3.5 stars

This book takes place in Texas and features four generations of Evans women who run the local funeral home. They have had past encounters with vampires, one of them quite close.

And it looks like the vamps are back. There is also a new young man in town that is suspicious and he has made friends with the youngest of them.

This was kinda horror light and definitely was able to read it at night.

A fun, mystery, family drama all rolled into one.

Many thanks to NetGalley, MacMillan Audio for an ALC and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This hilarious dark comedy horror is a Southern romp that will raise the dead. 4 generations of Evans women run the local funeral parlor and keep a deadly secret… but what happens when secrets don’t stay dead?

I loved this book and all the quirky characters to death. The 1999 setting was also a perfect trip down pop culture memory lane. If you loved The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires, then definitely check out this book in similarly humorous and graphic vein.

Thank you to #NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Bless Your Heart
by Lindy Ryan
Horror Paranormal
NetGalley ARC
Pub Date: Apr. 9, 2024
St. Martin's Press
Ages: 15+

In Southeast Texas, the Evans family are the owners of the only funeral home in town, and while it's a normal business, the other members of the community think it's weird that the owners are, and have always been, women, because 'it's a man's job', but the men in their lives have either passed on or left town.

Luna is the youngest of the four women, raised by her single mom, Grace, with the help of Grace's mother, Lenore, and Lenore's mother Ducey. And for the last fifteen years, after the 'Godawful Mess' which was the reason Grace had to raise Luna alone, all has been quiet.

That was until Mina's body was brought in, and as she laid in her coffin before her service, she rose from the dead as a Strigoi. But the Evans women know how to deal with that, but they also know, that when one rises, more will follow until they find the Strigoi that fed off of Mina and stop it.


Selecting this book, I thought I was getting a humorous vampire story, but sadly, it wasn't all that funny, nor are the creatures your typical vampires.

Yes, there were funnies, but nothing that made me laugh out loud, mostly I just snort/laughed a few times. And for the Strigoi/vampires; I interpreted them as more zombies because they just tore and swallowed, though it was never explained how they were able to feed off a human without killing them/not leaving a mark.

The characters were great, all had their own little quirks, but they did blend together here and there, and got confusing on who was who and their age order. (Kid- kid's mom, kid's grandmother, kid's great-grandmother.)

As for the reason/person it all started with, the how was not really explained, or if it could happen again the same way, and for the Strigoi that fed from the first victim, I guessed who it was pretty quickly.

It's not a bad story, there is humor, and language, and even though there's not a lot of blood and guts, there is violence, making it suitable for readers 15+.

3 Stars

I had a hard time sticking with this one and nearly DNFd because it just didn't hold my attention. It had a great setting and a lot of potential, but I never found myself reaching for it and it became a bit of a chore. I think from the cover I was expecting more humor and camp? I found that not much happened until we got the explanation at the end, and perhaps the focus was more on setting up a series than nailing the first book.

For readers of the Sookie Stackhouse novels and Grady Hendrix, who love southern charm mixed with horror and a lot of comedic relief! I cannot resist a southern novel with vampires after Charlaine Harris and True Blood. I was ALL IN before I even started.

Now on to the review, y’all! 🤠

Set in 1999, Texas this light hearted, horror adjacent story will keep you on your toes from beginning to end. The time period was written in such a real and nostalgic way - very fun for a 90’s kid! The pacing was very well executed with short, fast chapters that got to the point of the plot. I absolutely LOVED the mother-daughter/generational women dynamic; love, loyalty, strength, and incredible humor were among the many traits that made the characters so lovable.

Four generations of Evan’s women currently work at the only funeral parlor in a small town somewhere in southeast Texas; Ducey, Lenore, Grace, and Luna. A regular funeral parlor would embalm the dead, but the Evan’s women haven’t followed that rule because the dead never seem to stay dead. 💀

This small town has experienced the undead, or strigoi, before that had placed two men under the rose bush in Grace’s garden. By burying them close, the Evan’s women can keep an eye on them to make sure they stay dead. 🪴

Something is roaming the town killing people around town; it’s mutilating bodies beyond recognition, then hours later the bodies start twitching and coming back to life. It’s up to the Evan’s women to figure out who the leader of the strigoi and put a stop to them before they take out the whole town.

