Review: Lucy Undying by Kiersten White

Title: Lucy Undying
Author: Kiersten White
Publication: September 10, 2024 by Del Rey
Genre: Gothic Fantasy
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Rating: 5/5★

In this epic and seductive gothic fantasy, a vampire escapes the thrall of Dracula and embarks on her own search for self-discovery and true love.

Her name was written in the pages of someone else’s story: Lucy Westenra was one of Dracula’s first victims.

But her death was only the beginning. Lucy rose from the grave a vampire, and has spent her immortal life trying to escape from Dracula’s clutches–and trying to discover who she really is and what she truly wants.

Her undead life takes an unexpected turn when, in twenty-first-century London, she meets another woman who is also yearning to break free from her past. Iris’s family has built a health empire based on a sinister secret, and they’ll do anything to stay in power.

Lucy has long believed she would never love again. But she finds herself compelled by the charming Iris, while Iris is mesmerized by the confident and glamorous Lucy. But their intense connection and blossoming love is threatened by forces from without. Iris’s mother won’t let go of her without a fight, and Lucy’s past still has fangs: Dracula is on the prowl again.

Lucy Westenra has been a tragically murdered teen, a lonesome adventurer, and a fearsome hunter, but happiness always eluded her. Can she find the strength to destroy Dracula once and for all, or will her heart once again be her undoing?

As one of Dracula’s first victims, Lucy Westenra was just a supporting character in a story known by so many. But in Lucy Undying, Kiersten White retells her story in an exquisite gothic fantasy with a sapphic romance, engaging writing and memorable characters. It was a total page-turner that I couldn’t get enough of, with never a dull moment in any of the chapters. I really can’t recommend it high enough!

Most of the story is told in the point of view of Iris Goldaming, who is trying to run away from her family’s legacy and corporation that is worth millions and millions of dollars. In various chapters the book applies an epistolary style in the shape of journal entries from Lucy in the late 19th century and client transcripts from a therapist in 2024. I’m a sucker for epistolary novels so this was a really nice surprise for me when I started reading this book.

In the journal entries we meet a nineteen-year-old, wide-eyed Lucy who’s stuck in a world that’s ruled by the men in her life, in her case these are her various suitors. No one knows that she’s feeling a unrequited love for her former governess Mina Murray, who doesn’t seem to notice her beyond a friendship. Through her journal entries we slowly find out what happened to her back then and how she tragically died and rose anew as a vampire. These entries felt really powerful in a way because Lucy could be honest in her writing about her love for Mina and her contempt for some of the suitors she had to deal with.

In the client transcripts we meet Lucy again but this time it’s in 2024 and she has been a vampire for more than 130 years. She meets a therapist who Lucy tells her story to after she got turned into a vampire. I also loved these transcripts because we get to see this new Lucy as a vampire traveling the world searching for Dracula and meeting all kinds of interesting characters along the way. She wanted to find Dracula because he just left her as a newborn vampire with no purprose and no answers. I’ve gotta admit, I was pretty curious too.

With Iris’ POV we find out that that Iris’ mother has just died, which leaves the family’s company all to Iris herself. The thing is, she wants nothing to do with the evil and corruption that takes on in the Goldaming corporation, which really is a malicious multi-level marketing scheme and went even beyond that. So Iris runs off to London to sell the houses and whatever valuables she can find there to get some quick cash, after that she wants to disappear. Along the way she finds some kind friends and even a love interest who try to help her in her endeavor. She also finds Lucy’s journal hidden in one of the houses and slowly starts to read her entries, getting to know her through writing. I’ve got to say that I absolutely adored Iris. She definitely was one of my favorite characters, alongside Lucy herself, of course.

This book contained some much-needed female rage, which I absolutely loved and that I cheered the characters on for. The romance was also just beautiful. I don’t want to say too too much about it all because I would hate to spoil this aspect of the story for anyone but they might be my new favorite couple of the year. There were a few plot twists as well, some I saw coming and others I didn’t see coming at all. I really liked this because it gave me some gasp out loud moments. I also enjoyed the gothic feel of the book, the descriptions were lush and delicious and stunning. In short, what’s not to love about this story? Lucy Undying was just the perfect book for me and Kiersten White absolutely knocked it out of the park with her latest novel. I would give it a million stars if I could!

About the author:

Kiersten White is the #1 New York Times bestselling, Bram Stoker Award-winning, and critically acclaimed author of many books for readers of all ages, including the And I Darken trilogy, the Sinister Summer series, the Camelot Rising trilogy, Star Wars: Padawan, Hide, Mister Magic, and Lucy Undying. Her books have been published in over twenty territories, and her novel Hide is currently in development with Universal Television and Peacock.

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