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'The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires' is a lot of morbid fun. I, especially, liked this dramatized version. There was a full cast and sound effects. While some readers didn't see the feminism, I thought it was a theme throughout the book. 4 stars.

3.75⭐
Sure, the slow-burning plot burned a little too slowly, and the characters were unlikable…but this book is wild AF. Super-graphic-nasty scenes, shit-tastic husbands, shady deals, one bat-shit crazy grandma, a book club that likes to read trashy crime novels (what's wrong with that?), and one deplorable vampire are just some of what you'll find within these pages. All that, and it still manages to be funny, too.⬇️⬇️⬇️

I picked this up thinking it was a lighter, amusing story with some mild horror. That was a bit of a mistaken assumption on my part!

This book not only had serious emotional impact, it also touched on a lot of weighty issues like gaslighting, emotional manipulation, and abuse.

It also had a couple of scenes that are not for the faint of heart or squeamish!

I laughed, I cried, and I even yelled at the narrator. 100% recommend!

Even though Hendrix styles The Southern Book Club‘s Guide To Slaying Vampires as a horror-comedy, as he has done with his other novels, it‘s actually a novel of surprising depth and insight. That‘s not to say it‘s not scary or gruesome. So, if you‘re up for a complex, horrifying read with comedic elements, this is the book for you. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/the-southern-book-clubs-guide-to-slaying-va...

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
I've only recently discovered Grady's books but I am OBSESSED. I couldn't put this one down - I mean what's not to love when it involves vampires and book clubs.
✅ well-developed characters (loved it being told from the pov of "house wives")
✅ a ted bundy-like vampire
✅ good mix of laughter and angst
❌ I actually wish there was a second book

REHOMING 📚 I need to make some room on my shelves so I'm giving away books! If you would like me to send anything in this stack to you, please comment below. *US only per my postal budget 🙏

Grady Hendrix‘s books are always fun & this is no exception. I feel we are kindred spirits in a way & he really gets my obsession with true crime. 😆 This is a fun vampire romp set in the south in the early 90s against the backdrop of a book club who has eschewed the usual stuffy book club picks & embraces trashy true crime from the 80s & 90s. My kind of people! 😆 4⭐️

#audiobook
#horror
#vampires
#GradyHendrix
#bookclub

I irritated my spouse and confused my teen and the cats by staying up very late to finish this one. It's not that it's spectacular, but I did find it gripping, and I just didn't feel like stopping reading. Yes, the men in this are all douchebags (at best), and it is annoying how much the women put up with, but it feels not-untrue to me the way that people contort themselves to meet expectations and to try to stave off rejection.

What a romp!! I had such a good time reading this book, which is about vampires and book clubs, but also about racism, caste, patriarchy, and the power of women's friendships. It got kind of silly and gross at the end, but it didn't take away from a thoroughly enjoyable novel!

This book made me shout multiple times. Love it when a group of women battle the patriarchy and vampires in the same book.

#12booksof24 @Andrew65

"Once you've washed a man's underwear you realize the sad truth about 'hidden depths'" - Kitty

Man, the characters in this book are lively!!!!! ???

By far the best Grady Hendrix in my opinion, so far I tried my best friends exorcism and how to sell a haunted house which I dnf‘ed. SBCGTVS romps along it‘s a fast pasted horror but not to scary or disturbing and not really gruesome until the end , a perfect 👌 Halloween 🎃 read & I thoroughly enjoyed it. More spooky 👻 reads please

Thank you @PuddleJumper , Team #Flerken, #HauntedShelf, #Spookoween, and @TheSpineView for encouraging more reading in a busy month!
I didn‘t reach my lofty goal of 6 books, but I got 1 book read that‘s been on my shelf for awhile, 1 book read for book club, & took a big bite out of Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix. I read enough of an ARC to write a review, & enjoyed an essay related to an art exhibit seen this month. +2 new authors to 🧡!

Turns out having 4 days of stomach flu is good for 1 thing: finally finishing some books for Team #Flerken!
I started this earlier in the month when I got my book tattoo. It was so good 4 hours of needles on my skin went fast. I ironically had to put it aside to read a book for book club. Maybe fortunately bc it is also a nice distraction for stomach flu. This book had me flipping pages fast and shouting No! F*c&! And Aah!
📕🧛🏻‍♂️📕🧛🏻‍♂️📕

Dusting all my shelves is helping with the Book Scavenger Hunt for #HauntedShelf. Orange. +15. #DeadSerious

I really really wanted to like this book. I loved the first 1/3 but I literally couldn‘t make it last the half way mark.

Ready to start reading tomorrow

Total shock just now when I finished tagged book and my screen burst into confetti ... I had no idea I was so close to completing my reading challenge 😅🎉

That's one down for my #HauntedShelf TBR 🖤🐈‍⬛ 46 pts #BlackCatCrew
@BookwormAHN

This was cute- just a like not a love. #30 #2024

#HauntedShelf #BlackCatCrew

@BookwormAHN My #BookScavengerHunt pick for #Blood 16 pts

Listening to this while I clean up the utter mess my toddler made this morning lol Gotta love nap time

Patricia and her book club love reading murder mysteries and horror books. But her community starts to question that choice when she starts being suspicious of their new neighbor James Harris around the town‘s children. Stretched over three years of turmoil, accusations, Patricia is faced with keeping the peace or losing the life she‘s build. Definitely one to read if this is your genre but not my cup of tea

I hated this book. Everything made it sound like a dark comedy… so far from the truth.
Every single man in this book sucked.
For people who have read a ton of true crime, Patty and her friends did so many things wrong.
The book club was pretty negligible to the plot.
It dragged horribly in places.
The men were literally the worst.

I really liked this one! It was a page-turner with lots of twist and turns. I have seen in some other reviews people not liking the main female characters, but personally I loved them. I thought they were very well written as real people. They were frustrating sometimes, but they didn‘t seem helpless to me. Something I didn‘t like was the multiple SAs in the plot - they did not feel necessary, but just for shock, which I didn‘t like.

Starting this next 😃🎧 #cloudlibrary

The pacing and quirky writing style was engaging. The treatment of the housewives in this novel was terrible and the men in this book ranged from irritating to downright disgusting. I can't say I enjoyed the multiple SAs in this book, but aside from that, the horror element was handled really well. The ending feels unsatisfying because the threat was dealt with but wasn't permanently ended. I still can't tell if the SA was *REALLY* necessary--

#Bookreport

📚Currently reading:

📕A Feast for Crows
📕The Goblin Emperor
📙The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires

Progress:

Finished Dr. Moreau and a short story this week. Made some progress with the tagged book. Hoping to get through it faster this upcoming week. Hoping to hop back into TGE and the rest this upcoming week as well.

#TuesdayTunes
There are a couple decades in between my two most recent favorite albums, and they are not remotely similar except both were clearly labors of love. I also enjoy albums where every song doesn't sound the same - there's a lot of variety in both of these.
Thanks for starting this @TieDyeDude - I'm always curious what people are listening to 🎶

I ended my Goodreads Challenge with a book about vampires. The story is not what I expected. I guess I was a bit disappointed by that. It satisfied the criteria for a horror novel but I hated the husband more than I disliked the antagonist. Over all, the story was okay. I really liked the ending though. #thesouthernbookclubsguidetoslayingvampires #gradyhendrix

This man knew exactly what to do. I swear the husbands in this book are so naive. #thesouthernbookclubsguidetoslayingvampires

I like this character for now. I have a feeling that my opinion on him may change, but he also sounds kind of cute if he turns out to be some type of vampire, that would be hilarious.

I really like the 90s references.

