Reviews with content warning for Grief - Vampires of El Norte

Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas

22 reviews

janey_bones's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

Isabel Cañas' 'Vampires of El Norte' pleasantly surprised me with its captivating blend of romance, historical fiction, and socio-political commentary. While initially expecting a horror narrative akin to 'The Hacienda,' I found myself immersed in a richly detailed world where the metaphorical 'blood-sucking colonizers' take center stage. Cañas' exquisite prose effortlessly transports readers to a vividly depicted time and place, evoking a sense of nostalgia and intrigue. While not a conventional horror tale, 'Vampires of El Norte' excels in its unique exploration of themes and its ability to keep readers engaged until the very end.

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emilywemily6's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

This was more a historical romance than a horror novel. The descriptions of the vampires was really creepy though, so I wish there was a lot more horror! Nena and Nestor have an interesting relationship, though it takes an exceedingly long time for the tension to ease after their falling out. It was also frustrating to see Nena try to hard to be obstinate about both her feelings and her understanding of Nestor’s experience. And she spent way too much time stringing him along while planning on returning to her duties back home, only to have it blow up in her face on both fronts. These characters felt more immature than their age as far as their relationship went, like they regressed once they saw each other again. I really liked the historical aspect of this book and the horror elements, but the romance was such a large part of the plot and yet not my favorite because it was so dramatic. I could get behind the relationship though, I could definitely see the chemistry.

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monicaa_d's review

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emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I enjoyed this, but it fell in the middle of the road for me. The story moved quickly enough, and had a little bit of mystery and a fairly good allegory for colonialism throughout. I enjoyed the story, but didn't really vibe with the characters. They meet and become best friends between the ages of 9 and 13, ultimately being each other's first love (to the degree that a 13 year old can be in love). Then they're separated for nine years, and the story resumes there. We find out that they haven't forgotten each other, that they still can't think of the other without pain, that every action they've taken in those nine years was shaped by the absence of the other, etc. It's all very sweet and pining and true love, but eventually just felt annoying. Throughout the story they repeat the same pattern of finding and losing one another, and every time they do we get to hear how they can't live without the other, again and again... Maybe I just expected more horror and less pining from a vampire book, but it just didn't do it for me. The story was enjoyable, but I felt like I was just going through the sappy parts to find out what would happen with the rest of the plot, because it's obvious from the start that they're going to get their happy ending. This isn't at the top of my recommendations, but I wouldn't discourage anyone from reading it, especially if they're more interested in romance and not so much in horror.

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rachelunabridged's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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

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acrosstheskyinstars's review against another edition

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tense slow-paced

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

3.0

2.5 stars for plot, 3.5 stars for characters, 3 stars average of the two

I really liked the premise of the book, but the plot was a lot different than the story I wanted. The Mexican-American war truly is only a backdrop. It barely matters to the plot in my opinion, which I found a bit disappointing. I liked the two main characters, but the Nena’s parents in particular were hard to understand frequently. Despite the wartime setting, the pacing also felt slow to me. Pick this one up if you really only want a light dose of the historical setting and don’t mind a slow-paced read.

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ktv's review

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adventurous dark 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? No

5.0

Loved it!!!! Expected nothing less from Isabel Cañas. Really liked getting both Nena and Nestor’s perspectives. So action packed.

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dandydoodle's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

Honestly wish some parts had been more fleshed out, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. The writing was good, the story pulls you forward easily. I wish some of the “horror” elements were more fleshed out and the comparison between the vampires and the Yanquis could’ve been pushed further, but the point was communicated. It’s all somewhat of a backdrop to the romance between Nena and Néstor anyways.

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vicktoreaux's review against another edition

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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

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booklifeisthelife's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense 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? It's complicated

2.5

So while reading this I thought it was an okay read but after I finished and got done with it I realized I didn't enjoy it much and that I had many complaints about the book. To name a few, some plot points were never addressed/resolved, we didn't get much lore/info on the vampires, the back and forth between the Mc and ml was kinda weird and drawn out but then happened too fast, and also there wasn't an actual ending. It was open ended, left to your imagination. So the romance didn't feel natural but I did enjoy learning about this world and the characters. I enjoyed the main character using her wits to fight for her future.

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rachelfayreads's review

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

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