Thank you NetGalley and Del Rel Publishing for the ARC of this novel.

I loved this authors Paranormalcy series so when I saw she had written basically a spinoff of Dracula to tell Lucys story I was so excited to read it and I wasn’t disappointed. This was a solid 5 star read for me. If you enjoy this authors writing style then this novel is written in the same lovely way.

Lucy Undying tells the story of Lucy, Draculas’ first victim in England. She turned a character who was barely a footnote in the story into an amazing sapphic romantasy that I couldn’t put down. This story bounces between time and POVs which can sometimes lead to feeling a bit hectic / confusing but with the different ways they are written they manage to remain separate yet expertly weaved together.

Part of the story happens in the same time as Dracula is set and is told through Lucys journals as Iris reads them. They don’t just tell the story though, they make Lucy truly come alive in the readers mind as they read her struggles as she tells her truths. Lucy is shown to be so much more than a vapid rich girl who was Mina’s friend. She struggles with her feelings of love towards a woman, a mother that controls her and men who do ‘what is best for her’ with no cares to what she wants.

Another part is told via transcripts of her conversations with a therapist set today, which what is more relatable then needing a therapist. These parts really showed how she growled and changed and became who she is today.

The parts told by Iris not only let us learn about Iris and her struggles and how Dracula is still managing to make a mess out of current times, but allows us to eventually see Lucy through someone else’s eyes who really see’s her as Iris reads Lucys journals.

I always try to stay away from spoilers but trust me there are so many shocks and twists every time you think you have figured it out you get hit with another wtf moment.

I highly applaud Kiersten White for writing what is so obviously her most ambitious work to date. Her creative writing choices (POV changes, the use of second person, epistolary chapters, playing with timeline) were all over the place in a way that didn't feel disjointed but rather exciting. As always, I found myself deeply invested in her characters- I could read a book that was solely Lucy and her backstory and be over the moon about it. Lucy Undying is brilliantly funny, astonishingly romantic for a book with so much blood in it, and a perfect love letter to the original Dracula (but better in some ways, sorry Bram!). There were times when the book felt too long to me, but all in all the reading experience was worth my time.

(3.5 rounded up)

I liked this one a lot. The pacing was very slow, but it didn’t bother me too much. I think the characters were well developed, and I just adored Lucy. Iris wasn’t as well developed, but I still liked her a lot. Also, sapphic vampires? Count me in.

The gothic vibes were 10 out of 10.

Lucy Westenra was Dracula's first victim in England, and though she died in the pages of someone else's diary, she was reborn a vampire. She spent years trying to escape Dracula, and in the twenty-first century is captivated by Iris, a young woman whose family is built from a dangerous secret. The two are drawn to each other, but Iris' mother won't let her go and Dracula is still out there.

The story follows Lucy via her secret journal, Lucy telling her story in the present day, and Iris in the present day. We learn about Lucy's real feelings toward her three suitors, and her infatuation with Mina, who is not as fixated or enamored with her in the same manner. We find out how Lucy survived the staking and how she spent her time afterwards. I really enjoyed that story thread, and the way Lucy maneuvered through history, unknowingly seeking out the other women that Dracula turned into vampires. Each are a little off in their sanity and purpose in the afterlife but becomes something of a family for her to fall back on. Her life changes as she gets to know them, and their lives change over time as well.

Iris is fascinating. From the start, Iris Godalming is hesitant to fall back on her family name and fortune. As far as she knows, it was built on a multilevel marketing cultlike business, and she goes through properties to find things worthy of selling. It takes her to the old Westenra home and to Whitby, with a historian at her side to help. She has a crush on Elle, and there are mysterious aspects of her past and her family to intrigue the reader. We think we know what happened if we've read Bram Stoker's Dracula, and this seems to be a world where that novel was never published. Iris gets to know Elle as she goes through the properties and the diary she found; it all comes together soon enough and Iris finds out more about Elle and her own Godalming legacy. It isn't quite what we thought it was at first, which makes the final third of the novel even more fun to read. It's a little over the top, with a vampire MLM in the middle of Utah, and more gore with the finale than the state will likely want.

