First, this book is told from multiple perspectives, Iris in the present, Lucy´s journal in the past, and Lucy´s therapy recordings in the future. I loved the different timelines and jumping between them, it was not too hard to keep track of what was happening, and it kept my brain entertained and focused.

I loved the characters and Lucy´s growth throughout the story, even if the love story felt a bit fast, and I hate those. But the characters make up for it, both Lucy and Iris are interesting and well-rounded, while the other vampires are different enough not to get lost in the background. My least favorite character was weirdly enough, Dracula. He is a weak little man, which we stan, but certain plot points did not make sense in the story.

This gets bonus points for the vibe, it´s spot-on, gothic, and dark. And the MML vampire scheme was just hilarious!!

Pick this one up if you love feminine rage, sapphics, found family, and deep inner healing (mostly from mommy issues).

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Lucy Undying is an Adult Gothic Fantasy novel that reimagines some classic character arcs from one of my favorite novels of all-time, Dracula. This is the 11th-book I've read from White. I had really been looking forward to it ever since I read the synopsis and first laid eyes on the stunning cover.

With a clever use of mixed media, as well as an intriguing present day narrative, White spins a tale spanning across generations. The way the historical and present perspectives were played off each other was very well executed. As the synopsis notes, one of the main characters in this story is Lucy Westenra, who Dracula fans may recognize as Mina's best friend. She's also known to be Dracula's first victim in the UK. In Lucy Undying, White imagines what would have happen to Lucy after that, for her story didn't end there.

In present day, we follow Iris, who's family owns a health products empire. Her mom has recently died and Iris travels to London to stay at a mansion, known as Hillingham, that she's inherited. It's there she makes new friends, explores the past through the pages of a journal she discovers hidden in Hillingham, begins to find her true self and hatches a plan to escape from the clutches of the evil company her mother left behind.

This story is layered. There's a lot happening. Initially, you aren't 100% on how all the different elements are going to come together, but each perspective is equally intriguing. I loved the idea of the Hillingham house. I could just picture this neglected gothic property and loved Iris's time there. Those scenes at Hillingham are some of my favorites from the entire novel.

I also did enjoy Lucy's perspective. The more historical portions were well connected with the original source material and I liked hearing Lucy's side of all that: her suitors, her mother, etc. I was obsessed with this story for the first 65%. There was so much going on and I was enjoying the back and forth of it all, trying to piece it together. However, around that 65% mark, there's something revealed, where after that, I was almost over it. There wasn't much intrigue left for me and I struggled to see how we still had so much story to go?

It did drag for me in that second portion, but picked up again in the last 10%. For me, I feel like this could have been cut down a bit, but that's purely personal taste. NGL, I was over it, but others may eat it up the whole way through. Overall, I felt this was a clever reinterpretation of Lucy's story and an interesting exploration of where that could have gone. I know some true Dracula fans may be turned off by how much this changes some of the MCs of Dracula, thinking of Mina in particular, but I think you have to appreciate White's creativity with it.

Thank you to the publisher, Del Rey, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I enjoyed this one and can't wait to see what White delivers us next!

This is such an intriguing premise: a character relegated to the sidelines of Dracula gets a chance to tell her own story. Lucy is typically the tragic, doomed beauty and here she is given a chance to shine. This is part gothic, part self-discovery, and part romance and it is set against both historical and modern backdrops.

One of the best elements of the book is its exploration of Lucy’s evolution through time. The historical sections, especially Lucy’s diary and her observations on vampire society, are where the story really shines. Lucy is a good foil to her fellow vampires, whose humanity decays as they cling to aspects of their former lives/trauma. It taps into that age-old vampire lore—how immortality can be a curse and how the more you live, the more you lose who you were. This existential struggle is fascinating, and I enjoyed the way White wove it through the narrative. I also adored Lucy telling these events to a therapist; it's a bit campy, but I thought it was very clever.

The parallel storyline with modern-day Iris, whose family secrets form a mystery of their own, adds another layer to the plot. The tension between Lucy’s centuries-old quest for identity and Iris’s own need for freedom makes for an interesting dynamic. The Sapphic romance feels natural as two women who have both been controlled by forces outside themselves for so long find freedom in one another.

