A review by patriciamadariaga
Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas

medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No

2.5

This turned out to be a romance novel with vampires in it, which is fine. Its fatal flaw is that the author is a chronic overexplainer. There is no emotion, situation or motivation that is not explicitly described. Suggesting, evoking or hinting are out of the question. Add the fact that the characters are rather stereotypical and that the love story follows a familiar course (
rich girl, poor boy, misunderstanding, big fights, happy reunion
), and it should be a wash.

...Buuuut the setting is great: It takes place in North Mexico in the mid 1800s, during the American invasion, and does a pretty good job at it. More historical  fiction from that period, please! I also love that
it presents susto, a folk illness still common all throughout Latin America, as being caused by vampire attacks.
Finally, it is less clumsy than other recent novels in its inclusion of Spanish terms, even though some of it seems gratuitous.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings