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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Such a fun book! A little uneven, but a strong debut with a unique point of view. Can't wait to read more in this series!
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was immediately intrigued by the idea of this book as someone who watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer in my high school “glory” days, and it did NOT disappoint.
Bless Your Heart is a southern horror story that is also charming. Told in alternating POVs, the focus is the Evans Funeral Parlor and the women who run it: formidable Ducey, the Evans family matriarch, her daughter Lenore, set her in routines to keep evil at bay, her daughter, Grace, haunted by the events of a “Godawful Mess” that happened 15 years ago, when HER daughter, Luna, was just a baby. The job of the Evans women is to keep the dead…well, dead.
When the town gossip, Mina Jean Murphy, rises from the dead before her wake, the elder Evans women know evil has returned to their town.
Set in 1999, during a hot Texas summer, Bless Your Heart stole my heart. I have never read a story that I’d describe as gory (but not too awful), yet heart-warming, but that’s what it is.
This title releases in April 2024. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. I can’t wait for everyone to meet the Evans women.
Bless Your Heart is a southern horror story that is also charming. Told in alternating POVs, the focus is the Evans Funeral Parlor and the women who run it: formidable Ducey, the Evans family matriarch, her daughter Lenore, set her in routines to keep evil at bay, her daughter, Grace, haunted by the events of a “Godawful Mess” that happened 15 years ago, when HER daughter, Luna, was just a baby. The job of the Evans women is to keep the dead…well, dead.
When the town gossip, Mina Jean Murphy, rises from the dead before her wake, the elder Evans women know evil has returned to their town.
Set in 1999, during a hot Texas summer, Bless Your Heart stole my heart. I have never read a story that I’d describe as gory (but not too awful), yet heart-warming, but that’s what it is.
This title releases in April 2024. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. I can’t wait for everyone to meet the Evans women.
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
dark
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
Had very high potential, but just fell short for a well rounded story. Loved the horror.
At first glance this books seemed like it would be a dark comedy surrounding the lives of four women. After reading the book I found that instead, it was a horror/mystery novel with some pretty heavy themes. There were many things I liked about this book, one of them being that instead of pushing the token LGBTQ+ character aside or killing them off, this story takes a deeper look at the effects of homophobia and makes the queer friend, Dillion, an actually well-thought out character. I also admired the way the author intertwined the story through different perspectives and how she caused suspense by jumping between lenses. The book was horrifying at parts and some of the scariest scenes were when a character was ignorant when the reader was not. At times, I was afraid to read this novel in the dark because of the amount of dread I felt for the characters. However, my favorite part about this book was the fact that it doesn't shy away from serious topics. As mentioned previously there is a gay secondary character and his outlook and struggles are not pushed under the rug like in most 90s themed books. The topic of race and sex is also discussed which puts a compelling view on the lives of those that were disadvantaged in the time period. The book does a wonderful job of presenting an interesting story as well as carefully crafted characters.
Some of the parts I did not enjoy as much were the overuse of cliches, especially in Luna's perspective. In her highschool, there is the classic jocks, nerds, and preps you see in just about every horror movie. I wasn't the biggest fan of this simply because the grouping of students based on their interests is a little outdated in my opinion (however, I do recognized that this book is set in the 90s so it's meant to be that way). I also felt that some switches in character perspectives interrupted the flow slightly. There would be times where I really wanted to read more about a certain character but then the perspective would shift and I would lose interest.
Overall, I thought this book was pretty good and I would recommend it to anyone whose a fan of horror and mystery. Bless Your Heart puts a unique perspective on the topic of ghouls and zombies in a way that is both fun and terrifying.
Some of the parts I did not enjoy as much were the overuse of cliches, especially in Luna's perspective. In her highschool, there is the classic jocks, nerds, and preps you see in just about every horror movie. I wasn't the biggest fan of this simply because the grouping of students based on their interests is a little outdated in my opinion (however, I do recognized that this book is set in the 90s so it's meant to be that way). I also felt that some switches in character perspectives interrupted the flow slightly. There would be times where I really wanted to read more about a certain character but then the perspective would shift and I would lose interest.
