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chatterbookbabe's review
4.0
Fear University, Meg Collett's dark paranormal romance/fantasy series, is one of the most unique I've ever read. It's what got me hooked on her writing, so needless to say, when I heard she was writing another paranormal series, I was thrilled! I knew it wouldn't be the same tired storyline I've read time and time again, and I couldn't wait to dive in.
Loey Grace Keene lives in a small town full of big secrets. Some of those secrets changed her life forever. Others affected the people around her in the same irrevocable ways, but the biggest ones of all are ripping apart the fabric of the world.
Bless Her Dead Heart is an original, dark, southern, paranormal, mystery/suspense novel. The dark aspects of the story aren't just in the paranormal elements. Rape, domestic abuse, and drug abuse are just some the topics you'll come across in this book. It made it have a melancholy feel throughout, but it was right for the story.
If you've ever lived in a small town or visited one for any length of time, you know that everybody has a way of finding out everyone else's business. People try to hide a lot of their ugly truths, and that's also the case in Righteous. I enjoyed that part of the story as much as the preternatural one.
In fact, the relationships between Loey, Dale, Cross, and Travis are what I found most interesting. Those characters got more of an emotional response from me than Loey's love interest, Jeronimo. Their friendship, the amount of love they have for one another, and even the messed up ways they enable and protect each other felt so real to me. It warmed my heart and at times, it crushed it, too.
I'm about to go off on a little tangent here, because I can't help myself. LOL Bear with me for a minute. *This will only really make sense to you if you've read the book already, so feel free to skip to the end if you haven't.*
I hope to God that somebody knocks the shit out of Cross and Travis in the next book, because it's killing me that no one has done it yet!! I understand their predicament, but if either of them really cared about Dale at all, they wouldn't let things continue the way they are!! Hell, they wouldn't have let it happen in the first place!!
No wonder the woman has a drug problem after everything she's dealt with and continues to deal with on a daily basis!! It infuriates me that everyone is upset about it, but don't stop to think that they might be one of the biggest damn reasons! Loey acknowledges her part ( and Dale actually made that decision without Loey so it's not on her), but nobody points a finger in their direction! Sure, Loey gets aggravated with them, but she needs to put her foot up somebody's ass!
Dale's always taking care of and protecting everyone else. I want someone to come in and take care of her for a change! I hope so much that she finds happiness by the end of the series. I will be crushed if it doesn't happen. I would also love to hear her point of view. I'm crossing my fingers for that in the next book!
Okay, rant over! Lol
Overall, Bless Her Dead Heart is intriguing, suspenseful, heartbreaking, and beautifully written. There is a glimmer of hope mixed in with all the heartache, and I'm 100 percent invested in these characters and what's coming next for each of them. I won't lie. The beginning was a little slower moving than I expected. I worried I wouldn't like it at first, but thankfully, that wasn't the case. In fact, once I got into it, I didn't want to put it down. I was sad when it was over, and I can't wait for the next installment in the series!
If you like dark paranormal mysteries and/or urban fantasy, this might be the one for you!
Loey Grace Keene lives in a small town full of big secrets. Some of those secrets changed her life forever. Others affected the people around her in the same irrevocable ways, but the biggest ones of all are ripping apart the fabric of the world.
Bless Her Dead Heart is an original, dark, southern, paranormal, mystery/suspense novel. The dark aspects of the story aren't just in the paranormal elements. Rape, domestic abuse, and drug abuse are just some the topics you'll come across in this book. It made it have a melancholy feel throughout, but it was right for the story.
If you've ever lived in a small town or visited one for any length of time, you know that everybody has a way of finding out everyone else's business. People try to hide a lot of their ugly truths, and that's also the case in Righteous. I enjoyed that part of the story as much as the preternatural one.
