This graphic novel was super cute! I really enjoyed the outrageous plot of Lucy and Lord Byron trying to go after Lady Travesty. I wasn't a huge fan of the art style, but I enjoyed the read nonetheless. There were a lot of hilarious moments in this graphic novel. I died laughing when they "killed" Lady Travesty a second time, the exact same way as the first. There are a lot of cute and funny moments like that throughout the graphic novel, and I found myself laughing out loud a lot. The two things that held me back from enjoying this more were the art style and that there were a few times when it was hard to tell who was talking because the bubbles didn't indicate who was speaking at certain moments. But other than that I found this a really enjoyable and fun read!

I've been following Emily McGovern on Facebook for many years now, and I love her webcomic My Life as a Background Slytherin. I was excited to read her first graphic novel because nineteenth century, vampires and queer characters are my buzzwords. Unfortunately, this was not my cup of tea.

The story starts with Lucy beheading a gentleman, being offered a place in a super-secret vampire cult by Lady Travesty and teaming up with Lord Byron, who shows up out of nowhere to discover secrets of said cult. Later they are joined by Sham, respected bounty hunter, who is either misgendered throughout the whole novel or I just didn’t understand the whole thing with saying “Yes.” to the question “Are you a boy or girl?” if there is no elaboration of that later and all the other characters refer to Sham as woman after that answer anyway. There is a queer romance in the book regardless, but I was honestly confused what exactly was the author trying to convey with that.

For 200-page graphic novel, this took me way too much time to read, which in itself says something. I was struggling through 2/3 of the novel. I did not really care for the story, because even though the beginning was promising, I was confused throughout the whole book. The story is repetitive, and it doesn't flow well because of that. There are few funny one-liners and moments, but I wasn't enjoying myself and I was checking the page count way too much.

Another reason why I think the story wasn't engaging for me is the text-panel ratio. There was way too much text for a graphic novel, sometimes two or three paragraphs in a single panel. I think that graphic novels should rather show than tell, hence the "graphic". Also, I wouldn't be mad if the font was a bit bigger because it was harder to read (not sure if the final book will be bigger that the e-arc version though).

An arc was kindly provided to me by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This story could not be more delightful. I already loved Emily McGovern from her Background Slytherin series, but she has blended all of my favorite elements of her comics into this wild, amazing original adventure. I couldn't stop reading about Lucy, Sham, and Lord Byron (FROM BOOKS) blundering their way through hunting the immortal leader of a vampire cult, with the help of a magic castle, a French psychic eagle named Napoleon, Sir Walter Scott, and a number of others. The ensemble of unique characters weaving out of the story kept the plot moving along at a lively pace, even when it was clear that the team had no plan at all to accomplish what they set out to do.

The author brings her usual witty style that plays with common tropes of the story, this time applying it to the world of Regency romance and paranormal adventure, along with all the fun banter you could expect from these semi-competent vampire hunters on a mission. The various literature references and asides were also a favorite part and blended beautifully with the inclusion of Lord Byron and his chaotic energy.

In summary, I love this hilarious book, and I will read everything Emily McGovern produces until the end of time.

***Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***

A lively and hilarious adventure involving Lady Lucy, Lord Byron - "you know, from books"- and Sham. Also along for the ride is a talking castle, psychic owl, and a local vampire cult.

One of my favorite reads of the year. I wouldn't know where to start to express how fun this was to read and why I adored it. Lord Byron was my favorite character out of all of this and took me back to all those presentations I had to do on him for my undergrad. The characters express so much with simple facial features. It's just such a lovely graphic novel. I do understand the text can sometimes go a bit overboard, but that's how the Background Slytherin comics tend to be. Her style is definitely one you'd have to get used to if you're just coming across her work, but she has definitely created something so unique and treasurable.

Swashbuckler Lucy loves to kill vampires. And maybe people. But using her sword is awesome. So when she meets Lord Byron (yes, that Lord Byron,) who is also hunting vampires, she hops right on board his giant, psychic eagle, Napoleon. Granted, her first choice would have been to be inducted into the secret vampire society but Byron keeps interrupting her interludes with Lady Violet (who may be a secret vampire cult leader....or a great pretender, if you believe Gladys De Harridan, an EXTREMELY old vampire.)
As Lucy adventures, she and Byron meet a strange cast of characters most of whom have secrets. Except Virginia. Well, she has a secret but she's also pretty inept so.... There is also Sham who, dressed as a lady, is the person Lucy is most interested in.
I was pretty bemused by this book in general (I could mostly follow but got lost a couple times.) I think fans of McGovern's "My Life as a Background Slytherin" will enjoy this book immensely as the wit and drawings are very similar.

Three stars
This book comes out September 17th
ARC kindly provided by Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

A hilarious parody of paranormal regency romances. This unconventional comic is the ideal vacation read. Think of the movie “Pride and prejudice and zombies” and you’ll get the genre.

Well, that was a ride and a half.
I love Emily McGovern's 'My Life as a Background Slytherin' comics, and so I was really excited to see her work in a full graphic novel. This has all of her trademark humour, and I adored the introduction of Lord Byron as a character. The whole story is kind of messy, confusing, and bizarre, but that is part of its charm, if I'm honest. So much happens in here that I may have to read it again.
I had multiple laugh-out-loud moments with this, but mostly I was just smiling as I read. It was a really fun journey, but I wouldn't say that it will stay with me very much, and I did find myself getting a little lost when it came to what was happening half the time. Still, definitely recommend if you like Emily McGovern's humour!

DNF around 50%

Look this was okay and fairly queer and sometimes fun but

• there is way too much text for a graphic novel
• it's way too long (more than 200 pages) and with so much text it started to become an issue
• I feel like there's a lot of stuff I'm missing because I don't know Byron
• the humor is not for me I guess
• the art is cute but I have a problem with the whole way this thing is structured, so much text and the strips being packed tightly made it hard for me to read it on my tiny iPad

This is definitely one of those times where I could have continued and finished but I just didn't want to, also it's worth noting that my main issue was how much text was in each page and how tiny it all seemed, which is something that might not bother others because I suppose the finished copy will be more readable than it was for me depending on how big the physical pages are. But the fact remains that I also would have pushed through if I had cared more about the story.

I really like Emily McGovern's webcomic, My Life as a Background Slytherin, so I was excited to see that this book was coming out. I like Regency stories, but I particularly like messing around with Regency stories and expectations. This book started out strong, but got a bit muddled in a repetitive middle and some less-than surprising reveals. I also don't know that McGovern's minimalist art style served this setting and story as well as it does the Hogwarts of Background Slytherin. Still, I liked the inclusion of Walter Scott and Lord Byron, as well as the characters' unabashed bi/pansexuality. Still worth a read, but didn't quite live up to my high expectations.

This was pure silly Regency-era spoof fun and I was very much here for the deadpan ridiculousness of Lucy, Byron (yes that Byron, from books) and Sham bumbling their way through vampire-adjacent adventures. The plot definitely drags in the middle of the book though, and it often meanders without much logic or forward motion at all. Not unlike the Gothic literature it pokes fun at, but not always easy to stay engaged with. I liked Emily McGovern’s background Slytherin cartoons already, and I’d recommend it to other fans of that for sure.

Thank you, NetGalley for the preview of this graphic novel.

I love Emily's Harry Potter comics on Instagram. Every single one of them is such a riot. And Bloodlust & Bonnets was no different. It is such a delightful graphic novel that leaves you wanting more. Emily McGovern is definitely one of my favorite author/artist out there.

A Deadpan Hoot

So, Lucy is a Regency era gentlewoman who is fed up and ready for a lark. After she goes off, with gory relish, on some annoying upperclass twits she is mistaken for a vampire hunter and decides to go with the flow. Lord Byron, ("You know, from books."), is a gormless egotist who mistakes everyone's contempt and derision for adoration, but he decides to partner with Lucy in a spot of vampire hunting. Sham is a transgender real vampire hunter who falls in with these two goofs, and then they all engage in hilariously inept flirting while having vampire hunting adventures.