I feel like to overall neutral feelings toward this book stems more from my high exceptions rather than an issue with the work itself. The pacing of this one is slow, which does make sense when you consider you need to keep track of 3 different timelines in order to follow the story. That kind of approach just isn’t my cup of tea, as two timelines is my limit. I’m easily confused, what can I say. I was also bored with the characters pretty early on, they weren’t very complex nor did they have any of the normal depth I’ve come to expect from Kiersten White. Overall, this was still a fun book, but you got to upfront a few things, both of which are the pacing and timelines. It was still a fun book and the cover is so gorgeous, and I would ultimately recommended it for anyone who wants a slow, sapphic vampire read.

I saw vampires on the cover and just had to request it, unfortunately this one was just SO slow. I had to skim to make a dent in it and ultimately felt like it wasn’t worth it.

The first thing I have to say is: what a cover! Whoever illustrated and designed this cover did a truly masterful job!
I loved the premise of this book and was so intrigued to dive into it. Kiersten White's writing has been hit or miss for me in the past, so I was extra curious to see how it went. Lucy Undying was a slow-paced journey that I think may not work for everyone, as it did slow down the pacing a bit here and there, but I think the pacing fit well with the vibe of the story. I enjoyed the diary entries and discovering made along the way, and think there was a really interesting overarching plot at play in this one. I didn't personally love all of the choices White made regarding other characters in this book from our classic Dracula original, but everyone's entitled to their own opinions and decisions, so I still really appreciate what she was trying to do. Overall, I think this could be a fun read for fans of Dracula or anyone who enjoys vampire stories.

Lucy Undying is a fantastic take on Dracula. There are so many Easter eggs we have from the original story, but hearing from one of his brides, Lucy. The story does drag on for quite a bit, but I was intrigued enough to keep going, just with a lot of stops and starts.

Can I just say the cover of this book is perfection!

Lucy Undying is a reimagining of Dracula, from the point of view of the character of Lucy Westenra. It is told from different timelines, from before Lucy is a vampire, immidiately after she is turned, and in the present with a different storyline. We also get the point of view of Iris, a human in the present, and everything that is going on in her life.

Seeing Lucy through this journey of self discovery, and self love was bittersweet. There were times I wanted to shake Lucy for her naiveté. Other times it was clear all she needed someone to tell her that she was enough.

This novel is extremely character driven, if you don’t enjoy that, you might feel that the pacing of the novel is slow. I didn’t mind, all the POVs had me hooked!

Something else I loved in this novel was the passage of time. Time had no meaning when you’d live forever. But from the moment Iris and Lucy met, time stopped and slowed.

Some spoilers ahead:

The commentary on MLMs, by making it vampire MLM killed me(in a good way). MLMs will suck the life out of you, figuratively and literally!
I did think the romance between Lucy and Iris was a tad insta love.

Overall, a gorgeous read, if you love a twist on your classics, go pick this up!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Kiersten White for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Lucy Undying coming out September 10, 2024. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I received this directly from NetGalley, so I didn’t request it. I’ve read a couple books by this author, so I decided to give it a chance. I love Dracula and a lot of other vampire stories. I’ll always be a fan of the genre. I really wanted to enjoy this book, but it didn’t really work for me. I felt like it was trying to do too much. I really wasn’t interested in the modern story at all. I would’ve preferred it stay in the 1890s. The writing wasn’t bad. I just think the dialogue was a little wooden. I thought it was very long and could’ve used some editing. I don’t think this author is for me.

A retelling of Dracula, a cover that pulls you in and it is written by Kiersten?! Heck yes, count me in!
I LOVED Lucy.

Lucy was born a long time ago, just like anyone else. When she was born the second time, you could say nothing was ever the same again.