However, the book doesn’t quite match the dark, brooding atmosphere suggested by the cover and the blurb. While the setup promises gothic horror, the tone shifts unexpectedly from time to time and I don't think it blends the modern era as well as it wants to. Basically, the corpo vamps make them seem far less gothic. It takes all the history out of them. It's almost as if the book is juggling two distinct identities—historical vampire lore and modern cults —and for me, that balance didn’t fully land. Honestly, I'm a bit of a snob about gothic stories.

If you’re a fan of vampires and appreciate a fresh twist on a classic taken into the modern realm. Despite its flaws, Lucy Undying is an interesting read. I liked the idea of it more than the execution, particularly the thought-provoking questions about immortality, identity, and how we carry our pasts with us.

Thanks so much to TBR Beyond Tours & the author for the complimentary review copy. All opinions are my own and this review is voluntary.

I gave this book 3.75/5 stars. The writing was immaculate. The only problem is once Dracula was introduced to the story it really fell flat for me and it kinda dragged.

A sapphic take on Dracula told from the perspective of Lucy as she recounts both her past and her present in a story about revenge filled with betrayal, romance, and vampires! Lucy Westenra is known for being one of Dracula's victims... and in this new take we follow Lucy from the beginning as we go past her death to the present day. Lucy and Mina were inseparable and it's known that Lucy had famous suitors, yet the moment she becomes a vampire what truly happens to her? In this story we explore Lucy's side of events as she grapples with her choices and her forbidden love, as she deals with a whole new life style and the thirst for revenge against the monster that turned her. Spanning decades, we see her grow and see her hunt down the vampire who continues to elude her... and then she meets Iris, the first person to see her for herself and to love her wholly. Iris has her own secrets though... secrets that could destroy them both. Can Lucy's past and Iris's own dysfunctional family tear them apart or can they find a way to work together and overcome it all? If you love unique takes on characters that further flesh them out and give a fresh take on the classic story, absolutely add this book to your tbr. As a huge fan of Dracula and a lover of sapphic vampire stories, this book hit all my boxes. It's a delightful read that manages to keep both the true gothic undertones of the original story while adding a fresh new spin that will absolutely captivate you while you read it.

Release Date: September 10,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

Author Info: Website

Book Tour: TBR Beyond Tours

*Thanks Netgalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Del Rey, and @tbrbeyondtours for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review and being part of the book tour.

Dracula retelling by my fav Kiersten White?! Yes please.

I loved this.

Lucy absolutely needed a girlfriend and this was done is such a great way. Vampires, cults/mlms, dead abusive parents. This was for me!

I love seeing the threads of the authors religious background and working through that trauma on her horror books I relate full heartedly and it always makes me feel seen.

Thanks to netgalley and random house for an eARC

A haunting, thrilling, vampiric discovery of life…after death.
Kiersten White has given a story to The girl who was only mentioned in brief passing in Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
A life that was taken from her and then forced back on her with conditions.

I didn’t really feel gothic vibes, but rather dark and gloomy.
It’s a gritty story of a young woman coming to terms with the death of her human life while also grasping her new vampiric life.

A perfect read to add to your TBR this fall!

𝘙𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘵𝘦: AVAILABLE NOW
𝙄 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙥𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠. 𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙤𝙬𝙣.

Okay listen. This book was amazing. But I also think I was in the unique position to understand some themes in this book that other people may not get. This is an allegory for leaving Mormonism. Point blank period. Yes, it is a Dracula story, but it's also fully about putting your faith in something (your personal god) and finding out that that something does not give a flying freak about you.

I liked these characters; I understood them because I, too, have been in their positions—have grown up in their positions. And now as an adult, I really appreciated their ability to do what I cannot. Yeah, it's a fictional story, but it was also quite healing. I'm rambling and this probably doesn't make any sense. Let me just say, if you have any sort of religious trauma surrounding your bodily autonomy, your life trajectory, or anything else you may have been taught that you do not necessarily agree with now, READ THIS BOOK. The gothic lesbian vampire vibes are just the added plus in this regard.

