If Scooby-Doo and the gang had been on this case, it would have been solved in half an hour, including commercials. Alas, Scooby wasn’t on hand to turn this melodramatic slog into something entertaining before we find out that late-stage capitalism was the real villain all along. Instead, in Kirsten White’s latest novel, Lucy Undying, we the readers are afflicted with more than 450 pages of disorganized epistolary mish-mash that gives fanfiction a bad name.

Why do I summon the spirit of fanfiction? Because in her acknowledgments, White declares that, while she (claims she) loves Bram Stoker’s original Dracula, she firmly headcanons the notion that multiple main characters were involved in a conspiracy to disinherit Lucy and take her family’s holdings for themselves. Also, White seems to think that all the characters in the story secretly loathe each other (which is strange, given how you have instances like Jonathan straight up saying he’d follow Mina to Hell if that was what it took to be with her), and goes as far as writing the “secret diary of Lucy Westenra”, in which Lucy expresses how awful her mother is, how terrible her three suitors are, and how much she hates the society she lives in. See, this Lucy is actually a twenty-first-century girlboss in Victorian clothes because White is one among many authors who don’t seem to be able to do research and find out just how dynamic and outspoken women have been throughout history. But why do that when you can just make your edgy heroine sassy and spiteful to everyone around her and call her “feminist”?

And because we have to find out how Lucy survived the events of Dracula and see what she did throughout the twentieth century, we have “client transcripts” with Lucy’s therapist stuck in between the other main character Iris’s sections and the ‘secret diary of Lucy Westenra’. In these transcripts, we find out how Lucy did things like find a super-secret society of women vampires and stop a major war all by her lonesome by walking in and telling the big-bad generals to stop the fighting right then and there, because she said so.

This wan shade of Lucy Westenra is not the only character we have to endure, though. We also have to put up with Iris, a twenty-first-century American woman on the run from her mother, the leader of a cult-like MLM business who is apparently dead (but maybe not). Thanks to nepotism, Iris is set to inherit the family business, but she wants nothing to do with the business because she has morals. So instead of taking the reins of said business to take it down from within, Iris runs away to somehow be free and yet still try to dismantle said business from without. How will she do this? It’s anyone’s guess including, probably, the author’s. For plot reasons, Iris has fled to London and goes to an abandoned mansion in Hampstead Heath to look for antique furniture she can pawn, instead of just selling the mansion- which belongs to her. Why doesn’t Iris work on selling the mansion that she owns? Well, plot reasons. It would be harder to engineer the (second) meet-cute with a ravishing blonde woman whose identity you’d never guess in a million years.

*sighs*

Some other problems I had with this book:

- The Godalming family is constantly called ‘Goldaming’, and sure, that goes along with the name of the book’s nefarious MLM, but because ‘Goldaming’ is applied to Arthur Holmwood, Lord Godalming, it just looks like White got the name wrong. And sure, I also made that mistake when I first read Dracula, but perhaps you’ll forgive me that because I was twelve at the time.

- In her secret diary, Lucy claims that she doesn’t know how to grieve because her smothering society something or other. But Victorian England is famous for its mourning customs, so… why can’t she grieve?

- Iris is incredibly paranoid because the MLM people are out to get her, but she lets a trio of people waltz right into her life without checking their credentials in any way. I guess they’re just so pretty that they just have to be the good guys.

- These versions of the Dracula characters in no way shape or form resemble their original counterparts, but I guess we’re in a realm where the headcanons are entirely made up and the original source doesn’t matter.

With all that being said, I’ve changed my mind. This mess wouldn’t fit into a half-hour episode of Scooby-Doo. We’d need one of their animated movies, so we can stuff everything in and also make sure that there’s plenty of time for Daphne and Velma, because whatever queerness you might read into that relationship is far deeper than anything Iris has going on.

If you take anything from this review take this advice: don’t read Lucy Undying. Go read Bram Stoker’s Dracula instead. It has plenty of problems of its own, but at least it makes sense and has interesting characters. And after that, go watch some Scooby-Do, where late-stage capitalism is the real villain, too, and you’ll actually be entertained.

-

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for providing me with a free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

DNF

This author always has such interesting premises, but can never deliver on them. An awesome idea and a wonderful cover. I couldn’t get passed 15%

I was invited by the publisher to read this book. This is definitely not a book I would have chosen to read on my own, but the cover was intriguing enough and the story was ultimately enjoyable. The story follows Lucy, a vampire and one of Dracula's earliest victims, and Iris in the present day. Both women form a bond, not only through mutual attraction: they are both trying to break free from their past and not have it define who they are. This is a pretty layered story, it is a good character study for both women. I enjoyed Lucy's storyline a bit more because she seemed to have more depth. I did, however, think this book was a tad too long.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing/Ballantine/Del Rey for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was immediately intrigued by the summary and while I found the story itself interesting I wasn't completely hooked and towards the middle was simply reading just to finish.

I liked the characters I guess... though to be honest, nothing about them stood out to me and honestly at times I found myself struggling and had to remind myself that Lucy was the vampire and Iris had the crazy mom.

I enjoyed the twist of Iris's family history, but that was about the only thing that really redeemed it for me.

Thanks for the early copy

Lucy Undying was a creative story with some pretty good surprises. I thought I knew how certain characters were connected, but for some of them I was wrong. It was amusing that a multi-level marketing scheme was at the center of the Goldaming empire, and part of the troubling legacy that Iris Goldaming was trying to escape. And that the scheme involved vampires and special blood products. The story has plenty of great characters — Lucy, Elle, Iris, the Doctor, the Lover, the Queen, Rahul, etc. I liked that significant characters were queer, and that sapphic love was an essential element of the story.

So freaking good. I’m definitely not the sparkling vamp type and this book was definitely not that. It was so original and I loved the concept behind this. I mean it isn’t always about Dracula.

If you're looking for a vampire story about obsession, love, and so many things in-between, this is the perfect book for you. The author pulls from the story of Dracula and twists it to her own beautiful devices. The writing style is unique, and incredible. You will be sucked in by vampire allure and bound to the crafty story this book contains.

thank you to netgalley for the opportunity to read the eARC.

i went into this fully expecting to love this book. sapphic vampires? they’ve always been a hit for me, but i just didn’t care for this one.

this book felt very slow to me. i didn’t think it picked up enough for me to want to speed through it until around the 55ish% mark and even then, i wasn’t that into the story. i often finish books in a little under a week, but this one took me a little over a week. i really had to push myself to finish it.

we followed three different timelines, two being less than two weeks apart, for about half the book which i normally don’t mind, but it really irked me when it switched. i often forgot what happened last when finally getting back to the timeline that ended with a mystery.

i was very close to DNFing this book at numberous points. at the 25% mark, at the 55% mark, at the 62% mark, even at the 91% mark. after finishing it, i almost wish i had.

i was thinking of giving this read three stars since i don’t often rate books lower than that, but i didn’t really care for this book much. i wish i liked it more.

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

Idk, something wasn’t quite clicking for me. It was different than I expected. Maybe that was my fault?

Thanks to NetGalley & Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for providing me an e-ARC!

**2 stars** I enjoy reading sapphic, gothic fantasies and I was a huge fan of S.T. Gibson’s, A Dowry of Blood but this one wasn’t my favorite.

We follow one of Dracula’s first victims, Lucy in two timelines; her journal that dates back to the 1890s and in the present timeline, 2024. On the other hand, we also follow Iris in the present timeline who stumbles upon Lucy’s journal. Lucy, having been betrayed by Dracula is enthralled by Iris and happens to fall in love with her. Things take a turn when Iris’ mother resurfaces and Lucy’s past comes to haunt her.

This book was more vibes than plot. It was unbelievably slow in the first 45% and this is a longer book being over 400 pages just to be vibes. When reading in Lucy’s perspective, it was sometimes hard to differentiate between the two timelines. I can see the attempt but often the prose was veering towards modern in her journal. There were times when we read Lucy’s journal and in the following chapter we switch to Iris who then proceeds to recap the journal. This was so unnecessary since we literally just read about it.

If this was much shorter, I could have overlooked the lack of plot. I didn’t mind the writing style but at times it did feel too modern, especially in this type of novel.

4 stars

This book was bigger on the inside than the outside. The experience was one of an epic story spanning centuries but was told in under 500 pages. It felt bigger and longer in the best ways.

The story of Lucy and Iris is told using multiple POV's and multiple timelines. The author made this very easy to follow by giving each POV and timeline separate chapters, so it was always clear whose head and time you were in. I particularly loved both of Lucy's timelines, one told from before her "turning" and one told after. This really allowed me to understand the way Lucy was changed by her experiences.

Iris's POV, the other main character, was grounded in modern times but Iris's return to her childhood mansion uncovers links to Lucy and her past which draw Iris back in time. I really loved the first section of this story. Perfect gothic vibes.

This could have easily been two books, in my opinion. The first part was gothic horror, a lovely, lush, romantic slow burn that had the bonus of LGBTQ+ representation. The last section of the book had a modern almost cultish story that was very different but wove the gothic characters into the storyline seamlessly. I really loved how the author brought everything together.

