Reviews

I have really mixed feelings on this book. It started out really strong, and I was so intrigued by the charming characters, the soft, southern setting, and the underlying feeling of a murder mystery about to occur in their small town. The first half of the book set the tone for this novel as a light, fluffy, and slightly silly 90’s housewives re-telling of Dracula, and I was here for it. But the pacing was really weird in the book, and I felt like it would randomly plummet into grotesque horror without any warning, and then go right back to the light, fluffy southern atmosphere of housewives just being housewives. Before I start on my criticism of this book, I do want to say that I really enjoyed the main character’s voice, the unique ideas this story brought to horror, and the women’s relationships with each other. The writing was well-done. However, I almost DNF this book after the graphic and horrible assault scene; it was slightly shocking after the tone had already been established as a silly, “housewives vs vampire” story. I get it; vampire stories often involve intense sexual scenes, but it just felt out of place in this particular story. Long story short, it was evident a man attempted to write a “women power” book about housewives beating a vampire and used graphic rape/sex scenes to shock his audience. Overall, I didn’t dislike this book, but I also didn’t really like it….

mariah_ydg's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

5.0

justwannareadbooks's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

cassroberts89's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

This is one of those times that I wish I had reviewed this right away. I had a lot to say, and now it’s gone to the same place as my missing stray socks. I know I loved it. I know it went a lot deeper than a simple vampire story. This was also one of those rare times where I didn’t particularly like the main character, but I still found myself rooting for her and enjoying the book.

filthymedusa's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

iswearimliterate's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

This book just felt kind of undercooked to me. Sure, the main plot doesn't have any flaws in theory, but the character's arcs fizzle out or are resolved too quickly, and some of the themes don't really hold up.

They bring up themes like Patricia prioritizing her own safety over communities of color, especially Ursula. But outside of some half-hearted apologies, Ursula ends up doing half of the work of taking out the vampire dude anyway.

Content Warnings

javis's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

ryanrosanyc's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Way too much added for shock value that just wasn’t needed. Wish Grady focused less on shocking us and more on the amazing group of women characters he created. They made this book special.

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