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A review by mckaylaboyd
Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
2.75
2.75 stars.
Honestly, I am pretty disappointed. I loved The Hacienda. It was spooky, atmospheric, with the hint of a romance. I figured this book would be just the same, substituting the ghosts for vampires. But this book is not a horror novel, I'm not sure it's even a thriller. It is a historical romance with a hint of hte supernatural.
At about 50% of the way, I was thinking, "Wow this is super slow, I wonder when the story is going to start." Only to realize, this was the story. Only two vampires had ever shown up at this point in the novel. Every chapter is about Nena and Nestor's relationship. This is friends to lovers, with a vampire that pops up here and there. Even when the vampires do pop up, they were not scary. They are device for metaphor, to ensure we learn the lesson from the story. Now, I'm happy for a metaphor, but not when it seems like a superfluous one.
How in the world did Nestor not know that Nena was alive? In all the letters he sent his Abeula- who was literally training Nena as an apprentice- she never once mentioned Nena's name, not even in passing? I could not suspend my disbelief from this.
This book was not all bad. The author uses beautiful imagery and there is a very satisfying amount of parallelism at the end. This makes it satisfying. In fact, I probably would've have really liked it if it had been marketed as a romance. Because this was not the spooky-season book I was craving.
Honestly, I am pretty disappointed. I loved The Hacienda. It was spooky, atmospheric, with the hint of a romance. I figured this book would be just the same, substituting the ghosts for vampires. But this book is not a horror novel, I'm not sure it's even a thriller. It is a historical romance with a hint of hte supernatural.
At about 50% of the way, I was thinking, "Wow this is super slow, I wonder when the story is going to start." Only to realize, this was the story. Only two vampires had ever shown up at this point in the novel. Every chapter is about Nena and Nestor's relationship. This is friends to lovers, with a vampire that pops up here and there. Even when the vampires do pop up, they were not scary. They are device for metaphor, to ensure we learn the lesson from the story. Now, I'm happy for a metaphor, but not when it seems like a superfluous one.
This book was not all bad. The author uses beautiful imagery and there is a very satisfying amount of parallelism at the end. This makes it satisfying. In fact, I probably would've have really liked it if it had been marketed as a romance. Because this was not the spooky-season book I was craving.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexism