I just don't think this series is for me. I want more of a cozy small down will the splash of the horror. I can't pin point why but I have no interest or attachment to the characters or lore

Not a fan.... storyline was all over the place, is is mislabeled genre in my opinion & characters just weren't engagable. Loved the cover art though. Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC

Another Fine Mess by Lindy Ryan was my first read by this author, and it’s a wildly entertaining blend of horror, mystery, and Southern charm. Set in a quirky East Texas town, the story follows Lenore Evans and her granddaughter Luna, the last two women standing in a long line of morticians tasked with keeping the undead buried for good. After a series of unsettling deaths and supernatural disturbances, the Evans women team up with the town’s new sheriff to uncover what’s threatening their community. The funeral home becomes ground zero for secrets, grief, and a creeping sense that the dead aren’t staying dead.

The plot is fast-paced and layered with folklore, family drama, and unexpected humor. Ryan’s world-building is vivid and immersive, with the town itself feeling like a character eccentric, haunted, and fiercely loyal. The dynamic between Lenore and Luna is the emotional core of the novel: two generations of women grappling with loss, legacy, and the weight of responsibility. Their interactions are both tender and tense, especially as Luna begins to question the family’s traditions and Lenore struggles to keep them both safe. The arrival of new characters and the deepening mystery around the town’s history add complexity without overwhelming the narrative.

The twist comes when the Evans women realize that the threat isn’t just supernatural it’s personal. Long-buried family secrets rise alongside the dead, forcing Lenore and Luna to confront painful truths about their lineage and the real monsters hiding in plain sight. The conclusion is satisfying and emotionally resonant: while not everyone survives, the bond between the Evans women emerges stronger, and the town is left forever changed. Ryan’s storytelling is rich with heart and horror, making Another Fine Mess a standout read and a compelling reason to dive deeper into the Bless Your Heart series.

Such a quick read for me! I could not put this book down. Lindy Ryan brings these characters to life with her words. This was a brilliant take on a kind of "murder mystery", and I enjoyed every second.

The second book in this series, and I enjoyed it just as much as the first. The narrator did a fantastic job with this story, and the Texas setting was perfect. Bodies aren’t staying dead in this town, and the Evans women, well, the ones that are left that is, must work with the sheriff to figure out what’s going on and put the dead back where they belong, and fast, as the body count is rising. This was a fast-paced read, incredibly enjoyable and satisfying, and if you have not read it or the first book yet, it is perfect for your spooky season TBR. I do think it is best to read book one prior to reading this one; both are quick reads and you’ll enjoy these women so very much.

Thank you to Minotaur Books #partner and Macmillan Audio for the copies to review.

***ARC from NetGalley***

Another Fine Mess is the second book in the series, but don't worry, the author does a great job bringing new readers up to speed.

A wonderful Southern Gothic novel centered on the Evans family women. Lenore runs the local funeral home and keeps the town safe from the town's restless dead. For unknown reasons, the dead of Beaumont, Texas don't like to stay in their graves. And something or someone, is disappearing the town's pets and slaughtering cattle and members of the local population in this installment.

Lenore is recovering from the dual loss of her mother (Ducey) and her daughter (Grace). She is raising her granddaughter, Luna, a high school student who may or may not be the "big bad" in this mystery. Luna, having learned that her father was a strigoi, fears that she is the "ghost wolf" that is causing the murder and mayhem, but has no memory of committing these atrocities. Throughout the story, the author masterfully blends mystery, horror, family love and loss, and small town dynamics.

Highly recommend. Will read the first novel while I patiently wait for the next installment. Also, justice for Crane (iykyk).

Picking up where Bless Your Heart left off finds Lenore and Luna picking up the pieces of their lives. Things are hard enough, but when the next full moon arrives, it's clear that their troubles are not over, and they have to figure out what is happening to protect their town.

Fun, sad, and everything in between, this was a book I couldn't put down! I'm hoping there will be another book soon!

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books for the ARC!

Thank you for a copy of this ARC!

Love this series and was super grateful to get a copy of this one as well. Lindy is an author that I will continue to follow and hope for more books from.

