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crystalisreading's review
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Sexual content
cannibaldear's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Death, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
emilywemily6's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Sexual content and Slavery
caseythereader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Sexual content
emily_journals's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
That being said, I really loved this book. I got recommended this book, so I already knew that this was more of a romance than a horror and was fully prepared for that, which I think is what most people didn't love about it. This romance is so good. The yearning and the pining is done so perfectly and the introduction really builds a good foundation for this friendship to become more. I also think the horror elements were woven in really well. The horror elements in this book are really used to mirror the colonialism of Mexico and I thought the way the horror was used to amplify and mirror those themes was really expertly done.
I don't think this book will be perfect for everyone, but it was perfect for me and hit the perfect level of every element to make me eat it up. I'm immediately going to go read this author's other works.
Graphic: Sexism, Violence, Blood, Colonisation, War, and Classism
Moderate: Animal death, Gun violence, Medical content, and Abandonment
Minor: Sexual content
kaiyakaiyo's review
- 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
5.0
The romance was sweet, if a bit fade to black, but the true shine in this book was Nena (super badass), and the folklore. I am a slut for tales and creatures tied to a specific land or people. This delivered that many times over!
I am also a slut for supernatural creatures as metaphors for how white settlers destroyed and warped the land they stole. this book delivered that quite well. colonialism and environmental devastation are not unrelated; we’re seeing that right now with the species disappearing in hawaii, so I like when authors don’t shy away from it in historical fiction.
all in all a fun and surprisingly quick read! I didn’t mind the POV switches for once, as it made the Feelings more juicy. will def read more by this author if I can!
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Blood, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Body horror, Cursing, Gore, Misogyny, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Death
meganpbell's review
- 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
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and War
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Sexism, Medical content, Grief, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Sexual content
imstephtacular's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
Graphic: Sexism, Violence, Medical content, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Animal death, Sexual content, and Fire/Fire injury
maeverose's review
This book is mismarketed. The Hacienda had this problem to an extent, but I feel like that one wasn’t as far off. This is historical romance, with monsters and war blurred out in the background. Within the 42% that I read, it was 90% Néstor and Nena thinking about each other. I was most interested in this for the vampires and history, but at least in the part I read those weren’t the focus. I went into the Hacienda for the Rebecca retelling and horror elements and ended up actually liking the romance the most, unfortunately that wasn’t the case with this one.
My main issues:
1. Unnecessary relationship angst. The reason for their drama (this is in the synopsis) is because of a huge misunderstanding where Néstor thought Nena was dead and he was to blame, so he ran away only to come back nine years later and find that she’s been alive the whole time. She’s mad at him for leaving, he’s feeling guilty about his mistake. The problem I have with it is 1. We find out that Nena’s brother is able to contact Néstor, which begs the question as to why nobody told him in the nine years he was gone that Nena was alive. And 2. the fact that when he finds out she’s alive, instead of immediately talking to her and explaining everything, they avoid each other and sit in their angst. For c h a p t e r s. I dnfed before they finally resolve things so idk when that even happens.
2. It’s overwritten. The Hacienda was also a bit overwritten at times, but for the most part it didn’t bother me. Maybe it’s because this one is focusing on a romance that I dislike, but it felt painfully drawn out from the beginning. It frequently cuts to unnecessary flashbacks in the middle of scenes (about every chapter has at least one flashback, one even had a flashback within a flashback). And is so focused on the characters’ thoughts and emotions rather than what’s happening in the scene, despite the fact that I would’ve expected this to be a more plot focused book.
Some other things that bothered me:
Certain words are repeated excessively. Part of it may just be that I don’t speak Spanish so I notice the words more than I might if they were in English, but I feel like I would still be noticing them even if they were the English equivalent. Those words mainly being rancho and ranchero. I feel like they’re said multiple times in every chapter, often multiple times on one page.
If you want a slow paced, angsty, gothic historical romance then I’d genuinely recommend this, if you want a book about vampires and a historical war, skip it.
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, Blood, Vomit, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, and Alcohol
Somewhat detailed descriptions of animal (cattle) carcasses. They’re not exactly gory but they could definitely be disturbing for some people. Being as I didn’t finish the book, I can’t say if there’s anything worse than that.soniajoy98's review
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Gun violence, Sexism, Blood, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, and Classism
Moderate: Gore, Medical content, Grief, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual content