I was excited to dive into Bless Your Heart. Dark humor and sarcastic southern charm? Count me in. However, it ended up a bit light on both, and in the end was just an okay read for me.

Thank you Lindy Ryan, Minotaur Books, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

Bless Your Heart gave a different vibe than your average horror novel. It was fun and filled with love and loss. I really enjoyed reading everyone's POV and seeing the action play out from the towns eyes. I thought the monster was pretty obvious but so obvious that maybe I was wrong... I wasn't. Bless Your Heart did get a little slow in the middle but had a great ending. If I had the Evans family behind my back, you couldn't tell me anything. Im excited to read book two!

Oh Ms. Ryan you had me at ghoul hunting grandma!

The story focuses on the Evans women, a multigenerational family who runs a small town funeral parlor. Just like any Southern small town everyone is in everyone's business. The Evans just have an intriguing secret they have kept from most of the town. In addition to the usual funeral home business they also play an integral role of helping to "settle" the dead. Apparently not everyone comes to the parlor is dead dead. As the book starts it quickly becomes apparent they are once again tasked with cleaning up the town as bodies begin to rise from dead and people begin disappearing. As this book changes POVs from all the Evans we learn that these events have happened before, the much whispered about "Godawful Mess." We learn that the Strigoi, a type of vampire, is back and the Evans are the only people in town who can fight it. As more bodies begin to pile up, the town and the Evans struggle between wanting to keep their secrets buried and wanting to survive.

First off, you cannot help but fall in love with this motley crew of women. The writing was engaging and the author clearly understands life in a Southern small town. As a transplant up North it really made me miss the South. The plot kept me turning pages as I wanted to discover more. I do wish more background information was given but understand that it definitely would have affected the pacing. I enjoyed the change in POVs as it kept things moving. While I did quess some of the reveals there were some I did not. I personally feel this is more a dark mystery than a horror. More horror adjacent. While I don't think I would read this book again, I would read more of this author's work and definitely recommend.

Thank you so much to the publisher, St Martins Press and Netgalley for the chance to read this arc in exchange for my honest review.

One part a Night of the Living Dead, one part Practical Magic, and a heaping spoonful of love, Bless Your Heart is a dark and delicious tale of family and death. A horror story with heart that will have you groaning and cheering. I think you’ll love the multigenerational matriarchy, the over the top gore and the YA drama.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy. These opinions are my own.

I did not finish this book. I was not interested in the characters and it was tonally inconsistent. Also, there was almost no forward momentum with the plot. I gave it almost 80 pages before I called it. I normally call it much earlier, but I really wanted there to be payoff for such a clever conceit and cover.

Many, many thanks to NetGalley and St.Martin's Press for the E-ARC!
Who doesn't love a fun quest with the undead?! Bless Your Heart had an interesting/unique premise, with an equally quirky cast of characters. I would consider this book a fun, mildly-suspenseful romp. Felt like a blend between True Blood (without the romance) and Stranger Things. I would absolutely love if this got turned into something I could see visually.

Things I loved:
The family dynamics of the Evans women
The Evans sense of duty/"badassery"
There were a few twists that I didn't see coming, but some that I did.
DUCEY EVANS. I could read a whole book from Ducey Evans' POV.
The ending was action packed! Won't spoil it, but you might have to re-read it a couple times.

Things I didn't love:
I felt like there were some points of the book that slogged a little. Some parts got so descriptive that I wanted to scoot ahead- especially once I had gotten a sense of the gore that was being left behind I didn't necessarily want it rehashed every time.
I would have loved more humor.

Overall, this book is a fun undead-vampire-slaying- romp through 1999 quintessential Texas with 4 killer (pun intended) heroines! 3.75 stars (rounded up to 4!)

“Our job is to keep the dead in the ground. That’s what we’ve always done.”

In a small town in Texas, 1999, the Evans family has a strange family legacy…protecting people from the rising dead. This book is led by a cast of strong women that run the Evans Family Funeral Parlor. They know the signs of the “restless” and they keep lots of extra cleaning supplies on hand. 😆

The story had some really funny moments and dialogue and I am always here for flashbacks to the past with pop culture references.
While I enjoyed it, I felt that the story was missing some punch. It was a little repetitive and took a while to get to the good stuff. I felt that it was a little bit of a slow read but the horror and gore was well done!

Read if you like:
· gore and lore
· little old ladies kicking butt
· Chuck Norris references
· family bonds

Bless Your Heart was a fun and murdery story of the undead and the family that has taken them out for generations. In a small town, the Evans women watch for the signs of the undead waking. It's mostly easy since the dead usually end up in their family-owned and operated funeral parlor. They are there when they wake and can mostly put them down fast and get the bodies cremated before anyone else dies or anyone in the town is any the wiser.

I loved all of the Evans women, they were full of love and loyalty for one another and it showed even when they were all protecting the youngest Evan from something that directly affected her, and could be behind the dead that have been roaming and killing throughout town.
There are some great twists and turns that I didn't see coming, and no one is safe. We get multiple POVs from the Evan women and other side characters and not all of those survive until the end.

This was not at all what I expected!
I am not sure how, but I was under the impression this was a comedy/romance but also had a hint of a supernatural element, so I was thrown off when the unexpected gore and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" vibes came into effect. This is not my usual genre, so I needed to adjust my 'rating' of the book.

Bless Your Heart takes place in Texas in 1999- and focuses on the multi-generational Evans' women- from 80+-year-old Dulce through to 15-year-old Luna- and the secrets they keep to protect their small town. When a mysterious source starts brutally attacking townspeople and deaths are on the rise, the Evans women must work together to keep their strengths a secret while protecting themselves and those around them.

