This book was True Blood meets Practical Magic. I listened to the book on audio and it was amazing. The book had everything you could want along with strong family values and that you will do anything for love.

Although I enjoyed the storyline immensely, I found the narration to be a detriment to my enjoyment of this title.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Bless Your Heart
by Linda Ryan
Pub 04/09/24
Whoa what a fun book to read. The Evans family has run the funeral home in Southeast Texas with business as usual for the last 15 years since the last Godawful event leaving the ladies with two buried bodies and baby Luna being raised alone by her mom. Now the town gossip is on the table and she begins to not stay dead. It's up to the Evan's to take down the Strigoi returning to their town. Weird events start to happen across town and more and more bodies start to stack up and the Evan ladies are the only ones to stop them from growing more.

The characters are simply delightful to get to know and the family bond is very clear. I enjoyed the fun language used and the way the Evans family have secrets to keep but know that they have to stop this crazy killings from continuing. This book was so delightful to read!!The narrator, Stephanie Nemeth-Parker, does such a wonderful job narrating this southern vampire included mystery. The accents with the different voices given to each character only added to the enjoyment of this audiobook. I wanted more of this book and hope that there are more books with the Evans ladies to come. This was my first book by Lindy Ryan but will not be my last.

Clutch your pearls and don't walk but run to get this very smart funny Southern gore with a side of vampire family drama, don't forget your casserole for the family who has a loss. You will not regret reading this super delicious book!! Bless Your Heart if you don't.......
Keep Reading and find your next adventure in black and white. Thank you Netgalley and MacMillian Audio for the ARC in return for my honest opinion.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC.

The title alone peaked my curiosity, a Texas setting with supernatural will always get me. The Evans women pulled me back to small town life and its challenges. A teen trying to fit in but overshadowed by the family's funeral home, an overprotective mother and a few secrets. The Strigoi will force the family to open up about who they truly are. These Women will have you invested in their fates until the end. The Evans story is a great stand alone, but I would enjoy seeing this grow into a series. I recommend this for those who like Buffy, strong women and 1999.

This was such a delightfully fun audiobook. I enjoyed the characters, the story was captivating and the narrator did an excellent job of bringing the characters to life. This is being called a horror book, but I would say it is more of a cozy horror. There are some gruesome scenes, but they are not that horrible, and they are mercifully short.

I loved the Evans family! They are a tight knit family that has an unusual second job that fits right in with their running a funeral parlor. My two favorites of the group wer Ducey, the oldest member, and Luna, the youngest. But all of the women are given page time and they were all wonderful to hear from. I did keep confusing Lenore and Grace a little bit, especially at the beginning, but as the book went on, they did start to be more distinctive from each other. All of the Evans women are brave and tough, they have to be doing what they do, and always have each others backs, even when they are unhappy with each other. A wonderful and realistic family dynamic is shown through out the book.

There is an amazing number of secondary and tertiary characters, and some of them are narrators for short chapters of the books. Some are victims of the Strigoi, others just part of the story. I liked Deputy Roger Taylor, who has an important role in the story. But I think my favorite characters had to be Luna’s friends, Crystal and Dylan. They often provided a bit of humor when things got dark.

The story is quite riveting. I found myself wanting to find time to listen to the story because I needed to know what was going to happen next. The author does a good job with the setting, a small town in Texas in the 90s. Everyone seems to know each other and most of their secrets. There is a running thread of darkness in the story, but for the most part it is pretty light and sometimes even funny. The murders are somewhat off screen for the most part, the aftermath is sometimes fairly graphic in the descriptions, but not like in a true horror book. The only thing I would want more from is the backstory of the Strigoi. The Evan’s family has always fought them, but don’t seem to know much about them? That just felt a little off.

Stephanie Nemith-Parker does an excellent job of bringing this story to life. She does a southern accent well and managed to make each character distinct with different voices. She also does a really good job with the emotions of the characters, so you always knew how they were feeling. It is really hard for one narrator to portray so many points of view, but she made it seem easy.

This is a book I would recommend you have on your radar. It was funny, a little bit scary, and full of a lot of heart. I can’t wait to see what happens in the sequel.

Enjoyable read. Following 4 generations of Evans women who run a funeral home and secretly hunt vampires. The narrator did a great job voicing all of the characters. The book is told from multiple perspectives, not only the Evans family but a few other characters as well.

This audiobook was amazing! The narrator had convincing voices for every character, male and female. As a Texan, I can verify that she nailed southeast Texas too. The way she had the sheriff lick his lips as he spoke embodied every sheriff in this state. Amazing. The story was a fun ride the whole way through. Well paced, and Lindy Ryan KNOWS these characters. You could also tell she loved them. I was surprised at how gruesome it is, but not in a bad way. This book has the right to stand alongside male writers who do the same, but centers a matriarchy. What a fun ride!

