Bless Your Heart (A Bless Your Heart Novel, 1)
A crackling mystery-horror novel with big-hearted characters and Southern charm with a bite, Bless Your Heart is a gasp-worthy delight from start to finish from debut author Lindy Ryan.
Rise and shine. The Evans women have some undead to kill.
It’s 1999 in Southeast Texas and the Evans women, owners of the only funeral parlor in town, are keeping steady with…normal business. The dead die, you bury them. End of story. That’s how Ducey Evans has done it for the last eighty years, and her progeny—Lenore the experimenter and Grace, Lenore’s soft-hearted daughter, have run Evans Funeral Parlor for the last fifteen years without drama. Ever since That Godawful Mess that left two bodies in the ground and Grace raising her infant daughter Luna, alone.
But when town gossip Mina Jean Murphy’s body is brought in for a regular burial and she rises from the dead instead, it’s clear that the Strigoi—the original vampire—are back. And the Evans women are the ones who need to fight back to protect their town.
As more folks in town turn up dead and Deputy Roger Taylor begins asking way too many questions, Ducey, Lenore, Grace, and now Luna, must take up their blades and figure out who is behind the Strigoi’s return. As the saying goes, what rises up, must go back down. But as unspoken secrets and revelations spill from the past into the present, the Evans family must face that sometimes, the dead aren’t the only things you want to keep buried.
"A gloriously gruesome, compulsively readable debut that is as grizzly as it is clever and heartfelt." - Rachel Harrison
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Community Reviews
An excellent new take on vampires, Bless Your Heart is a quirky and heartwarming novel that follows a family of female vampire hunters.
I absolutely loved this book and believe it’s the perfect read for Mother’s Day.
The story spans four generations of women who operate a funeral parlor, using it as a front to monitor and eliminate vampires.
Storytelling and Characterization
The storytelling in Bless Your Heart is impressive, but what truly stands out are the characters. Ducey Evans is the matriarch and owner of the funeral parlor in their small town. Her daughter, Lenore, and granddaughter, Grace, assist her in the family business. Luna, Grace’s daughter, is still in high school and represents the youngest generation of Evans women.
Each of these characters has distinct personalities that propel the story forward. They balance one another out, and despite their differences, they present a united front. The author, Ryan, expertly ensures that the story flows smoothly. As we switch between characters, we uncover pieces of their family history that tie everything together while also creating an intriguing mystery.
Moreover, the novel offers a deeper look into the character dynamics, making readers invested in their family relationships.
The Story’s Intricacies
The story itself is fantastic. The alternating perspectives maintain a quick pace and enhance the rising tension. What I found particularly remarkable was how Ryan incorporated various vampire mythologies. While she establishes the Strigoi, she also introduces zombies into the equation. When a person is first turned into a vampire, they resemble a mindless zombie. Additionally, the concept of energy vampires adds a fascinating supernatural twist. I loved the different types of vampires and the unique interpretations Ryan applied, which give the novel a fresh and distinctive feel.
Final Thoughts
Bless Your Heart is heartfelt and retains its horror elements. Given the strong sense of familial solidarity portrayed in the story, I maintain that this would make a perfect Mother’s Day gift.
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