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A review by nightmarebees
Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
NOTE: don’t go into this expecting full gothic horror. it’s about 20% that, and 80% historical romance. that being said, i THOROUGHLY enjoyed this, and felt like the tone for how spooky it was gonna be was set pretty early on, so i made sure to adjust my expectations, getting more invested in nena and néstor than in potential dread and suspense.
and boy howdy, what a pair they are. i’m biased personally bc i adore childhood friends to lovers, particularly “childhood friends who had a weird falling out but then reunite and oh no they’re hot.” this is certainly a play on the miscommunication trope, but i honestly feel like it was so well executed to give both characters believable reasons rather than arbitrary angst for the sake of prolonging them getting together. néstor was a stupid 13 year old who thought the man who controlled his life was gonna hurt him and his only friend who could protect him from that was gone. nena especially is valid in feeling abandoned and frustrated with néstor upon his return: from her perspective, even if he thought her dead, he got to run off and cavort in freedom while she had the cage of the eldest daughter built around her. their tension is excellent, the forced proximity on their journey is excellent, their dual POV gives each side so much more depth. 5 stars for the romance.
the horror aspect WAS a bit underwhelming, but it feels to me like that was more of a marketing issue than anything else. i would’ve liked the titular vampires to have more time on page, but i’m not mad at the end result.
and boy howdy, what a pair they are. i’m biased personally bc i adore childhood friends to lovers, particularly “childhood friends who had a weird falling out but then reunite and oh no they’re hot.” this is certainly a play on the miscommunication trope, but i honestly feel like it was so well executed to give both characters believable reasons rather than arbitrary angst for the sake of prolonging them getting together. néstor was a stupid 13 year old who thought the man who controlled his life was gonna hurt him and his only friend who could protect him from that was gone. nena especially is valid in feeling abandoned and frustrated with néstor upon his return: from her perspective, even if he thought her dead, he got to run off and cavort in freedom while she had the cage of the eldest daughter built around her. their tension is excellent, the forced proximity on their journey is excellent, their dual POV gives each side so much more depth. 5 stars for the romance.
the horror aspect WAS a bit underwhelming, but it feels to me like that was more of a marketing issue than anything else. i would’ve liked the titular vampires to have more time on page, but i’m not mad at the end result.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and War
Moderate: Colonisation