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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
Bless Your Heart by Lindy Ryan introduces a new world of bloodthirsty creatures that can charm even a Southern Belle if you aren’t careful.
The only funeral parlor in town, a family owned business ran by the Evan’s women. Most avoid them for their strange lifestyle, but all eventually see them when it’s time to say goodbye. Hopefully you’ll only bid adieu once..
This was a fun horror story playing in the world of vampires or strigoi. It was a lighter novel with its darker gruesome truths, but kept a serious tone. I wouldn’t have ‘advertised’ it to be humorous mystery-thriller but I did think this book was quite a delight. Definitely a future recommendation, 3.5 rounded up!
(Extremely grateful for the ARC I received)
The only funeral parlor in town, a family owned business ran by the Evan’s women. Most avoid them for their strange lifestyle, but all eventually see them when it’s time to say goodbye. Hopefully you’ll only bid adieu once..
This was a fun horror story playing in the world of vampires or strigoi. It was a lighter novel with its darker gruesome truths, but kept a serious tone. I wouldn’t have ‘advertised’ it to be humorous mystery-thriller but I did think this book was quite a delight. Definitely a future recommendation, 3.5 rounded up!
(Extremely grateful for the ARC I received)
This was unfortunately not for me. It just felt very dragged without much to say. I didn't care much for the characters and the "twists" very pretty obvious. So from around the 150/200 page mark, I just wanted to get done with this but it still felt like forever.
The red herring was so obviously red herinnging about that I started to wonder if I was wrong after all. (which would somehow have been even worse) But no it was just that obvious. Like with pretty much everything else...
The red herring was so obviously red herinnging about that I started to wonder if I was wrong after all. (which would somehow have been even worse) But no it was just that obvious. Like with pretty much everything else...
I absolutely loved this small town horror novel more than I thought I would. It features great characters, unspeakable monsters, brutally bloody carnage, and it has a lot of heart behind the terrors.
A only funeral home in a small Texas town has always been run by the females of a certain family. They have their hands full dealing with prejudices while doing their best to provide the best service they can.
But they also have secrets. Dark secrets. Secrets that nobody else knows. The dead don't always stay dead. Not quite vampire and not quite zombie, these undead are very hungry for human flesh. They are viscious creatures who get stronger as they eat.
It's these women's job to destroy them when this happens, unknown to everyone else in town. But when anra outbreak of these things start to rack up a body count they might be in over their heads.
The women in question are a close knit family. The matriarch is a no nonsense kind of woman while the others are more diplomatic. A deputy is frantically searching for answers as friends and neighbors are visciously being slaughtered in horrifying manners.
Stuck in between her family's secrets and what's going on in town is a teenage girl who just might be the source of this monstrous outbreak even if she doesn't know it.
There are many wild secrets to uncover as the book progresses. Tension is high as bodies start piling up. And the kills are absolutely brutal. The author has done a great job in bringing a terrifying twist on small town horror while giving us characters you'll love and care about. I highly recommend this book.
A only funeral home in a small Texas town has always been run by the females of a certain family. They have their hands full dealing with prejudices while doing their best to provide the best service they can.
But they also have secrets. Dark secrets. Secrets that nobody else knows. The dead don't always stay dead. Not quite vampire and not quite zombie, these undead are very hungry for human flesh. They are viscious creatures who get stronger as they eat.
It's these women's job to destroy them when this happens, unknown to everyone else in town. But when anra outbreak of these things start to rack up a body count they might be in over their heads.
The women in question are a close knit family. The matriarch is a no nonsense kind of woman while the others are more diplomatic. A deputy is frantically searching for answers as friends and neighbors are visciously being slaughtered in horrifying manners.
Stuck in between her family's secrets and what's going on in town is a teenage girl who just might be the source of this monstrous outbreak even if she doesn't know it.
