When Life Gives You Vampires

Oh my God...this book, I want to give this book a million stars! THANK YOU GLORIA DUKE! First off, congrats on your first novel, well done!
"When Life Gives You Vampires" caught my attention because the title reminded me of "When Life Gives you Lululemons" - then I started reading.
Lily, our main heroine, is turned into a vampire, and our Edward Cullen, I mean, Vampire dreamboat, is Tristan Newberry.
The author explores the emotions and personality of a modern, plus-sized woman. Her insecurities, fears, and expectations are thanks to a society that champions thin women. I got the same feeling I got when I read Twilight which was basically my first Vampire love story (yep, I'm a millennial, sorry Anne Rice) and it was pure bliss. Lily is witty and fun, and Tristan is an old-fashioned romantic.
They have their share of trouble they have to handle and problems to solve, but they have 4evermore to figure it out. Eternity is quite a long time after all.

When Life Gives You Vampires releases on 10/11/2022!

Thank you Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca for my eArc in exchange for an honest review.

My blog post will be published on 9/4/2022 at www.jourdanawebber.com/blog
My Instagram post will be published on 9/4/2022 at www.instagram.com/jourdanawebber

I am absolutely in love with this book!

Lily Banes wakes up after a night out with her friend only to find she is now a vampire. A seriously confused and curious vampire, who is now in some serious danger. In her search for answers she finds the man who turned her, Tristan Newberry. Tristan didn't mean to turn Lily, but now that he has he is going to do everything he can to make sure she gets to live her full undead life.

**Trigger warning: Negative body image, unhealthy dieting **

First and foremost Lilly, our plus-sized female main character. I absolutely adore her character. She is witty, sarcastic, and minus the vampirism extremely relatable. The way Lily's narrative describes the impact of her relationship with her weight, and the influence it has socially and emotionally on her life, as well as the way she interacts with others is a wonderful comment on how different body types are viewed in society. Throughout the novel the negative relationship between Lily and her weight is carefully discussed and broken down, as well as her own perspective and comparisons between her own body type and other people in her life.

Tristan is a fascinating character who plays on both the moody broody vampire and the lost hero attempting to right a wrong tropes. The way he reacts to situations emphasises the way he responds to the changing times from when he was first turned to modern times. He is both infuriating and lovable through Lily's eyes and her added commentary on him is just spectacular.

The multiple references to pop culture vampire shows and books had me enjoying every moment of this story. I couldn't help but giggle at the Twilight and Buffy jokes throughout the conversations between Lily and her friend Cat. Especially as they were used in wonderful ways to further the plot and make light of the way each character responds to the situations they are faced with.

Overall, I am in love with this novel. It is a spectacular debut novel, and I look forward to reading more works from Gloria Duke.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the opportunity to read and review this novel.

This book! Oh my gosh! I loved this! It had everything I could ever want. There was a plus sized main character, vampires, a sexy romance, and a great found family bestie! I honestly could not have asked for me.
Lily is everything I could want in a main character! She was smart and funny and sexy. I couldn't tell if I wanted to be her best friend or her girlfriend. I wanted her to know she is absolutely gorgeous and amazing. She makes this whole book worth reading.
The relationship between Lily and Tristan was great. It wasn't exactly a slow burn but it was enough of a build up to make the final moments amazing. I did wish Tristan had a bit more character development but that is just a person thing. Tristan was a great character i was honestly just jealous as heck Lily liked him.
The vampire element was also great. I love vampires and while these guys stuck with the original definition of a vampire it was still so much fun. Lily was exactly what I think normal people would act like after being turned.
Please do yourself a favor and read this book. This is perfect for the spooky season but it great for all year long as well!