[ARC Review] When Life Gives You Vampires by Gloria Duke

PUBLISHER'S SYNOPSIS: Twenty-five year old Lily Baines is used to waking up hungover, overweight, and underemployed. Waking up with fangs? Not so much. But when a little light necking has more serious consequences than she ever imagined, Lily's determined to get to the bottom of it, or die (again) trying.

Tristan hadn't meant to turn Lily—it's against vampire law—but now that she's here, they need to team up to save both their hides. They strike an uneasy truce, fending off other vampires, Lily's work-rival-turned-slayer, and her mother's tone-deaf romance and fitness advice…all while Lily faces down her insecurities about the fact that she lives in a diet-obsessed world with a body that will never age, never die, and never change. 

Falling for her maddeningly gorgeous sire? Easy. Surviving an ancient vampire Master determined to see her twice-dead? Piece of cake. But can Lily ever truly learn to love the woman she'll be forever more?

MY THOUGHTS: When Life Gives You Vampires was, story-wise, a solid 3.5 stars for me, but the humor and the body acceptance journey Lily went on throughout this story easily brought this paranormal romance up to four stars. 

Throughout all the vampire romances I've read, the idea that the newly-turned vampire is now forever stuck with the body they had pre-turn has never been a main focus, and it was a refreshing commentary on both societal expectations and the ideals of immortality. 

While being well-written with sharp dialogue and witty humor, what kept me turning the pages was Lily's journey. She made it clear from the beginning that she saw herself as a work in progress, but all that came to a halt when she woke up as a vampire. It brought up a lot of questions regarding self-acceptance, and how a person would react if they knew they could never reach the goal they've been told to aim for their entire lives. For me, the romance aspect with Tristan was almost secondary: a tool to help Lily see her true worth, rather than a conduit for spicy scenes. While I loved the relationship that grew between Tristan and Lily, I loved the relationship that bloomed between Lily and herself even more. 

A different kind of vampire romance, When Life Gives You Vampires brought up a lot a good questions and raised a lot of good points that usually don't come up in vampire stories. I thought this was a unique take on becoming a vampire, and I truly enjoyed Lily's journey as she learned to accept both her new life as a vampire and her unchanging body type. 

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Release date: 10/4/22

Format: eARC

eARC provided via: Edelweiss