This was a creatively unique popcorn thriller that had me laughing, but also fearing for the lives of the Evan’s women when they were faced with danger. I loved the small town setting and each one of the characters, I’m sad that it’s over but looking forward to reading more books by this author.

If you like a mix of dark humor, horror, mystery this is a book for you!!!

I enjoyed the multi generational aspect to the story and enjoyed the funeral parlor vibes as it reminded me a bit of the dead romantics by Ashley Poston and I absolutely loved that romance!

I also loved the southern vibes as this really brought another level of interest to the story!

This book definitely gave the vibes of that one vampire humor show that was on tv a few years ago and I’m totally failing at recalling its name, but if you like vampires and dark humor I’d highly recommend this one!

Thank you so much to the publisher for my ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This sounded like it was going to be one that I really loved. However I found this boring and not enough of a horror vibe for me.

In 1999 in Southeast Texas, the female owners of the local funeral parlor go about their normal business. Until, the local gossip turns up dead and then rises from the grave as a vampire! Now, the women have to take matters into their own hands and fight the strigoi that have come back into town. This is a fun book that I had a hard time putting down!

I recently had the pleasure of diving into Bless Your Heart, a fun read that I could not put down. The characters were well-developed and added depth to the plot. The pacing was perfect, making it hard to put the book down once I started reading. Overall, I highly recommend Bless Your Heart, as it's a must-read for fans of the genre!

I was highly anticipating this one, but it just didn’t totally hit for me. It’s like it wasn’t quite southern-campy enough to light, and it wasn’t quite dark enough to be dark. I was hoping more for the former, and it just didn’t quite hit my expectations. I’m sure there will be lots of readers for whom this one is a hit, it just wasn’t for me!

As a diehard Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan I'm nearly always intrigued by stories involving female monster slayer stories.

Bless Your Heart was a decent debut, but unfortunately didn't fulfill all the promises of its blurb. At times the lore, especially surrounding one of the Evans women, was vague and convoluted. The author seemed to concentrate more on setting up hooks and mysteries for an eventual sequel than a satisfying first book. The book was by no means terrible, but didn't leave me wanting to read a sequel.




***Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an eARC in exchange for my honest review. ***

This horror story is a mix of family drama and mystery. I loved the different character's perspectives each chapter. Lindy Ryan can really spin a tale and I learned a new term for zombie-vampires, Stigoi! Secrets, small town rumors, and some gorey, action-packed parts kept me turning pages. Thanks NetGalley!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The premise of the book drew me in but once I started reading it, I just couldn’t get into it at all.
I wish the author, publisher and all those promoting the book much success and connections with the right readers.

I wasn't quite sure what I was walking into with this book, but whatever it was, I loved it! Bless Your Heart is the perfect mix of 1990s throwback, mystery, strong female characters, supernatural forces, and horror elements. It had a little bit of everything thrown in!

The Evans women are characters you can't help but love. They are strong women with personalities all their own. Throw in the fact that they run a funeral parlor and fight zombie vampires, and you have an unputdownable storyline. There was a lot of humor in the pages, mainly with Ducey Evans, but overall it felt like a serious story, similar to a Grady Hendrix novel. The ending left things wide open for more novels with the Evans women and I really hope we get the chance to revisit these characters. I mean, if you don't want to pop a butterscotch candy by the last page, then you're doing something wrong!

For those who have similar animal abuse triggers like me, there is a part in the novel where a sweet dog gets attacked and goes missing. That being said, the dog does survive and heals up thanks to the Evans women. Just be aware when reading!

Overall, I gave this book 5/5 stars!

