Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas

11 reviews

janey_bones's review

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Sexism, Violence, Gun violence, War, and Racism

Minor: Classism, Colonisation, Grief, Blood, Animal death, Alcohol, and Death

emilywemily6's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Gaslighting, Grief, Racism, War, Abandonment, Cursing, Alcohol, Animal death, Classism, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Infidelity, and Medical content

Moderate: Slavery and Sexual content

maddiie046's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense slow-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? N/A

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Death, War, and Racism

bcollent's review against another edition

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. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: War, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Minor: Colonisation and Racism

kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

first read of the year! I marked this as started in Dec just to immediately put it down in favor of some Palestine readings so this truly does count! 

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!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, War, Racism, Blood, Colonisation, Gun violence, and Violence

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Classism, Cursing, Gore, Medical content, and Misogyny

Minor: Death

albernikolauras's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Despite its fair share of horrifying scenes, but the book is more of a romance and a metaphor of the Americans stealing the Northern lands of Mexico than a horror. Canas is great at writing the seeping tension and the horrific scenes that break up the similarly well-written romantic tension. Nestor was definitely a high point as well. Nena was at times very frustrating - which definitely held the book back from being as excellent as the Hacienda.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Violence, and War

rachelfayreads's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Grief, War, and Violence

vixenreader's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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

A historical Mexican romance mixed with effective body horror, this novel is anchored by its central characters chemistry and journey towards harnessing their potential, despite their circumstances. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Body horror, Blood, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Violence, and Abandonment

Moderate: Sexual content, War, Racism, Alcohol, Hate crime, and Xenophobia

Minor: Animal death

A lot of the racial tension is between the Mexican settlers and the American colonizers going South of the border to claim land, as well as the tension of abandoning someone you love over a huge misunderstanding.

mlovesbooks's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense slow-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Blood, and War

Moderate: Racism

imstephtacular's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

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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