“I wanted to pit Dracula against my mom. As you’ll see, it’s not a fair fight.” – Grady Hendrix
The author started the prologue with this line and I don’t think there’s a better way to introduce the book. Picture a group of housewives in the early 90s sub-urban who are reunited by books, but on top of dealing with raising their kids, and the typical house duties, they are confronted with some strange supernatural phenomenon in their neighborhood.
I devoured this entire book in one sitting. And I know the year has only just begun but I can tell you that this book will be in my top books of 2021. In the same humor and style as What The Hell Did I Just Read, it’s a brilliant dark comedy book about women in the 90s and vampires of course. I’ve never read any other books from this author before but now, I will definitely look forward to it.
The female friendship described in this book is so real, some (men) even thought this book is purposely sexist ( I know, funny right?) when it’s doing the total opposite. It tackles on the force of women and how much they don’t need men to solve their problems. There are parts of the book that make you angry, in fact that make you want to be angry at how women were treated, how patronizing men can be. That’s the point of this book, it says right off the bat : You know what? Women have claws despite everything that’s been said and done to them.
But the real strength of this book? It’s entertaining as f**k (had to swear because that’s how good it was). I’ve never read a real good scare in a while being able to laugh it off at the same time. The suspense elements are there, with some actions but I have to warn you. There are some sensitive, gory, gross and disturbing scenes in there. But all the same, it’s a solid writing craft from Mr. Hendrix.
Would you give this book a try? Did you read this book or any of Grady Hendrixs’ books? What do you think?
RATING : 4.8/5
REVIEW BY TRANG T.
Bookidote 
It sounds like a good read. I may give this one a go, great review. 👍
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I loved it ! It’s such a bumpy ride and totally put me out of my reading slump 👌
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I did hear some conflicting views on this book, but I kept it on my tbr and I’m glad you had a great time! Thanks for sharing this with us. 🙂
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Yes same here I saw some mixed reviews😂 Glad you have it on your TBR can’t wait to see how you like it 👌
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It’s always interesting to read books with differing views. Isnt this by the same person who wrote My Best Friends Exocism? I’m probably going to read that one first, and if I like it I’ll devour all the books!
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Yess it’s him! That’s my next book from that author, heard some praise about that one too 🙂 And of course, that’s why we read and blog about books after all 🤩 so we can discuss about it !
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Yay, I havent lost my long term memory yet, haha!
For me, the cover on excorsicm reminded me of a super nintendo video game cover and if I remember correctly it’s either set in the 80s or 90s. Nostalgia is a huge driving force with me sometimes, and this year is kind of my catch up on things I want to read. I’ll definitely be diving in soon!
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Nostalgia is definitely one the driving forces hahah! And yess you got that memory right I also remember that cover very 80’s like 😂👌 Let me know how it goes!
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Oh, totally! That’s what had me rereading the entirety of the Abimorphs series.
I’ll definitely be posting about it once my immediate tbr dies down.
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I read it, absolutely loved it!
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Omg yess Liz!! So happy we share the same views ahha 🥰! What was your fave part of the book?
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Oh, geez, all of it? 😁 I think the Southern women are hard as nails, I loved their resilience and curtain vacuuming and going the whole way for their loved ones when it mattered.
I’ve read a couple Grady books and this one is by far my fave to date. The writing is sublime! That prologue is the best ever… It’s a masterpiece!
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I’ve never read his books before so this one was a great surprise for me 😍 And it makes me so happy to hear it’s your favourite to date. What was your fave from him before?
And YES the Southern Women were bad-asses, I love how we get to see the different vulnerabilities of each character as well. And the bond they have is just amazing. I would love to have neighbors who writes down suspicious cars numbers when they pass by😂
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Oh, I had this one added to my “wanted” list some time ago, but completely forgot about it, so thank you for reminding me!!!! 🙂
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This is one I’ve been looking forward to reading. Always nice to see a new take on vampire tales. Another by the author I’d like to try is Horrorstör.
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Thank you for this suggestion, I’d definitely look up Horrostor 😀 And I hope you enjoy Souther’s Book Club Slaying to Vampires. It’s my first novel from the author and I was greatly impressed!
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I tried listening to this book on audio and I couldn’t stand the voicing of it! Maybe I should give the actual book a try because I’d hate for the narrator to ruin a good book for me.
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Oh no haha! Yeah if the narrator doesn’t go with the flow, it’ll be hard for me to follow the story as well. Yes, you should give the book a try and I will await thoughts on it 🙂
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This has been on my TBR since last year, reading your review makes me think I will have to get my hands on a copy soon! It sounds like a really interesting vampire novel.
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I absolutely ADORED this book! It’s probably my favourite Grady Hendrix novel. Have you read any of his other books? He’s got a fantastic non-fiction one called Paperbacks from Hell, which takes you on tour of the weird and wonderful world of 20th century pulp horror. I can’t recommend it enough!
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OMG YESS YOU LOVED IT TOO😍❤️ And no unfortunately that’s my first read from the author haha! Duly noted for Paperbacks from Hell, thank you for this suggestion I never had the chance to read it 🙏🤗
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I would very much like to read this one.
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I hope you get to it one day! It’s highly entertaining 😀
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I really need to check this one out. I’ve seen it around a lot and it keeps beckoning me lol. Thanks for this post, btw. Good stuff.
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