I love the Evans women and this sequel was perfect! With even more twists and turns (and some tear jerking moments) this was everything I hoped it would be and more, left me with some questions but hopefully that will be wrapped up in the next book! I love love love this paranormal mystery series, it has a ton of heart and the characters are relatable and loveable (I love em s'much)

Thanks for the opportunity to read this book. However, I could not connect with it as much as I wished.

Even more suspenseful than Bless Your Heart! I love the Evans women and their men. One sweet scene with Luna and Crane had me in tears. There are still secrets to be revealed, hopefully in the next book.

UPDATE: it's true, I have to listen to these books. I gave the audio version of this one a five star review on here, so check that out if you are curious. It's a weird anomaly for me to only like something in audio, but it is what it is!

ORIGINAL REVIEW: it's an official thing: I cannot read these books. I received an ARC of the first book and struggled mightily, just as I did with this one. Then, later in the year, I received an audio copy of book one and REALLY enjoyed it. So apparently, this is a series that I have to listen to, not read. It's weird when that happens, but there are definitely books that I vastly prefer in one format or the other, so I guess I need to keep that in mind going forward. I liked the way this one opened, so will just have to wait for the audio and then should be set!

Incidentally, I read Ryan's "holiday" book (Cold Snap) as a physical book from my library and LOVED it, so it's not her writing. It must be something about this series - or perhaps the narration - that makes me prefer that format. <shrugging my shoulders> I'm going to give it 3 stars for now since I couldn't finish and will come back once I listen!

When finished Bless Your Heart I was hoping that this was going to be a series and I'm so glad Ryan wrote a sequel. I will continue to read this series as long as they keep coming. I adore all of the characters, and each one is definitely unique but relatable if you're from the south because southern women are sweet as pie but can stab just like the rest of 'em. (Seriously though, there's a bit of stabbing in this one too.)

In Another Fine Mess we have another killing spree happening but the dead aren't rising, so while the Evans family tried to figure out what is going on and the sheriff's keeping their secrets from the public before anymore people die can be a challenge. Especially, when they are still dealing with every day tasks, like homecoming, work, and a constantly flow of incoming bodies.

This book is the perfect sequel to Bless Your Heart! Full of twists and turns, the southern charm in this paranormal mystery was so fun! I really enjoyed this sequel and can’t wait to see what she comes up with next! I need the third book faster to find out why the dead won’t stay dead in this small Texas town.

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

I am not really sure how I feel about this book. It was easy to follow, and I enjoyed the author's writing style, but I think I was lost because I read this book first and have not read "Bless Your Heart". I think the whole wolf/vampire thing threw me off. It did have a bit of gore and talked about "maggots" which I didn't really enjoy. It took me a while to finish reading just because this type of genre did not pique my interest. I might change my mind IF I ever read the first book, but I highly doubt that will happen.

I think the story ended abruptly at the end and I felt like characters were being killed for the heck of it. I didn't really understand what the plot was. What was Grace's purpose? I was left with more questions than answers. It could be that the author will write a 3rd book to explain what happened in the 2nd book and why it happened but who knows.

This was a 3 ⭐⭐⭐ for me but I recommend for people who enjoy a good wolf/vampire/monster read.

I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Texas. Land of barbecue, big hair, and—apparently—corpse management as a family business. Another Fine Mess delivers exactly what the title promises: a mess of biblical proportions, where the dead refuse to stay put, family therapy is replaced with emergency grave-digging, and generational trauma takes a whole new form (as in, it literally climbs out of the ground to haunt you).

The Evans women have spent generations keeping the undead exactly where they belong—six feet under. You’d think after a century of experience, they’d have a system down. But no, things go sideways in the worst way possible, leaving Luna and her grandmother, Lenore, as the last women standing in their, uh, very specific line of work. And because life has a truly twisted sense of humor, the dead don’t seem to care that the Evans family is short-staffed.

But when the local body count starts to rise (and then, you know, rise again), it becomes painfully clear that something bigger and badder than their usual brand of undead nonsense is at play. Bodies keep piling up, things that should not be moving start moving, and suddenly, “rest in peace” is just a suggestion.

Throw in a sheriff who actually believes them (a rarity in horror novels, honestly), some deep-dive family secrets, and a town that just cannot catch a break, and you've got the perfect mix of horror, humor, and just enough heartfelt moments to make you care before everything goes spectacularly to hell.

This book is fast-paced, darkly funny, and brimming with creepy Southern gothic charm. The Evans women are the kind of characters you want to root for while also staying a very safe distance from, and the story balances eerie tension with laugh-out-loud moments that make you wonder if you should be concerned about your own sense of humor.

Another Fine Mess is the second book in the Bless Your Heart series by Lindy Ryan, and I loved it. This one is a great follow-up to the first book, and I'd definitely recommend starting with the first one if you haven't already. Lindy does a fantastic job of filling in the backstory, but you'll get more out of it if you read them in order.

This series has so much heart and charm. Set in a small town, it feels like a cozy mystery, even though there are horror and gore elements. The Evans family are the town's undertakers, and after the events of the first book, Lenore and her granddaughter Luna are trying to rebuild their lives. But disturbing events keep happening, and it's clear that something is still causing trouble in their small southeastern Texas town. With the help of the newly appointed sheriff, they're racing to figure out who or what is behind the attacks.

I really love the world Lindy Ryan has created. The small southern town setting is so engaging, and the characters are all so likable and relatable. Even with the graphic descriptions of gore, the story is very readable. The strong female characters are a huge strength. Luna is a teen trying to figure out who she is after her mother's death, and Lenore has taken on the responsibility of running the mortuary after losing both her mother and daughter in the last book. It's heartwarming to see this close-knit family start to let others into their circle.

The story blends mystery, horror, and humor beautifully, with undertones of vengeance and grief adding depth. Overall, this book has a lot of heart and charm, and I can't wait for the next one in the series!

Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the advanced reader copy. This is my honest review.

I did not read the first book in this series, but found the characters immediately engaging and likable. Just enough gore to keep the horror vibe going. The writing and the story development were great.

I went into this book not realizing that there was a book before this one. I don't think I need the first book because the emotional connections are here in this book and the fallout from the events of the first book echo absolutely throughout to the second. When "animal attacks" are blamed for missing animals, and people that are ripped to shreds Lenore Evans and her granddaughter Luna who have to deal with the restless dead. The sheriff Roger Taylor is willing to help but nobody knows who or what is responsible for the number of missing or mutilated animals and people. The restless dead are restless, Lenore is trying to handle too much and her granddaughter is a teenager what can they do to find out who or what are causing the problems in their town?

Absolutely loved this book. A family of women run a funeral home and are charged with keeping the dead buried. This becomes hard to do when one of their own comes back after being attacked and killed by a vampire zombie creature. Now the town is being terrorized by another creature that tears its victims apart and takes trophies. The women band together to find the creature even when they suspect that the creature ie actually one of their own.
Unfortunately, I had not read the first book in this series but I definitely will correct that. Fortunately, you don't have to have read the first one to keep up with the second one.

Wow! This boos is entertaining, emotional and creepy good. Great follow up to the first one. And let not forget the texas southern charm in this horrific story. Perfect for horror lovers!

Lindy Ryan's *Another Fine Mess* is a captivating blend of horror, mystery, and humor set in a small southeast Texas town plagued by the undead. The story centers on the Evans women—Lenore, Luna, and their new sheriff—who have been protecting their town from the undead for generations. As the dead begin to rise unexpectedly, they race against time to uncover the sinister force threatening their community.

What distinguishes *Another Fine Mess* is Ryan’s perfect balance of tension and humor. Clever dialogue lightens even the darkest moments, while the quirky Evans family adds charm and emotional depth. The mystery keeps readers on edge as characters face both supernatural and human threats, emphasizing themes of family and sacrifice.

The pacing expertly builds suspense, immersing readers in the eerie atmosphere of southeast Texas. Overall, *Another Fine Mess* offers a refreshing take on zombie horror, with its engaging mix of humor, mystery, and heart. Ryan's storytelling and the depth of her characters leave readers eager for the next installment.

Okay, wow. This book is a lot. I was creeped out, grossed out, confused, and then found myself tearing up at one point. How can horror leave me weepy?! Turns out Lindy Ryan is just that good at writing complex stories. I suppose this could be read as a standalone, but why would you do that when the first book is so good? Fingers crossed the author gives us more Evans women in the future! Thanks to Minotaur/SMP for the ARC.

I liked the plot and the strong Evans characters. It was an interesting read and parts were entertaining, but I felt it should be listed in the YA HORROR category due to the amount of supernatural events.

Thank You NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the advanced E-book edition in exchange for an honest review

This was really good! I make my way through most of this story and then was completely surprised by the twist of who was there to save the day. It was obvious that I had missed a previous book, but it worked decently as a stand-alone.

This book was excellent. I enjoyed Bless Your Heart but I loved this book even more. The story was gripping and I loved the author’s use of multiple narrators to tell the story. I felt like this book allowed us to become more invested in the Evan’s women, as well as allowing other characters to play a bigger role (Kim was a favourite of mine). This series is the perfect blend of slasher horror and paranormal. The twists and turns were so great and I did not see that ending coming at all. I need to know what happens next!

BOOK REPORT
Received a complimentary copy of Another Fine Mess, by Lindy Ryan, from St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books/NetGalley, for which I am appreciative, in exchange for a fair and honest review. Scroll past the BOOK REPORT section for a cut-and-paste of the DESCRIPTION of it from them if you want to read my thoughts on the book in the context of that summary.

Put Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the movie), some True Blood (Sookie!!), and some Twilight (extra sparkles, please) in a blender. Hit pulse. Then pour the clumpy liquid-y mess on the floor and slog through it. That’s the equivalent of reading this book.

Alas.

I had high hopes for this series because the grandmas were so realistic. But this second book went on WAY, WAY too long. And expected readers to remember entirely too many details from the first one.

Let’s not forget convoluted-y….oh my goodness did we convolute or what with this? Ugh.

Now. All that said, I probably will give the third in the series a try, because sophomore slump is a very real thing. But if I find myself (when and if it comes) rolling my eyes and continually leaving the book to doomscroll, then I’ll know it’s time to say goodbye to it.

DESCRIPTION
From Lindy Ryan, "one of the “most electrifying voices in the horror genre” (Gwendolyn Kiste), Another Fine Mess brings the Evans women back around in this unputdownable, crackling, rollicking mystery of humor, heart, and horror.

Making sure dead things stay buried is the family business…

For over a hundred years, the Evans women have kept the undead in their strange southeast Texas town from rising. But sometimes the dead rise too quick–and that’s what left Lenore Evans, and her granddaughter Luna, burying Luna’s mother, Grace, and Lenore’s mother, Ducey. Now the only two women left in the Evans family, Luna and Lenore are left rudderless in the wake of the most Godawful Mess to date.

But when the full moon finds another victim, it’s clear their trouble is far from over. Now Lenore, Luna, and the new sheriff—their biggest ally—must dig deep down into family lore to uncover what threatens everything they love most. The body count ticks up, the most unexpected dead will rise–forcing Lenore and Luna to face the possibility that the undead aren’t the only monsters preying on their small town.

I loved the first book in this series and was hooked just a few pages into this one too. The relationships between the Evan’s women are a joy to read— gives me almost Practical Magic vibes. This take on vampires is refreshing in its uniqueness but it still hits all the major camp notes.