Overall, I thought this book was pretty good and I would recommend it to anyone whose a fan of horror and mystery. Bless Your Heart puts a unique perspective on the topic of ghouls and zombies in a way that is both fun and terrifying.
I didn't know this book was a "horror" genre book. I thought it would be more like a mystery. It was both, I guess. The mystery part was about what the "Godawful Mess" was that happened 15 years ago, which we had to wait pretty long into the book to find out - but we could guess what it was, so it was anticlimactic when it happened. And maybe unnecessarily drawn out to get there. The mystery was also WHO was behind all of this. When we do eventually find out, that part is almost skipped over too quickly. MORE time could've been spent on that part, to really get into how Luna's part played into things. Because she was the cause - she fed on Andy without knowing it - or something (this is where we could've had more details and info about her and Andy and how it happened) and then pretty much drained his life from him so he died and then came back to be almost a master strigoi? Or was he just a really strong strigoi?
Anyway, the point is that we could've used more details for some important parts and had too many drawn out details for the lead up. And Crane seemed like just a planted ploy to potentially blame things on before we knew hat happened, but he didn't really have a real role besides showing up creepily where the author needed him to. I also don't know how important the four generations were to the story, but I think it was important to the author to do that.
At first it seemed weird that every character is somehow related to each other/in relationship with each other, but I forgot they were in a small town and I guess that’s how small towns work. There was so much description about what people experience in their throats and mouths, vomiting, etc. - how can you throw up a little in your mouth? Is that even a thing that happens? It seems to happen frequently to all these characters and it felt a little annoying, but I guess that's what would happen if I came across dead bodies that were torn apart too. Also, there was too much biting of lips and inside mouths until blood is tasted. Do people actually do that? I’ve never done it on purpose or by force—just by accident, usually while I’m eating, and it always hurts like hell. I wouldn’t choose to do it on purpose like it seems these characters all do during intense situations or when they're resisting something.
I noticed a few typos when they meant to say Grace but used Luna’s name instead or when they were referring to two characters in an exchanged and one of the names would be in the wrong place/referred to incorrectly (should've been the other person's name).
Overall, it was fairly entertaining, though I did mention to my book club members that for all the blood and gore, it felt a little boring. As a show, I can see how this could potentially do well (but one that I wouldn't be able to watch because of all the gore!).
Book: borrowed from SSF Main Library.
Anyway, the point is that we could've used more details for some important parts and had too many drawn out details for the lead up. And Crane seemed like just a planted ploy to potentially blame things on before we knew hat happened, but he didn't really have a real role besides showing up creepily where the author needed him to. I also don't know how important the four generations were to the story, but I think it was important to the author to do that.
At first it seemed weird that every character is somehow related to each other/in relationship with each other, but I forgot they were in a small town and I guess that’s how small towns work. There was so much description about what people experience in their throats and mouths, vomiting, etc. - how can you throw up a little in your mouth? Is that even a thing that happens? It seems to happen frequently to all these characters and it felt a little annoying, but I guess that's what would happen if I came across dead bodies that were torn apart too. Also, there was too much biting of lips and inside mouths until blood is tasted. Do people actually do that? I’ve never done it on purpose or by force—just by accident, usually while I’m eating, and it always hurts like hell. I wouldn’t choose to do it on purpose like it seems these characters all do during intense situations or when they're resisting something.
I noticed a few typos when they meant to say Grace but used Luna’s name instead or when they were referring to two characters in an exchanged and one of the names would be in the wrong place/referred to incorrectly (should've been the other person's name).
Overall, it was fairly entertaining, though I did mention to my book club members that for all the blood and gore, it felt a little boring. As a show, I can see how this could potentially do well (but one that I wouldn't be able to watch because of all the gore!).
Book: borrowed from SSF Main Library.
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was an enjoyable read, with a multigenerational family of guardians of the dead. I love that it was focusing more on older women and their experiences, and passing that knowledge on. I hope it’s not just a standalone. I’d love to see what happens next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Blood, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Grief
dark
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes