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caitreadss's review
5.0
Instant 5 stars for me! This book was everything I’ve ever wanted and more! Not only is our main character from Whitby right by where I live but it is set in New Orleans which is one my dream places to visit! So this made the the visuals of this book absolutely perfect for me, I could picture everything so clearly like it was just a movie.
It was so fun and fast paced and I read it so fast which I’ve definitely needed recently. There was not a single thing I disliked about this book, and I honestly think this might be my favourite book of 2022!
It was so fun and fast paced and I read it so fast which I’ve definitely needed recently. There was not a single thing I disliked about this book, and I honestly think this might be my favourite book of 2022!
bevpages's review
4.0
excuse me i loved this
this was such a fun time!! this story had almost a classic comforting feel to it. i genuinely didn’t expect to enjoy it this much and i’ll 100% be reading anything amy mccaw decides to publish from now on.
i loved the new orleans setting, it was gothic, dark and immersive. this was the perfect amount of spookiness with characters battling their own personal issues and it never once felt rushed or brushed under the carpet for the sake of plot. i loved the main character mina especially the side characters like jared! i think all characters complemented each other well and they didn’t feel 2D or like cookie cutters, each was distinct and had their own personalities.
i think amy did a fantastic job keeping the intrigue going throughout the book. i wanted to keep reading to find out what happened and for answers. this book almost read like two mysteries in one - the unexplained deaths and the disappearance of her mother. i think discussions on sibling relationships and family blended well within the story, it felt natural and the sibling relationship didn’t feel forced or rushed.
i genuinely don’t have any negative things to say about this, perfect for the spooky season and to curl up with during those cold nights. 100% recommended and i’m super excited to dive into the sequel!
this was such a fun time!! this story had almost a classic comforting feel to it. i genuinely didn’t expect to enjoy it this much and i’ll 100% be reading anything amy mccaw decides to publish from now on.
i loved the new orleans setting, it was gothic, dark and immersive. this was the perfect amount of spookiness with characters battling their own personal issues and it never once felt rushed or brushed under the carpet for the sake of plot. i loved the main character mina especially the side characters like jared! i think all characters complemented each other well and they didn’t feel 2D or like cookie cutters, each was distinct and had their own personalities.
i think amy did a fantastic job keeping the intrigue going throughout the book. i wanted to keep reading to find out what happened and for answers. this book almost read like two mysteries in one - the unexplained deaths and the disappearance of her mother. i think discussions on sibling relationships and family blended well within the story, it felt natural and the sibling relationship didn’t feel forced or rushed.
i genuinely don’t have any negative things to say about this, perfect for the spooky season and to curl up with during those cold nights. 100% recommended and i’m super excited to dive into the sequel!
kaylajade1996xoxoxo's review
4.0
4.5 stars!! After being in a reading slump this book brought me right back out of it! I loved everything about this! I loved the characters and the way it was set up! The ending took me by surprise and I can’t wait to see what Amy Mccaw writes next!
kellyvandamme's review
5.0
Hi and welcome to my review of Mina and the Undead! With praise from Kat Ellis (Harrow Lake) and Alex Bell (Music and Malice in Hurricane Town), and Dawn Kurtagich describing this as “a fun romp through nineties pop culture” I just had to get me a piece of Mina!
The year is 1995 and seventeen-year-old Mina has left England behind for a summer holiday in New Orleans, visiting her estranged sister who works in a horror movie mansion, where tourists can go on a tour and come face to face with any horror character from Pennywise the clown over Freddy Krueger and Chuckie to Lestat the vampire. Seriously, I’d run out the door at the first whiff of clown make-up, but Mina not only loves it, she lands herself a part-time job. And a huge crush on Lestat, or rather the gorgeous guy who plays the part of Lestat in the mansion. But then the murders start, re-enactments of the most infamous and ruthless New Orleans myths, and it’s Mina’s sister who is the main suspect. What was supposed to be a fun summer holiday goes to hell in a handbasket really fast!
Mina and the Undead was the perfect fit for me! I’m a nineties child myself, inevitably I have fond memories of the music, TV shows and films of the decade. It’s the period I myself fell in love with horror, so I felt right at home with Mina and her love of all things horror. I also love fiction set in New Orleans, I just adore that southern muggy and Gothic atmosphere and Amy McCaw gets it down to a T.
Mina and the Undead is more than just a “fun romp”, it’s an homage to nineties pop culture, especially the horror movies. It’s practically a celebration of the vampire subculture: Dracula, The Lost Boys and especially Interview with the Vampire. I saw the film way back when but I listened to the novel just a few weeks ago, so I loved all these references. (If you haven’t seen the film or read the book, you’ll be fine though, prior knowledge is not a requisite, it just made it even more fun for me.) I flew through parts of the books, but other parts went very slowly because I kept looking stuff up. I watched music videos on YouTube of songs I hadn’t thought about in years, I read up on Interview with the Vampire and I Googled photos of certain scenes and characters to remind myself of what they looked like so I could picture things as Amy McCaw intended me to. In that way, Mina and the Undead was a nostalgic trip down memory lane.
Besides pop culture, Mina and the Undead is founded in New Orleans mythology and I love how the author brought all these parts together in one coherent whole as if it was always meant to be. One of the myths that plays a large part – including by diary entries Mina reads – is the Carter brothers vampire legend. Of course I found myself Googling them, as I wanted to know whether they’d sprouted from Amy’s imagination, or were real (or as real as any myth can be) and I found a bunch of fascinating articles about them. What can I say except New Orleans is even higher up on my bucket list than it was before, but in the meantime Mina and the Undead was just the thing to keep me going!
Mina and the Undead is such a brilliant book, from the cover over the page decorations to the actual story! It is entertaining throughout, atmospheric yet fast-paced, steeped in pop culture and mythology and I had a ball from start to finish. Highly recommended!
Huge thanks to Graeme Williams and uclan publishing for the stunning finished copy! All opinions are my own.
The year is 1995 and seventeen-year-old Mina has left England behind for a summer holiday in New Orleans, visiting her estranged sister who works in a horror movie mansion, where tourists can go on a tour and come face to face with any horror character from Pennywise the clown over Freddy Krueger and Chuckie to Lestat the vampire. Seriously, I’d run out the door at the first whiff of clown make-up, but Mina not only loves it, she lands herself a part-time job. And a huge crush on Lestat, or rather the gorgeous guy who plays the part of Lestat in the mansion. But then the murders start, re-enactments of the most infamous and ruthless New Orleans myths, and it’s Mina’s sister who is the main suspect. What was supposed to be a fun summer holiday goes to hell in a handbasket really fast!
Mina and the Undead was the perfect fit for me! I’m a nineties child myself, inevitably I have fond memories of the music, TV shows and films of the decade. It’s the period I myself fell in love with horror, so I felt right at home with Mina and her love of all things horror. I also love fiction set in New Orleans, I just adore that southern muggy and Gothic atmosphere and Amy McCaw gets it down to a T.
Mina and the Undead is more than just a “fun romp”, it’s an homage to nineties pop culture, especially the horror movies. It’s practically a celebration of the vampire subculture: Dracula, The Lost Boys and especially Interview with the Vampire. I saw the film way back when but I listened to the novel just a few weeks ago, so I loved all these references. (If you haven’t seen the film or read the book, you’ll be fine though, prior knowledge is not a requisite, it just made it even more fun for me.) I flew through parts of the books, but other parts went very slowly because I kept looking stuff up. I watched music videos on YouTube of songs I hadn’t thought about in years, I read up on Interview with the Vampire and I Googled photos of certain scenes and characters to remind myself of what they looked like so I could picture things as Amy McCaw intended me to. In that way, Mina and the Undead was a nostalgic trip down memory lane.
Besides pop culture, Mina and the Undead is founded in New Orleans mythology and I love how the author brought all these parts together in one coherent whole as if it was always meant to be. One of the myths that plays a large part – including by diary entries Mina reads – is the Carter brothers vampire legend. Of course I found myself Googling them, as I wanted to know whether they’d sprouted from Amy’s imagination, or were real (or as real as any myth can be) and I found a bunch of fascinating articles about them. What can I say except New Orleans is even higher up on my bucket list than it was before, but in the meantime Mina and the Undead was just the thing to keep me going!
Mina and the Undead is such a brilliant book, from the cover over the page decorations to the actual story! It is entertaining throughout, atmospheric yet fast-paced, steeped in pop culture and mythology and I had a ball from start to finish. Highly recommended!
Huge thanks to Graeme Williams and uclan publishing for the stunning finished copy! All opinions are my own.
dawn_chen's review
4.0
3. 5ish. Always nice to have a classical YA horror murder mystery read. This one isn't that standout in terms of both writing qualities and characters. But all the references to literature vampires and Buffy kept me occupied. Some of the characters are quite cool (Dalla has my heart) and the twists are nice. But the simple writing style honestly felt lackluster at times that really put me out of the story.
dreamcourt's review
4.0
I loved this book, and I adored Mina! I went through a lot of emotions, particularly at the end, so how could you.
camilleisreading24's review
5.0
****4.5/5 stars****
OMG I loved this book!! :D <3
This book has:
-90s nostalgia
-New Orleans setting
-spooky myths
-an adorable romance
-all the vampire references from Dracula to Lestat
OMG I loved this book!! :D <3
This book has:
-90s nostalgia
-New Orleans setting
-spooky myths
-an adorable romance
-all the vampire references from Dracula to Lestat
vivien500's review
3.0
slow to get going
I enjoyed the story but it felt like it was just treading water for the first 60%.
The ending was great though and really held my interest once I got into that last 40% of the book!
I enjoyed the story but it felt like it was just treading water for the first 60%.
The ending was great though and really held my interest once I got into that last 40% of the book!
kelly2006's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0