Aubrey Wants to Die

by Pip Knight

"Sexy and laugh-out-loud funny, full of delicious drama and surprisingly moving – Aubrey’s chaotic undead rollercoaster of a journey had me cackling, yearning and questioning my entire existence." —Anna Downes, bestselling author of Red River Road

Love is hard. Being undead is harder ... Dolly Alderton meets True Blood in this dark, funny hell of a story

Aubrey is not what she seems. She's young, beautiful, romantic, obsessive and ... a vampire. All she wants is to be human again, and failing that, she wants to die. But the problem is, she can't. Not by stake through the heart or holy water or crucifix or garlic or fire. And she'd know, she's tried every method ... Twice.

So she's stuck here on this earth, all alone. Even the vampire who made her this way - an aristocratic douchebag called Oscar - has abandoned her.

But everything changes when one fateful night, she meets Jonathan. He's everything Aubrey's ever dreamed of, and what's more, he's her soulmate. Her Bella-Edward story. For the first time in 150 years, she has a reason to hope - eternal life might be bearable after all. So when Jonathan unexpectedly breaks up with her, she'll do anything to get him back.

But that's the exact moment Oscar swoops back into her life. And he has other plans for her. Soon, she's thrown into a world of glamour, glitter, blood and hedonism, a world that has her questioning everything she knows to be true-about life, but also about herself. A world where nothing is simple ... And no-one is safe, either.

Genres: Vampires

368 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication March 3, 2026

Reviews

[SJARR ✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stop. I was actually obsessed with this from the first page to the last.

Highlights:
- vampire romance
- Fated mates
- Sire bonds

Aubrey is probably one of the most likable main characters I have ever experienced.
She’s sweet, self-doubting, and a little bit obsessive. (But like, in a cute way).
It’s rare to say that I would not have changed anything about the way she was written.

Aubrey’s niceness, in combination with our morally gray/perhaps morally corrupt leaning mmc Oscar.
My only complaint might be that they had so so much back and forth. I guess it’s necessary to the plot but please. I’m dying. Just adore each other already and put me out of my misery.

The plot? Vampire perfection.
I was way too invested in this entire situation?! And it just kept getting BETTER? Every new detail, every new twist brought it to a new level? Eeeeek.

I must have been starved the way I ate this up.

Thank you to Netgalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing and author Pip Knight, for providing me with the eARC of “Aubrey Wants to Die” in exchange for my honest review!
Publication date: march 03, 2026

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks so much to NetGalley for the free Kindle book. My review is voluntarily given, and my opinions are my own.

This book was so amazing, and I can't recommend it enough. Aubrey is a 150-year depressed vampire who has tried everything she think of to kill herself over the last century and a half, but to no avail. Then, she finally found a man who started to make life seem a bit worth living, and he gave her the 'I think we need space' line. To top it all off, her sire appears and wants to be involved in her life, after turning her and not even staying waiting around for her to wake up.

I really hope this becomes a series, but no matter what, I will be looking for more books by this author. Loved this so much!

[Julia Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a ride! I devoured this book while on a night shift, and as I sit here with tears streaming, trying to hide that I'm crying over a book, I'd definitely say it's worth the read. Aubrey is a vampire, and in this version of vamps, they don't remember their past lives or should I say their human lives. Aubrey lives of bagged blood and doesn't want to hurt anyone. She's tried to kill herself many many times over the years, but she can't die. Aubrey's world really starts to crumble when her soulmate breaks up with her. Then the book really gets good. I don't want to spoil the plot, but you really start to feel for Aubrey. She is so lonely, and even though she's a vampire, she just wants love, and that's anyone who really wants, right? The worldbuilding is good, I can almost picture her little apartment and her keeping company with cat. When everything starts to come together, I freaked! I did not see that twist coming at all. But it was oh-so-good!! I think this author just made my auto-read list!

5 stars.
I received this ARC from netgalley, and all opinions are my own.

[Alyssa Blackwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to HarperCollins for the ARC of Aubrey Wants to Die by Pip Knight, via Netgalley 🫶

Aubrey wants to die.
This might be easier, if she wasn’t already dead.. or really, undead.
Aubrey was turned into a vampire 150 years ago and her entire vampire existence has been lonely. She’s tried to die numerous times, but it never seems to take.
She’s given up on love and life, that is until she meets Jonathan, her soulmate, and now Aubrey is ready to live.. but it’s hard when she’s living a lie and can’t tell Jonathan the truth.
When he breaks up with her out of the blue, her life begins to spiral, and it gets even more out of control when her maker, Oscar, re-enters the scene.
Can she win Jonathan back, and what on earth does Oscar want?

Okay first things first, this was an easy read and was reasonably entertaining on my flight - the perfect kind of book for a quick palate cleanser / beach read / holiday read for sure.
The story and writing are simple and easy to follow, the plot has a few turns but nothing too surprising.

Overall though I was a bit letdown. It’s marketed as “True Blood meets Dolly Alderton.”
I can see the True Blood inspiration for sure, but nothing about the story or writing evoked Dolly Alderton for me.
Because the story is in first person from Aubrey’s perspective, her internal monologue gets a bit repetitive and I found it a bit tiresome at times.
The highlight scenes for me were any with other vampires + any with Oscar. He was probably the most interesting character.

It’s set up with a cliffhanger for a sequel and I’m intrigued to see where it goes next 🧛

Aubrey Wants to Die ⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Sonja · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is giving massive vibes of the Sookie Stackhouse book series while still being quite different. I hope Aubrey Wants to Die is the requisite back story introduction book before we get to the real stuff in book 2. Please let there be a book 2!!!! And I need more Cat, Aubrey, Oscar, Es, Daphne, Rupert, and Tina. Seriously, we need more fun books in the world!! Thoroughly enjoyed😺🐯❤

I also read 2 other of her books, published under the name of Pip Drysdale, The Next Girl and The Paris Affair, both 5 star reads for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this novel.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything I wanted in a modern vampire book, I so badly want Aubrey’s story to continue. And thanks for giving Cat a happy ending too 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻

[Sacha · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

This is one you can really sink your fangs into, obviously.

Aubrey is not your average vampire, and she's here to let us know that you can be well into the triple digits and still be acting like a basic b around some men. Eternal life sounds terrible to me, as does interacting with blood in any way/for any reason, but the most depressing part of this situation by far is that we might all be doomed to an eternity of bad romantic choices. Yikes.

What makes Aubrey enjoyable as a character is her long list of flaws. She's giving coming-of-age more than wizened, world weary vampire, so readers who are expecting the latter should mitigate and refocus. These flaws can also make her frustrating. I'm okay with her continuous cycle of vampiric improvement and learning, but I had a hard time understanding the depths of her naivete in certain instances.

There are some challenging inclusions of sexual assault in this book; read with care.

While I was engaged throughout, I found the ending particularly noteworthy.

This is fun and a little campy and it features a modern vampire with a love of other modern vampires, so arrive and stay for a bloody good time.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Hanover Square Press for this arc, which I received in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

[Torikinner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC copy of Aubrey Wants to Die from NetGalley. The premise of this book was really interesting to me. Aubrey has been a vampire for over a 100 years. Abandoned by her sire at her conception, she has struggled to make connections during her life. Aubrey battles her own internal hatred for her very nature, desperately searching for the love she has always wanted, and wondering why even her sire has abandoned her.
I am an avid reader of fantasy books, and have read many other Vamp books. This was such a unique take, as Aubrey lives in the modern world and is constantly fighting against her own revulsion for taking advantage of others and feeding. Her internal thoughts were my favorite part of this book. It really made me think about the themes of loneliness, inner loathing, and human connection. However, even with these themes, the book is fun and light hearted.
This was a quick read and I finished it only two days. I will seek out this authors other books as I really enjoyed this one!

[Horror Nerd · Rating 2 out of 5]

From the book blurb, it felt like I was in for a fun, comedically tinged read. A romance mixed in with some fun vampire shenanigans, sign me up! Up until a certain point (probably when Oscar was first introduced), I was really enjoying this book. Aubrey was a flawed mess, but her story was compelling and I wanted to see if her whole 'soulmate' dream would be realized (or if she would choose to move on and live her vampire life on her own terms).
Once she meets her vampire maker though, is when I started having problems with the story. The narrative shifted to something darker, and I just never bought her infatuation and romantic link to Oscar. Aubrey kept making extremely frustrating mistakes, and didn't seem to be learning. The main character escaped one bad abusive relationship and jumped straight into another. The concept for a great book is here somewhere, it just didn't turn out that way.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book.

[Tabetha (tabsbooknook) · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC review: Aubrey Wants To Die by Pip Knight aka @pipdrysdale published by @harpercollinsaustralia and supplied by @netgalley
Release date: 24 February 2026
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Aubrey is a vampire. Aubrey is 150 years old. And Aubrey wants to die. She has tried every possible way to die (twice) but has been unsuccessful. So while Aubrey is in the thick of her depression, she meets Jonathan at a bar and realises after seeing his last life memories that he is her soulmate. When Jonathan breaks up with Aubrey after 5 weeks due to being a stage 5 clinger, she begins to spiral and our story really begins. Now throw in the return of Aubrey’s dire Oscar, who she never even met, and things begin to get even more complicated.
Aubrey grew on me as a character, I totally relayed to her depression and wanting to hold onto whatever parts of humanity she could. Oscar was a great morally grey MMC and if there’s a book 2 happening, I look forward to seeing what happens next.

[Penny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book as I’d never read this author before, but the blurb definitely drew me in. After reading this book, I think this is probably going to be one of those you are either going to love this book or hate it. We have Aubrey who’s tried to end her existence because she’s lonely and doesn’t want to be a monster, which is how she views her 150 years of existence as a vampire. However, I’m not sure she acted like someone who’s been around that long. She was a little naïve, a little obsessive, and a whole lot clueless which I admit drove me a little batty (hah!). She was endearing sometimes, which redeemed her to me most of the time. This is an engaging and unique read, and worth reading, but it’s not exactly a cute read. Recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.

[BookishKB · Rating 2 out of 5]

📖 Bookish Thoughts
This book should have been named Aubrey is dumb and clueless. I wanted to love this so much but the FMC made me so mad. I am normally not harsh about MCs but Aubrey pushed every button. She was incredibly gullible and refused to see dangerous situations. It was frustrating to read.

The ending was a let down too, and made me dislike Oscar even more. I just didn’t enjoy this book.
_ _ _

⭐ Final Score: 2.5
📅 Pub Date: March 3, 2026
Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

[Alicia Bayer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was great fun. I read it in a couple of days while on vacation at a friend’s for thanksgiving and really enjoyed it. Aubrey is an angsty vampire in love with a mortal and living a dreary life in hiding until things take a series of dramatic turns. I’d love to see it become a series but I hope she gets a little more of a backbone if there are other books to come.

I read a digital copy of this book for review.

[Ta’Jonn · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best books I’ve read in a long time. The story is compelling from start to finish, and I never felt bored or rushed. It has a little bit of everything—romance, self-love, mystery, and even a touch of horror—blended in a way that feels natural and deeply emotional. A powerful, memorable read that will stick with me.

[Remi]

this would probably feel like watching a series and i'm super looking forward to it

*thank you to Hanover Square Press for the ARC*