A review by lizanneyoung
Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas

3.0

 

⭐⭐⭐

I went into this book looking forward not only to reading a genre I don’t normally read but because, based on the synopsis and what I knew about the book, it would also utilize elements of other genres I enjoy. While I loved the story and enjoyed reading the book, for me, it felt very mid.

It gave us little tastes of the horror and romance plotlines, but I don’t think we ever got quite enough for them to make an impact. The “vampires” had interesting lore when it was finally shared, but otherwise, we know very little of them. Usually, I’m okay with some intrigue, but here it just worked against the narrative. It almost felt like the book didn’t think the reader was smart enough to handle knowing more about them. When we did have a really cool and kinda freaky reveal about the vampires, I was hoping we’d get more and it would lean into its vampire horror label, but both the story and characters just played it off, which was disappointing. 

The romance between Nena and Néstor just didn’t pack the punch I think it intended to. There was some character growth, which I always love, but it all happened a little too late to impact the story in a more meaningful way. I am happy with their ending, but I didn’t find myself rooting for them until the very end of the story, despite how their dynamic is set up initially. 

What I enjoyed the most in this book was the historical fiction aspect and the writing style. I truly felt like I was experiencing several action-packed sequences alongside the characters and that I was being introduced to a different side of history. Many scenes played out cinematically in my head and I credit the writing style for that. I think this could make a visually stunning movie based on the writing alone.