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mfrisk's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
Getting to know the Evans women was a lot of fun and this vampire story set in a small town was well worth it. I felt like this book kept the action going from start to finish while also feeling somewhat of a cozy horror (cozy in the sense of the relationship building but not lack of horror elements). It is gory, gross, and adds some new elements into vampire lore which I thought was a great way to revitalize what we feel we already know.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Blood, Body horror, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Murder, and Gore
clairebonney's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Death of parent, Vomit, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, and Blood
Belle the dog does not die, but she is severely injured, which is described on the page and could be distressing to readkimwritesstuff's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-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? No
3.5
This was a fun debut from Lindy Ryan and clearly sets up future novels in this universe. I really hope there are more novels set in this universe because I definitely have questions and there were a lot of loose ends.
Bless Your Heart is a multiple POV novel that pivots between the Evan's women, Deputy Roger Taylor, and various other town's people. We never get a POV from any of the Strigoi which I thought would have been interesting and showed more information about the Strigoi. I see where Lindy has easily set up more novels, but it kind of bothered me that there weren't more answers. The Evans women have essentially been vampire hunters for generations, but they still don't know really anything about Strigoi beyond myths and legends. It just kind of bothered me that there wasn't a stronger knowledge base.
I did really enjoy the central story and the rising panic/anxiety. About half way through as the reader you start putting pieces together and it gave me so much anxiety in a good way. This was the kind of book where I was quickly turning pages and completely caught up in the drama. I thought the ending did lack a little oomph, but again I think it's because the author is setting up multiple story arc. I will be disappointed if I don't see another book in this series.
Bless Your Heart is a fun thriller that will keep you on your edge of your set. Even if I still had questions at the end, I really enjoyed this novel.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for the ARC.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Homophobia
apairofducks's review against another edition
4.25
This book is not at all what I expected from the cover. It’s much more of a horror novel than the quirky vampire cover, and it’s not really a vampire novel at all— still, it had great characters and fun (albeit incomplete) world-building.
My biggest complaint is that the pacing of every action scene was a bit all over the place, like the author didn’t have experience writing stories coming to a head and not just being characters hanging out, but overall, they worked.
My biggest complaint is that the pacing of every action scene was a bit all over the place, like the author didn’t have experience writing stories coming to a head and not just being characters hanging out, but overall, they worked.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Body horror, Vomit, Murder, Gore, and Blood
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Eating disorder, Alcoholism, and Medical content
Minor: Homophobia and Mass/school shootings
bxtskr's review against another edition
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I adored this audiobook! The narrator perfectly captured the personalities of all of the characters in this tale. Part mystery, part Texas Belles meet Dracula, part story about learning to love and grieve those we’re bound to by blood and tragedy, I devoured this tale. Fans of Grady Hendrix will revel in the Texas rebuttal of Georgia’s Southern Bookclub’s Guide to Killing Vampires without feeling like they’ve heard this story before. This would be a great generational read to share with older YA readers who handle the occult well AND grandmas looking for a fresher read. My only complaint is that I have to wait for more tales from the universe.
Thank you to the author and publisher for advance access to this title in exchange for my honest review 🧛🏼
Thank you to the author and publisher for advance access to this title in exchange for my honest review 🧛🏼
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, and Medical content
Moderate: Violence, Animal cruelty, and Homophobia
Minor: Mass/school shootings
Columbine mentions
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