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rachelasteen's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
leubanks19's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
caaleros's review
4.0
Certain Dark Things takes different vampire mythologies from many different culture to create a fascinating world in this neo-noir horror novel. Atl comes from a line of bird-women blood drinkers with origins in the Aztec Empire. When another vampire clan kills her family, she runs to Mexico City, a place where vampires are not welcome. Atl allies herself with Domingo, a garbage collector whose loyalty makes Atl think twice about killing him. With the enemy vampire clan, cops, and an anti-vampire group all after her, Atl and Domingo race to get out of the city alive. Silvia-Moreno’s story delivers complicated characters, a refreshing mythology, cinematic writing, and a setting that comes alive on the page.
*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.
*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.
kittykitcat's review
3.0
I certainly don’t regret reading this book. It has all the cool little vampire stuff you may expect if you’re a fan of vampire media. It also comes with a good lot of Native Mexican folklore, to add a welcome bit of variation to the formula.
That said, I think this book shows it’s age now. Silvia has clearly gotten better at writing. This book is not bad at all, but it falls into overdescription quite often. It wouldn’t be that bad if it were just about the stuff that will matter (vampire lore, powers, etcetera), but a lot of it doesn’t, so I wound up skipping pages a few times.
I will say the overall package is quite nice. There’s your daily dose of cool vampire shenanigans, alongside one of the best covers I’ve seen in a while. Seriously, props to whoever made it.
That said, I think this book shows it’s age now. Silvia has clearly gotten better at writing. This book is not bad at all, but it falls into overdescription quite often. It wouldn’t be that bad if it were just about the stuff that will matter (vampire lore, powers, etcetera), but a lot of it doesn’t, so I wound up skipping pages a few times.
I will say the overall package is quite nice. There’s your daily dose of cool vampire shenanigans, alongside one of the best covers I’ve seen in a while. Seriously, props to whoever made it.
c_morning's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
youngthespian42's review against another edition
4.0
This is a fun Vampire gang war type book. I think I still like Mexican Gothic a bit more but this is still this author in strong form. There is some light romance elements but it’s nothing like twilight and the relationship develops naturally.
dubtek5000's review
5.0
I really loved this book. The story has rich character development and unique vampires, which are rare these days. The plot also contains a huge amount of action and twits and turns, keeping the reader engaged at all times. I would totally recommend this book to a friend.