When Lucy woke up as a vampire, which did not seem so pleasant to wake in a coffee and an unsatisfied thirst. Worst of all is that Dracula wants her and Lucy will have none of that.

Lucy is fun, Whitty, speaks her mind and overall, a well-done character.

Then you have Iris. She is in England and on a mission. Gather everything left to her and get rid of it.

She is not happy about what is going on and is not shy about it. She is happy her mom is dead (relatable) and cannot wait to be rid of the legacy she left behind. Starting with one of the houses of which is basically worthless inside. No jewelry, nothing of value to sell.

Until the one room she forced her way in and found a diary belonging to Lucy.

Overall, I like Iris. There were moments where I was a little annoyed with her. I could relate with some of rants/antics. No Wi-Fi or bars, yikes, bad time when you’re alone in an empty old abandon mansion. No outlets or light switches either?? Sheesh, what year was this house again? Though, it would not be too bad if the house were in a more livable condition. But oh well, the plan is to sell asap anyway.

When Lucy shows up at the house, the pace picks up more and you become so immersed in the story that it is impossible to put it down.

Another masterpiece by Kiersten.

I love Kiersten White, but this book fell a little for me. I was so excited to read another Kiersten White book, I couldn’t click fast enough. The story felt a little too long and dragged in certain areas. I did love the gothic feels and a great twist on a classic story. Thank you Kiersten White, NetGalley and Del Rey for this digital copy.

Superbly gothic, full of lust and longing and an amazing addition to the vampire genre. One would think vampires and the associated lore could get tiresome but Lucy Undying shows that an old (or dead) dog can still learn new tricks.

2.50!

The whole book was giving Castlenova energy and I loved that show +the premise and the cover was so hard to pass on so it was already going in the right direction for me but then I actually started the book and my main problem would be the pacing it was so terribly slow and it dragged so much that I had to skim a bit because if I didnt it would've been a dnf. I would have never been able to move forward. I also appreciated how we got more than one point of view but the author was clearly struggling with managing three point of views at ones. The characters actually had me hooked at the start but as the book progressed they were dulled down and to be honest this was a very forgettable book. Ask me anything about this book in 4 days and I wont be able to tell you anything about it. Lucy's character for me was very sloppy and immature. Mina was just boring. Im giving this two stars because the first half was somewhat enjoyable. I have had Kirsten's trilogy and I darken on my tbr for 5 years now and I was gonna read it this year but after this book I am pushing it down because I was so excited for this and the disappointment was real.
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I saw vampires and I saw the cover and said let's gooo!!

*Thank you to Penguin Random House for this arc*

DNF'd 50% of the way through.

Heartbroken about this book. I really wanted to like it - Lucy! Vampires! Sapphic! And it just got increasingly silly. Lucy accidentally stops WW1! She stops a serial killer! BUT she's not a good person, she's just accidentally in the middle of every historic event to take place since Dracula was written! I was starting to feel like I was reading Dracula Forrest Gump, and not in a good way. It felt random and disjointed from the narrative. Nothing she did had any impact on the story.

I also thought it was very poorly written. From the start, you're reading Lucy's diaries along with her present day therapist transcript (ngl this ALSO felt very, very weird. Why is this vampire at a therapist?) and then later in the book, the other narrator, Iris, starts reading them too - but she's behind what you've already read, and starts making references to things that happened ages ago in the book. It would have been easy for the reader to be reading WITH Iris, but the reader being SO far ahead just created confusion. It didn't feel well thought out.

I liked this book so much at first, but the silliness of the narrative along with the sloppiness of the POVs made me think not only do I not want to handsell this book, but that I don't want to read anything by this author ever again.

I think it's criminal that a book with such a STUNNING cover and interesting premise is so BORING. DNF at 20% cause I know myself and I know what I like to read, and this isn't it. The characters were bland, the jumps between diary entries, present-day, and therapy session transcripts was jarring, and I just didn't vibe with this at all. So I'm not pushing myself through this to give it a mid rating when I'm done.