Also, if you're a huge fan of Bram Stoker's Dracula and are attached to that storyline, you may not like Lucy Undying. The mythos of Dracula and its supporting characters get a BIG rewrite. I didn't love Dracula when I read it so I didn't have any preconceived notions to have me end up disappointed.

I read this early to very much thanks of the publisher, author and netgalley. I unfortunately hated it and then waited for the audiobook to see if I liked it better. it was a no go. It feels like we have a huge influx of bland stories that include vampires trying to be "hard", "edgy" and genderbent queer to make it a trendy tik tok hit. I was just let down the cover alone is worth a thousand words just not the one the author used.

This book was phenomenal! Lucy Undying by Kiersten White is a fantastic vampire extravaganza that surprised me in all the best ways. It’s about Lucy Westenra, one of Dracula’s victims in 1890. But her gothic horror story is combined with that of Iris, a young woman in 2024 whose life has a lot of parallels to Lucy’s own journey. I went in mostly blind and am so glad I did, because at some point this story moves beyond a tragic gothic story and into a deep healing journey as well as a sort of romp of an adventure. It features everything you want in a new Dracula story:

Feminism and feminine rage
A swoony sapphic love story
Dry humor
Found family
Deep inner healing (I cried more than once)
A multi-level marketing health scheme (trust me, it just works!)

I, too, have no idea how the author manages to pack all of this in one single book and make it all work but she really does! I think this is set to be one of my top reads of the year. I recommend this for people who aren’t afraid of dark stories (or gore) but love their darkness balanced with hope and beauty. I’d say it’s perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo’s Ninth House series.

Thank you to Del Ray for this ARC.

I absolutely love Dracula spin-offs or retellings, given that the classic vampire story is such an iconic piece of literature. So, when I saw that “Lucy Undying” was a gothic sapphic vampire tale featuring none other than Lucy Westenra herself, I was so excited. Unfortunately, this one fell flat, and I am still questioning a lot of the choices that were made with this novel.

The best part of this is the unique concept. I love the idea of having Lucy be the main character and instead of dying like in the canon tale, we get her turning into a vampire.

However, the problems of this novel start with the pacing. The first half of this book bored me. I had to take frequent breaks, and if this had not been an ARC, I would have quit reading. The middle starts to pick up the pace, but by this point, I was so removed from the characters and plot that I didn’t particularly care where the story was going.

In my opinion, Lucy was an immature character who didn’t really evolve throughout the plot. Mina was boring, which just made me depressed. The MLM aspect of this vampire story left me confused and asking, “Why?” I also saw the major twist in this book from a mile away. Overall, I did not enjoy this one. I can see where other readers may love the reinterpretation, but for me, it was a disappointment.

FIRSTLY I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for an early review copy*

Lucy Undying is the story that asks “what happened to the women Dracula prayed on? What happened to Lucy Westenra?”

In this story we follow Lucy Westenra in snippets of her past and present as she deals with the life she lost and the un-life she gained.

I found this book gripping from page 1. We get dual POV from Lucy when she’s a young girl facing manipulation at every turn and later when she’s a vampire as well as another POV from a human woman named Iris who’s family is part of a health product cult empire, as she’s on the run from their clutches.

The way this book made the Dracula legend feel so fresh and unique but also felt like a true presentation of the classic legend was so masterfully done. Kiersten White dived into themes of men vs monsters, women’s injustices, sexism, abuse & neglect, as well as finding yourself and learning to love yourself and not hold onto the past.

This book was SO well written, some of the quotes in here had me actually feeling a deep yearning to transport myself into the novel and watch everything first hand. Speaking of, the YEARNING in this book was top notch. Not overly done but so beautiful and felt realistic. (Had me kicking my feet.)

Iris and Lucy (Vampire Lucy and child Lucy) are people you just can’t help but feel so deeply for, and root for them even harder. Every chapter was so intriguing ESPECIALLY the ones where we just learned about them as people. The plot was fantastic as well I thought it was a nice twist on the Dracula lore but the characters were the shining stars for me. I could have read 800 pages of just slice of life about those two in particular. There are also some phenomenal side characters who really emphasize and bring to life the monstrosities taking place in this book.

