📖 Bookish Thoughts
Absolutely dying at how funny this book is! I wouldn’t call it horror, more like a paranormal mystery but with that Southern gothic flair. The Evans women had me cackling. Their banter was sassy and witty! And I loved the funeral home setting, and of course the vampire fighting! 🤣

I will definitely be continuing the series! Highly recommend listening to the audiobook, the narrator was amazing!

❤️ What You Can Expect
• Southern gothic vibes
• Matriarch-led funeral home
• Paranormal mystery
• Vampire lore (Strigoi)
• Small-town drama

🎧 Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the audio copy. All thoughts are my own.

I love this so much the voice actor was amazing. I was completely engaged. Could not wait to find out what’s happening next.. a little bit of a horror with a side of southern hospitality all day every day cannot praise this enough

Bless Your Heart is like if Steel Magnolias got drunk with The X-Files and decided to solve a murder in full lipstick and pearls. Lindy Ryan serves up a spicy gumbo of ghouls, gossip, and grandmas who don’t give a damn—bless their hearts.

The banter? Top-tier. I was laughing one minute and side-eyeing everyone the next. The mystery kept things moving, but honestly, I was just here for the vibes and the sass. It’s weird, witchy, and a little ridiculous—in the best way. Definitely recommend if you like your spooky with a side of snark and butterscotch candies.

I just finished the book and my gosh I'm ready for the next one! At first given the cover art I thought it was going to be about vampires mainly its not. It's still super natural and this is 1 of the few super natural mysteries I've found. It was awesome to the end.

🎧 Audio Review 🎧

The Evan’s family owns and operates the only funeral parlor in town. It’s their job to take care of the dead and lay them to rest with respect and dignity. Mind you, they also provide a service the town’s folk don’t quite know about. They put down the undead too, doin’ their best to make sure they stay there. Only recently more and more of their clients are becomin’ “restless” and it’s gettin’ a bit out of hand. The Evan’s women are worried it’s startin’ all over again just like it did some fifteen years ago.

What I liked:

🪏 The women in the Evan’s family are quirky and spirited. I especially enjoyed getting to know the matriarch Deucy, with her love of butterscotch candies and shootin’ you straight. Somehow the narrator managed to perfectly capture her southern drawl, while having the candy in her mouth, and I was beyond impressed.

🪏 The writing was equal parts grotesque and humorous, exactly what I would expect from a cozy horror. No jump scares but the vivid and gory descriptions were absolutely terrifying.

What I didn’t like:

🪏 I feel like there were too many POVs. Having so many slowed the story down and made me wonder where we were even going. Don’t get me wrong this book wasn’t slow it had plenty of action moments. The pacing just felt odd when you had to jump into five different POVs before something happened.

🪏 The narrator did too good a job on the coroner’s licking habit. It’s barely a complaint but it triggered me ya’ll. 🤣

Overall this was a comical, extremely gory, good time and I would read this author again! 3.5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I just finished listening to this book and LOVED it! It was a really nice twist on the vampire genre. I really enjoyed the southern setting. I really enjoyed the progression of the story leading into the final showdown.
The narrator did a wonderful job with the various accents and male and female vocals.
Thank you for approving me to listen to this book.

What a creepy delight!
The Evan’s women make sure the dead stay dead. They own the funeral home in south Texas and have their work cut out for them.
I really enjoyed this one.
A prefect, southern horror.

Weirdly cozy for a horror novel, this book was a quick listen. The narrator does a fine job of giving each woman in the family her own, disctinct sound. The question of who will survive the onslaught of "risen" souls receives its due in tension and drama before the answer is ultimately revealed.

I enjoyed this audiobook. Loved the family vibes and the twists kept me guessing. I'm excited to continue on with the series.

This book made me laugh, smile, and cry—literally. I absolutely loved it.

Set in 1999 Texas, Bless Your Heart follows the unforgettable Evans Women, who run a funeral parlor with a twist: for the past 80 years, they've been keeping their town safe from the restless undead. Yep, it’s just as amazing as it sounds.

What really hooked me was the dynamic between the Evans women. Their love for each other, their tight-knit bond, and their fierce loyalty had me in my feels. Add in a deliciously eerie mystery, a town full of secrets, and a whole lot of heart, and I couldn’t put it down.

Fair warning—this one isn’t light on the gore. But the dark humor and sharp wit balance it out perfectly. It’s the kind of horror-comedy blend I didn’t know I needed.