This was not a horror in the sense that the plot was ominous or scary, but it was very gory.
It was a quick read, and the pace was good. I struggled to connect with any of the characters and kept confusing the Evans women.

A twisted suspense novel that adds in a little light horror, some trendy humor, enough thriller to keep the pages turning and a lot of strong southern women all wrapped up into a vampire story? This was straight up my alley. The idea that a group of women own a funeral home and are trying to save the town from vampires. This entertaining and quirky novel would be a great addition to a book club group, a team read and everyones tbr list.
Thank you to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for this ARC.

I feel like this was just okay for me. I can see why someone would really love it and why someone wouldn’t. I genuinely loved the fierce female representation and the family bond; but I felt the story moved slowly for a mystery/thriller.

Solid 3 stars.

In this small-town mystery/thriller/light horror novel set in small-town Texas in the 1990s, the Evans women run the town's funeral home. But their real job is to make sure the town's dead stay dead. But even they aren't entirely sure why the vampires, that kind of act like zombies, are coming back to life now. I loved the intrigue and the small-town vibes. I also loved all of the Evans women and how they approached the vampire mess. I also loved trying to figure out what happened 15 years before during the "Godawful Mess" (always capitalized which made me chuckle), while also trying to figure out what was happening during the main story. It was a great mix of mystery and thriller without being dark and scary. It was a great read and was very fun!

Thank you to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

It’s the season of the vampires and this is one of the best recent book I’ve read about them. I thought this would be just a funny book but I found it has the perfect amount of horror and terror in there as well. I would love to see more in this world.

This was fun! A quick, southern, all-out fight against the vampires. The women who own the funeral home wind up trying to save the town from evil. It's a fun, quick read that I really enjoyed. This has some aspects to it that I really enjoyed. Basically that the main characters are women and southern women at that! Overall, it's a fun book.

Out April 9, 2024!

Thank you, Netgalley and Publisher, for this Arc!

If you had asked me after 30% of this book, I would have said it’s a 5 star. Unfortunately, I was terribly uninterested after that point. It felt very repetitive and the pacing was too slow. It started to pick up and become interesting towards the end.

I loved the multiple POV.
I liked the premise.

I think this book suffered from organization of story and pacing of the story! It’s a brilliant concept and story, but the pacing was not for me.

Bless Your Heart is a captivating mystery-horror novel filled with endearing characters and Southern charm with a twist. From start to finish, this gasp-inducing delight kept me on the edge of my seat. With a perfect blend of Southern sass, the gruesomely descriptive yet heartrendingly poignant tale will leave horror enthusiasts eagerly anticipating the next installment.

It’s 1999 in a small Texas town where the Evans women run the only funeral parlor around. Four generations of women, from tough-talking Ducey Evans to her teenage great-granddaughter Luna, are entrusted with burying the town’s dead – and making sure they STAY buried. But sometimes the dead are restless & their reanimated corpses return as Strigoi, vampire-esque creatures hungry to feed on the living. And it’s up to the Evans women to fight back to protect their family and the whole town.

This book was pleasantly entertaining and a great, quirky multiple POV story. The relationships between the four women gave the story a lot of heart. The late 90s pop culture references are on point and were a lot of fun. This book would be perfect for fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and books by Grady Hendrix and Charlaine Harris.

The audiobook is incredibly narrated! Her voice is so expressive and she differentiates the various characters clearly for the listener. She really channels the Evans women, especially Ducey with a crackerjack southern accent.

“Bless Your Heart” is a quirky blend of southern charm and supernatural horror. When town gossip Mina Jean Murphy rises from her coffin during her own funeral, the Evans family faces ancient vampires and buried secrets. Lindy Ryan’s writing keeps you hooked, but some characters lack depth. If you’re up for gore and family drama, give it a read!
3.75 stars.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars. Very Grady Hendrix-esque. Bless Your Heart is the story of the Evans women and their fight against the undead. It's 1999, and there hasn't been trouble in the small Southeast Texas town since that God-Awful Mess 15 years ago that left 2 bodies and Grace Evans raising her infant daughter alone. Now, the dead seem to be rising again and the Evans women must get ready to do battle against the Strigoi once again.
The Evans women own and run the local funeral parlor and with the "rise" of Mina Jean Murphy, realize that once again, the undead have become restless. But how did it start this time? So funny while also being horrific, get ready for a wile ride with the most firecracker group of Southern ladies you'll ever meet. (And hopefully, this seems like it's going to be a series!)

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur for this e-arc.*

In a small Texas town, people keep disappearing and dying. When the bodies are found they're missing part of them. The law enforcement is blaming it on a rabid animal, but to those around almost 20 years ago, they know it's more than that.

One family who knows it's more than a rabid animal is the Evans family who runs the local funeral home. Death is their business so they know when something isn't right. Told in chapters from different perspectives of characters, Bless Your Heart is a character driven novel with an action packed ending. Although the book was a little slow moving, I enjoyed the action and horror bits. Also the dog lives, for those that care.

I will be honest and almost DNF'd it a couple of times because it was a lot slower than I anticipated it being. I'm glad I didn't because the last few chapters made up for the slowness leading up to it. If you're squeamish about gore, this book may not be for you. If you want something like Practical Magic but with more gore, this one might be up your alley.

It sounds like this may be the first in a series, according to Goodreads, and I will definitely pick up the next book.

Thank you to Minotaur Books and Netgalley for a copy in exchange for review consideration.