I absolutely loved this story about a ghoul and her vampire! A refreshing take on the genre!

I just reviewed American Ghoul by Michelle McGill- Vargas. #AmericanGhoul #NetGalley

I was hooked from the cover and description and so glad I was able to read this. The horror elements worked well with what I was looking for and thought the concept was scary. I thought the vampire element worked with everything that I was looking for. The characters were everything that I wanted and glad it was so well done. I enjoyed the social commentary and that it had a comedic element with the horror. Michelle McGill- Vargas does a great job in writing this and left me wanting more.

American Ghoul started out really strong, with enslaved Lavinia and vampire Simone deciding to team up and flee the South together. It’s a great concept and both women have strong—and often clashing—personalities. The social commentary was also spot on and the narrative framework of Lavinia telling the story while sitting in jail works brilliantly.

By the middle of the story I did find that it was starting to meander a bit though. I think I just wanted more from Lavinia and Simone’s friendship. There was plenty of tension between the pair, but I wanted more moments of genuine emotional connection and more odd couple style comedy. Or, if the book wasn’t going to go down the comedy route, I wish it had leaned harder into the horror. Blood certainly flies, but it’s not enough that non-horror readers would be put off.

I love vampires so this was write up my alley, I found it entertaining and a little bit silly? In a good way, the writing style was witty and I thought the concept was unique, social commentry and horror marry so well together, will definitely want to read more by this author!

My name online is Ali Ghoul so I had to read this Annnnd it wasn't that good. I wasn't a fan of the writing style. I have autism so im kind of picky/ But I am grateful for this ARC.

You can’t kill someone already dead.

That’s what Lavinia keeps telling her jailer after—allegedly—killing her mistress, Simone Arceaneau. But how could Simone be dead when she was taking callers just a few minutes before? And why was her house always so dark?

Lavinia, a recently freed slave, met Simone, a recently undead vampire, on a plantation in post-Civil War Georgia. With nothing remaining for either woman in the South, the two form a fast friendship and head north. However, Lavinia quickly learns that teaming up with this white woman may be more than she bargained for.

Simone is reckless and impulsive—which would’ve been bad enough on its own, but when combined with her particular diet Lavinia finds herself in way over her head. As she is forced to repeatedly compromise her morals and struggle to make lasting human connections, Lavinia begins to wonder if is she truly free or if has she merely exchanged one form of enslavement for another. As bodies pile up in the small Indiana town they’ve settled in, people start to take a second look at the two newcomers, and Simone and Lavinia’s relationship is stretched to its breaking point...

This is kind of a goofy social commentary on vampire relationships. Not really my cup of tea, but if you're into vampires or socially relevant comentary on modern society, this might be for you:)