Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - Certain Dark Things

Not gonna lie I’m pretty disappointed by this book and I really wanted to love it :/ To start, the MC is extremely annoying and the reader doesn’t learn ANYTHING about her as a person. The same can be said for the other MC. We learn almost nothing about him and I just feel bad for him whole time. Also, their AGE GAP romance is absolutely disgusting and NOT AT ALL NECESSARY!? He literally could have been 18 (and she 23(?)) but he had to be 17?
Also, the pacing felt so choppy and like I was missing something and this became especially apparent whenever new characters were introduced.
Lastly, the ending was the most anticlimactic thing I’ve ever read? I kept seeing how little was left of the story and thought SURELY things must start getting crazy soon? But they never did and the story didn’t end on… any note. It just kind of ended.

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takarakei's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-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? Yes

3.0

The beginning dives right into the world and action. The gritty and gothic settings of Mexico City is described well and is an interesting backdrop for a vampire story. Via audiobook keeping the different characters separate and their involvement in the story was a bit difficult. However because it's multiple POV, as the story progresses the pacing gets off and really slows down.
Overall there was not enough character depth or development, and by the ending I rather feel like nothing had changed? meaning the story was kind of pointless?
I've read a few books by this author and none of them quite hit the mark.

2.5/5🌶️

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thehungrylittlebookworm's review against another edition

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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

4.0

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gcjay1994's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-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

4.0

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annemaries_shelves's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

3.5 stars

I had a very fun time with this story. It's an earlier novel of Moren0-Garcia's so some of her character and pacing work is less strong, but that creativity and sense of place is still there.

The vampire lore she's created for this world, with the various sub-species of vampire and their clan clashes and clashes with humans, is fascinating and I want to learn more. It's absolutely the best part of the novel.

The overall plot is fairly predictable and it's slower to start, but the chapters are short and the story is engaging enough that you just keep turning the page. I'd recommend especially for the Halloween/spooky vibes.

I think some of the themes hinted at in the novel become much more prevalent in her later works.

Finally as it's a noir, the novel does get bloody and violent towards the end and I think some may be unsatisfied with the ending (true to genre).

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bri_fabiano's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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