Reviews with content warning for Blood - Vampires, Hearts, & Other Dead Things

3.5 stars rounded down. The book was pretty good but it took so long for the MC to even find what she was looking for. The setting and the descriptions of New Orleans were incredible and so easy to imagine. The problem was that the plot was so easy to figure out. From the beginning of the book you could see who was destined to be together whether or not Victoria gets her wish, and who’s actually who. The beginning is slow but once Nicholas is introduced the book’s pace picks up. The last 30% of the book is fast-paced and I felt like the big reveal was flat.

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itsocchiolism's review

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad 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

3.5

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nitya's review

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adventurous emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Read for MLIS elective

The quotes from various supernatural/vampire media above the chapter titles were a great touch.

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msjk427's review

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dark hopeful sad medium-paced

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

3.5

The title and premise of this book intrigued me. First, I will say the dad part gets me in the feel as my own dad is a cancer survivor and my best friend, so in that way I can relate to our protagonist, Victoria. While I at first enjoyed the direction of the story once Victoria and Henry get to New Orleans, about 100-150 pages in I realized I didn't really relate to Victoria, especially as I am someone who basically over feels every emotion and is very comfortable with the fact that everyone dies. At times I felt she was disagreeable and immature. I rushed through the next bit of the book just reading it to be done. I will say at the very end, I felt like Victoria came into a more likable person and had a good arc in the last couple of chapters. But honestly, I have no idea how Henry put up with her all that time.

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debussy's review

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Margie Fuston is the best debut I've read this year. Vampires, Hearts, and Other Dead Things is an introspective book on living with grief, from the perspective of the eighteen-year-old Victoria, a vampire-obsessed prospective art student with a father given a terminal cancer diagnosis. Deciding she's the last best hope to save his life, Victoria flies to New Orleans in search of a vampire--one came out years ago to the national media, only to quickly go back into hiding. People aren't sure if vampires are real, but if they are? Surely they're in New Orleans. Henry, Victoria's former childhood friend and crush, escorts her, and the two are put on a vampiric quest to prove Victoria can truly live, as being a vampire does involve a lot of living. Victoria does the tasks--eat, be merry, steal things, kiss boys under the moon, but she only tailspins. Can she truly be happy--truly let herself feel any emotion at all--when her father is dying and she's the last hope to save his life?

Like I said, Vampires, Hearts, and Other Dead Things spends a lot of time in Victoria's head. Discussions on grief, on emotional health, on coping, happiness, the future, death, what it all means if you're a vampire--it's drenched in thoughts. Victoria has to overcome her past with Henry, learn how to live without her dad, and win the vampire's game so she doesn't have to. Victoria can be a hard character to love--she's willing to believe a lot to get what she wants, and willing to put anyone around her in danger for the hope she can turn her father into a vampire. It's a hard ask for readers, but I think Fuston makes it work by relentlessly reminding us where Victoria is in the grieving process--denial, and boatloads of it.

Only two things jump out at me to make this less than a five star read--I found it difficult to believe two teenagers straight out of high school would make this major trip so spur of the moment (and that two sets of parents would be totally cool with it), and the climax felt incredibly quick given the time spent with the tasks. Some New Orleans details felt poorly threaded--the why of it all a sketch without color--but overall it's a solid addition to the vampire book crew.

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