A review by just_one_more_paige
Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas

adventurous dark emotional 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

4.0

 
I went "full-vampire" for the Halloween season reading this year, and this is the first of the books I chose. I don't usually lean horror with my reading, but reviews said it was a lighter horror, and I got the ALC from Libro.fm, so I was able to listen. And really, I have a soft spot for vampires and apparently can't help but read about them, even if there's a chance I terrify myself. Solid self-preservation... 
 
I'm still very behind on reviews, so I'm borrowing most of this summary from Goodreads: As the daughter of a rancher in 1840s Mexico, Nena knows a thing or two about monsters—her home has long been threatened by tensions with Anglo settlers from the north. But something more sinister lurks near the ranch at night, something that drains men of their blood and leaves them for dead. Something that once attacked Nena nine years ago. Believing Nena dead, Néstor has been on the run from his grief ever since, moving from ranch to ranch working as a vaquero. But no amount of drink can dispel the night terrors of sharp teeth; no woman can erase his childhood sweetheart from his mind. When the United States attacks Mexico in 1846, the two are brought abruptly back together on the road to war: Nena as a curandera, a healer striving to prove her worth to her father so that he does not marry her off to a stranger, and Néstor as a member of the auxiliary cavalry of ranchers and vaqueros. But the shock of their reunion—and Nena’s rage at Néstor for seemingly abandoning her long ago—is quickly overshadowed by the appearance of a nightmare made flesh. And unless Nena and Néstor work through their past and face the future together, neither will survive to see the dawn. 
 
I really enjoyed this book. And yes, the vampire aspect was part of it. But there was so much here that I was impressed by. It's a slower read, horror in vibes and the slow build of knowing that something is out there, more than in direct interaction with the "evil." And yet, there were absolutely steadily-paced moments of violence and contact with the myriad types of vampires that appeared within these pages that hit with intensity and a more immediate style of terror. This pacing, the heaviness and creepiness of the entire aura of the storytelling, was matched by the the longing between Néstor and Nena (oooooooh the pining) with spaced out explosively emotional confrontations as they each dealt with, and tried to sort out, their feelings. It was a fantastic literary balance of plot and character development. 
 
Thematically, the classism central to what tore Nena and Néstor apart is strong and deeply explored. And the interweaving of monsters (vampires, the land, class structures, “yanquis” and more) is high quality overlapping metaphors that are examined throughout the entirety of the novel.  
Cañas takes on the age-old question of what makes a monster, its nature/look or its choices/character, and her take on it, while not groundbreaking, is incredibly well-delivered. Similarly not groundbreaking, but well-delivered, was her take on the classic "what makes a home, a person or a place?" question. 
 
Lastly, I was really happy with the ending. It wasn't fully closed, as a book that takes on themes of class and colonialism can never be and remain honest. And the way the vampire aspect was similarly present but less immediate, as threats go, paralleled nicely with that. So, it subverted the “too easy” happily ever after just enough to make it solid, in my opinion. And really, the literary full circle to the drama of the ending was *chef’s kiss* - star crossed lovers are a classic for a reason. 
 
Oh, random, but...the two audiobook narrators, voicing Nena and Néstor, were great! 
 
This was just a really solid, entertaining read. A critique of colonialism and a gorgeous romance and a paranormal thriller all in one quality package…It was maybe a little slower overall than one might prefer, but for me, the thrill came from vibes in this case and it delivered on that, for me. Like I said earlier, “supernatural gothic thriller” is not really a blurb that usually jumps at me, but my difficulty in saying "no" to anything vampire worked in my favor, in this case. 
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