Reviews with content warning for War - Vampires of El Norte

Reviews tagging 'War'

Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas

121 reviews

nightmarebees's review

medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

NOTE: don’t go into this expecting full gothic horror. it’s about 20% that, and 80% historical romance. that being said, i THOROUGHLY enjoyed this, and felt like the tone for how spooky it was gonna be was set pretty early on, so i made sure to adjust my expectations, getting more invested in nena and néstor than in potential dread and suspense.

and boy howdy, what a pair they are. i’m biased personally bc i adore childhood friends to lovers, particularly “childhood friends who had a weird falling out but then reunite and oh no they’re hot.” this is certainly a play on the miscommunication trope, but i honestly feel like it was so well executed to give both characters believable reasons rather than arbitrary angst for the sake of prolonging them getting together. néstor was a stupid 13 year old who thought the man who controlled his life was gonna hurt him and his only friend who could protect him from that was gone. nena especially is valid in feeling abandoned and frustrated with néstor upon his return: from her perspective, even if he thought her dead, he got to run off and cavort in freedom while she had the cage of the eldest daughter built around her. their tension is excellent, the forced proximity on their journey is excellent, their dual POV gives each side so much more depth. 5 stars for the romance.

the horror aspect WAS a bit underwhelming, but it feels to me like that was more of a marketing issue than anything else. i would’ve liked the titular vampires to have more time on page, but i’m not mad at the end result.

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lefthandlou's review against another edition

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

I really liked the setting of this story and the lyricism of much of the writing. Other than that, this is just a (bad) love story packaged as a horror story. The titular vampires actually appear very little, and most of the book is just a lot of internal monologuing by the characters, which got really boring really quickly. I feel like more and more books are falling into the “extensively narrate the character’s thoughts” trap, and I’m cranky about it. I also don’t like being bamboozled: this was marketed as a horror book, but it is not. It is 100% a romance with vampire curtains. Could have been a good book, but alas. If romance masquerading as fantasy is called romantasy, what is this? Hormance? Ugh. I was so excited to read this, too. Will still probably give her other book a try.

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kaneebli's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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apple_atcha_reading's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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megasis487's review

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

A spontaneous read on my part that I thoroughly enjoyed. The characters are what made the book shine as well as miss Cañas writing ability of detailed metaphor that really brought her world to life. There were parts that had me a restless nervous wreck, that tore my heart in two, and also made me swoon. What a wonderfully crafted story.

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ttorisaurus's review

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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kirstenw13's review

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

An absolute 5 star read for me. Both story and language were beautifully written. The characters were lovable, their conflicts felt real and raw. The mystical element of vampires set against the love story set against the mexican american war. Wow. 10/10 would read again. I want to have it on my bookshelf.

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yvo_about_books's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

5.0

Finished reading: June 28th 2024

“Don't you always. He did. Porque así fue la suerte. Nothing worth wanting came easy; nothing worth wanting was ever given to men of dust and sweat.”

I'm honestly still speechless. It's no secret that I'm usually allergic to vampire stories, but after being blown away by The Hacienda I decided to take a gamble and add Vampires Of El Norte to my TBR anyway. I absolutely loved Isabel Cañas' writing style in her debut, and I had high hopes that this alone would be enough to help me forget about my aversion towards fanged creatures. Not only did this happen, but this might actually be the first time I end up giving a vampire story the full five stars. What an absolutely stunning and simply glorious read! Vampires Of El Norte is part historical fiction, part romance and part supernatural horror, with a war and family drama thrown in to add even more dept. The historical Mexican setting is sublimely done, and it truly transports you to the 1840s and a turbulent time in Mexico. The writing itself is vivid and stunning, and I basically knew this book was going to get the highest rating after just a couple chapters. This also has a lot to do with both main characters Nena and Néstor, who were able to win over my heart almost immediately. Vampires Of El Norte uses a dual POV structure, switching between Nena and Néstor to give us a better idea what happens both when they are apart and together. The supernatural horror element is also extremely well done, and I loved how the curandera healing was incorporated into the plot. I'm honestly a bit lost for words as it is SO hard to write a review that does this story justice... If you enjoy well written historical fiction with a supernatural twist as well as a dose of romance and don't mind things getting dark and twisted, I cannot recommend Vampires Of El Norte enough.

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dmrosenblatt's review

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adventurous emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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sydapel's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

It really pains me to say it, but this absolutely did not work for me. Based on other reviews I had seen, I was anticipating something much more fantasy based, rather than historical fiction with a touch of paranormal. The writing style also felt overly descriptive for what I think what meant to feel like a fast paced thrilling adventure, and personally I did not find either main character worth rooting for. If a spooky historical fiction and the childhood friends to long lost lovers trope works for you, then absolutely pick this up, but a miss from me.

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