An instant new fave for me!

Thank you to Del Rey and Netgalley for the advance copy of Lucy Undying! This review is entirely my own thoughts and opinions based on the advance copy I read.

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚

This story is a triumph! A lot of love and care went into crafting a story that could blend quite well with the original Bram Stoker's Dracula novel and the result is this glorious five star read that I would happily re-read again for the first time if I could. If you are a lover of the original Dracula novel, then you will have a lot of fun with this story. Kiersten White went above and beyond with easter eggs that line up with the timeline of the original novel all the way to the formatting of the story mimicking Bram Stoker's choice of storytelling through journal entries, multiple POVs, ship logs, etc. It is incredibly well done and speaks highly of the author's love of Dracula.

The story itself is wonderfully Sapphic, from the very start to the end. It's a glorious showcase of women in love with each other from all angles. From unrequited, almost obsessive love, to the bond of sisterhood and friendship, to a blazing romance that outshines all the others. Most refreshingly is the fact, White chose to portray all these loves and romances through the ages of Lucy's life in a light of acceptance, not once veering down the path of her being queer becoming a topic of ridicule and social shunning. That was honestly a nice touch that I love the author for.

Lucy as a character is incredibly well done. Her journey of self-love and self-acceptance is one that so many can relate to. What's even more touching is how, as she learns and grows, her growth reaches out and touches those around her at the time. There were so many times I just wanted to hold Lucy because of how endearing she is, heck even after finishing the book and getting to see the triumphant results of her journey of self-discovery; I still just wanna cuddle her. Kiersten has written her in such an endearing why that Lucy has landed herself at the top of my favorite Vampires list.

The story overall is wonderfully done. It has the same haunted gothic atmosphere that Dracula has. Horror is blended beautifully with fantasy in a tale that takes place firmly in our world, and is written to be so believable, just like Bram Stoker did with Dracula. While the first half of the story did a fantastic job of introducing the main key players and their role in this story, the second half is where the plot really shines! I could not put down this book once the ball got rolling on Iris's part of the tale. There were many up-too-late nights reading this one.

Overall, I do highly recommend this book! This is my first time reading Kiersten's writing, but I'm honestly in love with her storytelling.

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄:
☆  Dracula Retelling
☆  Sapphic Romance
☆  Hidden Family Secrets
☆  Journey of Self Discovery
☆  Gothic Atmosphere
☆  Multi-POV
☆  Female Rage
☆ Vampires and Cults

This was an exciting read! It was interesting to see things from Lucy's point of view. The character development in this book was wonderful! The background and the different timelines really gives you a complete picture of the journey Lucy has taken. Learning about Lucy's transformation into a vampire and her life is definitely something that keeps you turning the pages! Overall it was a good read! Thank you Tbr and Beyond Tours, Kiersten White and Del Rey for sharing this book with me!

Thank you NetGalley and Del Rey for the ARC!

While a beautiful premise, I fear it just moved far too slow for my liking. The cover is beautiful and Lucy, my beloved, I'm so glad you're getting your flowers, but with sapphic vampires I wish to be hooked more.

I love a dual POV/timeline book. That is a big part of what sucked me into this story right from the start. We have Lucy's story from the late 17th century, Iris's story from one year before the present, and then the transcript of a client therapy session from present day. There are times when it is hard to figure out how they connect, but when they do it is with a bang. Unfortunately, once that happens at around 75%, the story really lagged for me. It became repetitive and very slow. We add in a few chapters from Dracula's POV but they were not compelling for me, and there was too much included that didn't advance the story in my opinion. It took the book down from what was at least a 4 start experience to a 3 star one for me. I know that other readers did not feel this portion of the book detracted from the whole, so if you are at all intrigued, give it a try yourself.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

"The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein" by this author is one of my all-time favorite books. So when "Lucy Undying" was announced in 2022 as a similar retelling, I started counting down the days. I was with my friend Sarah and we screamed and rushed to buy copies of Dracula so we could be ready. Did either of us read those copies sometime in the last 2 years? Well, no. But it's the thought that counts?

