Name: Bloodlust & Bonnets
ISBN: 9781449497477

Emily McGovern

From the creator of the hit webcomic My Life As a Background Slytherin comes a hilarious graphic novel pastiche of classic Romantic literature led by a trio of queer misfits--and several angry vampires. Set in early nineteenth-century Britain, Bloodlust & Bonnets follows Lucy, an unworldly debutante who desires a life of passion and intrigue--qualities which earn her the attention of Lady Violet Travesty, the leader of a local vampire cult. But before Lucy can embark on her new life of vampiric debauchery, she finds herself unexpectedly thrown together with the flamboyant poet Lord Byron ("from books!") and a mysterious bounty-hunter named Sham. The unlikely trio lie, flirt, fight, and manipulate each other as they make their way across Britain, disrupting society balls, slaying vampires, and making every effort not to betray their feelings to each other as their personal and romantic lives become increasingly entangled. Both witty and slapstick, elegant and gory, Emily McGovern's debut graphic novel pays tribute to and pokes fun at beloved romance tropes, delivering a joyous, action-packed world of friendship and adventure.

Bloodlust & Bonnets

Georgette Heyer meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer in this smart, funny graphic novel by Emily McGovern, the award-winning author of My Life as a Background Slytherin. The year is 1820, and bored young debutante Lucy knows there must be more to life than embroidery and engagements - no matter how eligible the bachelor might be. Some bachelors, she has discovered, are less 'eligible' than they are 'bloodthirsty,' however... literally. It turns out that there are a lot of vampires in late-Regency England, and Lucy has an eye for spotting them and the desire to rid the world of them. It's not long before Lady Violet Travesty, leader of a mysterious vampire cult, spots Lucy's talents and offers her a place amongst her vampire acolytes. Unfortunately, Lady Violent is most horribly slain by the famous Lord Byron before Lucy can accept. Lucy instead joins Lord Byron and his enormous, psychic eagle Napoleon in their ongoing fight against evils such as bloodsucking ghouls and bad taste. Before long they're joined by the mysterious Sham, an androgynous bounty hunter, who catches Lucy's eye. The trio lie, flirt, fight and manipulate each other as they make their way across Britain, disrupting society balls, slaying vampires, and making every effort not to betray their feelings to each other as their personal and romantic lives become increasingly entangled. A balm for the soul for readers who love Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate series, novels by Eloisa James and Jane Austen, and the action and adventure of Xena, Warrior Princess, Bloodlust & Bonnets is the most modern action-heavy love-story set two hundred years ago that you'll read this year.

Bloodlust and Bonnets

Revna

Connor 

this was everything I'd hoped and more in a completely whimsical, hilarious, over-the-top-and-aware-of-it way.

Lauren Sullivan

Wacky regency vampire queer shenanigans? OK, I’m in. And while this certainly delivers on all of the above, there’s not much else to it.

When Lucy – “I’m a spirited young lady flouting the gendered expectations of her time, but in a cute way!” – accidentally murders a vampire, she’s flattered to be invited into a “secret ancient immortal vampire cult” by the stylish Lady Travesty – that is, until Lord Byron (in a kilt and sporran no less) shows up, kills the vampire, and invites her to be his sidekick. Lucy can’t decide between being on a vampire hunting team with the narcissistic Lord Byron and intriguing Sham, or joining up with Lady Travesty and becoming a dashing seductive vampire in a fabulous dress (with pockets!).



First off, this is pretty hilarious. Besides the general send-up of regency tropes (there’s a ball! they go to Bath!), there’s a psychic eagle, a magical Scottish castle (named “Castle” of course), and a rich husband-murdering woman named BB, who’s probably my favorite character in the whole book. Plus, it’s a bit queer. Lucy’s bi – she kisses Lord Byron, but she’s more interested in Sham, who answers to she/her pronouns but when asked if she’s a girl or boy, answers “yes.” The art style is simple and cute and fits the tone of the book – especially the blood splatter that looked straight-out like MS Paint’s sponge brush – and the characters still manage to be expressive despite their only facial features being an eye and a unibrow.



As for the negatives, my main issue with the book was that it’s long – over 200 pages – and pretty much all of those 200 pages have a lot of text on them. The scene above – which I still think is pretty funny – is actually a mild example, as some panels were overwhelmed with text bubbles. I read an e-ARC in Adobe Digital Editions, and most panels were completely unreadable without a lot of constant zooming on my iPad, and it was only marginally better on my laptop. In addition, while part of the charm is that it’s rambling and the characters don’t stay on task (“let’s go to a ball! ooh, whiskey!”) by the time I was 100 pages in I was confused as to what the plot actually was.

Overall, I enjoyed it, but it was an overdose of wacky madcap humor for me. If that’s more your wheelhouse, I’m sure you’ll love this novel!

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Kendra Jones

I think I loved this even more the second time around

Mari

The start of this is a lot to take in. It jumps right into it and it can kinda be too confusing. But as you continue to read it, it gets to be SO MUCH FUN!!!!! 

The entire thing is poking fun at the stereotypes and it is really bizarre and overly done. But it is so much fun! The characters are so queer and I just loved the little dynamic and jokes thrown around.

Ariel Duke

This comic presents a charming heroine that is a great example of "girl power" in a very enjoyable and comedic fashion. I mean what could be better than vampires, witty humor, and 19th century England.

I had a hard time getting started because the beginning was vary jarring. You are thrown directly into the thick of things and it takes a little while to orient yourself to the world. That being said, the comedy in this comic pulled me in and kept me reading. The sheer amount of one liners and references to literary figures filled me with so much joy that I stopped worrying about the details related to the world and just wanted to read.

This is a great read for anyone that loves a good laugh and has an appreciation for books like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

Lydia Ford

Really enjoyed it, and it was my first graphic novel. So will definitely be reading more.
It was the perfect amount of light relief to distract me from things. And I could feel myself grinning throughout cause it’s such a cute and amusing story. Would definitely recommend if you need some light relief.

Nia C

IT'S ABOUT WHAT THE BREAD REPRESENTS! 

Lord Byron is Gilderoy Lockhart without the cunningness, lmao. 

3.5 stars! 

I enjoyed this one quite a bit. It's witty, charming and funny. I internally chuckled my way through several bits of the book and was thoroughly amused at how it poked fun at common tropes. Honestly, I'm not sure to explain why I liked this so much? It was delightful to read for the most of it. Although, it did take me longer than I thought it would to finish it; it's quite long for a graphic novel at 200-ish pages. It's got a lot of twists and turns and characters which make it quite interesting. 

Occasionally, it  did  feel like the book was trying a little too hard to be sarcastic/funny/relatable but honestly, I didn't mind that too much. 

I'm a huge fan of the My Life as a Background Slytherin comics and was quite thrilled to hear about a book from the creator and have to say, it definitely lived up to my expectations. 

Thank you Andrews McMeel Publishing on Netgalley for an e-arc! 

(Also, I understand the threat of book piracy, but locking books to just one device is really making it hard for some of us so please consider branding the books with the reviewer's name or allowing multiple devices, thank you!)