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elskede's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, War, Violence, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Alcohol, Vomit, and Gun violence
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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