So I enjoyed this and found the phrasing different making it a good read. It‘s not a typical vampire book and I really liked that aspect. It has that stepford wives perspective with a vampire in the mix… interesting and enjoyable… Although I would have enjoyed it more with some strong female attitude as it was more go along with the flow rather than take charge of the situation still enjoyable.

Starting this now 🧛🏻‍♀️

Well, this was interesting. I didn‘t really relate to the characters, but enjoyed the story. I know this was set in the 90‘s, but the way the women were treated seemed more 60‘s to me. Very gory, which I find oddly fascinating. Will probably read more of Grady Hendrix.
#TBRDeckofcards. #CastTheDie

I couldn't relate to characters and I hated how husbands treated their wives. I think my problem with this book was that this was concentrating on housewives' every day problems and fights and not on vampires. This wasn't a horror story for my taste.

I loved the writing style though!

#SummerEndReadathon

🏳️🏳️🏳️
Ok...I'm sad to say I'm bailing on this one..but my reasoning is def a me thing!
The writing is great!! So great, in fact, the descriptions of certain scenes are making me sick 🤢
Hendrix can write a relatable, likeable character, a believable and lush setting..but his excellent writing makes his horror verrrrrrryy hard to stomach. I cringed, I gagged, and I only made it to page 75.

(Continued 👇)

Ok, Spooky Season....let's go!

Gotta start early to squeeze all the books I want to read in!

🎃

I'm still collecting my thoughts on this one. It's propulsive and entertaining, but I'm not sure how I feel about the ending.

“She‘d had a left earlobe all her life and suddenly, it was gone. It felt like a friend had died.” I‘m sorry but that is one of the funniest sentences I‘ve ever read.

I loved this book. It was fun, scary, gory, and fantastic. It had all the elements to keep you wanting more, with a not so subtle reminder that classism, racism, and sexism are still very much alive and well in America.

This was an entertaining quick read. The pacing was perfect for this story. When a newcomer starts causing problems, the women of the book club must come together and overcome their traditional roles and expectations to put a stop to it. Very suspenseful and certainly gory in some spots.

I would love to be part of a book club that picks monthly themes, rather than a specific book. I think it would be so interesting to chat about a broad theme within the framework of a bunch of books that handle that theme differently. Plus, its a great way to hear about more books! I don't have the social energy to start a book club, but if this exists and u know of it, please let me know 😅

Omg this book was gnarly and gory. Bored housewives with shit husbands have a book club. New guy comes to town, rich, hot, but he‘s a vampire and he‘s spotted in the poorer, Black neighborhoods, where kids are going missing or brutally unaliving themselves. This book was quite a surprise & went so many places I didn‘t expect &maybe it didn‘t need to. Not sure how I feel about it, need to think. TW: SA, gore, suicide, systemic racism, sexism etc

Starting this one today. Not very holiday but oh well.

This story really grows its characters into becoming strong women and breaking the 'house wife' stigma.

Understanding this book was set back in the 1990's, I'm glad that it showed those stereotypes in a way that demonstrates how terrible and demeaning they are, while still throwing a fun twist on it as these women go outside their comfort zones to protect their families and their community.

#vampires #thriller #horror

This is one of the oddest vampire books I've ever read.
It was not bad, but not my favourite. It was a quick read though, i read it in two days.
The husband's are all the worst.

Bk14 of #Scarathlon #readathon is done! I finished this yesterday but not posting till now, so can‘t count it for the #20in4 which I‘ll be starting now. This was a so-so for me as the “do as your husband commands” part really p***ed me off, but the rest was pretty good. I loved the narrator though. #WordSearch #BodyCountBingo #LittenListenBingo #PromptMaze #31x31 #Spookaween #Pointsathon #WickedWords #BookspinBingo👇#TeamSlaughter 3,876pts

"He's a vegetarian, I don't think I've ever met one of those before."
?

I have read that there is some racism in this, but then I saw that Bahni Turpin did the audio book, so I am going in with caution.