In fact, the relationships between Loey, Dale, Cross, and Travis are what I found most interesting. Those characters got more of an emotional response from me than Loey's love interest, Jeronimo. Their friendship, the amount of love they have for one another, and even the messed up ways they enable and protect each other felt so real to me. It warmed my heart and at times, it crushed it, too.
I'm about to go off on a little tangent here, because I can't help myself. LOL Bear with me for a minute. *This will only really make sense to you if you've read the book already, so feel free to skip to the end if you haven't.*
I hope to God that somebody knocks the shit out of Cross and Travis in the next book, because it's killing me that no one has done it yet!! I understand their predicament, but if either of them really cared about Dale at all, they wouldn't let things continue the way they are!! Hell, they wouldn't have let it happen in the first place!!
No wonder the woman has a drug problem after everything she's dealt with and continues to deal with on a daily basis!! It infuriates me that everyone is upset about it, but don't stop to think that they might be one of the biggest damn reasons! Loey acknowledges her part ( and Dale actually made that decision without Loey so it's not on her), but nobody points a finger in their direction! Sure, Loey gets aggravated with them, but she needs to put her foot up somebody's ass!
Dale's always taking care of and protecting everyone else. I want someone to come in and take care of her for a change! I hope so much that she finds happiness by the end of the series. I will be crushed if it doesn't happen. I would also love to hear her point of view. I'm crossing my fingers for that in the next book!
Okay, rant over! Lol
Overall, Bless Her Dead Heart is intriguing, suspenseful, heartbreaking, and beautifully written. There is a glimmer of hope mixed in with all the heartache, and I'm 100 percent invested in these characters and what's coming next for each of them. I won't lie. The beginning was a little slower moving than I expected. I worried I wouldn't like it at first, but thankfully, that wasn't the case. In fact, once I got into it, I didn't want to put it down. I was sad when it was over, and I can't wait for the next installment in the series!
If you like dark paranormal mysteries and/or urban fantasy, this might be the one for you!
maebemerissa's review
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Okay, things I liked: the southern supernatural setting. It's giving practical magic meets Steel Magnolias. I loved the tension between Loey and Jeronimo and I'm hoping we get some 🌶️ in the next book.
Things I felt we're not adding up: you mean to tell me the only black person in this town HAPPENS to be the mayor...in a small white Southern town...com'on. We can do better. Towards the middle of the book I started to wonder if the author has something against the south (which- fair), because it seemed super focused on all the negative aspects of southern manners and culture norms. Towards the end of the book the characters seem to be trying to fix these flaws.
I enjoyed the book overall, and I hope to see this world built up a little bit more in the next book.
Things I felt we're not adding up: you mean to tell me the only black person in this town HAPPENS to be the mayor...in a small white Southern town...com'on. We can do better. Towards the middle of the book I started to wonder if the author has something against the south (which- fair), because it seemed super focused on all the negative aspects of southern manners and culture norms. Towards the end of the book the characters seem to be trying to fix these flaws.
I enjoyed the book overall, and I hope to see this world built up a little bit more in the next book.
madelyn91's review
4.0
One of the best cozy mysteries I have ever read. All the fun supernatural elements, quirky townspeople, without all the cheesy and cringe-worthy writing. So excited to see where this series is going to go!
dluscan's review
5.0
A Fantastic Beginning to this series!!
This book is a can't put down read! Meg Collet created a dark and twisting story that captured me from the beginning. Very well written. Great pace, background, mystery, characters, setting, and suspense. With a hint of romance throw in. I can't wait to read the next book!
This book is a can't put down read! Meg Collet created a dark and twisting story that captured me from the beginning. Very well written. Great pace, background, mystery, characters, setting, and suspense. With a hint of romance throw in. I can't wait to read the next book!
moj8668's review
5.0
My daughter bought the first book in the series for me as a gift. Now that I've read it, I'm stopping here to leave a quick review before buying the rest of the series!!
