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carsonelainee 's review for:
Reluctant Immortals
by Gwendolyn Kiste
This book was a wild ride in the best way. I didn't really know what I was getting into when I requested it, but I saw Dracula, Lucy Westenra, and Immortals all together and was sold. I love books about vampires more than just about anything and I think that this book provided some new fresh commentary on old tropes and tales. It really leaned into the perspective of vampires as creepy guys preying on young non-consenting women and it kind of killed it.
Reluctant Immortals is basically a story of Lucy Westenra kicking ass in the 1970s alongside Bertha (Bee) from Jane Eyre. They both are kind of running from their respective overbearing men, Dracula and Mr. Rochester. I got big Wynonna Earp vibes from both, Lucy, and the book as a whole. The book discussed trauma, friendship, and consent in fresh ways that I haven't really seen before, especially in the horror and fantasy genres.
There were definitely points of the story where I wasn't really sure what was going on, but was definitely vibing with it. The book is definitely more character growth over plot development and the writing really reflects that. I think I would have loved the story more if it had been 100-200 pages longer, if it had really dug into the meat of the story. I would have loved to see parallel timelines of Bee and Lucy back in the day and then present day. I think it could have added a lot of depth to the story. I would have loved to have seen more from the drive in and the family there. Daisy also had a potential source of depth. Overall, a great and unique book.
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!
Reluctant Immortals is basically a story of Lucy Westenra kicking ass in the 1970s alongside Bertha (Bee) from Jane Eyre. They both are kind of running from their respective overbearing men, Dracula and Mr. Rochester. I got big Wynonna Earp vibes from both, Lucy, and the book as a whole. The book discussed trauma, friendship, and consent in fresh ways that I haven't really seen before, especially in the horror and fantasy genres.
There were definitely points of the story where I wasn't really sure what was going on, but was definitely vibing with it. The book is definitely more character growth over plot development and the writing really reflects that. I think I would have loved the story more if it had been 100-200 pages longer, if it had really dug into the meat of the story. I would have loved to see parallel timelines of Bee and Lucy back in the day and then present day. I think it could have added a lot of depth to the story. I would have loved to have seen more from the drive in and the family there. Daisy also had a potential source of depth. Overall, a great and unique book.
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!