The Lost Girls: A Vampire Revenge Story

by Sonia Hartl

Getting over Your Vampire Ex is as Easy as Killing Him and Stealing His Girlfriend

Holly Liddell has been stuck with crimped hair since 1987 when she agreed to let her boyfriend, Elton, turn her into a vampire. But when he ditches her at a gas station a few decades into their eternity together, she realizes that being young forever actually means working graveyard shifts at Taco Bell, sleeping in seedy motels, and being supernaturally compelled to follow your ex from town to town—at least until Holly meets Elton’s other exes.

It seems that Holly isn’t the only girl Elton seduced into this wretched existence. He turned Ida in 1921, then Rose in 1954, and he abandoned them both before Holly was even born. Now Rose and Ida want to kill him before he can trick another girl into eternal adolescence, and they’ll need Holly’s help to do it. And once Holly starts falling for Elton’s vulnerable new conquest, Parker, she’ll do anything to save her.

To kill Elton for good, Holly and her friends will have to dig up their pasts, rob a bank, and reconcile with the people they’ve hurt in their search for eternal love. And to win the girl, Holly will have to convince Parker that she’s more than just Elton’s crazy ex—even though she is trying to kill him.

Genres: Fantasy, Vampires, Young Adult, LGBT, Lesbian, Queer, Romance

256 pages, Hardcover

First published September 14, 2021

Reviews

[Miranda Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

"There was nothing worse than a boy who held the world in his hands and knew it."

Sixteen-year-old Holly Liddell's story began like many others, with a pretty boy. And decades years later, sixteen-year-old Holly plans for her revenge arc to end with the death of that same pretty boy.

Elton, the pretty boy in question, has a habit of finding a "lost girl" and after a bit of lovebombing, convinces her to join him for an eternal life - he was a vampire, she was a human, can I make it anymore obvious?

"We were all hurting in different ways when Elton found us, and we wanted so badly to believe the pretty lies of a pretty boy, but that didn’t make us any less deserving of having a full life."

But after thirty or so years, Elton becomes bored with his leading lady, breaks up with her and finds a new human to woo. Ask Rose and Ida - they've been there and seen that with him.

It was painful when Holly discovered that she wasn't the one. That she was just the latest. But then he sets his eyes on the next one.

"She was one of us. A lost girl who still had time to find herself, and she deserved the chance we never got."

Parker Kerr is beautiful, and with a growing sense of horror, Holly discovers that Elton has set his sights on the human.

Holly, Rose, and Ida know what they must do - get rid of Elton no matter the cost. He cannot continue to turn lost girls into vampires, but can they get rid of their creator in time?

You'd think lesbian vampires teaming up to kill their creator a la John Tucker Must Die would've made this one interesting.

It didn't.

I really don't have the energy for a long review but suffice to say...this book dragggggged and the morals made no sense to me and the vampires were honestly quite lame.

This Book Dragged

I just...I felt like this entire story could've been about a quarter as long.

I had to bump the audiobook up to 3x speed just to feel like something was happening during all the waffling over killing Elton, hunting down the killing supplies, and philosophizing about death.

It felt like a setup to a more interesting book...but instead we were stuck watching minute drama details from perpetually sixteen year olds with a teenage perspective on every insignificant detail.

The Morals Made No Sense

Every vampire must feed (to death) about once every 4-5 days. As the creator, wherever Elton went, Holly, Rose and Ida would feel in explicable pull to be in the same city as him. Without giving away spoilers, Elton traveled with two other companions and a third vampire followed them around as well.

So that's SEVEN vampires running around together. Each one taking their own victim every 5ish days. 1820 deaths a year. Spending just a couple of weeks in Holly's town, and the vampires racked up about 21 deaths from feeding plus all of the extra deaths from the 'just feel like it' murders (aka someone is annoying them).

Holly has this "code" where she only kills guys who are creepy (i.e. the follow-a-young-girl-into-an-alley kind of creepy) and always gives them a chance to run away (they never do).

She uses this excuse to feel morally good about her murders...and yet she mentions multiple times that humans are drawn to vampires, that they cannot turn away.

And her companions kill people randomly all the time - often in front of her - so Holly can't be that bent out of shape about the whole murder thing despite what she preaches.

So, these characters are killing anyone from Taco employees to runaway teenagers to landlords...and yet they also talk about the sanctity of life and how they cannot allow Elton to take another "lost girl"?

I'm sorry, is the PILE OF BODIES next to you irrelevant to the situation?

I just couldn't take the plot seriously as some of the "good" characters murdered a basement full of teens because taking care of them was getting too annoying while they were also talking about making sure Parker survived because her life shouldn't be cut short by Elton.

The Vampires Were Kind of Lame

I guess the most realistic thing about this book is that the seven perpetual teenage-aged vampires collectively have not figured out that bank accounts have compounding interest.

Look, I can kind of get Holly working the midnight shift at a Taco Bell because she's just getting back on her feet after the breakup with Elton...but the rest of the vamps?

They have access to the internet and no regular bills to pay. If they could find a job that pays the rent, they could just throw the rest into a bank account or stocks or even crypto at this point.

Basically, I'm saying it was pretty lame to see all these hundreds-old vampires squatting in squalor because not one of them figured out they could anonymously invest online and live off interest.

Furthermore, the vamps are perpetually "frozen" in time - meaning any part of them that becomes separated would regrow in the exact same way.

Forgot to shave part of your leg? Enjoy a lifelong fuzzy patch

Crimp your hair before you are turned? That's your hairstyle from now on.

Pimple on your chin? Hope you like picking at it forever - though that last one was the weirdest to me.

I know I'm overthinking this BUT pimples are a mix of skin oil, dead skin, and bacteria. Theoretically, the bacteria would not be considered part of the 'vampiric body" so if she'd pop it, the pimple wouldn't regrow (unless they have everlasting vampiric pimple bacterial cells?).

Overall Thoughts

I'm glad there isn't a sequel. I can't do this again.

[emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you told me that a book about a girl who was turned into a vampire by some asshole dude and responded by teaming up with the other girls he turned to try to save his new girlfriend and then she steals the girlfriend was SOMEHOW BORING, I would say "okay, yeah, got it" and then quietly go to another room to call your emergency contact.

Because I would assume you were crying for help.

But unfortunately - and everyone put your phones down - that is the case with this book.

This premise is everything to me, and yet the story itself is already actively being removed from my memory.

Perhaps it is simply my comeuppance: I read another book by this author this VERY MONTH that I really enjoyed when I did not expect to.

So maybe reading this one, which I expected to like but which had none of the charm/humor/fun messages/friendships/good romance of the other, is the universe righting itself.

But I don't have to like it.

Bottom line: I am 1-2 disappointments of this caliber away from completely falling apart.

---------------
pre-review

the tragic case of the Brilliant Premise, Okay Book.

review to come / 2.5 stars

---------------
tbr review

it's the age old story: boy meets girl. boy turns girl into vampire. boy breaks up with girl. girl steals boy's new vampire girlfriend as act of revenge.

and i for one cannot wait.

---------------

challenging myself to read as many review copies as possible this month because i'm addicted to projects!

ARC 1: spaceman of bohemia
ARC 2: in search of us
ARC 3: aerialists
ARC 4: the sound of drowning
ARC 5: unleaving
ARC 6: the other side of luck
ARC 7: romanov
ARC 8: the storm keeper's island
ARC 9: gut check
ARC 10: when force meets fate
ARC 11: sisters in hate
ARC 12: before i disappear
ARC 13: big time
ARC 14: stolen science
ARC 15: have a little faith in me
ARC 16: invitation to a bonfire
ARC 17: the splendor
ARC 18: how to be luminous
ARC 19: the little women cookbook
ARC 20: while we were dating
ARC 21: the lost girls

[Lex Kent · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read! It’s my favorite time of the year again and I could not be more excited about what that means book wise. For the next month I will only be reading a few ARC’s, and instead concentrating on paranormal, urban fantasy, horror, and magical realism books that I already own. I have purposely kept my ARC’s on the lighter side, so I could have a month filled with Halloween type reads. My goal is to read at least 15 books from different supernatural categories, with 95% of them having sapphic characters. There are one or two books I am considering that don’t, but I’m ready for plenty of spooky sapphics. I decided what better way to start the month off than with a book I bought a couple weeks ago, featuring one of my favorite type of supernats, vampires!

