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jnle95's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
mariabookreader's review against another edition
5.0
Este libro ha superado todas mis expectativas.
Una historia cuya sinopsis no tiene nada que ver con el libro...
Al principio presenta una sociedad que me recordó un poco a la de Eduardo Manos Tijeras, típica sociedad sureña americana, de casitas limpias, con sus aparcamientos y sus mujeres amas de casa que no tienen más que hacer que cuidar de la casa y los hijos, siempre pendiente a sus maridos. Correctas y discretas.
Me pareció original el tema del club de lectura, en concreto los libros que se leían y elegían, da más la impresión de las amas de casa aburridas con intereses mórbidos por los crímenes y asesinos en serie.
Ha logrado engancharme desde casi el principio. La historia ocurre en el tiempo, teniendo algunos saltos, pero sin perder la concordancia de la historia. Vemos evolucionar e involucionar mucho a los personajes, donde se mezclan las inquietudes de cualquier madre con los sucesos misteriosos.
Tiene escenas que dan mucho, mucho repelús... Que te mantienen con un nudo en el estómago y están tan bien descritas que no te cuesta mucho imaginarlas, aunque no debes ser de estómago sensible...
Super recomendada!
Una historia cuya sinopsis no tiene nada que ver con el libro...
Al principio presenta una sociedad que me recordó un poco a la de Eduardo Manos Tijeras, típica sociedad sureña americana, de casitas limpias, con sus aparcamientos y sus mujeres amas de casa que no tienen más que hacer que cuidar de la casa y los hijos, siempre pendiente a sus maridos. Correctas y discretas.
Me pareció original el tema del club de lectura, en concreto los libros que se leían y elegían, da más la impresión de las amas de casa aburridas con intereses mórbidos por los crímenes y asesinos en serie.
Ha logrado engancharme desde casi el principio. La historia ocurre en el tiempo, teniendo algunos saltos, pero sin perder la concordancia de la historia. Vemos evolucionar e involucionar mucho a los personajes, donde se mezclan las inquietudes de cualquier madre con los sucesos misteriosos.
Tiene escenas que dan mucho, mucho repelús... Que te mantienen con un nudo en el estómago y están tan bien descritas que no te cuesta mucho imaginarlas, aunque no debes ser de estómago sensible...
Super recomendada!
writermags's review against another edition
2.0
Now that I've had some time to think about this book (and vent about it with Rachel, who also didn't particularly care for it), here are my thoughts.
In short: I was disappointed. For starters, there were not enough vampires (and consequently, not enough slaying of said vampires) for my taste. The book's blurb and the reviews I read gave me the impression that this would be a book about demure southern housewives becoming badass vampire killers, but that was not the case (more on that in a moment). Somehow, I was given the expectation that this book would have a feminist bent to it, but discussion of any feminist themes was shallow at best. Perhaps it is partly my fault for having these expectations, but book reviews are subjective by nature.
As for what I did like, we have:
• The writing itself was good. Barring my reservations about certain plot elements, this is a well-crafted story where everything built on what came before it.
• I thought the conclusion was satisfying. It felt like a complete story, and there were some good character moments at the end.
• The characters all felt real and well-developed, even if I wanted to punch them in the face sometimes.
And, well, now for what I didn't like.
Tropey and predictable. I get it, the book's not meant to be a mystery. Perhaps we readers are supposed to know who the bad guy is the minute he stepped onto the page, but that killed a lot of the suspense for me. It also made a lot of the characters seem ridiculously stupid. I thought Patricia had plenty of logical reasons to be suspicious of this newcomer in town, and the fact that everyone just trusted this man without a second thought made them look like idiots.
Lack of discussion on misogyny present in the story. All of the men in this book are horrible. That's kind of the point. Perhaps there is something to be said that the monsters aren't just the strangers moving in down the street, but also the ones already living in your home. It just felt like the book didn't go as far as it should have. If your B-plot is about a main character being gaslighted by her husband, I would like to see the main character challenge that relationship more. In other words, while there were a lot of "yeah, women!" moments in the book, these moments were shallow and did nothing to further discussion on the themes the book was trying to present.
Similarly, the book also seemed to be trying to make some kind of point about racism, but also fell short in that regard. The villain initially targets people of color - presumably because no one outside of their immediate community will care about them. Only when the villain begins targeting white children do the women defy their husbands and actually do something about it. Sure, Mrs. Greene (the only non-white main character) calls the white women out for this, but Patricia and her book club friends don't really suffer any major consequences of their inaction. Not to mention it reeks of a white savior complex.
Related to my point about misogyny, the book includes several instances of physical/sexual violence and/or emotional abuse against women for shock value. Come on people, it's 2021, can we please have a book that doesn't perpetuate this trope? I linked a list of trigger warnings for this book at the end of my review for anyone who may be concerned. Yes, of course this book isn't for the faint of heart. But for crying out loud, I'm so SICK of violence and abuse against women being used as a cheap way to make a story horrifying.
A specific spoilery point on that because I just can't let it go (TW: rape):
Other random things that bugged me:
• Patricia's son has an obsession with Nazi Germany. I get it, kids go through weird phases. But it didn't sit right with me, especially in a story where, early on, the majority of violence is perpetuated against people of color.
• There were a handful of scenes where women's bodies were described in an uncomfortable level of detail (bear in mind most of this story is from Patricia's perspective). In all of them, the woman being described has either just experienced some form of trauma, or she is clearly ill. It felt both incredibly disrespectful and unnecessary to describe them in such a way during those moments.
Ultimately, I wouldn't really recommend this book - or if I did, it would be with very strong reservations. Maybe my expectations were too high, but still, I can't help feeling I'm the victim of a bait-and-switch.
The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires on the Book Trigger Warnings database.
In short: I was disappointed. For starters, there were not enough vampires (and consequently, not enough slaying of said vampires) for my taste. The book's blurb and the reviews I read gave me the impression that this would be a book about demure southern housewives becoming badass vampire killers, but that was not the case (more on that in a moment). Somehow, I was given the expectation that this book would have a feminist bent to it, but discussion of any feminist themes was shallow at best. Perhaps it is partly my fault for having these expectations, but book reviews are subjective by nature.
As for what I did like, we have:
• The writing itself was good. Barring my reservations about certain plot elements, this is a well-crafted story where everything built on what came before it.
• I thought the conclusion was satisfying. It felt like a complete story, and there were some good character moments at the end.
• The characters all felt real and well-developed, even if I wanted to punch them in the face sometimes.
And, well, now for what I didn't like.
Tropey and predictable. I get it, the book's not meant to be a mystery. Perhaps we readers are supposed to know who the bad guy is the minute he stepped onto the page, but that killed a lot of the suspense for me. It also made a lot of the characters seem ridiculously stupid. I thought Patricia had plenty of logical reasons to be suspicious of this newcomer in town, and the fact that everyone just trusted this man without a second thought made them look like idiots.
Lack of discussion on misogyny present in the story. All of the men in this book are horrible. That's kind of the point. Perhaps there is something to be said that the monsters aren't just the strangers moving in down the street, but also the ones already living in your home. It just felt like the book didn't go as far as it should have. If your B-plot is about a main character being gaslighted by her husband, I would like to see the main character challenge that relationship more. In other words, while there were a lot of "yeah, women!" moments in the book, these moments were shallow and did nothing to further discussion on the themes the book was trying to present.
Spoiler
And while it was satisfying to see Patricia divorce her jerk husband, it felt like she sorta just had an epiphany all of a sudden instead of building to that moment.Similarly, the book also seemed to be trying to make some kind of point about racism, but also fell short in that regard. The villain initially targets people of color - presumably because no one outside of their immediate community will care about them.
Spoiler
The book club tries to take action, but their husbands put a stop to it and they go on with their happy little lives.Related to my point about misogyny, the book includes several instances of physical/sexual violence and/or emotional abuse against women for shock value. Come on people, it's 2021, can we please have a book that doesn't perpetuate this trope? I linked a list of trigger warnings for this book at the end of my review for anyone who may be concerned. Yes, of course this book isn't for the faint of heart. But for crying out loud, I'm so SICK of violence and abuse against women being used as a cheap way to make a story horrifying.
A specific spoilery point on that because I just can't let it go (TW: rape):
Spoiler
In the second half of the book, a main character is raped in her own home by the villain in retaliation for betraying him. The other women are sympathetic; however, because this character also betrayed Patricia, the character blames herself for what happened to her ("I turned my back on you and I got what I deserved" kind of thing). None of the other characters challenge her on this.Other random things that bugged me:
• Patricia's son has an obsession with Nazi Germany. I get it, kids go through weird phases. But it didn't sit right with me, especially in a story where, early on, the majority of violence is perpetuated against people of color.
• There were a handful of scenes where women's bodies were described in an uncomfortable level of detail (bear in mind most of this story is from Patricia's perspective). In all of them, the woman being described has either just experienced some form of trauma, or she is clearly ill. It felt both incredibly disrespectful and unnecessary to describe them in such a way during those moments.
Ultimately, I wouldn't really recommend this book - or if I did, it would be with very strong reservations. Maybe my expectations were too high, but still, I can't help feeling I'm the victim of a bait-and-switch.
The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires on the Book Trigger Warnings database.
cherrypopgirlielibrary's review against another edition
5.0
This book...THIS. BOOK.
This is my first five star review of 2021. I absolutely L O V E D this book. Right from the start, I was hooked. I could barely put this book down and it only took me 2 days to finish. I cannot give this book enough praise. If you like a little horror, a little comedy, and a little social critique in your novels, then you will adore this book. I highly recommend it, even if it's not your usual cup of tea. This is, hands down, the best book I have read so far this year.
This is my first five star review of 2021. I absolutely L O V E D this book. Right from the start, I was hooked. I could barely put this book down and it only took me 2 days to finish. I cannot give this book enough praise. If you like a little horror, a little comedy, and a little social critique in your novels, then you will adore this book. I highly recommend it, even if it's not your usual cup of tea. This is, hands down, the best book I have read so far this year.
twreading's review against another edition
4.0
I did not finish this book because I am a great big wimp about scary stories. But, what I did read was very well written and intriguing.
aly_camia's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
manadabomb's review against another edition
3.0
This is not the light, fun vampire romp you think.
Summing up: f*ck patriarchy and f*ck racism. And f*ck vampires.
Review here!
Summing up: f*ck patriarchy and f*ck racism. And f*ck vampires.
Review here!
meta_grrrl's review against another edition
3.0
Listened to the audio book version, which was very well done. Wasn’t what I expected this book to be, but I enjoyed it. I thought it’d be more of a middle aged Buffy. Instead it’s more about life in the South in the 90s, getting into themes of sexism, racism, classism, politics, history, and some attitudes between the north and south. A lot deeper than I had expected, but still a fast read/listen.