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A review by letter2self
The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I have mixed feelings about this book. I really wanted to enjoy this book. The pacing is all over the place. Some parts moved quickly, some parts were so slow I felt like I was slogging through.
I did not love how all the black characters felt like side characters and were working class, while all the white characters were rich house wives. The tone of both the black and female characters felt one dimensional and regularly felt like it was written by someone who was trying to imagine the experience. Maybe he was trying to keep it historically accurate, but as another reviewer suggested - there is a vampire in your story, so... it already isn't historically accurate. It definitely felt like these characters were pawns for violence...
Some of that was kind of addressed at the end, but I don't think it redeemed it for me.
The husbands were just awful. Like... just gross. There was so much emotional abuse and gas lighting. The female leads felt very wishy washy. The kids were horrible, and TBH, I did not care if Patricia's kids made it. And why was Blue constantly talking about the Nazi's? It felt like a weird way to "develop" that character and really just made me feel like the whole family was white supremisist - especially because no one really seemed alarmed by his obsession, or even try to stop it.
The friendships didn't seem like very strong female friendships, and that definitely made me feel like it was written by a man. They just sat around all day talking about true crime, cleaning, and society gossip.... long sigh.
I read this book after reading Horrorstöre and The Final Girls Support Group. So maybe this just came as a major let down after those, which I felt like were written much better. Anyway, I felt like this one was a let down. I saw where he was going, but just really missed the mark.
I did not love how all the black characters felt like side characters and were working class, while all the white characters were rich house wives. The tone of both the black and female characters felt one dimensional and regularly felt like it was written by someone who was trying to imagine the experience. Maybe he was trying to keep it historically accurate, but as another reviewer suggested - there is a vampire in your story, so... it already isn't historically accurate. It definitely felt like these characters were pawns for violence...
Some of that was kind of addressed at the end, but I don't think it redeemed it for me.
The husbands were just awful. Like... just gross. There was so much emotional abuse and gas lighting. The female leads felt very wishy washy. The kids were horrible, and TBH, I did not care if Patricia's kids made it. And why was Blue constantly talking about the Nazi's? It felt like a weird way to "develop" that character and really just made me feel like the whole family was white supremisist - especially because no one really seemed alarmed by his obsession, or even try to stop it.
The friendships didn't seem like very strong female friendships, and that definitely made me feel like it was written by a man. They just sat around all day talking about true crime, cleaning, and society gossip.... long sigh.
I read this book after reading Horrorstöre and The Final Girls Support Group. So maybe this just came as a major let down after those, which I felt like were written much better. Anyway, I felt like this one was a let down. I saw where he was going, but just really missed the mark.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Sexism, Racism, Blood, Sexual assault, Rape, Murder, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Classism, Death, Violence, Suicide attempt, Gore, Gaslighting, and Child death
Minor: Drug use, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Misogyny