A review by risquish
When Life Gives You Vampires by Gloria Duke

emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

2.75

Definitely reads like a first novel; I really enjoyed the first half, but a lot of the relationship and communication issues didn’t get solved by the supposed resolution of the book. Also, despite “learning to love her body” reading this book was a test of my patience as our protagonist hates herself for 75% of the book. And the supposed resolution with her fatphobic mother was… a) unrealistic b) disappointing and c) practically a footnote for something that felt like such a large part in her personal journey. Also, Tristan (our ML) needed far more depth in understanding of Lily in both her motivations and her body related traumas; it doesn’t feel like he really learns much by the end of the book.

WHY IS EVAN’S BFF MARRIED TO A CONSERVATIVE???? WHY IS LILY’S DAD A BIG CONSERVATIVE MEDIA OUTLET CEO???? These things are not met with nearly enough skepticism nor are they interrogated with any moral questioning….especially considering that our cast is all white and the only real diversity we see is our fat mc who hates her body most of the book.


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