Reviews

When Life Gives You Vampires by Gloria Duke

skwiecien's review against another edition

lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

smomo99's review against another edition

funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

sromain's review

3.0

There were many aspects of this story I liked. I liked the characters, they were funny and interesting. I liked the plot, and I appreciated the old school version of vampires. Also thought the idea of vampire hunters unique and interesting.

What I didn't like was how fast the building climax was solved. For example the conflict with Gideon. He just backed down after her speech. The other vampires considered her words, but they didn't turn on him. He went from "I will kill you for my revenge " to "Okay I'll consider what you said" within a couple paragraphs.

It was the same with her body issues. She went from being self conscious and deeply ashamed of her body to totally excepting in the langth of a shower. Yes, I know she had a nice conversation with her mom, but that wasn't enough for me. There was no slow exceptance, a building of confidence.

I very much debated a 2 or 3 star rating. I feel like a 2.8 is where I'm sitting, which makes me sad, because I really wanted to LOVE this book. Because of the positive aspect I would give another book by Gloria Duke a try.

amicarlton's review

4.0

I definitely appreciated the body positivity, but it certainly took awhile to really get there.

electroclan17's review against another edition

4.5

l enjoyed this more than I thought I would. I'm curious as to what will happen next.

tracygravy's review

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

thelogmaiden's review against another edition

lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I’m mostly give this more than 1 star because I don’t see a lot of romance novels with fat main characters. The book overall was awful, I think the worst part was the main character herself who is pretty insufferable. She accidentally gets turned into a vampire and is in SERIOUS DANGER but will not listen to her vampire sire and keeps being like “ummm I can take care of myself ok!!! Feminism!!! Here’s my horrible plan slash I’m just going to ignore these death threats and go to work like normal because I can take care of myself!!!!” She’s just not a very intelligent main character and is pretty immature. I kept thinking that a lot of the arguments she had with the love interest felt like points/fights a not super mature high schooler would have and kept being like…is this what 25 year olds are like??? (I’m 33 haha)

That being said although her body hatred and fatphobia were strong, they felt like the most thought out part of the book in how it affected hers and others lives around her and I appreciated that. It’s also not a topic you see outlined in this level of detail in romance novels very often. I would have liked the book more if the author kept this stuff and made the main character less annoying in other ways. 

zinelib's review against another edition

adventurous funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

This is a fun story about an accidental vampire becoming accustomed to her new circumstances. Lily is our protagonist, and has a wonderfully supportive best friend. Her mom is okay, too, other than having tried to get Lily to lose weight her entire life. The weight thing has been hard on Lily's self-esteem, so she's surprised when a hottie like Tristan shows interest. But then...oops, turns out Tristan may have wanted only One Thing--Lily's tasty blood. 

Too bad Tristan, who is actually a nice guy, if a little old fashioned (a hazard of being hundreds of years old), has an enemy, who uses Lily's accidental turning into a Huge Deal. Battle of life or death ensues and of course, love wins. 

mjlewis's review

funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.75

beaudoindani17's review

funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0