I heard that this book was sort of John Tucker Must Die, but with sapphic vampires and I thought, yes please! I had never read Hartl before, but I liked her style of writing that had a good amount of dialogue. I found the book to be very readable and there were some good lines that I enjoyed. This book has a bit of a dark humor undertone that I really appreciated. I did think the book slowed down a little in the middle, but it didn’t last long and mostly I enjoyed the flow and pace.

There are a few things I love in books more than dragons, necromancers, vampires and witches. I see one of these advertised and I can’t stay away, so you can imagine the amount of vampire books I’ve read. From the fantastic to the sparkly, I’ve read so many that it is hard to find anything new. I’m not looking for an author to re-write the vampire trope, since it is too set in stone, but I did enjoy some of the different twists that Hartl added to the story. There were a few things that have been done before, but not often, and one thing that was new to me so I appreciated that this felt different. These are not your glamorous vampires, they are more what would probably really happen if you turned a bunch of teenagers. And while that maybe was a little more realistic, this is a book that you definitely have to suspend disbelief on. I happen to expect to do that every time I pick up a vamp book anyway, but I think it’s worth mentioning that this is not a book to look for realism in and instead it is a story that is for fun and entertainment –which it absolutely is.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the romance. Our main character is bisexual so she gets in the pickle of catching feels for the next girl her vampire ex-boyfriend wants to turn. Considering this is not a long read, and is a bit dark with lots of ripping off of body parts, Hartl still makes this little slow-burn romance work. The relationship is sweet and the characters actually have chemistry together. I would not really call it explicit, but it is more of a PG-13 relationship than most G or PG rated YA romance out there.

TLDR: This was a fun vampire story that was a great way to start off my Halloween reads. I enjoyed the darker take on being a vampire, but I liked that the book was balanced with some humor and romance. The group of characters was really interesting and I got a kick out of the art projects one of them kept making. This book is not perfect, but if you go with the flow, and suspend disbelief a bit, the book is good entertainment and I’m glad I read it.

[Shawna Finnigan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you so much to the publisher and Goodreads for sending me an advanced reader’s copy of this book through a Goodreads giveaway.

The Lost Girls is the lesbian vampire version of John Tucker Must Die. That was all I knew about this book before I read it, so of course I had high hopes for this one. It was a bit of a let down though...

The writing in this book made the book dull and slightly boring. It contained heavy dialogue with minimal action and minimal descriptions. It definitely made the book go by quickly, but it didn’t make me fall in love with this story.

The take on vampires in this book also wasn't my favorite. I’m so used to the appealing versions of vampires that I’ve seen in other books, but this one made it seem depressing and miserable to be a vampire. It didn’t live up to that glamorous undead lifestyle that I was hoping to see in this book.

The major things I liked about this book were the characters and the romance. All of the characters were really unique and they made an interesting bunch. Parker and Rose were my favorite characters, which is on brand for me because I’m always into the innocent and wholesome characters. The romance was surprisingly slow burn for such a short book, but it worked really well and left my heart aching to see more scenes with the lovebirds together.

If you’re wanting a quick vampire romance that has a very dark take on vampires, then definitely give this one a shot. It’s not for everyone and it wasn’t my favorite book of all time, but I don’t regret reading it.

[Laynie Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect for fans of Carmilla and Buffy, this campy, queer, vampire revenge story is everything I've been waiting for. I love it when girl gangs get revenge on their ex, I love it when girl gangs exist, period! An absolute wild ride that I couldn't put down.

[Jamie (TheRebelliousReader) · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars. John Tucker Must Die but with lesbian vampires looking for revenge on their maker. How amazing does that sound? This should’ve been a riot and a good time but unfortunately it was so damn boring. It’s dialogue heavy but all of that dialogue leads nowhere. Nothing happens until the last two chapters and by then I didn’t care anymore because I was bored out of my mind.