There are many wild secrets to uncover as the book progresses. Tension is high as bodies start piling up. And the kills are absolutely brutal. The author has done a great job in bringing a terrifying twist on small town horror while giving us characters you'll love and care about. I highly recommend this book.
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Bless Your Heart was such an uncomplicated good time, and considering I was (am) feeling slumpy, that was very welcome.
Set in southeast Texas in 1999, we follow the Evans women - four generations of ladies that run the funeral parlor of a small town. They also wrangle the dead in other ways, which is what the main focus of this book is. Now, is it heavy on the plot? Not exactly, but considering the vibes were immaculate I didn't care that much. This isn't a book that requires much thought, and that was exactly what I needed.
I really liked the setting of this. I think it balanced small town charms really well with small town closed-mindedness, and because we get to know a lot of different people through the way this novel is structured, it felt really well-rounded in this aspect. However, I do think some characters get a lot more development than others, which I didn't mind for the townspeople but became more of an issue for the Evans women. It's like the author forgot to give some of them (for me, it was mainly Grace) a personality, and unfortunately some of the events that transpired didn't really have an impact for me because of it.
Now, if I have made this book sound super cozy, please do be aware that there is some surprisingly graphic, gorey body horror in this novel that does not hold back in any way. I really enjoyed this contrast, but I think it's good to be aware of this going in.
Personally, I purchased myself a physical copy of this after finishing it, and will definitely continue on in the series!
Set in southeast Texas in 1999, we follow the Evans women - four generations of ladies that run the funeral parlor of a small town. They also wrangle the dead in other ways, which is what the main focus of this book is. Now, is it heavy on the plot? Not exactly, but considering the vibes were immaculate I didn't care that much. This isn't a book that requires much thought, and that was exactly what I needed.
I really liked the setting of this. I think it balanced small town charms really well with small town closed-mindedness, and because we get to know a lot of different people through the way this novel is structured, it felt really well-rounded in this aspect. However, I do think some characters get a lot more development than others, which I didn't mind for the townspeople but became more of an issue for the Evans women. It's like the author forgot to give some of them (for me, it was mainly Grace) a personality, and unfortunately some of the events that transpired didn't really have an impact for me because of it.
Now, if I have made this book sound super cozy, please do be aware that there is some surprisingly graphic, gorey body horror in this novel that does not hold back in any way. I really enjoyed this contrast, but I think it's good to be aware of this going in.
Personally, I purchased myself a physical copy of this after finishing it, and will definitely continue on in the series!
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Murder
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Horror with Heart
Thanks to the lovely NetGalley, I recently finished an advanced copy of Lindy Ryan's debut novel "Bless Your Heart", hitting bookshelves April 9, 2024. Set in Southeast Texas in the late 1990s, the novel focuses on four generations of Evans women who run the local funeral parlor and keep the town safe (that one Godawful Mess aside) from any would-be dead that don't know how to stay where they belong.
It's been 15 years since Ducey, Lenore, and Grace Evans had anything to worry about. Now that Luna Evans is in high school, making friends with that weird boy, and the dead are suddenly restless... could another Godawful Mess be right around the corner?
Big on both family ties and gore, "Bless Your Heart" is one to check out if you enjoy mystery, horror, multiple perspectives and a late-night who-done-it.
Thanks to the lovely NetGalley, I recently finished an advanced copy of Lindy Ryan's debut novel "Bless Your Heart", hitting bookshelves April 9, 2024. Set in Southeast Texas in the late 1990s, the novel focuses on four generations of Evans women who run the local funeral parlor and keep the town safe (that one Godawful Mess aside) from any would-be dead that don't know how to stay where they belong.
It's been 15 years since Ducey, Lenore, and Grace Evans had anything to worry about. Now that Luna Evans is in high school, making friends with that weird boy, and the dead are suddenly restless... could another Godawful Mess be right around the corner?
Big on both family ties and gore, "Bless Your Heart" is one to check out if you enjoy mystery, horror, multiple perspectives and a late-night who-done-it.
challenging
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes