Not for me.

Dark comedy, centering on how much of an awful person Vivian is, entirely through her own choices. She's a deeply inconsiderate flatmate (at the age of 36), is having an affair with a married man (which doesn't stop her, or even apparently slow her down, from sleeping with anyone else who happens along), is a binge drinker and a drug abuser, leading to many absurd-but-actually-concerning misadventures, and, unsurprisingly, everyone hates her and nobody wants her at the family event.

Apparently she gets a redemption arc, involving being repeatedly killed in a time loop, which I imagine would get you thinking about your life choices. I didn't hang around for that, because I just didn't want to spend any more time with Vivian.

It's capably written, and I can see a lot of people enjoying it. But not me.

This is an amusing dark comedy in the vein of Fleabag. The premise didn't entirely.land for me but the writing was sparky and fresh. I liked the darkness of the tone and the humour landed well and didn't feel too forced, even though it had a feral woman theme that is starting to feel a bit tired.

I was very excited to receive an advanced copy of Vivian Dies Again by C.E. Hulse, I’m a huge fan of dark comedy. Give me something macabre to laugh about, and I’m all in.


Without giving too much away, this book wasn’t quite what I expected. I went in, hoping for some funny, maybe slightly gory, creative death scenes on repeat. I was worried the premise might get repetitive, but I needn’t have been as we only follow Viv through two deaths, and the details are brushed over the others fairly quickly.


That said, I really liked Viv as a character. She gave off real Fleabag energy, flawed, sharp, a little messy, and while I’m not sure I was meant to like her, I found her surprisingly relatable. (Also, did I just realise I’ve been mispronouncing “mischievous” all my life . . .).


The story relies less on death and comedy as a plot and is more a complex unravelling of family dynamics and how seemingly small choices ripple out into major consequences we might not even be aware of. Once I settled into the rhythm of the flashbacks and shifting perspectives, I appreciated the writing style and found some genuine laugh out loud moments along the way.


Ultimately, though, I was hoping for something a little darker given the theme, which would have made it a five-star read for me.

When 30-something Vivian Slade decides that she has had enough and needs to make some changes in her life, she starts with attending a somewhat hostile family reunion.

Unfortunately, her attempts at reform also end there when she is murdered by someone who is clearly feeling *particularly* hostile towards her...

Not that this can be considered entirely the end of things. Not when Vivian is about to find herself in a Groundhog Day style experience of being murdered over and over again! What on earth is going on, and what lies behind it?!

An entertaining and darkly amusing story, this fiendish tale gets 3.5 stars.

Vivian Dies Again is a unique take on a doomsday style storyline, blending mystery with lit fic.

Vivian, whose characters continually dies before becoming alive again, is a messy and chaotic fmc. i loved the way her characterisation was written, especially through the dialogue. it was also really clever how Viv was forced to confront different aspects of her life through each death, giving her space to not just solve her murder, but learn and grow into a better person.

at points i did feel that the pacing was a little off, especially within the beginning set up of the book. however i think a lot of the writing and it’s at times disjointed style, plays into the themes and overall feeling of the novel.

would be an ideal book for those who enjoy a mystery style novel, or a quick palette cleanser between more dense genres.