Reviews with content warning for War - Vampires of El Norte

Reviews tagging 'War'

Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas

122 reviews

kate_arts's review

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

I really enjoyed the Hacienda, but this book fell a little flat for me. I don’t think it’s a horror book at all and if that’s you’re reasoning for picking this book up then I don’t think you will enjoy it. I really enjoyed the parallels Cañas drew between the vampires and the yanquis. I also enjoyed pro working class, the wealth should be held by the people who do the work vibe the story took. I wish both of these themes were a bit more developed, but the foundation was definitely there. Cañas is a great writer overall and can turn a beautiful phrase.

I really didn’t like how obsessed with Nena Néstor was and I really didn’t like how Nena was very hot and cold with Néstor. Overall I think their relationship is very toxic and lacks substance beyond “well they are the perfect person in the world for me” or being possessive of the other person.

Content Warnings

nrogers_1030's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Really great spin on a vampire story.

Content Warnings

bessadams's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

boomwormbrittany's review

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

Vampires of El Norte follows Nena who is the daughter of a wealthy rancher in Mexico in the 1840's. When a mysterious illness starts to leave the men of the ranch sick, she races to try to find out what is causing the illnesses. But when war breaks out and an old friend, Néstor, returns to the ranch, they both find themselves tangled in a mystery bigger than them.
I really wanted to love this book because the premise really interested me but this didn't quite live up to what I was expecting. This book is labelled as a horror but felt more like a romance book with a touch of horror in it. If you were to take the horror out, it would be more of a romance which is not what I was expecting.
I thought the author did an amazing job with the romance and developing this friendship again after an event happens in the beginning of this book. I thought the strength was really in the characters and the way this book transported you to 1840's' Mexico. I really felt like I was there when I was reading this.
However, I just didn't feel the horror elements held up. The descriptions of the monsters in this was interesting to read about but it didn't really give horror to me. I think the strength in this is the historical elements and the romance elements which is what I wished was focused on this book more than trying to make the horror elements work.
Overall, if you want to try this book please do. I think that there will be those who like this but thsi wasn't my favorite.

Content Warnings

maebemerissa's review

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious 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? No

5.0

Spice level: .5/3
Listen. I heard "vampires in Texas," and immediately added it to my TBR pile. It is heavy on the romance side, but the threat of vampires definitely added to the tension of the book. While there were times where I got frustrated with Nina, I had to remember that she's a Mexican women...in the 1840's. Not a lot of options for women at the time (get married to a rich guy, that was the ONLY option). By the end of the novel she grows into a badass vampire slayer Buffy herself would be proud of. AND she has a MAN who backs her up. I was eating up the tension between Néstor and Nina. Like, literally wondering how this love story was going to end until the very end.

Content Warnings

americattt's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

4.25

“‘In case God forbid…’ He let the sentence trail off. God had nothing to do with it. Any belief in God that hid in Nestor’s breast was a fragile, translucent thing, a cloth so weak and worn that if you held it up to the sun, light would shine through it. The events of the day had all but shredded it.”

Content Warnings

eujenia_m's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-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

Content Warnings

vicktoreaux's review

Go to review page

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Content Warnings

danaaliyalevinson's review

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.75

A fascinating take on the Vampire legend set against the backdrop of the Mexican American War. Like all good vampire novels in which the vampire is a metaphor, here they were a metaphor for the loss of a way of life and American expansionist violence.

I will say, I wanted to like this one more than I did. I definitely liked it but I wanted to love it. It suffered from my biggest pet peeve: when most of the conflict arises from two characters seemingly deliberately refusing to communicate.

And this frustration was compounded by the fact that the book switched POVs between the two main characters who were deliberately not communicating so we were constantly getting inner monologue about said miscommunication from both sides. And for me I also found myself frustrated by the constant switching of POV when it was most often switching between the POV of two characters in a scene together. So it felt a bit unnecessary. There was nothing being revealed plot wise for the most part that the reader needed to see a different POV to understand. It could’ve just been written from an omniscient 3rd person or third person multiple which it basically already is, without distinguishing between POVs.

These frustrations did ease by the second half, and I'll say that the final act really saved the book for me. It was exquisite. The very very end was a bit too 'easy’ in my opinion, but generally the climax was incredibly well done.

Content Warnings

bcollent's review

Go to review page

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Absolutely loved this book. I usually don't like the miscommunication trope, but this was so well done. I loved the dual pov and the romance. The way the author describes the scenery makes me yearn for a place I can never visit.

Content Warnings

More...