Lucy Undying is a vampire fiction novel about Lucy Westenra, one of the victims in Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

The story is told through multiple points of view: Lucy’s journals from the late 1890s, where she’s an upper-class girl in love with her governess; an interview Lucy gives to a woman named Vanessa in the present day; and Iris, a young woman in 2024 running from her inheritance of her mother’s cult/wellness MLM.

The amount of information withheld from the reader about both Lucy and Iris makes this a confusing and difficult book to enjoy. Lucy’s story is told from both 1890 onward via her journals, but also at different points in the 20th century through her interview with Vanessa. We know very little about Iris, except that she’s inherited property she’s trying to claim in the UK while remaining cash poor and staying off the radar of her mother’s MLM goons from Utah. Iris is barely scraping by in a strange country, living in an abandoned house with no electricity, yet somehow instantly makes friends on her first day of arrival with her taxi driver, Rahul, and Elle, an attractive woman she bumps into on the street. She spends the next few days (or weeks?) dodging her mother’s people, scouring the property for valuables, and reading Lucy’s journal. Through the journals and Lucy’s interview, we learn about her years spent traveling the world, seeking her lost governess love, Mina, and her maker, Dracula.

I really wanted to enjoy this book. The cover is stunning, and vampires are always a hit. But it felt much longer than it actually was. The pacing was off, and it felt like nothing happened for long periods of time. By the time the action did pick up, I no longer cared. I didn’t feel any chemistry or romantic tension between Elle and Iris, and the entire MLM cult and the family connections went over my head. Sadly, this one was a complete miss for me.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for giving me this ARC for an honest review. Honestly, I wish I could say more about this but I thought it was just fine. I kept thinking something was missing and I couldn’t put my finger on it.

This book started out strong but somewhere along the way it became a struggle to keep going. I was disappointed because I was excited to read this especially when I saw the cover. Unfortunately, this one was not for me.

I absolutely loved the characters of Iris and Lucy and the positive queer rep of this Dracula retelling. The different narrative devices used was a unique way to draw the reader into the book's different storylines and time periods. I also enjoyed how the author played with different tones and styles as the story expanded from being dark, period, and gothic to something sinister and more thriller-y with its more modern vampiric MLM scheme.

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

Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6784246734

It took me a really, really long time to read this book and I started doing a lot of skimming just to be able to finish it, honestly. I think it could have used a lot of cutting, especially of the excess of Lucy back story that just started to feel like a slog to get through. I wasn't sure where the plot was even supposed to be going for a long time. I did think that the vampire MLM in Utah was absolutely genius and hilarious, if it didn't quite fit well with the Lucy/Dracula storyline. In many ways, this probably could have used to be a whole separate story, because the Lucy story in general might not have stood very well on its own as far as retellings go.

Starts slow but Lucy Undying has a strong finish. Lucy's voice is perfect, and the story meshes exactly with Stoker's. I was also re-reading Dracula at the same time as this, and it proved difficult to separate the two. Ms. White allows Lucy to take back her story as a victim and allows her to become the hero. The truly scary part is that I find Lucy Undying an entirely plausible story that delves deeper into Bram Stoker's masterpiece without either unraveling.

I’ve never finished a book and felt like I needed to go reread the story is based on immediately after with fresh eyes. Lucy Undying accomplished that for me – now I really want to revisit Dracula. I LOVED the way White covered the abhorrent treatment of women throughout time. The idea that a newly reborn vampire wouldn’t remember who they were previously if not given even just their name upon waking was something I hadn’t encountered before.

"The rest of the poem goes on to glorify innocence, but we both know innocence is wielded as a weapon against young women. A whip to wound us, ties to bind us. A commodity to be traded and sold. By the time we know what innocence truly is, it’s been taken from us and we’re shamed for its absence."

In reference to a passage from She Walks in Beauty by Lord Byron
Some of the twists were fairly easy to spot but the story was so good and I was so invested in Lucy and Iris that it didn’t bother me. I find Lucy & Iris’ instant attraction slightly off putting, BUT they did put in the work after the initial meeting. Iris felt younger than 25 – after having nanny’s, tutors etc. I would think she’d be more crafty and clever. Then again she is on the run from a company with extremely deep pockets, among other things – I’d get a little cagey and desperate too. I truly adored Lucy though – steadfast, always believing the best in others, hilarious, clever & so much more – I’d struggle against the tide of Lucy too. I enjoyed the side characters but the Doctor was my favorite – I would want to find a use for immortality too.

