This book should have been for me, but I was bored. I think this is the perfect book for people who are dipping their toe into paranormal/horror, I didn't attached to any of the characters which made me not care what was happening. I knew I was reading a book instead of getting lost in a book. The ending was fun little twist

BLESS YOUR HEART is a lighter horror novel filled with wit, engaging characters, mystery, and, well, vampires. Ryan delivers intrigue and suspense while still delving into family history and exploring the relationships of the Evans.

Honestly, this was a fun read. It reminded me of when I first discovered BUFFY and how I was instantly drawn to the characters. Ducey, Lenore, Grace, and Luna pulled me in. Their relationships are strong, and there is a lot of love in this family, but that doesn’t mean their lives aren’t complicated. This push and pull between the reality of a small-town world and the fight with the vampires rising propels the narrative forward.

Ryan crafted a heartfelt, smart, and, at times, dark read. I loved spending time with the Evans women and cannot wait to see what they have to tackle next.

Audiobook Note: Narrator Stephanie Németh-Parker did a wonderful job bringing this story to life. I loved the pace and the way she gave each of the characters that added inflection to make them stand out. All in all, a great listen.

Highly Caffeinated Rating of… ☕ ☕ ☕ + 1/2

I seem to be on a streak of books that are just not for me despite intriguing premises - and this is yet another... From the opening pages I just wasn't engaged. The writing and pacing just didn't hold my attention. The topic was intriguing and I really thought it would work, but it wasn't a good fit for me.

PS I amended this to four stars from 2 after I listened to the audiobook, the narration of which really brought me into the story and made it exactly what I hoped it would be - an entertaining and clever blend of family and vampires! It was a bit heavier than I expected, but on the whole I still found it to be a very engaging listen and I would definitely give a sequel a look...

DNF at 35%

It reads too much like YA which is not one of my preferred genres and not what the book was billed as. There were some interesting characters but they just were not interesting enough to carry me through.

Bless Your Heart by Lindy Ryan might be one of the funniest horror novels I have ever read, and I love that it centers around a family of women who make sure the dead stay buried… even if it kills them. I suppose the cover should have made it self-explanatory, but I didn’t know until the dead started rising that the funeral home was a bit more than your typical one, and just what this family was up to. I loved how unique this concept was, and it kept me on my toes while also grossing me out tremendously every time someone got eaten/bit.

I also found the audiobook to be extremely enjoyable, and I thought Stephanie Németh-Parker did an excellent job with all the viewpoints she had to narrate. Since the overall perspective is female, this worked really well for me, and I had no complaints with her narration at all. The mystery element was great and ended up surprising me which is all I can ever hope for. Read this if you love fierce female leads who take no shit, fabulous banter, and horror that is gory but funny!

This was a fun read! This book wasn't as scary as I had thought it would be but nevertheless it was really enjoyable. The characters were easy to love and connect with and the plot was interesting! I enjoyed the mix of humor with horror that this book has as well! Overall a fun read that I definitely recommend checking out!

This book had potential, and it just fell flat for me. There were FAR too many POVs it was told from, and somehow it still dragged and took too long. It took a while for it to get interesting and for anything to me happen. The gore got pretty graphic at times but never too overwhelming. The end left me unsatisfied and with more questions than answers.

Bless Your Heart by Lindy Ryan is a Southern gothic thriller that delivers an intriguing mix of mystery, suspense, and family drama. Set in the small town of Belle Reeve, the novel follows a protagonist navigating a tangled web of secrets, lies, and long-buried truths. Ryan’s atmospheric writing captures the eerie tension of the Southern setting, and the complex characters add depth to the story.

The Evans family run the town's funeral home. They've been keeping a secret at bay. The reason they are in the funeral home business is because they have to guide some of the dead back to their eternal death. Vampires are on the rise again and the Evans ladies must keep the secret.
Opinion
I love vampire books. I had higher expectations for this book than I received. The vampires in this book are more akin to zombies than the traditional vampire. This was the only part of the book I did not like.
The rest of the story went down like a fine whiskey, smooth and intriguing. I was anticipating what was going to happen next during most of the book. This is a fine read for a cold winter night.
Many thanks to Net Galley and to St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Bless Your Heart is a quirky and supernatural tale set in 1999 Southeast Texas, where the Evans women—proprietors of the local funeral parlor—find themselves unexpectedly battling a Strigoi resurgence. The story is anchored by the three generations of Evans women: Ducey, the matriarch with decades of experience, Lenore, the experimenter, and Grace, the kind-hearted daughter. The plot takes a dark turn when the body of town gossip Mina Jean Murphy rises from the grave, signaling the return of the Strigoi. What starts as a seemingly normal funeral business quickly reveals itself to be a covert operation to fight back against ghoulish, vampire-like creatures. The past slowly unravels as secrets spill forth with Luna, the youngest, unaware of her family’s true legacy—until she’s thrust into the action.

While the Evans women are well-crafted characters, each with their own unique quirks, the pacing of the story is a bit uneven. The Strigoi, who are treated more like zombies in their bloodthirsty rampage, could have been further explored to clarify their abilities and origin, leaving some unanswered questions. Overall it fell a little flat for me but I can appreciate the exploration of family bonds, the weight of legacy, and the dark secrets that sometimes refuse to stay buried.

Bless Your Heart was more entertaining than scary and heads up if blood and gore aren't your thing. It's plentiful here. I did enjoy the strong female characters from the Evans family but I wanted more backstory about them

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur for the eARC! This was intriguing and fun. This felt like a solid set up for a series featuring strong southern women and mythical undead. I loved the setting, and I will admit the twist got me. I was saddened by an aspect of the ending and wasn’t sure how it would serve the overall series, but I’m excited to see!

Southern vampire hunters run a small town funeral parlor, and things have been quiet on the living-dead side of work since The Incident a few years back. The Strigoli (vampires) have returned, and four generations of Evans women must work together to save the town.

I LOVE a southern inspired book, and this one brought the Texas charm. I have been to many Texas funeral parlors, and this book could've taken place at any of them. The Evans women were spunky and dramatic, and the townsfolk were believably sleepy. Bless Your Heart shined most when you were following around one character (usually after dark) while something spooky happens.

This book wasn't too spooky, too goofy, too gory, or really too much of anything. It was a bit slow at the beginning and picked up around the halfway point; I read the last half a lot faster. I did find myself struggling to follow some plot points, but I think it's beause I couldn't remember all the character names.

If you want a middle of the road southern vampire book, this is a fun, quick read. The vampires do read a bit more zombie-like, so if you like zombies, you might like it, too.

I loved it!
It was way more gory than I was expecting, but it fit in very well with my latest obsession with horror.
Family secrets and a small town feel.
I can’t wait for the second in the series!

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to be able to read this book!

Such a stunning cover. I am in love with it.
I had a fun time reading this and at times had to put it down cause it gets quite scary.

This was fun! I didn’t have big expectations for this! It’s vampires and drama umm hello! Yes pls!

The writing was easy to follow! The southern hospitality characters ! I was swooning. This is one of those books that you can read and enjoy with out having to really dissect or think to hard on. I was engaged and enjoyed it. It’s that simple.

It’s like vampires moved into the burbs with the desperate house wives!

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing Company for providing me this Advanced Readers Copy of Bless Your Heart by Lindy Ryan!

Rise and shine. The Evans women have some undead to kill.

Thank you Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for sending me a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! I decided to DNF this book at 60%. I thought I would like this book because it’s set in Southeast Texas in 1999. I’ve lived in Southeast Texas my whole life and I was in 5th grade in 1999. This book has 90’s references so I thought it would be nostalgic for me to read. I like the Texas setting, the audiobook narrator and the 90’s references but I can’t get into this book.

The way a vampy read warms my heart!

BLESS YOUR HEART was such a fun story with eccentric characters, and with A Southern Bookclub’s Guide to Slaying Vampires vibes that were just spooky enough for me. I loved the small town Texas setting, complete with funeral parlor.

I listened to the audiobook, and loved the narration! Definitely immersed myself even more with this format.

*many thanks to Minotaur Books, Macmillan audio and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review.

Loved this! This read like a horror filled Steele Magnolias and i was 100% here for it. I love all the characters, they were well written and fleshed out. It was easy to understand who was narrating when. It was a fun book to read during Halloween season.