Title: Lucy Undying

Author: Kiersten White

Genre: Adult Horror

Format: hardback library book

Series: NA

Star Rating: 4.5 stars

So this is a little known fact about me but I’m obsessed with Frankenstein and Dracula. For some reason, I latched on to these two classics. Probably because they were the first classics I could understand. So when I heard that this book was coming out, I had to get my hands on it. I may have threaded the author multiple times about it and I’m sure she was sick of me. So if you reading this, Kiersten, I’m sorry for fangirling a little too close to the sun. I just really love Dracula. Who can blame me? 

One of the best things about this book was how queer it was. The two main characters, Lucy and Iris, are queer. During Lucy’s many years alive, she came across a lot of queer folk. It was so fantastic to see! My queer (I’m bisexual) little heart was so ridiculously happy with this addition. It wasn’t forced or anything. It felt completely natural and realistic. Because there are many queer people out there, living their life. And I love that the book represents that. 

I also enjoyed the different ways the story was told. We had Iris's POV, Lucy’s journals, Lucy’s transcripts, and even a fun mystery guest I’ll keep as a surprise. All of it worked perfectly to tell an interesting story that spans decades. 

Another thing I loved about this book was the inclusion of modern day things. I especially loved that Iris’ mom essentially ran an MLM scheme. Even though it was nefarious, for some reason this tickled me. Even as I write this review, thinking about it now, it’s just so funny to me. When my book club asked me to describe this book, as it was a book I recommended, I told them it was essentially a book about vampire MLM schemes. Everyone thought that was pretty funny. 

Every single thing in this book was so great. Iris was great! I appreciated how real she was. She had a lot of trauma but she tried to make sure it didn’t affect others. She knew when she was being irrational and apologized when she had to. I also liked the addition of a chronic illness. She was just so incredible. 

Lucy was also well fleshed out. My heart bled for her and everything she was going through. I appreciated that when she died, she was 19 years old and her mental state more or less stayed 19 years old. I never felt she acted too old or too young. She did act slightly more mature than a normal 19 year old but I attribute that to her trauma. 

Overall, in case y'all couldn’t tell, I loved everything about this book. I loved the characters, the way the book was written, and just everything about it. It makes me want to dig out all my Dracual related books and read them since I have a couple. As for recommendations, I highly recommend this book especially if you love Dracula!