The writing was fine but this dragged a lot with how slow going it was. The plot is so cool and could’ve definitely been great but none of the characters are fleshed out or memorable. The romance between Holly and Parker moves way too fast. They were saying “I love you” to each other really soon and yet there was no chemistry between them nor were they interesting characters as individuals. Nothing about this book felt fully developed and it read more like a rough draft. So much wasted potential here.

[Sonia Hartl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wrote this and I love it!

Writing this book was a cathartic experience for me, but it does have some content that won’t be for everyone, so I wanted to provide some CWs before ARCs come out. I won’t be checking this space or reading any reviews after posting this, so if you’d like clarification on anything I list here, please reach out to me through my website.

Content Warnings:
There is a lot of blood in this
Body horror
Coercion described through memory
Gaslighting
Attempted sexual assault on page
Physical assault and fight scenes on page
Parental neglect on page and through flashbacks
There is discussion about the character’s living selves, missing their previous lives and the lives they could’ve/should’ve had, and the value they placed on their mortality which I didn’t intend to frame as suicide ideation because they are undead, but impact > intent, and since I’m unsure of how this will be read, I’m listing it here to be safe

[Sunny Lu · Rating 3 out of 5]

absolutely gruesome and ridiculous but still fun

[theresa]

we're being blessed with two (2) sapphic vampire books in 2021 i am loving this.

i love that this book seems to have girls teaming up against the bastard men who hurt them that is some good shit. also is this set in the 80s/90s?? because i would fucking love that AND the crimped hair,,, yeah i have some hair crimping regrets i sympathise with you holly.

also here's the tiny synopsis since it will probs be replaced at some point but i would like to memorialise it and all its greatness: 'When the vampire who turned Holly into the undead in 1987 (leaving her as a 16-year-old with badly crimped hair for all eternity) breaks up with her, she's approached by two girls he also claimed to love, turned, then ditched. But their plan to kill him before he can strike again grows complicated when Holly starts to fall for the mortal girl they're trying to protect.'

I also talk about books here: youtube | instagram | twitter

[laurel [the suspected bibliophile] · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable, and it took some vampire tropes and twisted them in a way that was pretty fun.

I enjoyed the girl gang teaming up to destroy their asshole maker, but despite the constant reiterations that Holly was stuck in a 16 year old's body with a 16 year old's mind, I couldn't get past the fact that she still had an extra 34 years of existence on top of those 16 lived years. Yes, she was stuck living as a 16 year old, but in her mind she was ancient and it still didn't quite get over the ick factor as she courted an 18 year old (who yes, technically is an adult but still the kid's in high school).

There were some timing inconsistencies as well, but I imagine those will be cleaned up by the time of publication.

I did really enjoy Stacy and Holly's relationship, and I wanted more of their reconciliation! And I wanted more personality from Ida and Rosa, aside from one's quirky artistic inclinations and the other's cleaning tendencies. I also wanted to know how Holly kept getting library cards without a parent's signature/presence or an address. And how they could kill so many people and get away with it without really taking a lot of effort to dump the bodies (wouldn't there be a media uproar over missing people—even missing undesirables? Because that many missing teenagers...).

Full RTC.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review

[Kal ★ Reader Voracious]

DNF @ 17%

Believe me, no one's more disappointed than I am that this didn't work for me. I can't put my finger on what exactly, but this one just wasn't for me and I found myself skimming within the first couple of chapters.

April 1, 2021 brought the cover reveal and it slayed every expectation. Even more excited to get my hands on this book, which is quite a feat.

April 20, 2020: I never knew that I needed a book about sapphic vampires with bad 80s hair until this moment.

I'd also be remiss to not mention I always wanted a Girl Version of The Lost Boys, one of my all-time favorite movies. Not that this is at all what is being promised. But, you know.

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[a foray in fantasy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow. That was really not good. How is it possible that a book with a premise that immediately intrigued me is one of the blandest and most boring books I’ve read in a while?

[Nev · Rating 2 out of 5]

The main character complains over and over again about how she’s forever stuck as a 16 year old vampire and can’t get a job as an adult. Girl, just buy a fake ID that says you’re 18. Problem solved.

