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3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
I really enjoyed this one! Set in 1967’s “Summer of Love,” Lucy and Bee are going to drive-in movies, avoiding the sunlight… keeping Dracula’s ashes from bringing him back…
If you’ve read Dracula and Jane Eyre you’ll especially enjoy the references, but it’s not necessary - at its heart it’s a story about women overcoming their pasts and the men who abused and controlled them. And ans the cover so beautifully captures, the author has a lot of fun with the 60s Hollywood and San Francisco settings - I kept imagining houses and people from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
If you’ve read Dracula and Jane Eyre you’ll especially enjoy the references, but it’s not necessary - at its heart it’s a story about women overcoming their pasts and the men who abused and controlled them. And ans the cover so beautifully captures, the author has a lot of fun with the 60s Hollywood and San Francisco settings - I kept imagining houses and people from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
It's 1967 in L.A and Lucy Westenra and Bertha Mason are just trying to forget their pasts and watch a drive in movie. They are reluctantly immortal, forever changed by the trauma of their mistreatment by Dracula and Rochester, consigned by classical literature and the silver screen to be footnotes or background players in their own story. Lucy is always hungry but refuses to feed, while Bertha is plagued by fiery nightmares, and both women are determined to outgrow their histories, refusing to destroy those around them like the men who destroyed them. Things get real dicey when Jane Eyre and Rochester make an unexpected appearance in town, soon followed by Dracula himself.
Reluctant Immortals is a wild feminist tale that puts a modern twist on these classic characters and is all about marginalized women reclaiming their power. I read both Dracula and Jane Eyre a decade or so ago, and they were two of my favorites, so to see these characters and stories intertwined was lots of fun. It's a quick read, but sadly, I ended up being underwhelmed. I felt there could have been so much more depth here - the character development felt weak and very one note and Kiste's message of women reclaiming themselves was spelled out so many times, it began to detract from the story itself. Overall, a fun read and one I enjoyed in the moment, but not one I will likely reach for again.
HOWEVER, thanks so this book, I know have the original stories cued up to read again this fall, with fingers crossed they live up to what I remember. So at the very least, I'm grateful for the fresh inspiration this one brought to my immediate TBR.
Reluctant Immortals is a wild feminist tale that puts a modern twist on these classic characters and is all about marginalized women reclaiming their power. I read both Dracula and Jane Eyre a decade or so ago, and they were two of my favorites, so to see these characters and stories intertwined was lots of fun. It's a quick read, but sadly, I ended up being underwhelmed. I felt there could have been so much more depth here - the character development felt weak and very one note and Kiste's message of women reclaiming themselves was spelled out so many times, it began to detract from the story itself. Overall, a fun read and one I enjoyed in the moment, but not one I will likely reach for again.
HOWEVER, thanks so this book, I know have the original stories cued up to read again this fall, with fingers crossed they live up to what I remember. So at the very least, I'm grateful for the fresh inspiration this one brought to my immediate TBR.
In all honesty this is my favorite read of this year!!!! I loved the story; I loved the characters and the pacing. This book had me hooked since the beginning. What really drawn me to this novel was the cover. I'm glad that I picked it up because I breezed through this book. There are undertones of feminism and patriarchy which is interesting to think about- given the main male characters are... well .. Dracula (LOL) I thought I would find something annoying about the setting but in all honesty I did enjoy that the book was set in the 60's. It fits the story so well.
I also didn't think I would like the first person point of view but I loved that too! I wish that we got to see some of the story from Bee's POV. I also liked that Bee was a 'creole' woman because it was nice to see that the characters were different from each other. Jane really never was a girl's girl, but the friendship between Bee and Lucy never faltered; even when I thought it would.
it was nice intro to gothic horror; it may be a new favorite genre of mine!!
I also didn't think I would like the first person point of view but I loved that too! I wish that we got to see some of the story from Bee's POV. I also liked that Bee was a 'creole' woman because it was nice to see that the characters were different from each other. Jane really never was a girl's girl, but the friendship between Bee and Lucy never faltered; even when I thought it would.
it was nice intro to gothic horror; it may be a new favorite genre of mine!!
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
‘I was a girl who liked a boy. There was nothing wrong with that, of course, but when a woman gets murdered, we never talk about why it wasn't her fault. We only talk about why it was.’
I’ll admit it took me a little while to get into this book (around 20% - 40% in), but this book is a fantastic work of feminist fiction.
I don’t think it’s necessary to have read Jane Eyre or Dracula prior to reading this, but I think it’s important to have at least some prior knowledge of the books beforehand. I loved all the meanings and descriptions, what it means to love - both toxic relationships and friendships - and what one’s purpose is.
I’ll admit it took me a little while to get into this book (around 20% - 40% in), but this book is a fantastic work of feminist fiction.
I don’t think it’s necessary to have read Jane Eyre or Dracula prior to reading this, but I think it’s important to have at least some prior knowledge of the books beforehand. I loved all the meanings and descriptions, what it means to love - both toxic relationships and friendships - and what one’s purpose is.
dark
emotional
medium-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
An incredibly disappointing read, Kiste's recasting of Lucy Westenra and Bertha Mason in the rebellious era of the 1960s California didn't deliver as I hoped it would. The narrative felt incredibly one sided where the modern Bertha is ultimately little more than a supportive character to Lucy, whose decades long friendship as a fellow immortal did not feel at all developed. I also fear in this sparkly chrome retelling of Victorian literature's victims that the author willfully ignored a lot of the nuance of Bertha's character that we get in Wide Sargasso Sea as well as any mention of other characters from Jane Eyre which could complicate the author's sweeping repainting of Rochester as a monstrous ex boyfriend. Ultimately, the work was a lot of disappointing fluff.
This was a great book with a cool concept. I liked following Lucy and Bee. And I loved the horror of it all.
However it wasn't perfect for me. First off, some words were used A LOT (like "primordial") and that was distracting.
Also, while I see what Kiste was going for in telling the stories of "the other women" in these books - the ones who don't get saved - the match-up didn't work for me.
Dracula is an all-powerful immortal being who controls anyone with a flick of his wrist. Rochester is a toxic man who locked his first wife in the attic. She had to give him some kind of evil curse just to compare them.
But it was a fun time and I'm glad I read it. Even if I was sad Lucy and Michael didn't stay together.
However it wasn't perfect for me. First off, some words were used A LOT (like "primordial") and that was distracting.
Also, while I see what Kiste was going for in telling the stories of "the other women" in these books - the ones who don't get saved - the match-up didn't work for me.
Dracula is an all-powerful immortal being who controls anyone with a flick of his wrist. Rochester is a toxic man who locked his first wife in the attic. She had to give him some kind of evil curse just to compare them.
But it was a fun time and I'm glad I read it. Even if I was sad Lucy and Michael didn't stay together.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Ok, this book was a lot of fun! Particularly if you’re a literature nerd like me. The first wife of Rochester and the wife of Dracula are friends and find themselves in San Francisco in the 1960s is a really fun concept and I can tell that the author really enjoyed writing this. Both the main characters have personality and sass and you can tell that they’ve grown tired of being immortal but have accepted it as their fate. Their exes come across as menacing but also very charming which makes it easy to see how people could fall under their spell. And I loved that Jane Eyre ends up being the lesbian lover of Rochester’s first wife! What a great twist on the original text. I had a great time reading this. It’s a vampire novel but it doesn’t entirely feel like a vampire novel so if you are tired of reading vampire novels, you should still give this one a chance. I’m gonna need a sequel to this ASAP.