Traditional themes of friendship, loyalty and trust are severely tested in McGill-Vargas’ vampire fantasy, set just after the Civil War. Lincoln may have emancipated the slaves, but “Vinny” is still on permanent cleaning detail in the saloon and brothel on Miss Tillie’s plantation. Arriving for work one morning, she does not suspect life is about to change in ways she cannot imagine! A sickly girl, cowering in the corner of the saloon, needs help desperately. She says she is a vampire named Simone and then does the one thing no one has ever done for Vinny in all her years of slavery—gives back her real name, Lavinia. This creates an immediate bond of respect and sparks their journey north to the shores of Lake Michigan.

Simone offers Lavinia a new, bondage-free life; Lavinia offers ready-made meals. Soon, Lavinia becomes a vampiric ghoul whereby each is aware of the other’s thoughts and feelings. Lavinia sources Simone’s food and provides a safe place for her to sleep her undead sleep between feedings. Simone protects and respects her friend in return. However, Simone becomes so attached that she is afraid to lose Lavinia, so her answer is to “eat” everyone Lavinia gets close to. This provides moments of amusing commentary and occasional dark humor. The long trail of buried corpses naturally becomes a problem, but the possibility of Simone’s inadvertent creation of another such as herself looms as an even larger one. Lavinia relates her story in matter-of-fact Black vernacular English to an increasingly disbelieving jailkeeper in Tolleston, where she is being held for killing a white woman. The fact that the person she murdered is already dead is inconsequential. I applaud this inventive, daring tale with its wealth of commentary between the lines, as well as an ending to die for.

Credit to Michelle McGill-Vargas for a truly original vampire novel premise in this intriguing and thoughtful debut.

As a former slave and a vampire join up and head north in the aftermath of the Civil War, this is at once a horror novel, a buddy comedy, and a thought-provoking read about how sometimes the true predators aren’t the ones with fangs.

It’s a great idea for a story that was mostly successful in the execution. Lavinia is an outstanding protagonist, and though Simone is a bit disappointingly one-dimensional, most of the secondary characters are also richly developed.

There are some holes in the story that probably needed to be cleaned up and I didn’t love the ending, but on the whole it’s a fun read that makes you laugh but doesn’t lack for substance.

The nitty-gritty: A highly entertaining debut, American Ghoul excels with standout characters and unexpected humor.

You can’t tell from the rather serious cover, but American Ghoul is extremely funny and much more lighthearted than I expected. This is due mostly to the pitch perfect voice of the main character Lavinia, a recently freed slave who finds herself in a very unusual predicament. Michelle McGill-Vargas mixes historical fiction and vampires in a completely unique way, and I highly recommend this impressive debut.

American Ghoul takes place in Georgia not long after the end of the Civil War. When the story opens, we meet Lavinia, a Black woman who has just been arrested for murdering her white companion Simon Arceneau. Lavinia is in jail and is telling the story of how she came to be there to the arresting constable, a man named Martin. Little by little, Lavinia’s unorthodox story unfolds, as she explains to Martin how she met Simone, how she discovered Simone was a vampire, and how Lavinia became a “ghoul” after being bitten by Simone. Simone convinces Lavinia to leave town with her, hoping she will help Simone find food and protect her during the day when she sleeps.

Lavinia is eager to start fresh. She’s been working for a plantation owner, and while not technically a slave anymore—the story takes place several years after the Emancipation Proclamation—she longs to break the chains of her service. And so she agrees to Simone’s proposition, although she soon finds out she has her hands full with Simone, a childlike vampire with a terrible blood lust who can’t control herself. Lavinia steps in to make sure Simone is only “eating” bad people and manages their day-to-day lives, as they make their way towards Chicago, a mythical place where Lavinia is convinced she will finally be free.

But the longer they are together, the more bodies start to pile up in their wake. Lavinia does her best to hide Simone’s kills, but two women traveling alone—one white and one Black—tend to attract attention, and it isn’t long before various people they meet along the way start to suspect they might be responsible for the recent murders popping up in the area.

American Ghoul reads like a buddy comedy at times, and I can honestly say I’ve never read a buddy comedy involving a former slave and a vampire, so props to the author for coming up with such an audacious idea. Right away, Lavinia’s voice shines through and takes control of the story. Lavinia is outspoken and bossy, which it turns out are good qualities to have when you’re trying to manage a ravenous vampire. She’s also searching for human connections, and because Simone is a vampire, she can’t fulfill those needs for Lavinia. Lavinia goes out of her way to meet new people, like the attractive fisherman King Jones who could be a possible love interest, or the Wiltshires, a couple who live in a big, beautiful house and own a saloon. She isn’t above going after opportunities that will better her position, and it turns out she’s very good at getting her way.

Simone is also a well done character. Before she was turned, she was vapid and pampered, and now that she’s a vampire, she vapid and deadly. Simone might not be the sharpest tool in the toolbox, but when it comes to eating people, she knows exactly what she wants and how to get it. I liked that Simone doesn’t really think things through, after all, that’s what Lavinia is there for. Simone simply chooses a victim and attacks, with no thought to the aftermath. One of my favorite things about Simone’s selection process was that she insists that different nationalities taste different. So she’s always on the lookout for something exotic (Romanians) as opposed to something bland (the English). But as interesting as these two characters are on their own, it’s their interactions with each other that make this book so good. Simone and Lavinia are opposites in every way, which makes their dialogue laugh-out-loud funny.

And because of the setting and time period, the story deals with racism and how it affects Lavinia. She was born into slavery but now finds herself a free woman. Still, the attitudes towards Blacks haven’t changed at all, and Lavinia is still treated poorly wherever she goes. The author makes sure her message comes across loud and clear, but she does it with a light touch, which I appreciated. And now that Lavinia finds herself practically shackled to a vampire, she wonders whether she’s actually free at all, or if she's traded one form of slavery for another. In addition to the action and humor, there’s a lot of food for thought.

Simone’s killings are suitably violent and bloody, and Lavinia has to clean up the mess each time, which includes doing something with the bodies. I did struggle a little with the mechanics of how one becomes a vampire, versus how one becomes a ghoul. Lavinia is a ghoul, which means she has some of the benefits of being a vampire—she doesn’t need to sleep or eat—but she doesn’t crave blood, and she has a psychic connection with Simone. During the story, some of Simone’s kills come back as vamps and some don’t, which was confusing at times.

Still, this was such a fast-paced, fun story. I also think it would make a fantastic Netflix movie, since the characters are so vividly drawn. Michelle McGill-Vargas is a writer to watch, and I look forward to her next book.

Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.

American Ghoul is a unique historical novel with dark humor sprinkled throughout about a free Black woman and her white vampire companion, and all the trouble they get into. Lavinia, the forementioned free woman, hardly feels free after being released from her enslavement after the Civil War. With limited options and too afraid to leave the only home she’s ever know Lavinia stays at the plantation where she was enslaved, helping her former mistress, Miss Tillie, run it as a brothel. It’s unpleasant work, but Lavina doesn’t dare hope for something better. That is until she meets a strange white girl named Simone whom she rescues from burning up in the sun. Later she finds Simone drinking the blood of one of the brothel regulars.

Lavinia is an interesting character as she’s an unlikeable victim who defies the mistaken belief that for someone to be a victim they must also be a good person. What happened to her, both during and after her enslavement is horrific, and she’s certainly sympathetic, but Lavinia also does terrible things without feeling particularly guilty about it. She justifies what she does by saying she never killed anyone herself, she just helped Simone do it (which is hardly better). Personally, I love that she’s such a complicated character and gets to be an anti-villain. It’s clear she doesn’t think what she’s doing is that bad, as Lavinia does try to choose immoral people for her vampire friend to bleed dry. But other times, she just picks victims who have things she needs, like a new pair of boots. Lavinia is, brave, no-nonsense, and blunt, and doesn’t have a lot of patience for Simone’s nonsense. While Simone is well educated, Lavinia is clearly the smarter and more practical of the two, and it’s a miracle Simone even managed to survive a year on her own.

With the exception of Lavinia’s love interest, King, and a little girl that Simone murders, very few of the characters are fully good or bad. Take Miss Tillie, for example, Lavinia’s former mistress. She never beat Lavinia, gave her a new dress for Christmas, and speaks to her rather than at her, which causes Lavinia a small pang of guilt when Simone kills her. But while Miss Tillie is a far cry from Simon Legree, she was still complicit in the enslavement other human beings, an unforgiveable sin definitely worthy of making her a vampire’s dinner.

Simone is similar in that she’s not a good person, and thinks that helping Lavinia makes up for the fact that she’s also controlling and doesn’t seem to care about anyone but herself (although she claims to love Lavinia). While you can’t help but feel bad for Simone for being turned into a monster against her will, it doesn’t justify the way she treats Lavinia. She wants her friend all to herself, gets extremely jealous if Lavinia spends time with anyone else, and will read her mind without consent to figure out what she’s been doing and where she’s been. Their relationship is toxic at best, and abusive at worst. With Simone’s possessiveness and their shared mental link Lavinia eventually realizes their connection is almost as bad as bad as the one that tethered her to Miss Tillie.