3.25 ⭐️

Bless Your Heart is a tale surrounding a small Texas town and the Evans women who own and operate the only funeral parlor. This multi-generational group of women take care of business and their business is the dead. When the dead start to come back to life, the Evans women are the only ones in town that know enough to be able to stop them before more people end up in the grave.

This was an interesting take on a supernatural vampire style monster in this small southern town. The mystery was fun and their cover artist deserves a medal. That cover is what sparked my interest in this book. I see this labeled as horror, but I definitely didn't get those vibes from this while reading it. It felt more like "scooby doo"-esque horror. All comedy, very little stakes.

Crane was my favorite character. What a complete weirdo - I loved him.

I listened to the audiobook for most of this and was impressed by the narrator's ability to distinguish between the characters even when sometimes the story itself felt extremely jumbled, jumping back and forth between characters at will.

My interest waned at about the 60% mark and I was near DNF-ing, however, sticking through it was fun. The ending was predictable, but it wad an entertaining read. It won't be something I revisit in the future.

If I never think about a butterscotch candy again, I'll be happy.

🧛 New take on vampires/zombies
🧛 Family Secrets
🧛 Witty characters and humor
🧛 Unique large cast, unexpected twists
🧛 Spooky suspense
🧛 Buffy vibes
🧛 Small Town drama

CW: columbine mention, violence/blood, homophobia, gore

Thank you to NetGalley, Minotaur Books & Macmillan Audio for the ARC & ALC of Bless Your Heart by Lindy Ryan.

Bless Your Heart by Lindy Ryan is a quirky, fun, light horror novel that will keep you entertained with family banter and a plot that is both interesting without being too heavy.

The Evan’s women own the only funeral home in town. A mixture of generational humor, love, and knowledge converge when a dead body…turns out to be not so dead.

Enter the Strigoi and a whole load of fun conversations, self/discoveries, and a plot that will keep you on your toes. This one isn’t scary, but it is quirky and fun!

I love the whole concept of the story. There were so many things it had going for it. The setting was 1999 in Texas, which was great. The characters are interesting. The family job is cool and intriguing. There are great hints at some big, dark secret.
 
I so wanted to love this. But it read slowly. I had a hard time keeping my attention on it. I wanted to know everything that happened but had trouble keeping going.

This was a spooky good surprise of a book!
Four women taking care of putting the undead back into the dead category.
It’s an edge of your seat, I couldn’t put this book down type of book! It’s a bit gruesome in parts but it adds to the creepiness of the story.
Definitely recommend and would be perfect for your October reading list
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

3.75 stars

This was such a fun horror-y twist on a family saga-type story! This book takes place in a small town in Texas in 1999, where we follow four generations of Evans women, who run a funeral parlor together. Ducey, 80 years old, is the matriarch, then her daughter Lenore, Grace, Lenore's daughter, and 15-year-old Luna, Grace's daughter. There are all the usual small-town dynamics between families who have been there forever, but with a twist. Vampires, or strigoi as they call them in this story, are real, and only the Evans women know about them and how to stop them. It's been years since there was an outbreak, and they've managed to keep the creepy truth from Luna so far. But when one of their "customers" sits bolt upright during preparations for her funeral, it's apparent that lull is over, and sh*t is about to hit the fan.
The body horror and gore descriptions in this really delivered, I was pleasantly surprised! I enjoyed the multiple POVs and how the propelled the story and allowed the reader to catch glimpses of scary things happening away from the main characters, though I think I'd have felt a stronger connection to the main cast if the book had been just a bit longer and allowed for a little more wrap-up at the end. This is the first in a series, so I know the story will continue there, but such big things happened at the end that I wanted more of the come-down from those events and more character reactions than I got. 

I liked having the police POV for more of a mystery-feel alongside the horror victim scenes and the main characters, and the author did a great job and hiding just enough info from the reader so that I didn't feel like I was reading the same thing or bored waiting for the characters to figure things out. I am definitely interested in continuing this series. If you loved "The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires" and want to try something a little less character-driven but with more action and less humor, check this out!