What I thought I was getting: a fun romcom with good, body-positive representation and a bit of supernatural shenanigans.

What I actually got: a FMC who hates her fat body and others who look like her. A FMC who’s so absorbed in her own self-depreciating thoughts that she can’t see the people who love her as they stand right in front of her. A FMC who represents all of the toxic and fatphobic stereotypes in the media that I don’t want in a romcom.

It’s 2022! You’re really going to tell me this book was meant to be body positive when 75% of all Lily’s internal monologue and dialogue is centered around the way she negatively views herself and her projections of her insecurities onto her friends and family? How can we focus on the romance or relationships when this is how she spends most of the book?

The way this book represents fat women and “body positivity” is incredibly harmful and reinforces the idea that women who aren’t pretty by society’s standards must hate themselves until someone comes and validates them. Why can’t she love herself, period? Why is it always a “journey of self discovery” they have to go through before they are allowed to accept themselves? Lily didn’t even have that moment. She just magically decided to stop hating her fatness in the very last chapter of the book. All because her mommy gave her permission to.

I love books about vampires. Bonus points if it’s a romance! I was so excited to read this. It looked and sounded so fun. But Lily’s hatred for herself got in the way of any chances we have as a reader to explore the world of vampires and the supernatural. Instead, we get quirky elder millennial slang and pointless plot points that don’t go anywhere.

There’s conflict with the most ancient vampire in the city- who wants Lily and her sire dead- but guess what? All Lily has to do is throw some snarky one-liners and F bombs at him and problem solved!!

We’re introduced to slayers, ultra-secretive vampire clubs, there’s a mystery behind who her father is, and Lily even has a unique ability to resist compulsion by vampires. But none of that really matters in the end because as soon as these ideas are introduced they aren’t mentioned again or elaborated on.

A woman was brutally murdered in suspicious circumstances but I guess that’s less important than having mommy’s acceptance of your fatness, right? Plus she was Lily’s college rival so I guess her death didn’t really matter much to her.

When will we have a book about true body positivity or even mental health? Where we can see the body of the character on the cover and get to be excited because we recognize ourselves in them? And to be able to pick up that book and enjoy it without seeing reflections of the insecurities, eating disorders, and feelings of inadequacy we’ve had to deal with for decades?

This one was SO FUN! I loved the female MC -- her wit, sass, determination -- all of it. What a great character! I also loved the messages of body positivity and self love. I'm not usually a huge fan of rom-com dramas, but this one was delightful!

As a vampire lover this book caught my attention simply from the title and it did not dissapoint. Perfectly combing all elements of every vampire fandom, and a little meta to assist the realism, Duke expands the vampire lore while keeping her own world. Characters are fun and modern, despite having a long lifeline, allowing for our main character to settle into her new life. Though every challenge she faces gets more and more intimidating, she always finds a way to save herself, even when a man volunteers. Obvi we love a girl who can do it all on her own!

I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook, I thought the narrator did a wonderful job. I thought the themes of learning to love yourself and your body for the way you are were well done. The main character Lily was a bit annoying at times yet both relatable and likeable.

This novel is a perfect way to start spooky season. A contemporary fantasy with all the vampire vibes I wanted.

The narrator was fantastic I loved the way she told the story.

I enjoyed the story overall but there were small things that I did not like so much. Throughout the book the MC focuses on her body imagine and is constantly down on herself about how she is fat. It seems like the point was that she was on a journey to be more body positive but at times it just came off as self deprecating and annoying. By the end she does learn to love the body she has but the journey to that self love was not enjoyable.

Thank you Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for an advance copy of the audiobook. This is my honest voluntary review.

This paranormal romance is about Lily who is accidentally turned into a vampire by Tristan. Turns out, this is a big no-no for which he can get into deep trouble for, so they form a contentious partnership in an effort to hide her new "condition."

The premise for the story and plot lines were great, but the constant self-deprecating remarks by Lily, who is plus-sized, were tedious. It is implied that she eventually comes to accept herself since as a vampire she is now eternally locked into her youthful, plus-sized form, but she complains about her size to the bitter end. It's great to have a main character who isn't a waif, but it didn't need to be apologized for on repeat.

I really enjoyed this for the most part.
It's a cool concept, but Lily's self deprecation is maddening.
I realize no one is self assured 100% of the time, but this is fiction.
Fiction is where the MC's are supposed to be super confident and sexy and show us all the things we can be. I don't want to feel like a bag of shit while reading about a plus size character (who is smaller than me) constantly uncomfortable in their own skin.
This was a huge problem for me and why 2 stars are knocked off.
Much love to NetGalley & Dreamscape Media f0r my DRC.

This was a fun read for the start of spooky season. It was romantic and supernatural. It also had underlying tones of body positive and self acceptance. It was a great debut and I will absolutely have my eyes out for further works by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

When Life Gives You Vampires has a great idea and premise. I wanted to get into this, but unfortunately I just didn’t click with the protagonist. As someone who is bigger sized, I sympathized with the insecurities and perspective brought forth, but ultimately the persistent reminder of that and the rest of the character fell a bit flat for me.

The premise of this was great (curvy vampire!), and I was so excited to read it; however, the actual execution was very lacking. This was my first DNF in a long time. The writing seemed very juvenile like it was trying to be cool, but it was just cringey. There were also inconsistencies such as can she see herself in a mirror or not? I'm disappointed that this book not as great as it could have been.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5002533252

This paranormal romance has it all: love, suspense, thrills and contemporary references that ground this novel in the here and now.

I LOVED Lily from the word go and although I got a little tired of her self-doubt, I found it be a really true representation of the journey to self-love that we all need to take (minus the transformation from twenty-something to vampire).

Tristan, Cat, Raven and Evan (not to mention Lily's mom and Gideon) round out the great cast of characters that make this paranormal romance a delight to read - I listened to the audiobook and loved the reality and emotion that the narrator brought to the text. I LEGIT felt like I was in Lily's head as she moved through the first few days of her "life" as a vampire, juggling her friends, work and a surprise visit from her mom ALL while finding blood to keep her going, avoiding Gideon and his goons and trying to put her fangs (whoops fingers) on Tristan.

Highly recommend!

I listened to the audiobook but I just didn’t get very far because I found the narrator did the male character talking to low voice and I couldn’t hear what he was saying . Not sure if it’s a me issue but I do have hearing problems so if you have hearing issues maybe skip this one on audio. 🤷🏻‍♀️

A fun paranormal rom com with hints of action film wrapped in! A full-figured gal meets a hot guy in a bar only to wake up thinking that she has the worst hangover in history only to realize that she has somehow become a vampire! Hard to believe especially when she didn't believe in vampires and other supernatural beings in the first place. An original meet-cute, that is not so cute after all! Interesting characters, well developed story line with an underlying theme of love yourself as you are. The only critic I have is of the main character's obsessive hang-up with her weight/looks and not feeling like she is enough. While it is a completely realistic and valid representation of many women not feeling like they are enough as they are, it does add weight to an otherwise fluffy and fun rom com. I like the reality being wrapped into the fantasy of the paranormal rom com, but I could see where it could be a bit much for someone who doesn't have body issues or self-esteem issues. I'm assuming that those type of people exist. The narrator of the book did a great job of bringing the characters and storyline to life and I definitely enjoyed listening to it! I look forward to finding more books from this author in the future!

Honestly I couldn't finished this one right now. I might try and come back to it later but I could no connect to the main. I get that we are writing about a plus sized woman but I felt like that was the only focus at the beginning of this book. (I only made it to about 35%).
I believe in representation in all books but I feel like we needed to see more of the character then just her size! I wanted to know her. So I am not the best to give feedback on this book because I had to put it in my NOT RIGHT NOW pile..

Advanced Reader's Copy audiobook provided by NetGalley, and Dreamscape Media in exchange for an honest review.

When Life Gives You Vampires is a bit hard for me to review, there were things about the story that I liked but others I just didn't. The voice and the place in time of the novel also felt forced. If the story is placed in 2022 then Lily would be considered an older gen z, or even a zillennial (and as a zillennial myself it was so out of touch). However everything about this novel felt like Lily was an older millennial. The humor, the way the slang felt wrong or forced, and even the way Lily's character describes her insecurities and journey to body positivity just felt very early 2000s.

I would still rate this story as 3 stars, though it does sort of feel like I am being too nice. The redeeming qualities of the novel was Lily's feistiness, some of the cheese-y jokes felt well timed, and her friend Cat.

I was drawn towards reading this novel because I wanted to read a rom-com vampire romance with a plus sized character, but the story felt more about Lily's weight than it was anything else. It almost feels like inspiration was drawn from the first Bridget Jones Diary movie, and that it doesn't offer any mention of the overall body positivity movement than saying she follows influencers online. Even the nods towards social media and even the general phone usage of the novel felt so wrong.

Overall, I just think this novel missed its mark and seemed confused about what a "new adult" audience is.

I found the narrator, Meg Sylvan to be entertaining and embodied the voices of the different characters well!

How do you combat a rainy day a month before Halloween? You obviously enjoy a new vampire story! When Life Gives You Vampires was so great! I started it yesterday evening not expecting a lot, and I have already finished it because I spent every waking hour with it. I LOVED the blend of traditional vampires mixed with a contemporary heroine. I very much enjoyed the fact that Lily was a plus sized heroine and how that influenced her journey in a big way. I completely suggest this book in every way!

