The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires

Okay okay okay. 2.5 stars and many thoughts that I will list haphazardly here.

I would not have ever picked this up or even finished it if it was not for book club. Which I love that book club gets me out of my genre comfort zones. But Yuck! This was really gross. Made me squeamish. I do not like horror or blood or scary things at all and this was graphic.

I love a run on sentence when used as a literary device. But when a (Kindle, size 3 font) page only has 6 sentences on it total, it makes it hard to digest the story.

Speaking of the story. I think a lot about own voice; should stories be told only by individuals who have the same lived experiences as the characters they tell (yellowface I'm looking at you)? I think context does matter and play a role in that. So why the f did a man choose to write from the POV of a southern housewife? It made me feel icky to read those run on sentences about how she was such a chaotic mess when I knew they came from the keyboard of a man. But could have been relatable if written by a woman. What was his motive? That was such a weird thing for a man to write. (insert book club group chat text “He for sure fantasizes about being a vampire”)

I will say this. I was never bored. I was at 10% on my Kindle when I picked it up this morning, and read the last 90% today. So while the characters fell flat for me and I was reading with one eye closed and my hand clamped over my mouth, I did find myself curious as to what happened next.

The ending was rushed and a bit dissatisfying. There were some loose ends that didn't properly get tied up. I also would have loved the story to have been about a unified book club figuring out the mystery together. I can relate to book club being your support system and would have enjoyed that theme to be present throughout the whole story. I wish the black characters had been taken more seriously.

My personal rating system is that 3 stars and above is something I would recommend, and while I was engaged in this book, I don't think it's something I would tell someone to pick up. So 2.5 stars feels right for me.

All in all, this just solidified to me the that I should only read female authors (except Rick Riordan I will read anything he releases), that I never want to go to the south again, and that I am done with thrillers for the foreseeable future. Can't wait to discuss this in book club.