"I have that same sense I get with poetry, that someone is saying something I’ve always felt but never been able to express."

I live for books that give me the feeling from the above quote. Lucy Undying is one of those books – I was constantly tucking away passages into my brain reading this.

If you loved books like My Throat an Open Grave or An Education in Malice, I highly recommend picking up this one. Many, many thanks to TBR & Beyond Tours for the chance to read this one and to Kiersten White for writing the Dracula rewrite I didn’t know I needed. If anything about this book piques your interest, don’t sleep on it – buy it, check it out, get on a waitlist. One of the most hilarious, gutting, and illuminating books I’ve read in a while – Butter Chicken & Little Cabbage forever!

My favorite classic monster book to read was Dracula. I feel that Kiersten White did a wonderful job diving deeper into the much maligned story of Lucy and finally gave her the happy ending that she deserved.

This books jumps from present to past via the diary of Lucy while she was alive and then transcripts with a therapist (reminded me of Interview with a Vampire) recounting her vampiric afterlife. All this gave Lucy good depth and explains what shaped her into a fairly well adjusted vampire (at least better than the Lover or the Queen). The other present viewpoint is from Iris, on the run from a giant MLM company, Goldaming, a business with a secret and sordid past touting a special way of life, becoming living gods and goddesses at the highest level (hint hint, not quite as true as advertised).

So, I did enjoy the past sections more than the present ones because they made Lucy seem fully real while Iris didn't have too much depth, though she did have much better morals than her mother and the company she leads. But I did enjoy how it all tied up in the end with characters past and present finally all get together to finish what was started so long ago when Dracula first went hunting, killing, and changing Lucy and the friends she made who were also his creations but became their own women and stronger because of it.

This was a satisfying book to read and props to the cover which so cool and lets you know that Lucy is not to be messed with. She deserves that.

Unfortunately, this book just didn't work for me. While I was hooked by the concept & the cover art, it felt as if the author was not able to manage all the storylines well. Iris & Lucy, though being of adult age, were written very immaturely and the book came across as YA despite being an adult book. I really struggled to finish this book & would have DNF'd if not reading for a book club. Our podcast review @OWUBPod will be released on 09/25/2024.

The cover is my favorite thing about this book, it's amazing!

I really liked the idea of this, it was an interesting premise. I always appreciate a story of a woman taking control of her life after having others dictate everything. I liked the multiple POVs, switch between past a present. I haven't read Dracula in a long time, so I really couldn't compare it to the original. I like how the two MC's stories were woven together by the diaries.

It fell flat for me in execution, I found it to be too long, the pacing too slow, the switching between timelines and POVs was disjointed and it was difficult to keep up with everything. The dialogue was also cringey at times.

Fans of Long Live Evil, Darker Mischief, and The Lost Apothecary may enjoy this!

Thank you TBR Beyond Tours and Del Rey/PRH for the ARC!

Lucy has risen from the grave and is trying to escape Dracula. She meets Iris in her current life and finds similarities and connection while trying to navigate modern day events.

I usually love an alternating timeline and POV but I found myself lost in this one. There were moments of fun and good pacing followed by long periods of boredom which really made this difficult for me to pick up at times. I wanted to like it so much more! I found the characters started out really fun and colorful only to fall flat later on. I can definitely understand those that loved it.

Thank you so much to Netgalley, Kiersten White, and Random House Publishing Group for providing this free ARC. This is my honest review! This published on September 10th.

I have posted my review on Goodreads, my Facebook book club, and will make a TikTok.

I love the cover, and I'm a sucker for gothic vampires and a Dracula retelling; however, the pacing was a huge drag in my ability to enjoy this book. It's actually why I'm a bit late in posting the review. I found myself reading the more enjoyable parts and skimming others. I did not what to DNF this book because I was so excited for it. The beginning was very good, but the author did not keep the pace with the rest of the book, and I found myself getting irritated at the characters. Maybe if it has been shortened to a novella, this would have been fine.

I remember absolutely nothing about Dracula, but I love this sapphic take. Following Lucy’s journey as a vampire was such a good time. I was surprised to see a gothic fantasy/romance from Kiersten White, but I’m glad she did it.