I'd love to say this book was super fun and the fat representation was great, but unfortunately I can't. I was very disappointed by this story. The writing was very bland and left the storyline to feel dull. Nothing really interested me about it.

Now, the main reason for me reading this book, the fat representation. The main character's biggest issue is being fat and being trapped for eternity as a fat person. I get where the author was trying to go with it, the idea that 'now the character can learn to love herself as she is' kind of storyline, but it wasn't done well. Like, at all. 🙃 The MC hates her body and is jealous that other fat women are able to love themselves. She admits to being rivals with another fat girl because she didn't like that the girl was happy with herself/her life.

There is so much more unpacked fatphobia in this book it's insane. She believes that only thin people can be happy to the point her best friend has to give her a reality check. The MC is so subscribed to fatphobia, it's absolutely ridiculous. Every thought in her head is about her weight and ways to lose it. She holds so much hatred for herself in her heart.

It was really disappointing and at times triggering as a fat girl to read. I would have loved to read a kick ass story about a fat girl living her eternal life as a fat vampire, but that wasn't what we were given.

On top of that, the vampire love interest gives me creeper vibes from the moment we're introduced to him. He's definetly not an Adrian Ivashkov (Bloodlines) or Eric Sinclair (Betsy the Vampire Queen), thats for sure. Definetely more of a Bill Compton (True Blood)🤢

Thank you Netgalley for an Audiobook arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own. 🖤

I haven’t heard of Gloria Duke before - and then learned this was her debut. It was brilliant writing and storyline for a debut! I never would have known… definitely couldn’t tell. She writes like a seasoned author. Great job and I really enjoyed it. It held my attention the entire way through, and even really surprised me a few times.

4.5-stars

Other than a number of mentions about body image concerns (a huge part of the book - main character Lily is a big, beautiful woman but a lot of her life is spent on fad diets and her mom trying to convince her that a smaller size is not just attainable but a good goal to purchase and aim for - a very bad mentality and way to live for everyone), I really connected with the book. The body issues are something I want to get away from when reading because I live it daily. The pressure Lily lived was painful to read (internal and from her mom).

This is the story of a bigger girl with a gorgeous best friend, who is always in the background. She meets a cute guy at a bar one night … and wakes up to discover that he turned her into a vampire … and a whole new world of trouble comes from that. Not to mention - she’s now frozen in a body she never loved, and has to learn to love it. Her new vampire boyfriend seems to. She’s a gorgeous girl in her own right, and can certainly change the world, when she’s set on it.

Audio version - narrated by Meg Sylvan, who gives a fantastic performance (as you can always expect from her), as the sassy Lily. She also does a great job voicing the other characters to give us distinction. Great job!

I received an advance review and advance listen copy from NetGalley, Sourcebooks Casablanca, and Dreamscape Media, and this is my honest feedback.

Ugh, I was so excited for a vampire romance with a fat lead, but when I started listening to it, I barely made it five minutes in before turning it off. In those first five-ish minutes, the MC makes no less than three self-deprecating remarks about her weight. I, by no means, love my body all the time, but the way this MC talks about her weight and her body is incredibly toxic.

I ended up listening to the book more because I had hopes that it would get better, but alas, no. After becoming a vampire, she’s more concerned about the fact she’ll have a fat body forever than she is about the fact that she’s an actual vampire.

As an actual fat person, I don’t need a book like this to reinforce the stereotypes of fatness. The whole thing reads like it was written by a thin person trying to imagine the life of a fat person. It’s horrid. And while this book could’ve been so much fun, I really couldn’t get past the hurtful way the MC talked about herself throughout the entirety of the book.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for sending me an early copy of this audiobook! All opinions are my own!

Please be aware that this story shows a journey of someone struggling with fatphobia and self image!

If you're wanting a feel-good read for spooky season, look no further! This book immediately captured me with its humor and it never let me go. Lily is such a loveable character, and she reminded me so much of myself. She is so funny and loving, but she also struggles so much with loving herself. She goes on a journey of discovering love for herself and understanding her biases and the way her self-hate had been translating into hate for other women as well. It was so beautiful to watch her understand these things and work to correct them. Her story of self-love became one of love for all, and I absolutely adored it.

The plot wasn't the most unique, but it was made so vibrant by Lily's humor and tenacity. I really enjoyed watching her navigate the new life she's thrust into and the way she threw punches back at life. Her romance with Tristan was a bit repetitive in the way that they fight and make up a few too many times. But I think it really highlighted her journey to find self-love and acceptance.

For any romance lovers, this is the perfect autumn read!