Bloodlust & Bonnets

by Emily McGovern

• ISBN10: 1449497470
• ISBN13: 9781449497477
• Publish Date: 17 September 2019
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Andrews McMeel Publishing
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 216
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Bloodlust & Bonnets is a new graphic novel by Emily McGovern (my life as a background slytherin). Released 17th Sept 2019 by Andrews McMeel, it's 216 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats.

This is a fun mashup/satire of class and gender warfare, vampire fighting (with Lord Byron, you know, from books), immortal vampire cults, giant psychic eagles, and low slapstick comedy. There's also a somewhat inept talking castle (named Castle). The art is minimalistic (see cover) and the author/artist's ability to convey emotion and character motivation in the slightest line-shift is impressive.

It is irreverent and bloody (vampires, yo) and full of groan-worthy puns and lots and lots (and lots) of sporran jokes. The art is 'net-comic' style, with computer drawn, textured, and lettered graphics and suits the story well. My youngest (university aged) minion and I agreed that it was a ripping yarn with great (if silly) characters and a lolloping plot.

I can't find anything about which to object. It's funny and violent and very bloody. With sporrans. Readers who object to puns (or fun) will likely find it hard going. I heartily wish the author/artist/creator the brightest of futures and a successes.

Five stars

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

[llamareads]

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.

[Quirky Cat]

I received a copy of Bloodlust & Bonnets through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Have you ever seen those comics floating around online, the ones titled My Life As a Background Slytherin? Well, Emily McGovern is the brain and artist behind that series, and she’s just about to release her first graphic novel!
If you’re a fan of the humor within her webcomics, then I assure you that you’ll enjoy Bloodlust & Bonnets. The humor is spot-on for what I expected from Emily McGovern – a cross between whimsical and insane.
Bloodlust & Bonnets is a fun twist on classic Romantic literature…with vampires. But that’s part of what makes it so much fun! The graphic novel is set in the 1800s in Britain. But nothing is quite as it seems, or that you would expect.
If you’re looking for a series that contains British humor, hilarious and sometimes inane moments, vampire hunting, quirky characters, and characters not sure about their sexuality, then Bloodlust & Bonnets is the tale for you.


Bloodlust & Bonnets is Emily McGovern’s first graphic novel – and she nailed it. I really do mean it when I say that fans of her webcomic series are going to love this one. I know I did! It was fun and silly and odd, everything I had hoped it would be and then some.
The series is about an odd trio of characters odd on an epic vampire hunt. Only their motives are suspect, and nothing ever seems to go according to plan. The end result is a chaotic adventure full of entertainment for the readers.
Lucy is a unique debutant, to put it lightly. She hunts vampires, though perhaps her new career path was more a strange series of coincidences than anything else. Not that we blame her for going on a murderous rampage in that time in history or anything…
Meanwhile the first of her companions, Lord Byron is more or less exactly what you can expect. He’s a man who thinks a little too much of himself and a little too little of everyone around him. He’s every male romantic trope rolled into one. Only he hunts vampires. Because…well that’s for you to find out, I guess.
Sham is the third character on this little journey of ours, and perhaps my favorite of the three. Well, maybe second favorite, I do adore Lucy. Sham is the polar opposite of the first two. For one thing, they seem to actually know what they’re doing. I adored Sham and all of the little jokes that revolved around their character.
The plot itself was quite funny, with lots of quips and inane humor thrown into the mix. I loved all of the jumps between locations and events – it seemed just as scattered as our set of characters. So it was actually quite perfect.
The tone is very similar to that of My Life As a Background Slytherin, so I know fans of the series will love it. But maybe new fans won’t get it to quite the same level? Something to think about. And of course, the art style is very similar as well. Something that always makes me smile.
I absolutely loved Bloodlust & Bonnets, and can’t believe I got a chance to read it a little bit early. Sadly, now I have that much longer of a wait to see what Emily McGovern does next.


For more reviews check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[paperbackjedi]

I really enjoyed this. I've always loved the My Life as a Background Slytherin comics and so when I saw this came from the same creator, I was excited to read it and it did not disappoint.

Bloodlust & Bonnets follows the exploits of Lucy, a hungry for adventure, rebellious (yet hilariously impressionable) girl who gets wrapped up in the antics of a vampire cult, Lord Byron-- yes that Lord Byron, the poet and rake extraordinaire, and Sham, a mysterious traveler with secrets who joins on their quest to hunt a high society vampire. The panels are simple and bright and very pleasing to the eye. The art matches the whimsical nature and overall humor of the story and I found it paired well with the underlying tone of the comic.

The story itself is just plain fun; it's a romp through history told through a paranormal lens with such witty cleverness that you will find yourself smiling the entire time you're reading. Lucy is such a relatable character, vacillating between a fierce insistence on independence while struggling with the idea of acceptance overall and how she can achieve it without losing anything in the process. Byron is... well, exactly what you'd expect. His character is a fantastic play on the actual poet, his ego being one of the more humorous points in the story, often regaling his companions with his dashing deeds while at the same time somehow endearing himself to his companions. And Sham, their newfound addition and mysterious mercenary, adds a note of intrigue and dry humor to level everything else out. Add in some slight touches of romance between the ladies (Lucy and Sham) and you have a delightfully sweet and silly concoction, perfectly balanced in the insanity.

Also, there's a psychic bird named Napoleon who has a link with Byron, a sentient castle with incredibly lax security, secret feuding vampire cults, and absolutely no talk of feelings. No seriously, feelings are terrible. No one should have them. Let's all avoid them. Except, not actually.. So really, what's not to love? The overall voice of Bloodlust & Bonnets comes through strong, pulsing with vibrant funny notes that will delight fans of both history and adventure.