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latad_books 's review for:
Reluctant Immortals
by Gwendolyn Kiste
Using minor characters from Dracula and Jane Eyre, author Gwendolyn Kiste has Lucy Westenra and Bertha "Bea" Rochester living together in a crumbling house in 1967 San Francisco. Lucy and Bea live lives of isolation; Lucy was transformed by Dracula, while Rochester gave himself, Bea, and Jane a lingering, strange life after death.
Lucy constantly monitors the various urns containing Dracula's ashes to ensure he does not find a way to rise again. Lucy also does her best to resist her hunger, and cares for Bea, who suffers from nightmares. They have a simple life, watching movies at a drive-in, avoiding the day (and not because one or the other will burst into flame cuz so many vampire myths are wrong), and trying to stem the deterioration of their home (because vampires rot their surroundings just by being there). It's not a happy existence, but it's their existence.
Then Jane shows up one day, and blows their hard won peace apart; this leads to a flight from their home and a series of horrifying encounters with the monsters responsible for their circumstances.
The atmosphere is great, and Lucy is a terrific PoV on their undead lives and their struggles to maintain them. Both women have been horribly abused, and know that they're never free. The awful presence of both of their abusers hangs over them perpetually, but at the same time, we see both women bonding with a select few who have taken advantage of the 1960s freewheeling lifestyle.
The story has a somewhat dreamy feel, despite some scenes of horror, but I loved Lucy, and her fight to give both herself and Bea as much of a life free from fear as possible.
Lucy constantly monitors the various urns containing Dracula's ashes to ensure he does not find a way to rise again. Lucy also does her best to resist her hunger, and cares for Bea, who suffers from nightmares. They have a simple life, watching movies at a drive-in, avoiding the day (and not because one or the other will burst into flame cuz so many vampire myths are wrong), and trying to stem the deterioration of their home (because vampires rot their surroundings just by being there). It's not a happy existence, but it's their existence.
Then Jane shows up one day, and blows their hard won peace apart; this leads to a flight from their home and a series of horrifying encounters with the monsters responsible for their circumstances.
The atmosphere is great, and Lucy is a terrific PoV on their undead lives and their struggles to maintain them. Both women have been horribly abused, and know that they're never free. The awful presence of both of their abusers hangs over them perpetually, but at the same time, we see both women bonding with a select few who have taken advantage of the 1960s freewheeling lifestyle.
The story has a somewhat dreamy feel, despite some scenes of horror, but I loved Lucy, and her fight to give both herself and Bea as much of a life free from fear as possible.