A twisted suspense novel that adds in a little light horror, some trendy humor, enough thriller to keep the pages turning and a lot of strong southern women all wrapped up into a vampire story? This was straight up my alley. The idea that a group of women own a funeral home and are trying to save the town from vampires. This entertaining and quirky novel would be a great addition to a book club group, a team read and everyones tbr list.
Thank you to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for this ARC.

I feel like this was just okay for me. I can see why someone would really love it and why someone wouldn’t. I genuinely loved the fierce female representation and the family bond; but I felt the story moved slowly for a mystery/thriller.

Solid 3 stars.

In this small-town mystery/thriller/light horror novel set in small-town Texas in the 1990s, the Evans women run the town's funeral home. But their real job is to make sure the town's dead stay dead. But even they aren't entirely sure why the vampires, that kind of act like zombies, are coming back to life now. I loved the intrigue and the small-town vibes. I also loved all of the Evans women and how they approached the vampire mess. I also loved trying to figure out what happened 15 years before during the "Godawful Mess" (always capitalized which made me chuckle), while also trying to figure out what was happening during the main story. It was a great mix of mystery and thriller without being dark and scary. It was a great read and was very fun!

Thank you to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

It’s the season of the vampires and this is one of the best recent book I’ve read about them. I thought this would be just a funny book but I found it has the perfect amount of horror and terror in there as well. I would love to see more in this world.

This was fun! A quick, southern, all-out fight against the vampires. The women who own the funeral home wind up trying to save the town from evil. It's a fun, quick read that I really enjoyed. This has some aspects to it that I really enjoyed. Basically that the main characters are women and southern women at that! Overall, it's a fun book.

Out April 9, 2024!

Thank you, Netgalley and Publisher, for this Arc!

If you had asked me after 30% of this book, I would have said it’s a 5 star. Unfortunately, I was terribly uninterested after that point. It felt very repetitive and the pacing was too slow. It started to pick up and become interesting towards the end.

I loved the multiple POV.
I liked the premise.

I think this book suffered from organization of story and pacing of the story! It’s a brilliant concept and story, but the pacing was not for me.

Bless Your Heart is a captivating mystery-horror novel filled with endearing characters and Southern charm with a twist. From start to finish, this gasp-inducing delight kept me on the edge of my seat. With a perfect blend of Southern sass, the gruesomely descriptive yet heartrendingly poignant tale will leave horror enthusiasts eagerly anticipating the next installment.

It’s 1999 in a small Texas town where the Evans women run the only funeral parlor around. Four generations of women, from tough-talking Ducey Evans to her teenage great-granddaughter Luna, are entrusted with burying the town’s dead – and making sure they STAY buried. But sometimes the dead are restless & their reanimated corpses return as Strigoi, vampire-esque creatures hungry to feed on the living. And it’s up to the Evans women to fight back to protect their family and the whole town.

This book was pleasantly entertaining and a great, quirky multiple POV story. The relationships between the four women gave the story a lot of heart. The late 90s pop culture references are on point and were a lot of fun. This book would be perfect for fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and books by Grady Hendrix and Charlaine Harris.

The audiobook is incredibly narrated! Her voice is so expressive and she differentiates the various characters clearly for the listener. She really channels the Evans women, especially Ducey with a crackerjack southern accent.

“Bless Your Heart” is a quirky blend of southern charm and supernatural horror. When town gossip Mina Jean Murphy rises from her coffin during her own funeral, the Evans family faces ancient vampires and buried secrets. Lindy Ryan’s writing keeps you hooked, but some characters lack depth. If you’re up for gore and family drama, give it a read!
3.75 stars.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars. Very Grady Hendrix-esque. Bless Your Heart is the story of the Evans women and their fight against the undead. It's 1999, and there hasn't been trouble in the small Southeast Texas town since that God-Awful Mess 15 years ago that left 2 bodies and Grace Evans raising her infant daughter alone. Now, the dead seem to be rising again and the Evans women must get ready to do battle against the Strigoi once again.
The Evans women own and run the local funeral parlor and with the "rise" of Mina Jean Murphy, realize that once again, the undead have become restless. But how did it start this time? So funny while also being horrific, get ready for a wile ride with the most firecracker group of Southern ladies you'll ever meet. (And hopefully, this seems like it's going to be a series!)

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur for this e-arc.*

In a small Texas town, people keep disappearing and dying. When the bodies are found they're missing part of them. The law enforcement is blaming it on a rabid animal, but to those around almost 20 years ago, they know it's more than that.

One family who knows it's more than a rabid animal is the Evans family who runs the local funeral home. Death is their business so they know when something isn't right. Told in chapters from different perspectives of characters, Bless Your Heart is a character driven novel with an action packed ending. Although the book was a little slow moving, I enjoyed the action and horror bits. Also the dog lives, for those that care.

I will be honest and almost DNF'd it a couple of times because it was a lot slower than I anticipated it being. I'm glad I didn't because the last few chapters made up for the slowness leading up to it. If you're squeamish about gore, this book may not be for you. If you want something like Practical Magic but with more gore, this one might be up your alley.

It sounds like this may be the first in a series, according to Goodreads, and I will definitely pick up the next book.

Thank you to Minotaur Books and Netgalley for a copy in exchange for review consideration.

3.5 stars

This book takes place in Texas and features four generations of Evans women who run the local funeral home. They have had past encounters with vampires, one of them quite close.

And it looks like the vamps are back. There is also a new young man in town that is suspicious and he has made friends with the youngest of them.

This was kinda horror light and definitely was able to read it at night.

A fun, mystery, family drama all rolled into one.

Many thanks to NetGalley, MacMillan Audio for an ALC and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This hilarious dark comedy horror is a Southern romp that will raise the dead. 4 generations of Evans women run the local funeral parlor and keep a deadly secret… but what happens when secrets don’t stay dead?

I loved this book and all the quirky characters to death. The 1999 setting was also a perfect trip down pop culture memory lane. If you loved The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires, then definitely check out this book in similarly humorous and graphic vein.

Thank you to #NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Bless Your Heart
by Lindy Ryan
Horror Paranormal
NetGalley ARC
Pub Date: Apr. 9, 2024
St. Martin's Press
Ages: 15+

In Southeast Texas, the Evans family are the owners of the only funeral home in town, and while it's a normal business, the other members of the community think it's weird that the owners are, and have always been, women, because 'it's a man's job', but the men in their lives have either passed on or left town.

Luna is the youngest of the four women, raised by her single mom, Grace, with the help of Grace's mother, Lenore, and Lenore's mother Ducey. And for the last fifteen years, after the 'Godawful Mess' which was the reason Grace had to raise Luna alone, all has been quiet.

That was until Mina's body was brought in, and as she laid in her coffin before her service, she rose from the dead as a Strigoi. But the Evans women know how to deal with that, but they also know, that when one rises, more will follow until they find the Strigoi that fed off of Mina and stop it.


Selecting this book, I thought I was getting a humorous vampire story, but sadly, it wasn't all that funny, nor are the creatures your typical vampires.

Yes, there were funnies, but nothing that made me laugh out loud, mostly I just snort/laughed a few times. And for the Strigoi/vampires; I interpreted them as more zombies because they just tore and swallowed, though it was never explained how they were able to feed off a human without killing them/not leaving a mark.

The characters were great, all had their own little quirks, but they did blend together here and there, and got confusing on who was who and their age order. (Kid- kid's mom, kid's grandmother, kid's great-grandmother.)

As for the reason/person it all started with, the how was not really explained, or if it could happen again the same way, and for the Strigoi that fed from the first victim, I guessed who it was pretty quickly.

It's not a bad story, there is humor, and language, and even though there's not a lot of blood and guts, there is violence, making it suitable for readers 15+.

3 Stars

I had a hard time sticking with this one and nearly DNFd because it just didn't hold my attention. It had a great setting and a lot of potential, but I never found myself reaching for it and it became a bit of a chore. I think from the cover I was expecting more humor and camp? I found that not much happened until we got the explanation at the end, and perhaps the focus was more on setting up a series than nailing the first book.

For readers of the Sookie Stackhouse novels and Grady Hendrix, who love southern charm mixed with horror and a lot of comedic relief! I cannot resist a southern novel with vampires after Charlaine Harris and True Blood. I was ALL IN before I even started.

Now on to the review, y’all! 🤠

Set in 1999, Texas this light hearted, horror adjacent story will keep you on your toes from beginning to end. The time period was written in such a real and nostalgic way - very fun for a 90’s kid! The pacing was very well executed with short, fast chapters that got to the point of the plot. I absolutely LOVED the mother-daughter/generational women dynamic; love, loyalty, strength, and incredible humor were among the many traits that made the characters so lovable.

Four generations of Evan’s women currently work at the only funeral parlor in a small town somewhere in southeast Texas; Ducey, Lenore, Grace, and Luna. A regular funeral parlor would embalm the dead, but the Evan’s women haven’t followed that rule because the dead never seem to stay dead. 💀

This small town has experienced the undead, or strigoi, before that had placed two men under the rose bush in Grace’s garden. By burying them close, the Evan’s women can keep an eye on them to make sure they stay dead. 🪴

Something is roaming the town killing people around town; it’s mutilating bodies beyond recognition, then hours later the bodies start twitching and coming back to life. It’s up to the Evan’s women to figure out who the leader of the strigoi and put a stop to them before they take out the whole town.

This was a creatively unique popcorn thriller that had me laughing, but also fearing for the lives of the Evan’s women when they were faced with danger. I loved the small town setting and each one of the characters, I’m sad that it’s over but looking forward to reading more books by this author.

If you like a mix of dark humor, horror, mystery this is a book for you!!!

I enjoyed the multi generational aspect to the story and enjoyed the funeral parlor vibes as it reminded me a bit of the dead romantics by Ashley Poston and I absolutely loved that romance!

I also loved the southern vibes as this really brought another level of interest to the story!

This book definitely gave the vibes of that one vampire humor show that was on tv a few years ago and I’m totally failing at recalling its name, but if you like vampires and dark humor I’d highly recommend this one!

Thank you so much to the publisher for my ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This sounded like it was going to be one that I really loved. However I found this boring and not enough of a horror vibe for me.

In 1999 in Southeast Texas, the female owners of the local funeral parlor go about their normal business. Until, the local gossip turns up dead and then rises from the grave as a vampire! Now, the women have to take matters into their own hands and fight the strigoi that have come back into town. This is a fun book that I had a hard time putting down!