Reviews with content warning for Sexism - Vampires of El Norte

Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas

27 reviews

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

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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

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meganpbell's review against another edition

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adventurous 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

4.25

Childhood sweethearts Nena, a rancher’s daughter and curandera, and Néstor, a vaquero and soldier, torn apart by class and by a terrible incident, must reunite to fight for their land and their lives in an 1840s Mexico invaded not only by colonizing Yankees, but vampires as well in this genre-defying work of historical fiction, horror, and romance. I do wish the balance was more horror over romance, however I deeply enjoyed the historical setting!

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yarisbooksandbevs's review

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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.

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tigger89's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

After enjoying The Hacienda, it was a no-brainer for me to put Vampires of El Norte on hold as soon as I saw it in the library catalog. While I was hoping for more of the same, that's not quite what I found, though I wasn't upset by any means. While The Hacienda had a supernatural plot with a side of romance, Vampires was definitely a historical romance with a side of supernatural. While they were well-written, I didn't find the vampires to be scary at all. If I was frightened by anything in this story, it was the humans — Mexican and American alike — who acted like monsters.

I don't know how accurate it was, but much like The Hacienda, I thought the history and setting in this book was very well written from a vibes standpoint. Spanish is sprinkled throughout, and while I could figure out most of what I didn't already know from context, I did have to look up a few words. But I didn't mind, because this use of language contributed to a very strong sense of place. There's light themes of feminism and classism woven through the narrative, as Nena and Néstor struggle against a system that's constructed to keep them apart.

This might come as a shock to those who read my reviews, but I actually didn't mind the romance. I will say that it makes heavy use of failure-to-communicate tropes, which I know is a dealbreaker for some people. But I found it to be believable rather than contrived, given the fact that the two of them are relatively young and have so much complicated history. Nena being too stubbornly angry to hear Néstor out is a very believable character flaw! So yes, while they could have avoided a whole runaround by sitting down and having a conversation around page 90, at the same time they kind of had to take the long way for the sake of character growth and to re-establish trust.

In the end, it wasn't the spooky halloween read I'd been hoping for. But I'm not mad at it by any means. In fact, I'd recommend it to people who want to get in on the spooky season but have a low tolerance for horror, especially if they enjoy being immersed in history.

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vixenreader's review against another edition

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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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mlovesbooks's review against another edition

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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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thenextbookdilemma'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? It's complicated

4.75

As a lover of vampire books, I was excited to see multiple raving reviews of this book— I knew I was in for a good time!

What I didn’t expect was how incredibly beautiful the writing would be. So much of this book reads like poetry, perfect sentences lingering with you for pages or chapters. Her descriptions, of the Mexican landscape, of the tension between Néstor and Nena, of the impending evil coming their way, were simply breathtaking. I am shocked that most of Cañas’ previous writing has been for a PhD, not in poetry.

Vampires are often an allegory for many evils & Vampires of el Norte is no exception. This was my first historical romance that takes place during the Mexican American War & witnessing the invasion of the Anglos—of the white rangers destroying the homes & lives of the Mexican people in pursuit of land and stolen livestock— was just as terrifying as blood-sucking monsters, the symbolism of which was not lost on me.

Just as vivid & complex were our MCs.

Nena. At times I cheered for her rage & later, paradoxically raged against her. Nena’s plight against the patriarchy, of trying to show others her value beyond corporeal honor & marriageability, was infuriating in its futility. Cañas highlights how the burden of carrying a family’s honor falls suffocatingly on its daughters. But Nena must also face her privilege as a ranchero’s daughter & the classism that rules her rancho & shadows her relationship with Nestor.

Néstor. A silver-tongues poet in his head, a cowboy with a booted foot in his mouth in reality. I spent a solid chunk of this book Big Mad with Néstor, right alongside Nena. But Néstor allows himself to be vulnerable and brave as he confronts the classism & challenges between he and Nena.

The romance was ardent & fraught with tension after years of damage & social hierarchy. Cañas weaves the social violences of classism & sexism so seamlessly alongside the violence of war that it’s hard to figure out which is the greater evil. And then she soothes some of your rage with hope for the fragile but beautiful love trying to survive it all.

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