I’m not going to lie. As a luscious lady myself, I’ve often thought of how becoming Undead would affect my mindset on how I feel about my body. I honestly love that Gloria Duke wrote an entire book about it, because as much as I’ve thought about it I’ve never really talked to anyone about it. It for sure felt like I was doing that while reading this, and she said ALL the things I was thinking. It’s hard to live in a plus sized body as it is, but a plus sized body forever?

Honestly, the things that we worry about when it comes to having a plus sized body go beyond just acceptance to our health. But if we’re undead, what’s the honest to the gods reasons for worrying about it and not accepting it? I loved the journey that Lily went on throughout this book. Finding love not only externally but internally, and accepting her new strength and resilience. Not only that, but also realizing that the same judgements she held for herself were just as true of those with more societally accepted bodies. Women are just made to feel like crap for what we look like, undead or otherwise.

All that said, the romance felt super pure, and the adventure that came along with it was all the more amazing. Lily is a total badass, and no one in the undead set really used her looks against her, which put a real warm and fuzzy vibe in my very un-undead heart.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for this amazing book. I really appreciated the way this material was handled. It’s honest but far from impartial.

I listened to the audio of this book and loved the narrator and the story. It had a totally great feel like I was there and some of the issues the MC encountered were soooo on the button. Loved! Can't wait for more!

I loved the strangers to lovers dynamic in this book. The plus size heroine was incredible and a great lead to follow through the story.

Honestly this was just ok. I loved the plus sized rep but other than that it wasn't amazing and wanted more vampire action

What a cute romance for spooky season! I enjoyed seeing plus sized bodies being represented in contemporary romance and Duke does a good job of that. FMC was a joy to follow but I think the story was a bit lacking in plot. A simple spooky read is always a fun time.
Thank you to Sourcebooks & NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review of content.

I was hoping this would be a great body positive book, however, it wasn't that. I hated the way fat bodies were talked about in this book and I don't feel like the FMC ever truly learned to love herself.

Thank you #netgalley for an early read of #whenlifegivesyouvampires

This book was hilarious! I was laughing nonstop. Super quick read and I just loved it! 5 stars! It was a little gorey but you will be laughing so hard that you won’t mind!

I wanted to like this one but the miscommunication between the two main characters was so annoying, like so much could have been avoided if they literally sat down and had a chat. Also I know no one can instantly love their bodies but the amount of time she spent concentrating on her body really look away from the story, I wanted her to not focus on her weight for like 5 minutes but it always looped back to that which was disappointing . Like lets focus on her awesome writing skills or anything else. Also this might just be because I just read another book where the main love interest was like I love you and the girl was still randomly confused by how he felt, like at what point is it over kill when the guy is like hey I love you and the girls don't believe.

This book just means a lot to me honestly. I feel like I wake up and have so many conversations with myself that Lily seemed to have with herself and her journey to loving herself has been so similar to mine. Dont get me wrong I love all representation- but there was something refreshing to the main character not being described as some super cute and short and delicate character. Mix that in with the humor in this book and the vampires... my twilight heart was sold. I just adored this book and enjoyed it immensely.

The book was fun and Sassy and it had vampire, so what more could you ask for if you’re looking for a good vampire book to read any time of the year than I would definitely suggest reading this book thank you for the opportunity to read this book

this was funny and cute. I really loved the plus sized mc. I need more body positive books because honestly I'm tired of the s"uper skinny small girl" trope. I am a thinner girl myself but I hate how its so romanticized so I loved this and encourage everyone to read it just for that aspect alone.

Fun!! Sure, this isn't the most compelling vampire story you'll ever read, but it was fun to read a book this Halloween season that wasn't about witches, like so many mainstream Halloween romances are.

Literally one of my favorite books of October, it was quick and fun and I finished it all in one sitting. Funny and easy to enjoy!

A delightful romp of a romance that centers a plus size woman learning to accept her new lot in life all while a mysterious handsome gent seeks to protect her from what she does not understand. The mix of romance tropes and Vampire lore was refreshing and quite enjoyable. I just hope there are more books so that I can learn even more about how Gloria Duke's vampire world works! For those who are looking to experience a Twilight kind of Adult romance, look no further!

After kissing a stranger at a bar, Lily wakes up not just hungover, but with fangs. It turns out, Tristan didn’t actually mean to turn Lily into a vampire and now they need to work together to save themselves from getting in trouble.

This book was so much fun! It was a perfect spooky szn read with the vampire theme, but it was so much more fun than other vampire books that come to mind. I actually loved that at some points it felt like it was parodying the Twilight franchise. Lily’s inner monologue and thought processes had me laughing out loud at ties. She was such a fun main character to follow!

While this book had a lot of comedy and romance, this book also has a focus on body positivity and learning to love and accept yourself. Lily’s journey of self-acceptance was real and one many can relate to. Overall, this was one of my favorite Halloween season reads!

Thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca for the advance copy.

I LOVE THIS BOOK!!! I'm so sad this is the first book by Gloria Duke because I need moreeeeeeee!!!!!!!!! I'll be watching and waiting for more from Duke.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for an ARC of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

This is the debut book by author Gloria Duke and it is a fun book. Unfortunately, it just wasn't exactly what I was hoping it would be. It is the story of a plus-size woman who unbeknownst to her gets turned into a vampire (meaning she just wakes up and is a vamp and is like WHAAAAAT????, and then has to figure out what is going on), which is a super fun concept. For me however, the story felt a bit disjointed at times, and I was having a hard time tracking what was going on. This could be due to the nature of me reading an advanced copy - finished copies could have smoothed over some of the jumps, but I think it might be related to Gloria's writing style. This is definitely not a bad thing, I know many people who greatly enjoy this type of writing, but it is just not always for me. The main character Lily also rubbed me the wrong way at times - she was incredibly stubborn, and then going back and forth with her feelings and thoughts without really thinking through much of what she was doing. Is this because she was 25? Maybe. But I did want to see a bit more character growth than I did. Again, my preference, not objectively wrong. I think this book had a lot of really great potential, it just didn't end up being what I was hoping it would be.

I had to DNF sadly. Was it me, the wrong timing or the writting style? not quite sure but I am giving it another try in the future though.

I actually really enjoyed this book. I loved the complexity of the layers of this story. So much more than just a vampire story. I loved lily and her character development. Quick and easy read.

Dumplin' with vampires is an uncanny description, but it does work. A fat femme wakes up literally and metaphorically and begins revolutionizing her world, while debating if the heat between her and someone tall dark and handsome is really mutual like it seems or something else is going on.