Lucy Undying: A Dracula Novel by Kiersten White is a captivating tale of a vampire who breaks free from Dracula's control and sets out on a journey of self-discovery and love. This epic gothic fantasy, written by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Hide, is both empowering and vengeful, drawing me into a seductive world of darkness and intrigue.

I'm so grateful to have gotten the opportunity to read Lucy Undying as an ARC! This is my first time reading something by Kiersten White, and after finishing this book, I've come to realize that I really enjoy White's writing style- I'll definitely be keeping my eye out for her books in the future. Also- can we take a moment to appreciate that STUNNING cover??

A revelation I had while reading this book is: as a whole... I'm not sure I love Dracula retellings. This is not a criticism of White's retelling by any means- I thought her rendition was really interesting and fun- I'm just not sure they're for me, in general! With that being said, I really enjoyed the writing style throughout Lucy Undying- there were a lot of creative elements and POV's that made this story come together in a really intriguing way. Even though Dracula retellings aren't typically the subject matter I reach for, something about this book kept me turning the page. If you are a fan of Dracula retellings (particularly extra sapphic ones!!!), then this is definitely something I would recommend you check out on September 10th, when this book finds its way into the world! Overall, I'm giving Lucy Undying a 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 for Goodreads purposes. I look forward to seeing what else Kiersten White writes into existence!

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Del Rey books for this ARC for review. I LOVE Dracula so when I saw that there was going to be a book about Lucy, I was super excited and had to get a copy. This book did not disappoint. This book tells the story where Dracula left off and even more so. This is Lucy's story in its entirety. Lucy didn't let Dracula in, her family did. The only thing that saved her was Dracula. Her family was trying to kill her. Lucy then spends her undead life figuring out who she really is, and it isn't until present day that Lucy finds someone special.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Lucy Undying by Kiersten White is a mixed first, second, and third POV mutli-timeline contemporary horror reimagining of Lucy, Mina, and several other characters from Bram Stoker's Dracula. When Iris, a young heiress, finds a diary belonging to Lucy before Lucy was bitten by Dracula, she becomes enamored with the Queer journey inside. Meanwhile, Lucy has been hunting Dracula down for decades to keep Mina, her first love, safe.

It's been years since I read Dracula, so I'm ashamed to admit that I actually did not remember Lucy but I did remember a vast majority of the other characters mentioned. I felt that the narration does assume a bit of knowledge of Dracula but more in the ‘you know who Dracula, Jonathan, and Mina are? Good, enjoy the ride’ way. The cowboy, the doctor, and the heir that are also part of Lucy and Mina’s storylines are fleshed out enough that I wasn't lost or wishing I had reread Dracula more recently.

The narration plays a lot with style and form. We have transcripts between Lucy and a therapist that is almost entirely Lucy speaking and using ‘you’ as if she is talking to the reader, not her therapist. We also have first person narration from Iris, Lucy in the form of diary entries, letters, several third person chapters, and a few second person chapters. There is an indicator at the start of each chapter to let the reader know who the main player is and sometimes even a date. I found the playing with form to be a really interesting way to integrate all of these diverging aspects that really all stem from the same source.

What I found really interesting was how Iris and Elle, a young woman who quickly becomes Iris’ friend then lover, mirrors and then breaks away from Lucy and Mina’s story in the diary. Lucy pines for Mina and wants to marry her and Iris cannot stop thinking about Elle. But Mina always insists on Lucy getting married to a man and Mina wants to marry Jonathan, pushing Lucy towards three men who may or not be sincere in their intentions towards her. It's heartbreaking to see a young Queer woman being tossed aside like that but it's also wonderful to see a Sapphic relationship being given the chance to grow into something long-lasting.

Content warning for mentions of medical procedures done without consent, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and emotional abuse

I would recommend this to fans of Dracula who want a Queer storyline, readers invested in stories depicting descendants of characters from classic literature, and those looking for a horror with a slow build and playing with form