I did not find this book gripping or even interesting, unfortunately. I also didn't enjoy the audiobook narrator's voice. I found the plot boring, definitely not what I expected based on the title and cover. Ah well!

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 and 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.

I was pleasantly entertained by this quirky multiple POV story. It’s a little hard to describe, it’s like if you took paranormal Southern Gothic but made it cozy. That’s not to say there’s no gore, as there are definitely some descriptive blood-and-guts moments, but I’d describe it as light horror, perfect for readers who are newer to the genre. 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 for this Gen X-er. This book would be perfect for fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and books by Grady Hendrix and Charlaine Harris.

Stephanie Nemeth-Parker narrates the audiobook and she does a great job! 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. If this becomes a series (and it seems like it will), I hope she narrates them all!

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, and Macmillan Audio for providing me an advance copy of this book.

I loved this book from start to finish. Getting to know the 4 generations of Evans women was a delight, and don't get me started on how fun the idea of a Matrilineal generational Funeral Home is, because I love it so much.

The narrator for this audiobook went above and beyond. Every Evans woman had a distinct voice and a distinct way of talking, as did most of the side characters as well. There are few audiobooks where I can confidently pick out which <i>side character</i> is talking before they say their name. Somehow this audiobook narrator, Stephanie Németh-Parker, did it! It was amazing. And I loved all the voices, each voice really complemented their respective character's distinct personality.

This is one of those books where everything keeps coming together, the puzzle pieces were all in front of me but I couldn't see how they fit until they did, and it was wonderful. There were plot twists/devices I suspected, and ones I hadn't seen coming at all, and I always love when a book can manage to surprise me without making everything seem impossible. Bless Your Heart did that.

I cannot recommend this book enough. I laughed, I cried, I tried desperately not to jump at the voices of the restless dead in my earbuds. A great time was had by all*.

*me

This was a fun and early time. Set in the late 90s and felt like a scary movie of that time period. I enjoyed all the ladies at that funeral home, they were hilarious. I’m glad to see there is more coming in this whacky town, I’ll absolutely be read it. Also the narration on this was excellent and lended to an even more enjoyable time in the story.

Thank you to @NetGalley and @MacMillanaudio for my free copy of this audiobook to review!

A fabulous, EXHILARATING and gory supernatural read! I eagerly listened at 1.75 and LOVED every single second! The narrator really channeled the Evans superbly and I was engrossed!

The Evans women, funeral directors by day and Vampire slayers at night! Killing vampires is their family duty and secret. The Evans keep the town safe from the cold-blooded undead from waking. It's been eons since an undead has awoke in their little town. Who is causing the dead to wake and who is savagely murdering the town's people?

Last time, it was Grace Evans' husband .... surprise! In comes Luna, daughter of Grace and her vampire father. The Evans family has kept their Undead Slaying and Luna's origin secret until now. More dead keep rising, missing people, a new dark teenaged stranger arrives in town and the Evans family fiendishly fight to gain control!

Will the townspeople be saved or will the undead take over? What will become of Luna .... is she like her father? Who is this dark and mysterious stranger? How much more gore can one family take until they meet their own demise? Find out for yourself and go read/listen to this FANTASTIC, ENGAGING and TWISTY dramatic horror!

I’m usually not a big horror fan, but I loved this southern horror novel! Full of dark humor, twists and turns, I have recommended it to all of my friends. I found myself wanting to be a part of the Evans family, full of strong women with big secrets. Fantastic fun! Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the chance to listen to and review, “Bless Your Heart.”

Title: Bless Your Heart by Lindy Ryan
Publication Date- 04/09/24
Publisher- Macmillan
Overall Rating- 5 out of 5 stars

Review: Review copy given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The audio was fantastic. Great production!!

I honestly have no complaints about this book. I enjoyed it from start to finish. Bless Your Heart has a lot of really fun elements to it. It takes place in the South in 1999 and follows 3 generations of women running a funeral home. This is a paranormal story about vampires but it’s unlike any I’ve read before. Sure, it has the things you should expect from a vampire novel but it also adds it’s own twists to a creature story. The vampires here have some features of zombies and the undead which I found really entertaining.

This is also a mystery/ thriller. We not only follow the Grandmother, Mother and Daughter but the police caption who is trying to figure out what is going on at this funeral parlor run by this family. It looks like on Goodreads, this plans to be a series and I cannot wait to see what will happen next.

Going into this story it’s not one you should expect to take super series. At times it felt like a cozy mystery but with some added horror and gore. I all around really enjoyed it and would likely read it again. There were so many different things happening and storylines going on that it kept my attention but wasn’t too much that I felt overwhelmed or confused.