And of course, there’s the fact a vampire will kill anyone, even children, for food, especially if she’s hungry. Simone’s recklessness when it comes to food often leaves a mess for Lavinia to clean up, and gets them both in trouble on numerous occasions. Simone is a spoiled white girl who claims she’s less racist than other white people, but as we learn more about her past it’s revealed that she’s not the white savior she claims to be. This is hinted at early on when Simone refers to Lavinia as her “chocolate savior” (ew), is completely unaware of how dangerous it is to be a Black woman walking around a white town on her own, and laughs when Lavinia doesn’t know how to read a globe. Because Simone also had a troubled past, she thinks she and Lavinia are similar, not realizing her white girl problems are nothing compared to being enslaved. Sometimes it feels like Lavinia is sacrificing everything for a white woman, because of some misplaced sense of loyalty.

While the two women make their way to Chicago (a popular destination for formerly enslaved people) Lavinia meets a Romanian couple named Valerica and Victor Radut who own a store where she sells the belongings of Simone’s victims. The couple recognize Simone as a vampire immediately, and believe Lavinia can protect them from her, since Simone (sort of) does what she says. They believe that in order to kill a vampire you must cut off the head, burn the heart, then drink the ashes for protection (like they did to the body of poor Mercy Brown in 1892). Despite claiming Valerica as a friend, Lavinia is ultimately unmoved by the unfortunate fate that befalls the Raduts because, as she puts it, “Simone was my priority. Maybe the only friend I needed.” Other people who make the mistake of getting close to Lavinia suffer similar fates. It’s hard to decide whether you want the them to face justice or not, or if you want them to get away with all the horrible things they’ve done.

An interesting and complex exploration if vampires were around after the Civil War.

Freed woman Lavinia is stuck on her plantation until vampire Simone comes along and throws her off the track her life was taking. Simone unintentionally makes Lavinia her ghoul - a human with extra abilities who can help her survive - and they make their way north. Lavinia feels like she owes Simone and has to deal with how that conflicts with her morals.

The end was not what I expected, and there’s so much tension in the last third I had to stay up and finish it.

American Ghoul is a unique vampire story set in the the years immediately after the end of the American Civil War. Lavinia, recently emancipated, finds herself tied to Simone, a mercurial and immature vampire. They travel from Georgia to Indiana, while Lavinia tries to keep Simone under control while planning their immediate future and attempting to fit in with the local community.

The theme of the book is the standout here: as a Black woman, Lavinia is burdened with the emotional, mental, and physical labor of taking care of Simone; her boundaries and desires are frequently ignored. I just wish the story were a little more cohesive. There are many threads, some of which are introduced late in the narrative, and not all are given the attention they deserve. The ending is mostly dissatisfying, and it makes me wonder if this is the first entry in a planned series?

The writing in this story was really compelling. I loved the take on vampirism and thought that the story made good use of the historical setting. I also really loved our main character and they sucked me into the story from the get go. I wish this was longer because I really enjoyed my time reading this story. This was a great historical vampire novel with a compelling setting and well-realized characters! I definitely recommend this one!

“American Ghoul” is a very interesting take on vampires and what it means to be “free.” We’re getting the story told in two different ways: one is the main character recounting it to her jailer and the other is her actually living it.

Set in northwest Indiana in the post Civil War era, it is interesting to see how a just-freed slave navigate the world tied to a vampire. A younger vampire at that.

Overall, I think this is a good debut novel and I think this really sets the stage for a follow up book continuing these characters and this story.

<i>I can’t kill somebody who’s already dead.</i>

I was hooked from the first sentence, and once I finished the first chapter I couldn’t stop reading until I finished this book. <i>American Ghoul</i> is the jail time confession and explanation of our main character Lavinia, and what actually happened that led her to imprisonment - and her innocence of the crime of which she is accused.

Lavinia, a recently freed slave, winds up leaving the plantation she was working on when she meets Simone - a white teenager with a violent taste for blood. When the two form a connection that cannot be broken, Lavinia travels with Simone to feed her gruesome appetite - but doing so forces her to make choices she would have never done before. However, Simone refuses to be cautious about her newfound diet and slowly throughout the pages of this book places a target on Lavinia’s back. Lavinia must grapple with whether Simone truly sees her as a friend or equal - or if she is lying to force Lavinia to do what she wants.

Taking place in post-Civil War America, this book tackles the ongoing presence of racism within the country after Emancipation, as well as the distinct ways this intersects with Lavinia being forced to help her (mistress or friend?), hunt people - and not be caught doing so. As this book goes on, we live with Lavinia as she tries to do her best to still have a “normal” human life - and how Simone will do anything in her power to prevent that.

I really liked how the relationship between Simone and Lavinia was written. It was complex and not simply black and white. We want to believe the best in Simone, especially considering the trust and respect she gives to Lavinia, despite their difference in stations. However, as the rapport slowly breaks down between the two and Simone slowly stops becoming Lavinia’s top priority, we see how fragile the bond between these two truly is.