I really wanted to love this book. A story about a girl gang of vampires who team up to kill Elton, the guy who turned them and dumped them? Awesome! And the main character Holly ends up falling for Parker, the new girl that Elton is targeting? Great, right!?! NOT.

This book was just full of info dumping and bland characters. There also felt like there weren’t any real stakes to the story because of how Sonia Hartl crafted her vampires. It’s extremely difficult to kill them and they heal from massive injuries so quickly. Like, if their arm is torn off it starts growing back immediately. So I was never concerned for the safety of the characters because it never felt like they were in any real danger.

Also, the romance between Holly and Parker did not have enough development to be believable. It jumped to love so fast that it completely lost me.

I’m sad because I expected so much more from this.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not expect a YA novel about vampires to still make me cry in 2021 but here we are I guess. And I really enjoyed this! I hadn't heard about this book until recently when I saw people talking about the blurb on the bird website, and I thought it sounded really fun so I jumped at it.

The Lost Girls follows Holly Liddell who was changed into a vampire by her boyfriend Elton in 1987 but was later dumped and abandoned by said boyfriend. But since he was the one to change her she is still tied to his presence and has to follow him from city to city. Eventually she teams up with other of Elton's exes Ida (changed in the 20s) and Rose (in the 50s) so they can rid themselves of Elton so they can finally live on their own terms. This is all sped up when they find out Elton is going after a new girl to change named Parker, and gets even more complicated when Holly starts falling for Parker too...

I'm not the biggest vampire book fan and I've while read some, it's never been my favorite of genres. So some people who are bigger vampire fans might have criticisms that I don't or might be less charmed by descriptions than I was but this is my impression of the book.

This book was lots of fun! It will have everything you might want out of a vampire book with lots of dark humor and some, uh, gruesome imagery. But all in an amusing way. I never really got tired of the descriptions of death that followed all the characters.

The characters were really interesting. Rose and Ida were both fleshed out (heh) characters that had way more too them than just being vampires, and I really enjoyed seeing them interact and talk with Holly. I also loved Holly! She's obviously a flawed person with a skewed moral compass that comes with being a vampire, but she was really interesting and had a good heart. Seeing all three of them (and Parker) be able to bond over loneliness in life and abandonment in death was a really touching sentiment.

And of course the story is fun. This book does augment some vampire tropes but that led me as a reader to enjoy it more as I didn't quite know what to expect and I enjoyed the ride.

Also, I expect the ending to be a turn off for some people with the more open ended nature behind it, but honestly I really felt the emotional aspect of it was done well, and I can accept how the plot contributed to it.

I do have a criticism that is spoilery though so it's behind the tag. When Holly, Ida, and Rose find out they will lose their living memories, that is obviously a big deal- but I don't know why writing down their memories didn't seem of more importance to them. Like they eventually did it to one memory each, but they had weeks to prepare that. I just kept wondering why they spent so much time mourning their memories when it was a solvable problem even if not the same as before.

So this was fun. Riddled with dark humor, and with a fun and emotional story to boot. 4/5

[Frank Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a delicious tale this was! This was an incredibly fun midweek horror read for me that I recommend to my fellow vampire fans!! Considering this is YA, I didn't have high expectations, but decided to give it a shot nonetheless. To say I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed it would actually be an understatement - I fell in love with this group of primarily female vamps! If you enjoy high-action vampire romantic (LGBTQ+) tales of revenge, then this is the perfect read to sink your teeth into. At just under 300 pages, I ate this one up in no time. The prose was increasingly impressive, and the characters were well-rounded and fleshed-out (no pun!). At the conclusion of the story, I actually felt as though these vamps were my friends and wanted this storyline to continue...perhaps it will??!!
Go out and grab this if you're looking for something fast, fun and tasty!!

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

This was a fun October read! Three teenage vampires set out to get revenge and kill the one vampire who turned them while also trying to stop him from turning another girl.

I’m not huge into vampires but this was fun. There was a lot of gore and tearing limbs off and whatnot. I wasn’t sold on the romance as they spent little time together before they started proclaiming feelings for one another. But it was still a solid read. Overall entertaining and made me laugh a few times.

