectives in the modern world. Not a fast paced book you need to dedicate the time to the slow pace to watch the life of Lucy unfold across the major events of history. Iris’ story was slightly harder to grasp, lacking the layers (and century+ of life) that you saw in Lucy. I think the book was a tad long in places but picked up in pacing as the timelines came together midway through.

Best line - “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”

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group / Ballantine / Del Rey for sharing this remarkable fantasy novel’s digital reviewer copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

An interesting take on the familiar story of Dracula, Mina and Jonathan. Lucy is a side character in the original and here she is the heroine. However in doing so Kiersten does completely redo her character. I think if you analyse this too closely compared to the original, you would be disappointed. In trying to highlight Lucy we villainise the other characters in Dracula more than needed. But if you view it as inspired by but totally separate from the original it is a good concept. The writing has Kiersten's familiar poetic flow to it, and is slow paced but in an entrancing way.
I like idea of client transcripts and past and present merging together and what lucy got up to over the years.
Maybe a little drawn out but ultimately an enjoyable concept and well executed, but may not appeal directly to fans of the classic original. It was good seeing a feminist twist and the parallels between iris (the main character) and lucy were interesting and well laid out, and the gothic, haunting vibes were beautiful to get lost in, even if it could have been more succinct.