Horror isn't usually my thing but I found the murder mystery part of this story really entertaining especially with the surprise twists and turns. I found the romance side a bit irritating and unnecessary.

An atmospheric YA paranormal book to get your teeth into.
Mina and the Undead is the story of summer 1995 in New Orleans. There's a supernatural serial killer on the loose and a haunted house to tour. The pop culture references were great. And setting the story in a place which has historical spooky connections was a sublime idea.
But, I genuinely thought I was missing something at the beginning because the characters were introduced as though I already knew them. This is definitely supposed to a standalone or first in a series right?
Oh, and I did not like the instalove between two characters. I had only read two chapters and could already see that romance was probably inevitable.
It was a bit of an info dump at times too. I'm not fully satisfied with the ending either.
But, overall, this is a chilling and thrilling adventure that is a good introduction to gothic horror for teens and young adults.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this title. This was my honest review.

As a longtime fan of vampires, I knew once I started this book I was going to really enjoy it and I wasn’t let down! Set in 1995, with references that really set the tone and sold the setting, we’re transported to New Orleans as Mina visits her sister, and soon after everything starts to unfold onto them. It had fun movie references, suspense that had me refusing to put the book down and characters I got attached to so fast and wanted to watch succeed! What I didn’t expect was how much the twists got to me, how shocked I was at some reveals and the emotions I felt as the story progressed and we learned hard truths about characters I had come to love.

I genuinely came so close to real tears over this book, but they stopped and all I had was my heart clenching as I read on. I loved this book in its entirety, being pulled in from the first page. I’m a character driven reader most of all, and the characters had me hooked so fast with how developed they were within a fast story, and how natural they felt. Just *chefs kiss* to this whole book.

Oh I absolutely loved Mina and the Undead, it combines family and relationship issues with a great dollop of mystery in a light-hearted style reminiscent of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Set in New Orleans, a serial killer is re-enacting historical murders which appear to be linked to Mina and Libby, sisters from Whitby. Libby works at a haunted house, taking tourists through scenes of horror, murder and vampirism... New Orleans is the home of Lestat after all... and this is also the setting for the first new murder. The sisters and their friends are relatable teens, with complex backstories that add depth to their characters, it is no surprise given their names that their own mom, Emma was obsessed by vampires. Emma herself vanished a few years earlier, leaving the girls with an aunt. There is plenty of action, romance and mystery to keep you turning the pages and I sincerely hope that a second book will be coming out soon.

This was such a fun and captivating YA paranormal read that has definitely got me in the mood for allll of the vampire and supernatural fiction.

We delve right into the plot from page one, with Mina arriving in New Orleans to spend some time with her semi-estranged older sister Libby. Right away we accompany Mina on a tour of the mansion and it gave me flashbacks to an interactive tour I went on a few years ago so that was fun but also creepy.

There was so much mystery and intrigue, which had me suspicious of every single character. I feel that there were a couple of red herrings planted which I think was super clever of Amy but also you couldn’t help but use your knowledge of horror films and other books to try and guess who the killer might be. I’ll be honest in saying that I didn’t actually have a solid guess as to who it was!

All of the characters were well fleshed out and interesting, which made my second guessing that much more difficult! I loved Mina and Jared’s relationship; it was mutually respectful but you could totally feel the chemistry. Mina and Libby had a difficult relationship but I enjoyed seeing this develop throughout the book, and Libby’s girlfriend Della was like another sister to Mina which was super heartwarming.

I loved the nods to classic horror movies and life in the 90s, particularly the music! It was as if I’d stepped right back into that decade and it felt like it was done effortlessly by Amy. Another element of Amy’s writing I enjoyed was the use of words linked to death, forever reminding us of the supernatural creepiness in this book. For example, Mina’s wig one night was “beyond resuscitation”.

This was a fast paced horror read which had me second guessing all of my thoughts throughout. It was YA for sure but I’d say on the upper end of the scale, as there was some strong language used and lots of gore and bloody

I can’t wait for everyone to sink their teeth into this debut novel and I would most definitely read what Amy publishes next!

