I did not expect to love this as much as I did. The narration was almost too good. Like she does the lip licking noises when the cop was licking his lips
I did get a little sick when Belle disappeared but that turned out okay.
It does get pretty gorey, so prepare for that.
I love the ending.

The premise of this book sounded so fun, but the execution fell very flat for me. I feel like I just wanted more with the character development to really become invested with these women and their fight. I also kept getting confused as to which POV I was listening to with only one narrator and very little difference in their voice for each character.

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.

The Evans Family has always protected their town from things that go bump in the night. As owners of the only funeral parlor in town, they come across all kinds of strange and disturbing things. Now that Luna is a teenager, everything the family has worried about will be out in the open. Can they once again protect their town from the ghouls that really exist and most people never see. This book was different and I enjoyed the dark humor of the characters in the story. The story however, was gory and graphic and not for the faint of heart. Those looking for a lighthearted adventure into the paranormal may consider caution.

DNF at 30%. This sounded like a fun read similar to The Southern Bookclub's Guide to Slaying Vampires. It starts off with some action but got tedious to listen to after a while. I could not stay focused.

Although I did not read the physical book, I did have the pleasure of listening to an audio copy thanks to McMmllian Audio and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Bless Your Heart is the story of the Evans family who own a funeral home in a small Texas town and the women of the family are taxed with the secrets of the Strigoi and how to put an end to the horror for which the Strigoi bring. Filled with humor and southern sass, the story is quite descriptive with the gore and yet lighthearted. I think fans of Grady Hendrix and even Christopher Moore would get a kick out of the Evans girls.

The audio book was easy to follow along and even with the large cast of characters I shouldn't feel lost. The narrator did a wonderful job at pacing and the perfect southern drawl but not so much where it made it hard to listen to. Well done.

A solid 3.5 for me!!

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.

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 wild 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!)
Stephanie Nemeth-Parker brings a full cast of character to life with her entertaining narration.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this audio e-arc.*

A mystery-horror with Southern charm, Bless Your Heart alternates between delightful smile-inducing dialogue and action packed scenes that get the heart racing.

The Evans women are unconventional undertakers who are battling to keep their town safe from the rising dead, all while trying to keep their own family secret safe.

What I Loved:
- The Characters! Ducey, Lenore, Grace, and Luna are all unique and people you just want to be friends with! Even the secondary characters are well-developed and realistic.
- The humor! I didn’t expect to giggle or smile so much while reading a book about the rising dead.
- The setting! Small-town South just after the Columbine shootings was the perfect setting for this story.

Didn’t Love:
- The mystery was a little too obvious.

Thank you NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for an ARC. This review reflects my honest opinion.

I received this ARC in audiobook format. The narrator did a great job providing the southern vibe needed for this light mystery/horror. The story reminded me of The Southern Bookclubs Guide to Slaying Vampires. If you enjoyed that one, you'll also enjoy this book publishing in April. Full of quirky and likelable characters. Thank you NetGalley and MacMillan audio for the arc and opportunity to provide an honest review.

Such a light hearted take on the horror genre! Not scary at all - so it’s perfect for those looking to explore the “horror” genre. Think Netflix’s Santa Clarita Diet.

This is a new series that I am looking forward to exploring more!

It gives the womanhood/motherhood vibe from Practical Magic mixed with Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires with the tone/style of writing of Finlay Donovan. Very specific description - but I love it!

Audiobook was great. Story is captivating and fun!

I loved the writing style of this one. The conversation was smart and funny. I loved the southern theme. That being said, at no point in this book did I feel like I fully understood what was happening lol. Zombies? In a small town? Zombies that this family of women all knew about? Partners that suddenly disappear? Was Luna a zombie? I still don’t think I fully understand. Even though I didn’t fully get it, I had a fun time reading this one. I’m surprised it’s coming out in the spring since it definitely has that spooky Halloween vibe. Thanks NetGalley for the advanced read!

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 was a fun read! It’s like Steel Magnolias meets Twilight! The characters were enjoyable, the storyline was solid. The ending left me wanting for the next book!

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 and the narration made it that much more immersive in the southern vibes!

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!

Not my usual cuppa, but I loved it! It’s just a fun, slightly horror leaning, not to gross or gory mystery. The characters were hysterical!

This cutesy, hilarious horror was just what I needed this month. The Evan’s family was kooky, amazing and full of strong women. The town might have been confused when vampires started popping up, but not the Evan’s women. They got straight down to business. The audio was amazing and I highly suggest it. You really got the southern town vibes, which added to the overall atmosphere of the book. If your looking for a horror with lots of comedic relief, check this one out

I loved this horror, zombie-ish vampires, who-bit-whom first mystery. Lindy Ryan pushes the plot line along through different perspectives of the four generations of Evans' women who own the small town East Texas mortuary. From the eldest to youngest we have Ducey, Lenore, Grace, and Luna. We also get chapters from the local hair dresser, cop, and sheriff's perspective's. Bouncing around like this helps to get a sense of the town, all the major characters, and back stories or secrets that they bring to the story.

We quickly find out that all the ladies are dealing with some family drama and squabbling often while coming of age, Luna, is in the dark about the true family business of keeping the dead, dead.

Luna is a focal point of the story and her rag tag group of outcasts are a fun addition to this paranormal tale. Overall, a fun and wild read.

Stephanie Nemeth-Parker is a fabulous voice actor and narrator! She has loads of range. Give this audiobook a listen!

This is the first novel in Lindy Ryan’s Bless Your Heart series of supernatural horror. The story of a family of Southern women who run a funeral parlor in a small Texas town has a high body count and lots of gore, but also plenty of humor and heart-warming moments. We get to know four generations of Evans women as they struggle to stop the dead from rising and going on a killing spree. The story held my attention and kept me guessing right up to the end, which sets us up for future stories of the Evans family and friends.

The story is told in multiple points of view, alternating between the perspectives of each of the Evans women and other residents of the town. I found the characters likable and loved some of the Southern expressions they used. I also enjoyed some of the bits of 1990s nostalgia, such as music references and answering machine messages. I appreciated the author’s unique take on the undead.

The audiobook production was excellent, and I loved the narration by Stephanie Németh-Parker. She’s a joy to listen to, with distinctive voices and speech patterns to suit each character, and the ability to convey mood and emotion effectively. The narration really increased my enjoyment of the story, and I highly recommend that any supernatural horror fans give it a listen.

I received a free advanced listener copy of the audiobook through NetGalley. I volunteered to provide an honest review.

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.