It's sort of a one joke setup, but it's a good joke and the author plays an endless set of variations on the joke, almost all of which are amusing. The tale is not dialogue heavy, (it reads more like a web comic collection), and so it zips along. I enjoy dry, deadpan humor, and Lucy's comments in response to Lord Byron's inane observations never failed to amuse. Lots of extra characters come and go, each adding a new level of inanity or oddness to the tale.

It's a witty send up of classic Romance, a slapstick romp, a sly queer satire, and a vampire parody, all wrapped up in a minimalist but surprisingly effective graphic style. (Can you have deadpan comic art?)

So, if it's possible to be mellow, edgy, good humored, and pointed all at the same time - this is it.

(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

First up, a big thank you that I was able to try this one out. Sadly, me and this book are not compatible.
It has to do with the weird as hell story (what in heavens name is going on in this story, did I miss a prequel, or something else?) which doesn't make sense and had me confused from the very start and only kept confusing me as the story went on. Vampires? A girl just chopping off guys heads when she is not agreeing with them? Some strange guy with an eagle that is psychic??? A castle that is magic? Ummm, and this is just 14 pages in the story. I am utterly confused.
And the art.... sorry, but the art is just not my cup of tea. Not at all. It was highly distracting and not that pretty. Sorry, really I feel terrible for saying this, but I do have to be honest and also have to tell you all why I wasn't a fan of the book. Well the art and the story. The characters were OK, though again, confusing.

This was such a fun and entertaining read. What first drew me in was the name and almost immediately afterwards, the artwork.

This follows a girl named Lucy who wants a life filled with adventure and after killing her suitor and a few others (they're all vampires), she is asked to become a part of Lady Travesty's cult of Immortal Vampires. I know, didn't she just kill a bunch of vampires? Yes and to be honest, I'm still not entirely sure why Lucy was considering to go when she had just killed vampires? While still talking to Lady Travesty, we meet Lord Byron and he and Lucy go on an adventure to wreak havoc in the vampire world.

We later meet more amazing characters: Sham, a non-binary bounty hunter with a mysterious past, Castle, the magical talking home of Lord Byron, and Napoleon, a psychic eagle and many more that are just as satirical as the main characters.

While this was definitely a very fun and enjoyable read, there were times that I found the jokes to be a bit too long running and I think I would I have enjoyed it more if it was a little bit shorter. However, that doesn't mean I won't be buying this when it comes out. This was a fun graphic novel that I think many people will enjoy.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free eARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Loved the artwork but sadly I didn't enjoy the story as much as I wanted. Although I liked the plot and the lgbtq+ representation I felt like something was missing. Either way I know I can expect great things from the author in the future.

Bloodlust & Bonnets is a cute, and rather silly graphic novel dealing with Lucy, a debutante sucked into adventure dealing with vampires, Lord Byron, a bounty hunter, Sir Walter Scott, and many from European society. If you're a fan of poking fun of early 19th century England, romance tropes, and seemingly nonsensical stories this is the graphic novel for you. The art is well done, and rather eye catching. The story however, is a little bit all over the place and hard to follow at times, but by the conclusion you're able to see what the author was going for. I'm not sure this graphic novel would cause me to seek out other works by the creator, but it was enjoyable.

Very cute and very colorful, I have always loved McGovern’s comics have always brought a lot of joy on a daily basis. Her first book is no different - with lots of adventure, blood, silly dialogue and old timey English, and vampires!

Lucy teams up with Lord Byron and a bounty hunter named Sham to hunt vampires, and the trio flirt and deceive their way through several adventures, always one step behind the notorious vampire, Lady Travesty.

I enjoyed this book in the beginning, but around the midway point a lot of profanity started showing up frequently, and I lost interest in the story. Also I was confused about Sham, the bounty hunter, who is apparently bisexual or something. That whole character made no sense at all, and I did not enjoy Sham's storyline.
There are some humorous bits, and some funny one-liners, but it wasn't enough to keep me engaged. I skimmed through the last 1/3 of the book.


Disclaimer: I received an ecopy of this book from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.

Tavole deliziose e un'idea graziosa, rovinate da una sceneggiatura completamente sconclusionata.
Immagino che la scelta sia voluta, ma non essendo un'amante del demenziale non sono riuscita a godermelo.