Vampires have always been part of Mina's life, growing up in Whitby (which inspired at least some of Stoker's Dracula) with a (now estranged) mother seemingly obsessed by them too. But they can't be real...can they?

It's summer 1995 and Mina is headed to stay with her sister Libby in New Orleans, hoping she might stay more permanently if things work out...but will they survive the summer?

Libby works at a haunted house style attraction giving interactive horror-movie-inspired tours full of thrills, where Mina hopes to join the team,and she's arriving just in time for 'Fang Fest' in the city too. Roommate Jared seems to love a good ghost story just as much as she does and is full of local myths and urban legends (oh, and he's gorgeous too - well, of course he is!) And then there's the recent spate of murders which seems to be getting closer and closer to home...

As someone who grew up loving Point Horror, American Gothic and the like (not to mention pretty much all the vampire films referenced in the book) I know teen me would have devoured this; a group of cool, independent older teens at the centre of a vsmpiric murder mystery with a bit of Gothic romance thrown in for good measure. Yes please.

Creepy, full of twists, cleverly plotted and achingly retro this has it all - angst, family issues and romantic tension in amongst blood bars, crime scenes and graveyards. A lover, a suspect, a dead friend, a missing mum, a strangely accurate psychic... and of course vampires. This has everything a horror-loving, YA fan could want!

It's also packed to the rafters with 90s pop culture references that I'm not sure how many teens will get (as if they weren't even born then - it wasn't that long ago!), but that I loved! They had me reliving my youth in the best way and, even if you don't fully get them or know them well, they definitely added to the story's atmosphere and authenticity.

4/5 stars

Mina and the Undead is enjoyable, tense and thrilling - I had to know what was going to happen next.

This book is about Mina (obviously), a seventeen-year-old who goes to New Orleans from England to visit her estranged sister Libby, but before long, she discovers that someone has been replicating New Orleans' supernatural killings and the race is on to discover the truth and prove her sister's innocence.

I'm certainly not your biggest horror and vampire reader, but I definitely enjoyed this book and would recommend it for fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer because it is on the same lines of this. The writing is good for a debut, and the plot and the twists in this book definitely kept me engaged. Also, and this is something I must add, the reveals at the end I didn't predict, which is always something I like to compliment books for doing because I'm pretty good at guessing reveals in books like this one. When the story picked up and more started to happen to the characters and to the plot, I was very eager to find out what was going to occur next and who the overall killer would be, because it's not as predictable as I thought it would be. Yes, I did see some of it coming, but again, I am good at predicting plot twists, but overall it was a very enjoyable book and I would recommend it to people who enjoy this sort of thing. For someone who doesn't read a lot of this sort of thing but wants to, I would say that this is quite a good place to start.

I will certainly be picking up a physical copy when this book comes out in April.

Mina arrives in New Orleans to visit her sister for the summer, and she can’t believe her luck when she gets a part-time job working at the same house of horrors her sister works at, what a dream! But when Mina stumbles across the body of a girl with puncture marks on her neck, it might all become a nightmare…

It’s about time scary Vampires made a comeback, and this is the book to do it!

After the disappearance of their mum, Mina’s sister Libby decided to go to University in America instead, and the physical distance has caused them emotional distance as well. Arriving to stay with her for the summer, Mina hopes that they can repair their relationship as well as having a great time.

Things get off to a good start, Libby’s friends are nice and Mina secures a job at the Mansion of the Macabre – a walk-through horror experience featuring scenes from classic horror films – but soon take a turn for the worst when Mina stumbles across a dead body in the mansion. A very real one. With the bodies piling up and weird occurrences that keep on happening around the sisters and their friends, Mina finds herself in a race against the police to solve this mystery before they point the finger at the wrong person.

Amy has assembled a brilliant cast of characters, they’re a really interesting and distinct ensemble of friends, and she gives us the time to get to know each of them.