Overall, I love a good gothic, horror, slow burn story full of vampires, multiple timelines, sprinkled with blood and gore. Oh, and dysfunctional family drama and a weird cult. If you like those things too, then you should definitely give this a read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the eArc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I am so glad this book lived up to the gorgeous cover for me and the way that the plot developed has me screaming. I couldn’t put this down.

ARC Review

3/5 stars

DNF at 14%

I love Bram Stoker's original Dracula, and I'm a fan of just about every iteration and retelling I've read or watched. As such, I was extremely excited for this book. A sapphic vampire romance in an English Gothic setting? Yes, please!

Unfortunately, I felt that every time I picked up the book, I was forcing myself to continue. I loved the idea that in a retelling of what was originally a very male-centric story, the women would get their due. Ultimately, I found myself bored by most of the story and because none of the characters really grabbed me. Lucy intrigued me, but only by nature of being a newborn vampire; nothing about her actions or inner dialogue was truly captivating. Iris was also fairly dull, even with all the mystery about her mother, her blood, and her inheritance.

I also found the structure to be a little chaotic. Jumping back and forth in time and narrative style (diary entries, transcripts, 1st person POV) was a little jarring. I generally enjoy multiple perspectives, but something about the style didn't jive for me.

I will say, the prose was beautiful. I truly enjoyed the lovely yet haunting lines about time, death, and rebirth. If this were a shorter book, I probably would have pushed through just for this aspect alone.

In my final thoughts, I think the right person will love this book. There's a lot about it that I wanted to love, it just didn't work for me personally.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve loved this author’s other books, and I was really excited to read this one. I found the story to be quite long, but it deals with a LOT of time, and I found myself enjoying it quite a lot. I rated this book 5 stars ⭐️,as it grabbed my attention and kept it there for the entire book. For critiques, I find the chapter count to be daunting, and I feel like a couple chapters could be merged, although still with a Timeskip or POV change.

If we were going off of cover alone, this book would easily be a billion stars. Unfortunately the cover is one of the only things I liked about this story. Lucy Undying suffers from a serious case of doing too much. A vampire MLM had SO much potential, but is vastly overshadowed by the coinciding plot points and, as a result, the book was such a drag.

Kiersten White's prose was good, but the beginning especially felt disjunct. I feel like I say this in so many reviews, but this book definitely was better in theory than in actual practice.

I wish I had more to say about it but alas, I'm just wildly underwhelmed.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own!

I’ll start this review off by saying I despise the book Dracula. It’s tedious and boring. Yet somehow some of my favorite books in the world are Dracula retellings? I’m looking at you A Dowry of Blood and now I can add Lucy Undying. The *idea* of Dracula is a 5/5 but it needed a woman’s touch. Boy did this deliver.

The prose? Gorgeous. I have so many quotes highlighted. We flip flop between timelines (which I normally don’t like but it’s done well in the case) following Lucy’s journal entries of life as a queer 19 year old girl trying to navigate desire, identity and loss then we jump to modern day Ohio where Iris takes center stage and storylines begin to merge.

I really enjoyed how the plot was woven and I definitely experienced a few jaw dropping moments. Iris’ humor was brilliant and I love love lovedddd the bits about Lucy just being absolutely ruthless. The fight scenes were everything.

My only complaint is probably the last 30% of the book dragged for me. Things were taking too long to pan out and I just wanted a satisfying ending to the story. Which I think was delivered eventually ;)

Sapphic love, vampires, cool gothic vibes. Also the cover??? What’s not to like?

Thanks NetGalley for the arc!!

this was a really good read, especially for someone who traditionally does not like vampire stories. I appreciate the ARC and look forward to more by this author.

This was such a sweet story. Sapphic vampires with undying love (if you know, you know) for each other while fighting weirdo men? What more could you ask for?

I was a little hesitant about reading this book because of how disappointed I was with White’s Camelot Rising series but she didn’t disappoint here! She does have a tendency to drag things out and while that happened in Lucy Undying, it was egregious.

Iris and Lucy were just too cute and too sweet, I absolutely adored them individually and together. Lucy’s story read a little like The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue but I personally liked this better than TILAL.

🖤ARC Review🖤

Lucy Undying,by Kiersten White is a sapphic retelling of Dracula. The gothic novel is told from the Point-of-view of Iris who goes to London to sell her late mothers estates, and Lucy, a vampire who is trying to find herself.

Rating: 3/5 stars⭐️

✨I was instantly drawn in by the beautiful cover. I would give that a 5/5.

While this story is interesting, it was slightly boring. There was a few times my attention was just slipping away. This was also due to the three different point-of-views.

I didn’t care for Iris or her story. If this was just Lucy and her journal entries, I think I would have enjoyed this novel a lot more.

The writing itself is good and easy to understand.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random Publishing Group for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!