Mini Review Roundups #1: The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires, The Sun Down Motel,The Happy Ever After Playlist, Lady Hotspur

You know those books that you love — or just like — but don’t have a lot to say about? Yeah, me too!

Welcome to Mini Review Roundups! Here, I list a whole bunch of mini reviews in one place for your convenience!

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The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires

I really don’t know what I was expecting from this book – I picked it up because of the title. I mean, a Southern Book Club? And vampires? I was sold from the get-go.

I’d never read a Hendrix book before, so I was going into this book without any knowledge of him or his writing. I did see some reviews that said it was slow, but I do like a good slow paced book. I liked the writing of the book, and felt it flowed. It was slow paced. The build was very, very slow and I felt that it heightened the overall tension of the book as you got further along.

Another thing I’d like to comment on is the fact that the characters felt alive. They were amusing, annoying and aggravating in turns, but it added drama to the book when it was needed. It very much worked for me.

The plot was funny, and I think that much of this was also a type of character study to go along with what seems like a very strange plot! Yet somehow it all seemed to fit and work together in the best of ways.

Overall, this was a book I very much enjoyed and found fun for a diverting afternoon.

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The Sun Down Motel

This is one of the books that comes up on you unexpectedly. This book was recommended to be when I asked for paranormal/ghost stories on bookstagram. I am SO GLAD I picked this up because this book and I meshed really well, as it had all the things I could ever ask for in a ghost story.

It takes place in two times: past and present.

There is a mystery that has to be solved.

There are ghosts.

There is atmosphere.

It occurs in a liminal place: a motel.

I mean…it checked practically EVERYTHING. I was into this book from the first chapter to the last chapter. A review of this book is hard to write, because so much of it relies on tension and surprises throughout the book, and I loved that. I had never figured out what was going on until the end. I think it was so well done because it was leading you to that one point…

Suffice to say I highly enjoyed the book, and this is definitely a book I want to reread and see what I missed the first time that I read it. I feel like there were clues I should have picked up on…

Overall, I felt that this satisfied what book need I was looking to fill at the time. 

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The Happy Ever After Playlist

Things I wish I had known before I read this book: it was a sequel. Yup.

I still liked the book, but I HATE the angst subplot randomly stuck in the middle. Like, where can I just get a cute book without all the angst. Anyways, I thought it was adorable, and I liked the characters.

I mean…what else is there to say? This one didn’t blow my socks off, but it didn’t make me unhappy either. It was one of those fun afternoon pass me by books that I enjoy reading.

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Lady Hotspur

Gratton is going to be hit or miss for people. She is very wordy, very prose filled and the books are long and drawn out. Saying all that, I actually do like her stuff. I think she’s a great writer, and I always find myself immersed in her worlds.

I will admit, it had been a hot minute since I read Innis Lear, and when I picked this up it was something like a continuance of it. Suffice to say, I struggled remembering some of the older characters. It wasn’t a huge detriment however.

With Gratton’s works, I feel like you’re not supposed to always like the characters in the books. I feel as if they’re supposed to be almost terrible. Yet still redeemable. Anyways, I did like that the characters were all very multi-faceted. And there is A LOT of betrayal in this book.

There are also some great romance moments and friendship moments. There are some queer moments and some not so much, and well, this book should come with a whole bunch of warnings such as forced marriages of queer characters to people they don’t love etc. The way it is portrayed is well done though, but do be warned there could be some uncomfortable moments.

This book is mayhem. Also a lot of moments when you want to shake characters.

I enjoyed it. I really did. I love the world building Gratton does, I always get so engrossed.

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And that concludes my first mini reviews post! Have you read any of these? Did you like them?