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rorikae's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-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
4.5
‘Vampires of El Norte’ by Isabel Cañas is a historical romance with a dash of vampires thrown in.
Nena and Néstor grew up together on Nena’s family’s ranch. Thick as thieves, they fell in love with each other at a young age and believed that they would be in each other’s lives forever. But when they sneak out one night and encounter a fearsome creature, their paths diverge for 9 years. When they finally come back together, their lives are vastly different, not only because of the threat of English settlers but also because of what Nena’s parents expect from her. Will the two rekindle their childhood love or have they grown too far apart?
This book is perfectly paced. Cañas does an exceptional job of making each piece of the plot and character moment feel natural. This is in part due to how strong Nena and Néstor are as characters. They feel fully fleshed out while also full of faults. In romances, I find that misunderstandings between the main couple often feel a little silly or immature but Cañas did a great job of making their miscommunication and issues with one another feel real. The addition of vampires in the story are a great supernatural point while remaining a part of the subplot. Cañas does a lot with the monstrosity of men vs the supposed monsters that live out in the wild. I did find that the ending and relationship resolution was a bit quick, especially in comparison to how well paced the rest of the story was. All in all, an excellent historical romance with a dash of the speculative.
Nena and Néstor grew up together on Nena’s family’s ranch. Thick as thieves, they fell in love with each other at a young age and believed that they would be in each other’s lives forever. But when they sneak out one night and encounter a fearsome creature, their paths diverge for 9 years. When they finally come back together, their lives are vastly different, not only because of the threat of English settlers but also because of what Nena’s parents expect from her. Will the two rekindle their childhood love or have they grown too far apart?
This book is perfectly paced. Cañas does an exceptional job of making each piece of the plot and character moment feel natural. This is in part due to how strong Nena and Néstor are as characters. They feel fully fleshed out while also full of faults. In romances, I find that misunderstandings between the main couple often feel a little silly or immature but Cañas did a great job of making their miscommunication and issues with one another feel real. The addition of vampires in the story are a great supernatural point while remaining a part of the subplot. Cañas does a lot with the monstrosity of men vs the supposed monsters that live out in the wild. I did find that the ending and relationship resolution was a bit quick, especially in comparison to how well paced the rest of the story was. All in all, an excellent historical romance with a dash of the speculative.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, War, and Blood
Moderate: Misogyny and Colonisation
torturedreadersdept's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Animal death, Toxic relationship, War, Abandonment, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Blood, Body horror, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexism, and Violence
yarisbooksandbevs's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I loved this book. It was well-written and kept me interested the whole way through.
I loved both Nena and Nestor’s characterizations. I fell in love with both of them and was rooting for them. Her writing is so visceral it makes your heart skip a beat or ache for these characters.Nestor’s love for Nena is heartbreakingly beautiful and I wanted to cry for him when the patron banished him and Nena said nothing . I really appreciated that there’s very little miscommunication. The characters pretty quickly tell each other their sides of the story and even if they are angry, they communicate. Beto was also a very loveable character. I thought the depictions of the vampires were creative and very well-written. The way she writes about the colonization and draws the parallels to real life is so well done.
There are quite a few Spanish words throughout the book but it’s not hard to look up any unknown words. I will also note that I think the book is romance first with the vampire plot being a sub-plot but still very significant. Overall I really enjoyed this read.
I loved both Nena and Nestor’s characterizations. I fell in love with both of them and was rooting for them. Her writing is so visceral it makes your heart skip a beat or ache for these characters.
There are quite a few Spanish words throughout the book but it’s not hard to look up any unknown words. I will also note that I think the book is romance first with the vampire plot being a sub-plot but still very significant. Overall I really enjoyed this read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Colonisation, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Classism, Death, and War
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Grief, Blood, Gore, and Murder
Minor: Child death
yourbookishbff's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking, Violence, Colonisation, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, and War
Moderate: Blood
yilliun's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Solid cozy fall weekend read. Definitely expected Twilight/ Vampire Diaries type vampires not monstrous Nosferatu types, BUT I think that sexy vampires would have detracted from the story. I did find myself genuinely afraid at certain points in the book. I like that Cañas blended historical romance with a definite gothic thriller twist.
I still don’t 100% understand the choice to rush back to Los Ojuelos instead of trying to regroup and find their companions. It did give us the forced proximity trope so I can’t be too mad about it
Being a non-Spanish speaker, there were a few terms I needed to look up to understand the story. I do think the mix of English and Spanish terms made the characters and their landscape more believable.
Being a non-Spanish speaker, there were a few terms I needed to look up to understand the story. I do think the mix of English and Spanish terms made the characters and their landscape more believable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Blood, and Gun violence
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Colonisation, and Misogyny
imstephtacular's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Sexism, Medical content, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Xenophobia, Murder, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Racism, Misogyny, Body horror, and Death
Minor: Animal death, Sexual content, and Fire/Fire injury
tlaynejones's review against another edition
slow-paced
3.0
This is a YA romance - with all of the commensurate angsty stubborn judgemental insecurities that endlessly create conflict within the relationship - placed in historic Mexico, with vampires. I didn’t realise this was going to be quite so YA, and I found it to be a frustrating read. There are some great parts to this book, but the patriarchy is fierce in this story and I found the female protagonist’s awakening waaaay too slow. The vampire part of the story is interesting and creative.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Violence, War, Colonisation, Misogyny, Gaslighting, and Blood
maeverose's review against another edition
I wanted to love this 😭
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:
Nena at the beginning is bitten by a vampire, but lost her memory of the incident. Later, when Néstor finally explains that he thought she was dead, he says she was attacked in the same way that another character was just attacked. Despite the fact that she 1. Has a scar that matches the wound on this other character, 2. Lost her memory of the incident and is aware that thats a symptom of these attacks, 3. Was told she had susto (the name of the reaction from these attacks) by her Abuela who healed her in the same way that Nena now heals other people who were attacked in the same way, she doesn’t believe him. It’s literally just drama for the sake of drama at the expense of making her look stupid.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Animal death
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Vomit, Blood, Racism, Gun violence, and Misogyny
Minor: Alcoholism, Medical content, Alcohol, Grief, Child abuse, Sexual content, Body shaming, and Drug use
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.
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