This is the first book in a series, and while I also adored the Evans women in book two, reading this one first made me appreciate them even more. Getting their origin story, seeing how it all started—it just made my love for them deeper.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC. I’m now officially OBSESSED with this series.

This was a great book. Very enjoyable, I loved the characters, and the plot was super interesting. The narrator did a really good job as well.

This was really different than my typical reads, so it was hard to give a rating. However, I enjoyed it! The audio was well done and the narrator enhanced the story. I would recommend the audio version to anyone thinking of picking this up as their next read.

BLESS YOUR HEART #1, PAPERBACK - Entertaining but easy to put down. Set in East Texas, which drew my interest, with four generations of women running a funeral parlor and fighting Strigoi, (ghouls, part vampire, part zombie). A bit wordy and a Cozy to boot along with plenty of gory happenings and some humor. Paperback is large size, with thick pages, no chemical smell and an easy to read font. Source: Won a GoodReads giveaway. 3*

BLESS YOUR HEART, #1, AUDIOBOOK - This is the only way to enjoy this book. The narrator Stephanie Nemeth-Parker makes this book come alive, making it snap. I spent two days listening to both books, the second book Another Fine Mess, and enjoyed myself immensely. The characters, the story lines and the humor, although there are gory things that happen, which aren't graphic. Source: Netgalley. 5*

ANOTHER FINE MESS, #2, AUDIOBOOK - Starts up a month after BYH ends. I love the narrator Stephanie Nemeth-Parker. As with the first book, the narrator makes the characters come alive and the story pop. She is the perfect person and unfortunately, she does not have a Texan accent, which I understand the rest if the world appreciates. There's plenty of ungraphic gory stuff, humor, love, family and doing the right thing. Source: Netgalley. 5*

Thank you for the change to review the audiobook of "Bless Your Heart" by Lindy Ryan. I was excited for this story based on the summary shared on NetGalley. Small town, vampires, and family of females who battle them. Unfortunately this story did not grab my attention and wasn't drawn to pick up the story and hear more. The idea is promising and the characters are fun, I enjoyed the dynamic of the multi-generational family of females who are fighting them. I am not sure where the story fell short for me but it just didn't grab me.

I “sucked” in pretty quickly, the middle lost me, then it picked me back up at the end. A lot of characters and a lot going on, but overall it was interesting and thriller. I feel the cover is a bit of misrepresentation, due to the fact they are more of a vampire-zombie mix. I loved the narrator. And it was a bit gory for my personal liking but it did make sense for the type of story

The Evan’s women are so freaking cool. I loved everything about this story. This was everything I was hoping it would be and more! Ducey, Grace, Lenora and Luna are four generations of wow!

Thank you to netgalley for a free version.

This book was different than what i am use to reading but I did enjoy it. Humor and vampires made a great combination in this book.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for this gifted audio, in exchange for an honest review. Bless Your Heart is out now!

This one sounded perfect; A southern gothic vampire story set in the 90s! Bless Your Heart was a 3.5/5 stars for me! I absolutely loved the setting and I loved the whole family of characters and how they run a funeral parlor together, so sweet! For being a vampire horror,
I was hoping this one was going to be very fast paced, but it fell very slow at times. Otherwise this one was pretty heartfelt for me and I really enjoyed the family dynamic.

BLESS YOUR HEART is a lighter horror novel filled with wit, engaging characters, mystery, and, well, vampires. Ryan delivers intrigue and suspense while still delving into family history and exploring the relationships of the Evans.

Honestly, this was a fun read. It reminded me of when I first discovered BUFFY and how I was instantly drawn to the characters. Ducey, Lenore, Grace, and Luna pulled me in. Their relationships are strong, and there is a lot of love in this family, but that doesn’t mean their lives aren’t complicated. This push and pull between the reality of a small-town world and the fight with the vampires rising propels the narrative forward.

Ryan crafted a heartfelt, smart, and, at times, dark read. I loved spending time with the Evans women and cannot wait to see what they have to tackle next.

Audiobook Note: Narrator Stephanie Németh-Parker did a wonderful job bringing this story to life. I loved the pace and the way she gave each of the characters that added inflection to make them stand out. All in all, a great listen.

Highly Caffeinated Rating of… ☕ ☕ ☕ + 1/2

This is a perfect read for the Fall/spooky season! I loved the small town southern setting. The narration was very well done and brought the characters to life.

Thank you to @macmillanaudio and @netgalley for this advanced listener's copy in exchange for my honest review.