I really enjoyed the New Orleans setting and the story revolving around a vampire festival; I am an absolute wuss who would love to go to New Orleans but not to engage with any of these terrifying goings on (I could just about muster something like a graveyard tour and that’s it) so it was a lot of fun to read about these spooky, gory goings-on from the comfort of my own sofa.

At different points along the way I suspected every one of Libby’s friends – and Libby herself! The mystery unfolds to point the finger at each of them, right up to the final reveal.

Packed full of 90’s horror references, this book is a great trip through New Orleans and I really hope there’s a sequel! Just the book to, ah, sink your teeth into.

Set in New Orleans, Mina and the Undead feels atmospheric and dangerous. I sped through it, loving the 90s setting and all the horror and slasher movie references and didn’t see any of the twists coming. This book is fun, scary, and entertaining all at the same time. I was so sad when it all came to an end and keeping my fingers crossed for a sequel.
Loved it.

I really enjoyed this YA horror which took me back to my 90's teen days when I devoured every teen horror book that came out.
And what a lovely treat it was that this was set in the 90's and filled with nostalgia (bath pearls...remember them? Why are they no longer a thing?)
It wasn't just the nostalgia making me carry on turning the pages though, the plot and writing are strong and I look forward to reading more from Amy McCaw in the future.

Thank you for giving me the chance to read and review this!! I was so excited when I saw it through a Booktube channel

This is a perfect nostalgia story for fans who lived through the Buffy and Angel era and it definitely is a book to get you out of a slump!

We’re following Mina as she travels from Whitby to New Orleans as she visits her sister, who’s gone to the states for college. She manages to get a part time job at the same horror movie haunted mansion her sister works at and from her first shift trouble begins.....

It’s definitely an easy fast paced read which won’t take much brain power but leaves you wishing there was a sequel. Mystery, teen romance and all things spiky toothed!!

hank you to NetGalley for providing me with this eARC in return for an honest review.

This YA novel is a nostalgic treat for anyone who is a fan of the horror genre, with lots of references to
well known films and books. This novel is set in the 1990s, and follows our protagonist, Mina, originally from Whitby in England, where the ship transporting Dracula came to land, on her adventures in New Orleans. Mina is visiting her older sister, Libby, who is living & working in New Orleans while studying.

There’s a tension in the sisters’ relationship, relating to their absent mother, and Mina is desperate to try and regain their previous closeness.

Libby has a part time job working in a haunted house style attraction, a horror movie mansion where each room is recognisably themed. Mina is ready to fall in love with New Orleans and is thrilled to meet Libby’s friends and colleagues. Everything is wonderful...until she finds the dead girl.

There are mysteries to solve, potential peril around every shadowed corner, and a very beautiful boy to lust after.

Overall I thought this book worked well, there were a couple of weak points towards the end but perhaps the author is considering making this into a series. Not all loose ends need to be tidied away.

#LGBTQRepresentation #horror #YA

I thought this book was average for a teen vampire romance, I could tell where the inspiration came from. Sometimes the similarities made the read a bit dry, but the murder mystery kept it going. I would say that the characters were a little two dimensional and could've been developed a bit more. Some of the reveals came out of nowhere and had near to no grounding in the rest of the book. I guessed the fate of Mina and Libby's mother from the first page, so the reveal at the end was not too exciting for me. The ending left me in the air a bit. I felt like there was meant to be more as the final two chapters were very rushed to get the final plot points in. I would recommend it for teenagers who have a thing for Twilight.

Horror is totally up my alley so this was a book I really wanted to read. But I wound up having trouble from the start.

I don't know if it was the mood I was in but I just struggled so much. Mostly with the writing style. It read to me like younger teens could enjoy it, which isn't a bad thing, it just wasn't working with the sort of book I was hoping for.

This is definitely still a book I'd recommend. Just not one for me.

