Ex-Wives of Dracula

By: Georgette Kaplan

Narrated by: Krystal Hammond

What's worse than falling in love with a straight girl? Falling in love with a straight girl who drinks blood. And not even in a goth way. This young adult queer romance sucks you in with vampires, paranormal drama, humor, and a quirky lesbian coming-out story.

High school senior Mindy Murphy has been questioning her small town life forever and, more recently, her sexuality. Maybe it has something to do with her new friend, Lucia West. When they were kids they used to be besties, until Lucia grew a head taller and a cup size bigger. Now she's captain of the cheer team, winner of the Boyfriend Olympics, and voted least likely to remember Mindy at their high school reunion.

In short, she's possibly the worst person alive for Mindy to crush on. Especially after Lucia's bitten by a vampire. Now the only way to keep her alive is to get her blood, and the only way to cure her is to slay the vampire that turned her.

Who knows, maybe after they get this vampire business settled, Lucia can explain to Mindy why she kissed her.

Contains mature themes.

©2016 Georgette Kaplan (P)2022 Tantor

watch 1992 "Dracula" first

while it's not a direct sequel for legal reasons, I think we all know where Kaplan pulls her characters from. I can't say I've ever ran into Kaplan's work that I didn't thoroughly enjoy. and this is one of them. it starts a bit wonky, but quickly fleshes out into a lovely read, with a very nice conclusion.
my only complaint is that you can tell it was written in 2015, as the idioms, fad words, current events, and film references from that time are all present here. they're a fun snapshot, but the book quickly dates itself because of that.

everything I didn't know I wanted

I had a hard time listening to this in public because I kept laughing out loud. Like, really loud! Definitely the best modern vampire story I've ever read

Red/Dead Love

I was beginning to get upset when they parted near the end of the story, but thank you for bringing them back together. Loved this story.

Loved it

It's a great take on a classic filled with snark sarcasm dry and dark humor. The characters are believable and you can't help but like them. This balances scary horror elements with funny teen angst and a coming out story that's equal parts cringy and supportive.

It was great

I was really pleasantly surprised by this book. It was super fun. I’ll definitely listen again.

I liked that the love interest was cocky and flawed, and truly enjoyed her character development. It didn’t make her less likable. Loved her more and more as the book got going.

And the spice? Chef’s kiss my friends