I was still familiar enough with the story and characters of the original story to follow along here, so I don't think it's required reading to enjoy this version. Here we're following Lucy Westenra, a lonely 19-year-old heiress in 1800s England.Others see her as beautiful, innocent, and helpless, and men line up to tell her who to be. But within herself, Lucy is sharp-tongued and clever, and desperately in love with another woman. Until she's killed and turned into a vampire by Dracula. Lucy travels the world, meeting other victims of Dracula and men in general, forming unique female friendships while trying to find herself. 

This story is dual POV and told in several mediums and timelines: one is Lucy's diary as a human, one is transcripts of Lucy's therapy sessions as a vampire, and another is Iris' POV in modern day. Iris is a twenty-something girl who's just inherited property in England, along with a manipulative MLM company determined to make her its figurehead and acolyte. When Iris visits said property in England, she comes across a diary from one of its previous inhabitants---three guesses whose it is. 

This book was beautifully written, fun, and thoughtful. I especially enjoyed the historical parts. I liked the idea of the MLM storyline, but it felt like it could have been its own separate book to me. While I enjoyed all the timelines, I think I'd have been able to immerse myself more if the modern-day one and historical were separate stories. I did like the romance, but think it would have impacted me more if we had more of Lucy's POV. That's also probably because I just wanted more Lucy in general, outside of the filter of her diary or therapy transcripts. 

If you're in the mood for a feminist and sapphic take on a classic horror story and vampire lore, definitely check this one out! Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I originally found Kiersten White through The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein, and have since read several other titles from her. But Lucy Undying brought me right back to the vibes of Dark Descent, and I immediately felt at home. Though Lucy Undying is more modern, the gothic undertones stay strong, and the modern twist on Dracula and vampirism is a fun, wild ride the whole way through.

I'm a huge fan of mixed media in books, and the different time jumps and storytelling formats used throughout Lucy were absolutely perfect to show the transformation that Lucy herself went through at each stage in her life, and Iris was the perfect heroine to accompany her.

If you like dark, sapphic tales with strong, resilient leads, you'll love this!

Sapphic vampires!? Sign me tf up! 🧛‍♀️👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩

As soon as I read the synopsis for Lucy Undying by Kiersten White (and saw the cover because, I mean, come on, it's gorgeous!) I knew it was going to be my kind of novel! I adored Dracula when I read it many years ago and, while this book is not Dracula, I still adored it, just in a different way and for different reasons.

Lucy is everything I wanted in an ancient, sapphic vampire in the modern day and I loved learning about her history through journal entries and an interview. I was really impressed with the way White was able to weave three different voices from different times into one book and make it flow the way she did. And the way the novel explores agency versus the version of ourselves society reflects onto us was *chef's kiss*

I liked unraveling the mystery of Lucy's story alongside Iris. At first, I wasn't sure how both women's stories were going to tie together and I wasn't sure how I felt about their budding romance, but I ultimately loved how the narrative unfolded.

Some of my favorite quotes:

"It wasn't that my mother didn't love me. It was that her version of love was another form of violence."

"Lying about the existence of monsters never saved anyone from falling victim to them."

"First thing's first though, we start this girls' trip the proper way: arson and then a visit to my therapist."

"Forever is composed of nows, and I've been unbound by time long enough to know our now was perfect."

If you are here for vampires, queer romance, and mystery this one is for you!

Thanks to Random House/Del Rey and NetGalley for an eARC of this book for an honest review.

This was a case of the cover, and the description made me do it. The cover is absolutely gorgeous, and the description made it sound like this would be a great sapphic spooky season pick. Unfortunately, the description and the actual content did not seem to match. I was expecting "A Dowry of Blood" vibes and instead ended up in a story that mostly took place in a contemporary time frame (literally the end of 2024). I may have enjoyed it more if it had been pitched differently because I ended up feeling duped.