I did struggle through the first half of the book. There are multiple timelines and POVs, there’s a lot going on. Sometimes I felt a bit lost or like I wanted to rush back to my favorite POV (Lucy talking about being a bad ass vampire). However, about halfway through the book, there’s a big bang moment and everything aligns. After that, I could not put it down.

Thank you to @netgalley and @delreybooks for my review copy. Lucy Undying is out now. If you love a slow burn, gothic, sapphic vampire love story with action and drama, you’ll be needing this one.

There’s so much that great about this book, the haunting atmosphere old style of writing reminds me of Anne Rice. A lot of this actually reminded me of Anne Rices Interview with a Vampire series. I would say anyone who enjoyed an older style of writing with a touch of new age would enjoy this. I personally had a hard time connecting but what isn’t for me could definitely be for someone else! Thank you NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read this work.

This is the second book I've read by this author and I think her writing is just not for me. While I loved the dual timelines and the romantic writing style, I felt that the story was dragged out far too long. I also felt that the characters were kind of drab as well, but that's just me. I'd recommend this to my historical fiction/vampire lovers because it felt much more like his fic pacing.

low 4 because there were one too many twists/reveals & I wasnt a fan of every POV being a different tense. it made it feel messy & inconsistent to read. however, the writing is stunning especially in the first half even though it got a bit melodramatic/angsty by the end, but this had all the vibes I wanted An Education in Malice to have. I also wasn't expecting Dracula to be a character, but ironically (for me bc I love the classic), I got more bored at the point of the book when he made his appearances.

I had so much fun with this lush story. This is the vampire book of the year and I can’t wait till everyone else reads itṾ

Lucy Undying was an okay reimagining of Lucy Westenra’s character from Dracula. While there were a lot of elements that I enjoyed, the pacing and story development were just too slow for my liking.

I was able to listen to the audiobook as well and it definitely made the story more engaging, as there were multiple narrators.

While it was mainly in both the heroine’s POVs there were POVs of other side characters as well. There were also alternating timelines, which was intriguing.

The overall premise was interesting with the gothic horror and vampire element. I loved the feminine rage and empowerment. There were some dark and interesting moments as well.

However, the biggest issue for me was that unfortunately nothing really happened plot-wise. The pacing of the story was just very slow and boring at times.

The last few chapters was where all the action occurred but everything was resolved quite quickly. The buildup to the confrontation between certain characters was a bit underwhelming as well.

The romance between the heroine’s was amazing though. I loved their connection and devotion to one another.

Overall, a decent read I was just hoping for more.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I recently picked up "Lucy Undying" by Kiersten White, and it turned out to be an interesting read. It's a fresh take on the Dracula story, putting Lucy Westenra in the spotlight this time. White does a great job bringing Victorian London to life – you can almost feel the fog rolling in as you read.

The book has its ups and downs. On the plus side, it explores some compelling themes about women's roles and desires in 19th-century society, which adds nice depth to the vampire lore we all know. The new spin on familiar characters kept things engaging too.

That said, the pacing felt off in places, and hardcore Dracula fans might find it strays too far from the original. But if you're in the mood for something different in the gothic horror genre, it's worth checking out. It's not perfect, but it's certainly thought-provoking and entertained me more than I expected.

thank you so much to netgalley and tbr and beyond for the early copy! all my opinions are my own!

everybody say THANK YOU KIERSTEN WHITE FOR WRITING LUCY WESTENRA'S STORY 😭😭
i didn't even know i needed to read it until she announced. and i knew i wouldn't rest until i got my hands on an ARC, which i thankfully did. and i'm so grateful because i can't believe how fast i devoured this baby and how much i enjoyed it 😍
i'm still convinced that it's best to enter this book without reading the synopsis because it kinda gives away a very important plot point at the middle of the book, and it's best knowing that it follows three different POVs: Iris, the diary of Lucy, and Lucy herself as a vampire. and that was enough to keep me reading, because every cliffhanger made it even harder to drop it. i adored the mystery, the connections, the side characters, LUCY'S STORY AND POV HURTS SO MUCH I CAN'T 💔💔 gosh it's so well written that i hated how well the Dracula twist was done but i don't even care because she deserved a better story than the one she had in the OG novel. the vampire's explanation was really cool as well, i still love how the authors create their own version of the creature while remaining faithful to the original, and Lucy being so powerful and cool??? gosh, i fell so in love with her 💜💜
i wish this book gets the love it deserves because i just can't deal with how much i loved it. pleaaase go read it if you haven't yet!!!