ATTENTION BUFFY FANS! Mina And The Undead is a fabulous 90s-set horror perfect for young adults but also slightly - ahem - older readers who grew up on a diet of Buffy, the Lost Boys, Interview With The Vampire and Elvira.

Yorkshire-born Mina travels to New Orleans to mend her bond with her sister and check out Fang Fest, a local horror convention. But a string of murders soon makes her realise there's far more to New Orleans' dark history than cheap scares for tourists.

Mina and the Undead is packed with adventure, gory thrills, action and a main character you're really rooting for. The New Orleans setting is atmospheric and made me long to go there - looking forward to the next story from Amy McCaw, I really enjoyed this one.

This was a quick okay read for me. I liked the mystery element and the setting of New Orleans was so good. I wasn’t sure about the supernatural element and it didn’t work for me personally. The whole vampires thing was a little strange and I would have preferred it if the supernatural element wasn’t involved. The characters were okay, I didn’t really connect to them and I found the romance really annoying. The writing was okay, I found it a quick read and there were parts that had me on edge. Overall this was just okay for me.

I knew I'd love this book and it didn't disappoint. It's right up my street and round the corner! Vampires. New Orleans. 1990s. Murder Mystery. As someone who LOVED Interview with the Vampire, this is the YA I've been waiting for. The characters are wonderful, the snippets of vampire stories are sublime, and the whole book is fun and pacy and packed with some fabulous pop culture references that had me smiling throughout. Big yes from me and I can't wait to see more from Amy McCaw!

This isn’t just another teen vampire story.
With lots of 80s film references and nods to other vampire stories, this is a YA thriller/mystery set in New Orleans.
While Mina is visiting her older sister Libby, the death toll around them starts mounting up. Who is the killer that appears to be recreating well known Murder scenes? Is it one of the girls flatmates, Libby’s creepy boss Thandie, or even one of the girls themselves? Or is the answer far more sinister?
I loved the pop culture references in this story, and found it hard to put the story down until I found out answers to all the questions.
An enjoyable read. I wouldn’t call it a horror, although there is blood and gore, it isn’t scary.

I saw this book everywhere on Twitter and because of that and because of the amazing cover, I had to read it. The synopsis sounds interesting, just good reviews on Goodreads, apparently it's a horror book and it has vampires. What can I ask for more?

But, after reading the book, well.... Apparently i could ask for more. I was ready for a horror book which it wasn't. For me it was more a thriller or a light horror. I'm a big fan of horror movies and stories so my expectations were high. I wanted more dark moments, twists and more blood.

But the story has some good parts too. What I really liked was the "old school" vampires references, not the ones who sparkle in the light. And that it's not about a teenage love where she wants to become a vampire to live forever with the love of her life.

I really wanted to love this book, but unfortunately it wasn't for me. However this doesn't meen you will not enjoy it. You should try it if you like vampires and dark secrets.

YA horror novels set in the eighties and nighties continue to hit the market at speed, with Amy McCaw’s Mina and the Undead the latest example. Set in New Orleans, seventeen-year-old Mina joins her sister in the city for the summer, visiting from Whitby in the UK and hooks up with Libby’s friends and is quickly sucked into a murder mystery after a young woman is killed at the house of horrors, Mansion of the Macabre, where her sister’s cute flatmate Jared works. Her sister is quickly pegged as a suspect and the reader realises that there have been other similar killings and the police are struggling for suspects.

Vampire obsessed Mina was an engaging lead character as she negotiates spending time with her sister’s friends. The supernatural angle was an interesting one and although the vampire story is not introduced properly into the action, the reader could see it coming and I found them rather uninspiring. These types of novels always seem to have the need to continually namecheck the likes of Buffy and The Lost Boys, with Mina and the Undead going one step further by making Ann Rice’s Interview with the Vampire’s Mina’s favourite book. She is also dealing with the disappearance the previous year of her mother and it was so obvious she was going to reappear. Mina and the Undead was a very easy and undemanding read, which although it was fun, would have been better if it toned down the vampire cliches.