This book is split between two distinct timelines - Lavinia’s recollection of the events we are taken on, and her talking to her jailer Martin as she tries to convince him of her story. This format of storytelling reminded me of Laura Purcell’s <i>The Corset/The Poison Thread</i> and <i>The Silent Companions</i>, and I think anyone who loved those books would love this one just as much.

Any fan of horror and historical fiction would be remiss to not pick up this book, as it will hook you from the first page and won’t let you go until Lavinia has finally recounted her entire story. I wasn’t sure how this book would end, and I must say I loved how it did. As the story progressed, my idea of how exactly a happy ending for Lavinia would end was constantly changing - and yet, I still never anticipated how this book would end.

Filled with vampires, bloodshed, and retribution, <i>American Ghoul</i> allows our main character to go from freedom only in name - to true freedom and control over her own life and choices.

With such a strong debut, I cannot wait to see where this author goes next.

A huge thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Blackstone Publishing for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Since I’m not someone who normally reads horror, I had no idea what to expect but let me give you a brief idea of the story. We’re following Lavinia who is a freed slave who is now jailed for killing her mistress: Simone. While it seems pretty straightforward, we find out very quickly that Simone is a vampire and that plays a huge role in this story as Lavinia becomes Simone’s keeper, best friend, and surrogate mother all rolled into one.

As the story is unraveling, we’re learning about Lavinia’s past, how she met Simone, and how she ended up in jail now. She’s also telling the story to her jailer, making this a story within a story. The commentary the jailer keeps making is utterly hilarious as he can’t seem to put any blame on Simone.

While American Ghoul is labeled as a horror, I can attest that it’s not too gory. Of course, we do see Simone kill and drain people dry. While that might make some people queasy, it doesn’t take up too much of the plot. For the most part, we’re following Lavinia as she tries to take care of Simone, and herself and even possibly foster a relationship with a man she ends up meeting while the two are on the run.

Horror isn’t usually my genre, but American Ghoul surprised me. Once I was sucked in, I couldn’t put it down. What it lacked in thrills and chills, the book made up for by showing the horrors of reality along with the social commentary McGill-Vargas wove within these pages. I will the ending did leave me with some questions but I can only hope that we get a sequel as I feel like the author left that door open.

Even if we don’t, American Ghoul is a great start for Michelle McGill-Vargas and I’m excited to see what she does next.

I'm not as crazy about historical fiction but I loved the idea of the ghoul caring for the vampire, and I have to say I got completely invested and I absolutely loved this book. I think the best part was that the author somehow kept much of what if familiar about vampire lore while making it fresh. I also loved how it was told as a story within a story, which made it more exciting to me. I hope there's more in this world! Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

I automatically give points to any author that sets their horror novel in Indiana, especially in a historical setting, so this was off to a great start. I do feel there could have been more exploration of why Simone's complex feelings for Lavinia, especially in the beginning before they had any ties to one another, but overall this was a weird and fun read.

This was a little different from my typical reads but it sounded good. And I am happy to say I enjoyed it! It was such a good mix of humor and horror and also made me think.

This was so entertaining. It's got horror, it's got social issues, it's got humor, it's got vampires...If you don't like this book, I think there might be something wrong with you. I loved it so much I might end up rereading it before the year's up.

Oh my gosh, this was so good. Totally gripping, genuinely hard to put down. The vampirism is interesting and clever, the writing is extremely engaging, the protagonist is loveable and fascinating, and I really have only good things to say about it. 10/10, I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a good fun vampire novel.

I enjoyed the author's unique take on a vampire story. It's a great combination of horror and humor. It's a creepy story with interesting characters. Horror fans will enjoy reading this book. I look forward to reading more books by this author.

I absolutely loved this story about a ghoul and her vampire! A refreshing take on the genre!

I just reviewed American Ghoul by Michelle McGill- Vargas. #AmericanGhoul #NetGalley

American Ghoul started out really strong, with enslaved Lavinia and vampire Simone deciding to team up and flee the South together. It’s a great concept and both women have strong—and often clashing—personalities. The social commentary was also spot on and the narrative framework of Lavinia telling the story while sitting in jail works brilliantly.

By the middle of the story I did find that it was starting to meander a bit though. I think I just wanted more from Lavinia and Simone’s friendship. There was plenty of tension between the pair, but I wanted more moments of genuine emotional connection and more odd couple style comedy. Or, if the book wasn’t going to go down the comedy route, I wish it had leaned harder into the horror. Blood certainly flies, but it’s not enough that non-horror readers would be put off.

I love vampires so this was write up my alley, I found it entertaining and a little bit silly? In a good way, the writing style was witty and I thought the concept was unique, social commentry and horror marry so well together, will definitely want to read more by this author!

My name online is Ali Ghoul so I had to read this Annnnd it wasn't that good. I wasn't a fan of the writing style. I have autism so im kind of picky/ But I am grateful for this ARC.