From the characters to the paranormal elements of the plot, I loved absolutely everything about this book. I was quickly caught up in the lives of those living in Righteous. They are real and relatable, broken and brave, hurting and courageous. I cannot wait to see what happens in the rest of the series!
From the characters to the paranormal elements of the plot, I loved absolutely everything about this book. I was quickly caught up in the lives of those living in Righteous. They are real and relatable, broken and brave, hurting and courageous. I cannot wait to see what happens in the rest of the series!
mavisinspanish's review
3.0
First of all, beatiful cover. 10/10. The book itself was interesting. I know this is a paranormal book but at first we get to see more issues involving the story about the past of the main protagonist, and that's what kept me hooked from the start. I didn't even know this was supposed to be a paranormal read. I liked it, although I wished we got more explanation about the magic elements in this story.
readbyashleyd's review
1.0
The main reason I bought this was because of the gorgeous cover art, I fell totally in love with it. But sadly what was beneath the cover wasn’t nearly as good. It started with a lot of promise but then it just kind of petered off and got lost. There were so many questions raised and absolutely no answers and it was quite frustrating. Definitely not a series I’ll be continuing!
jessielzimmer's review
4.0
What a read, wow! I stepped into this thinking it was going to be like a lemon chiffon cake, light and sweet with some tang on the tongue. Wooo boy was I wrong! This thing is a devil's food cake almost from the first page. Dark, rich, satisfying and maybe, just maybe, more than you bargain for based on the pretty cover.
I won't bore you with plot and such, there are people who will describe it better than me. But I will share a couple things having just finished it. If her way with words, southern culture and gripping story continues with the second book, Meg Collett could swiftly become one of my new favorite authors of 2019.
It's very clear that Collett loves the culture she writes about, the good and the bad. Her descriptions are wonderfully vivid, her characters bold and rich. (Like that cake I mentioned above.) You can feel Loey and Dale's pain. Feel the love Loey and her grandparents shared, even though they're only in a few scenes.
A few small notes I'd like to point out, in case Ms. Collett or her editor should see this.
- The "all first name" things occasionally makes it hard to keep characters straight, Dale Rose (a lady), Loey Grace, Leigh (young man, I'm assuming said like "Lee"?), Cross Rose. Sometimes it was a struggle to keep characters straight and not cross my eyes.
- There were a few, maybe a handful, of spots where I felt like the editing could have been *a little bit* tighter.
I desperately want to change it to, "as if someone couldn't figure out how open them." It just feels cleaner to me.
Those nitpicks aside, I really enjoyed this novel. I hope that this review encourages you to check it out. Thanks for reading, now I'm going to grab the next book. :)
I won't bore you with plot and such, there are people who will describe it better than me. But I will share a couple things having just finished it. If her way with words, southern culture and gripping story continues with the second book, Meg Collett could swiftly become one of my new favorite authors of 2019.
It's very clear that Collett loves the culture she writes about, the good and the bad. Her descriptions are wonderfully vivid, her characters bold and rich. (Like that cake I mentioned above.) You can feel Loey and Dale's pain. Feel the love Loey and her grandparents shared, even though they're only in a few scenes.
A few small notes I'd like to point out, in case Ms. Collett or her editor should see this.
- The "all first name" things occasionally makes it hard to keep characters straight, Dale Rose (a lady), Loey Grace, Leigh (young man, I'm assuming said like "Lee"?), Cross Rose. Sometimes it was a struggle to keep characters straight and not cross my eyes.
- There were a few, maybe a handful, of spots where I felt like the editing could have been *a little bit* tighter.
"Up at the pulpit, Jeronimo paused mid-sentence, his eyes narrowing on the church’s front doors where the handles clanged against the locks as if someone couldn’t figure out how to open the doors."
I desperately want to change it to, "as if someone couldn't figure out how open them." It just feels cleaner to me.
Those nitpicks aside, I really enjoyed this novel. I hope that this review encourages you to check it out. Thanks for reading, now I'm going to grab the next book. :)
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