Another Fine Mess is the second book in the Bless Your Heart series and it does not disappoint. This takes place in a Southeast Texas town and this time Lenore Evans, Luna and the new sheriff have to expose what is terrifying everything that they love in this page turning read. The author wrote this so well and every character in this was great. I liked Luna the most in the book. This read is a blend of mystery, humor, monster hunting and more. I highly enjoyed this dark and clever read and would recommend it to any reader who likes horror books. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/ Minotaur Books for this great read in exchange of my honest review of Another Fine Mess by Lindy Ryan.

Lindy Ryan is a new to me author. I’ve always liked vampire books, so the synopsis appealed to me. I was so pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn’t a horror novel that kept me awake all night. While there are some kind of gory descriptions, it wasn’t scary. I absolutely loved the Evans women. They were all interesting characters. I had not read the first book so there some references to that book that were pretty well explained, but I’m going to be reading that book as well. I also really liked their new employee and Luna’s three friends. There was a scene towards the end that broke my heart. I really loved this book and can’t wait for the next one. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

Despite being horror, I actually thought this was a really fun read. I enjoyed Book 1 (bless your heart) and was interested to see where Book 2 would go. I was not disappointed. New people and new monsters are introduced, as well some family history. I do love the small town vibe and how the characters all work (or not) together.

I would love to learn more about Luna's great grandmother and Samael so hopefully there's more books to come along in this series.

Thank you to Netgally and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a free ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed being able to continue reading about the Evans women and their funeral home and their odd adventures.

It started a bit slower than book one but it quickly picked up as the story got going.

I liked the twist the author put in on what was the villain of the story.

It did have parts where I laughed which I like about these books.

I am hoping the story continues…

3.5/5 Stars

The second book in the Bless Your Heart series, following the Evans women and their funeral home that keeps the dead buried.

This book picks up shortly after Bless Your Heart finishes. I liked this one a bit more then the first one. I thought the mystery of what or who was killing the townsfolk was interesting, and I was invested in finding out the answers. There are multiple POVs, just like the first, and I think the audiobook narrator did a great job with them all. The characters, their unique personalities and the relationships between them that are definitely the highlight of the story for me.

Intrigued to see if there will be a third installment coming soon!

I have this habit of accidentally reading horror - because horror is really not my jam. So I picked up "Bless Your Heart" which is the first book of the Evans woman dealing with vampires and monsters in their small Texas town because - go look at that cover, who wouldn't pick it up? I foolishly expected a vampire rom com and this was not one. But Bless Your Heart drew me into the mystery as it was clever, funny, and a bit sad all in one. I was curious what might happen next to the Evans women and I was happy to pick up a review copy of Another Fine Mess when the opportunity came.

Once again, I found the Evans women compelling, clever and just a bit sad. I think that's what always surprises me about horror, the emotions besides fear that come out. No happy endings are promised in a horror novel like there should be in a rom-com. At the same time this was also gross - not so gross I wanted to put it down (looking at you Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires) but I could feel some ick while reading. I was drawn into the Mess here and hope there is a third book to come to explain what makes the Evans women so special and what draws the dead to them. I recommend if you can handle the ick that comes with horror!

Thanks Netgalley and Minotaur for the review copy!

Another Fine Mess is the perfect example of blending horrifically gory and disturbing imagery with cozy small town mystery. I'm so scared but also feel like I'm in a warm blanket..?? IDK how the author does it!!

The first book in this series, Bless Your Heart, was one of my all-time favorite reads of 2024. The series as a whole just feels cozy and terrifying in the best way. I'm a sucker for the aesthetic, too- 1999 Texas where there are grunge teens, badass grannies, and a tight-knit community where every death has meaning.

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!

I will say, this one disappointed me a bit. The death of the new queer character, while a super cool way for a scientist to go, still was a bit upsetting. On one hand, it could be seen as the "bury your gays" trope, but it's also just a part of the series. Whenever there's a side character who gets their own chapter, I'm like "oh god, here we go again". So, just something I wanted to point out because I am still torn on how I feel about that.