I enjoyed this laid back, exciting vampire story. Loved the characters and the world. It felt gothic at times and honestly could be framed as a lighter version of True Blood. In summary, it gets my recommendation.

Stephanie Németh-Parker's narration for Bless Your Heart from Lindy Ryan really makes this book work! Thank you to MacMillan and St Martin's press for review copies of Bless Your Heart. I recommend this one on audiobook as I really thought the narration gave style to Ryan's writing that helped me enjoy the story more.
There is a lot to like in this story, it resonated with my buffy the vampire slayer loving self and my appreciation for stories with strong female characters and for family dynamics that are complex but funny and edgy, and for the part of me that likes a sneakily dark and gory story underneath the fun and humor (similar to some of grady hendrix's books). I really appreciated the voice acting that captured tone and spirit of the different characters, let the darkness sneak in but also the humor too.
My one note is that the writing, despite a solid plot and characters and themes I love... didn't always work for me, this is a really liked it but missing some of the pizzazz/pow that I was expecting, I think it was the somewhat scattered development of the plot as we were learning about two big plot points, the family story and then what was happening in the town (akin to a pilot for a show that has to do a lot of work to explain a lot of things.., it works but I hope it is a set up for another story that flows more effectively!)

The Evans women run the only funeral home in town and that's not the only reason people that people tend to keep their distance. Every one of them has a daughter and there are no men in their lives. Despite all this, Luna, the youngest Evans', wants to have a normal life. That is not in the cards as people start to go missing in town. When a few people die under mysterious circumstances the town cops start taking more of an interest in all things strange, especially the Evans family.

This was such an enjoyable book and I loved the bond that the family shares, as well as their dark secrets. The character development was great and you had a hint of where the story was leading, but not exactly how it would get there. I would love a sequel!

As a southerner myself, of course the title Bless Your Heart immediately appealed to me! The narrator, Stephanie Nemeth-Parker, does an outstanding job narrating this southern cozy mystery. The southern accents and different voice given to each character only adds to the enjoyment of this audiobook. I would definitely classify this as a dark comedy with some gore thrown in. The characters were well written and very likeable. This story had some twists and turns- providing a fun ride! I would definitely recommend the audio format of this vs the print- the narrator/audio version make this work a complete package!

Thank you to NetGalley & MacMillan Audio for an advanced copy- I thoroughly enjoyed it~

This book was SO fun! No one is safe from the Strigoi, and I loved that. From someone who is a lover of videogames with undead, I think Lindy had an interesting take on this that I've never seen before! Although it might sound like it at first, this is not the typical zombie you might think of. The story sucks you in almost immediately and keeps you guessing. There were POVs from so many different characters, which really helped the reader stay engaged in the story. I felt like a lot was going on, but Lindy did an excellent job of piecing it together and making it flow in a creative way. I was very pleased with the ending and the way she handled that. Bless Your Heart was unpredictable, and I kept thinking I was on the right path, but each time, I was wrong. This is a must read of the year!

Listening to this as an audiobook made the experience even better! The narration by Stephanie Nemeth-Parker sucked me into the story. Her southern accents were on point, but she gave every character a unique voice. Juggling this many POV's can be difficult while listening to an audiobook, but Stephanie made sure to differentiate between each character so I was never confused! She narrated the story in a terrific way and made it clear when switching to a new scene or chapter. Stephanie really emphasized the feelings of the characters, so I knew exactly when someone was upset, annoyed, sad, etc. Definitely recommend listening!

Gore and horror. A great Southern gothic horror tale. There was a good story line to go with the murder, guts and dismembered corpses coming “back to life”. I listened to the audiobook and the narration was pretty good with different voices for all the main characters. The way it ended makes me think there will be another book and I hope that’s accurate because I would love to come back to these characters and their story.

I received an ALC (Advanced Listener Copy) of this audiobook from NetGalley & Macmillan Audio.
4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️
It's not my usual genre, but the synopsis got me. I do love a good paranormal story, to be sure.

I don't know what I was expecting but that wasn't it. I was so surprised by it, but I could not stop listening. There is just something not right about those Evans women. Ha ha, famous last words.
The characters are so likeable and fierce that it's no wonder I couldn't put it down. Man, they sure are good in a crisis!
But secrets do have a way of coming back to haunt you when you least expect it. I felt like all the Evans, in their own right, have secrets, but it was the biggest one that Miss. Luna is facing this when she finds out exactly what goes on at the funeral parlour.

This book sure has a few twists and turns that I didn't see coming. I will say the author does a fantastic job setting up this series for success. I want and need more from these characters now that Miss. Luna knows all. I want to see what will happen next.

The narrator did a fabulous job. Honestly, she was new to me, but she gave all of these characters flare and pizzazz, which was very entertaining.