[CW ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was drawn to the concept of The Lost Girls - three forever-teen feminist vampire girls hunt the vampire that broke their hearts to take revenge before he can turn another teen. While this is definitely a fun book, some parts didn't quite land for me.

- Follows Holly, a queer white vampire, who alongside two other vampires who were all promised eternal love and betrayed by the same vampire, plot to get revenge on him before he turns another teen into a vampire.
- The story's take on vampires are fascinating; they can walk in the sun, they still need human blood, but I liked how the story shows how vampires have a magnetic effect on humans and death.
- The sapphic moments were cute! How the story concludes was an interesting choice, one I think that will generate discussion among readers. Though there are romantic elements, I wouldn't call this a romance.
- Thematically, I was hoping for more. The story sets up a lot of interesting themes - the one I felt was done best was how we don't know what we really have until we lose it forever; how it feels to be 'lost' and how we fall more lost as a consequence - but I felt like there were some missed opportunities to delve a little deeper.
- Instead, the story leans into its dark humour - and there's quite a bit of dark humour! If you like humour that makes you laugh out loud and then you feel (somewhat) bad for laughing, then you might like this.

Content warning: physical violence, gore and mild body horror, murder, death, grooming, emotional abuse

[Liz ݁ ˖ִ ࣪✩₊ ⊹˚ - INACTIVE · Rating 2 out of 5]

Should've just DNF'd it 🙈 I mean, the story is pretty cool, but I couldn't really vibe with the writing style and it often felt like they kept contradicting themselves tbh

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 Stars

Note: I was provided with an ARC by the publisher through Edelweiss+ in exchange for an honest review. All opinions here are my own.

I wanted to like this book. It should be really fun, right? It's supposed to be a mix of girls teaming up to get revenge on their (shared) scummy ex and, you know, vampires. And to an extent, that's what it is. But while the idea here is solid, the execution really isn't. I mean, more than anything, this book is about... talking. They're always just talking. So much talking. Talking about their ex. Talking about vampire stuff. Talking about their past. Their plans. Their regrets. And no, I don't mean the narration dives into this often (and repetitively). I mean legitimate dialogue is in the book to talk about this stuff, repetitively.

And for a book so heavy on the dialogue, the voices felt so off. I mean, the vampire from the 1920s really shouldn't sound like a contemporary teenager. Neither should the one from the 1950s. Or even the 1980s. And yet, they all sound the same in the way they speak, annoyingly so.

I didn't like it. I was bored by it. I just wanted them to stop talking and get to the murdering already. But alas, they had to discuss it some more.

Anyway, my full book review will be available October 15, 2021 at Gateway Reviews.

[Victoria ✮⋆˙ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had so much fun with this!! It’s not a long book, it took me maybe 4 hours total to finish but it was really good!! I’m kinda obsessed with Holly and Parker (and Ida and Rose too.)

It has everything I wanted, interesting Vampire lore (I’ve never read a book with lore quite like this one it was super cool!!), sapphic romance, revenge plot, a girl gang!! I’m starting to realise those are all things I love in books so this was really perfect for me.

Honestly if you liked Undead Girl Gang please read this!! You won’t be disappointed!!

The ending was so bittersweet, I almost hope for a sequel.

[Horror Sickness · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holly is 16 and she is cursed to be 16 forever. Three decades ago, Elton turned her and promised her eternal love. But he ended up dumping her faster than a speeding bullet.

Holly is doomed to work in a taco bell because she will never grow old. To make things worse, she can not get too far from Elton because she is still tethered to him.

But one day she meets other female vampires. All turned and dumped by Elton. The girls will join forces to seek revenge and sever the bond that keeps them stuck in that town.

A great sapphic vampire tale that bends the classic vampire tropes and rules and feels real. It is on the more adult end of YA so the horror and the gore are a little bit more intense and brutal than other teen books.

A captivating tale about love and trust and female rage with complex characters.

You know I love a good revenge story.

[Alana · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Tucker Must Die but make it with bisexual vampires.
Do I need to say more?

But for real though, this was a quick, fun story about a group of vampires getting revenge on their maker who they all dated and were in love with at one point in time. It's the perfect mix of hilarious, heart warming and surprisingly bloody which made it a super fun read for this time of year. A big part of me wished that this was longer so that some of the plot points/romance could have been drawn out a little more and not feel so rushed but other than that I really enjoyed this!

[Jan Agaton · Rating 4 out of 5]

it's A Dowry of Blood but make it YA & less poetic with some cringey lines here and there. overall, I think it does a great job exploring toxic relationships on a deeper level than I wouldve anticipated, and the revenge story trope was pretty well done, including all the character growth of our main characters. the romance was borderline insta-lovey but not enough to deter my enjoyment of the book. loved the humor all throughout the novel and the exploration of the meaning of memories as well.

[MaxDisaster · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 stars
This was definitely interesting. Basically a John Tucker Must Die rewrite but with vampires. And queer. Not my cup of tea but well written, original (at least this iteration) and well executed. I don't regret time spent reading it.

[Dr. Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so fun. I want more books like this!

Holly Liddell has been stuck as a 16 year old girl for over thirty years. Ever since she let Elton Irving turn her in 1987, now she's stuck working the midnight shift at Taco Bell and renting out disgusting motel rooms with cash. Then she meets Rose McKay and Ida Ripley, two other girls who were turned and discarded by Elton. Rose and Ida tell Holly that Elton's planning to turn another girl unless they stop him. The girls are planning to kill Elton, but Holly is reluctant at first. She's bitter that Elton left her, but is unsure about killing him. Until she meets Elton's newest target, Parker Kerr, and develops a crush on her.

This book was awesome! It's full of dark humor, girl power and queer babes everywhere. Whereas almost every other book romanticizes vampires, this one does the opposite. Holly is adamant that Parker understand the true implications about becoming a vampire. Her body and mind would freeze at her current age. For Holly, this means permanently crimped hair and always looking 16.

I loved all the relationships this book explored. The romance between Holly and Parker was adorable. But seeing Holly befriend Rose and Ida was equally as heartwarming. There's also some reconciliation between Holly and her best friend, and Holly & her mother who is sick (Alzheimer's or dementia). All of the relationships felt really fleshed out and developed. I would love a spin off or sequel that was about them all after the events at the end!

The Lost Girls is also definitely a darker YA book. There is a lot of gore, blood and violence. Especially since when the vampires fight they're constantly ripping off limbs, regrowing them and more. It is such a wild ride. Highly recommend.

Rep: bisexual female MC, sapphic female love interest, aro-spec female side character, questioning asexual female side character.

CWs: Blood, death, emotional abuse, gaslighting, gore, injury/injury detail, murder, sexual content (moderate), toxic relationship, violence.

[Valkyrie ✨]

John Tucker Must Die but with vampires and sapphic YES PLEASE 🙌🏻❤️

[charlotte, · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rep: bi mc, bi li, bi side character

CWs: blood, gore, violence

[holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to the Canadian Manda Group for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

”Wanting to love and be loved wasn’t a weakness.”

4.5 stars

I was so excited for this book, and I’m so excited it (very mostly) lived up to my expectations! Full review to come.

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I absolutely loved Sonia Hartl's debut Have A Little Faith in Me, but this. THIS!!!! This right here is almost assuredly going to be what revives vampire books for me.

The John Tucker Must Die vibes? But with vampires? AND MAKE IT GAY?!
*chef's kiss*

[Rox]

Holly sets out to kill her ex AND STEAL HIS GIRL according to the author on twitter
I need this

[Sarah A-F]

I was a vampire. Undead, immortal, powerful. I would not be brought to my knees by a mortal girl with a gorgeous smile and terrible dance moves.

2 ⭐️

This was such a fun concept with so much promise, but unfortunately it fell quite short for me. Although this was a quick read, I found the writing really clunky, the characters flat, and the story itself boring. I kept waiting to feel something regarding the main romance but there was just no chemistry for me. Ida and Rose were truly interchangeable to me and I could never remember who was who. Elton just felt like an evil caricature. The worldbuilding was somewhat interesting - lots of new vampire "rules" - but that couldn't carry the rest of the book for me. I ended up skimming the last quarter because I just didn't care. So bummed this didn't work out for me, but I didn't find it enjoyable enough to overlook the poor writing.