I also thought that there was a lot of detail in areas that made it slow to read. The plot was a bit hard to follow, and it took a century to get to the guts of the issue at hand. Yes, we knew there was a monster on the loose, but all of the secrets and withholding of information amongst the characters just made it draaaag oooooon. Talk to each other!!!!

It also rubbed me the wrong way how Samael, Luna's father, was apparently the protector of this incredibly independent, strong willed, and intelligent group of women. Why do we need some man to protect them? It just didn't make any sense to me. These women are tough on their own, and having a man step in at the very end to help them along just doesn't sit right with me. On the other hand, Taylor was a great character. He was more of an assistant to these women rather than someone who suddenly took charge, and so I appreciate his character a lot more than Samael.

Overall, it was okay. The first one is absolutely worth reading and I still recommend it to everyone who asks me for a recommendation.

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC. 3/5 stars. Looking forward to the next one!

Yessss, I absolutely was thrilled to see another book about the indomitable Evans women and their funeral home. I am going to go ahead here and say that I hope there are many more books in this series..... but back to the book at hand. This is one you absolutely need to read after reading the first book, or you will be lost. There isn't too much I can say except that these books are fun from beginning to end, although there are parts that made me emotional. I'm hoping for a different outcome for Crane, eventually.... and I'll leave it at that. I've recommended this and Bless Your Heart many times, and plan to continue to do so, as I sit here and pray for future titles centered on the Evans woman.

I enjoyed "Bless Your Heart" and its "The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires" adjacent vibes. I think I gave it 3.75 stars. This one was much in that same vein, but I found myself not as invested, and ended up DNFing around 70%. I really don't have any concrete critiques, just that I wasn't as absorbed as I was before and once (mild spoiler) additional monsters besides vampires came up and I wasn't even curious, I realized I should put it down. I think I'm just not in a good reading mental space lately, so I may return to this and try it again at some point. I'd say it probably would've been around a 3 stars, so even though I usually give DNFs 1 star by default, I read so much of this that that feels harsh.

WHAT ELSE WILL WE FIND OUT ABOUT THE SECRETS THE EVANS WOMEN HAVE BEEN HIDING?

Down to two Evans women left and they thought the worst was over unfortunately something else is stirring up the town and this time they think it really is a wild animal until they see the bodies coming into their funeral home and if the undead frenzy was bad before this mess will be something they cannot handle on their own and the new sheriff will discover everything he thought he knew from the earlier killings will be absolutely nothing in comparison with the new role he has to accept as his new fate when the mutilated bodies keep turning up and coming back to life which he could never have imagined in his wildest nightmares!

I enjoyed this book so much! The likeable and misunderstood characters are very well developed and colorful. Atmosphere galore! This book could be read alone although I would recommend reading the first book "BLESS YOUR HEART" first, so you have a full understanding of the prior characters and the roles they played which brought about the second book "ANOTHER FINE MESS" in this series. These storylines are unique and the writing and storytelling are just excellent. I certainly hope the author 'LINDY RYAN' will have a book three coming out soon plus many more to be written in the this absolutely horrifically fun, gory, shocking, creepy, amusing, entertaining and unusually endearing if one can imagine experiencing all those feelings and more from a horror book! Thank you so much 'LINDY RYAN' for sharing your wonderfully, bizarrely, strange, creative thoughts which you captured on paper and I am now a big fan and will continue reading your books in the future.

I highly recommend to all horror lovers and others as long as the readers have strong stomachs and a great sense of humor!


I want to thank the publisher "ST. MARTIN'S PRESS - MINOTAUR BOOKS" and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this digital copy and any thoughts or opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!

I have given a rating of 4 1/2 HORRIFYING AND MESMERIZING 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌠 STARS!!

Another super adorable cozy horror from Lindy Ryan. This book picks up very shortly after the events of Bless Your Heart and we find out that there are even more secrets that are being held by the Evans family.

I love the nostalgia of these books and the way that things are done in the family's small town. Keep going Lindy Ryan. I love your work!

While not as satisfying as Bless Your Heart, Another Fine Mess was nonetheless a fast, entertaining read. I trust that there will be a third title in the series, to tie up some unsatisfactory "endings." Many thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur books for the chance to read the eARC.