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A review by sweatpeameesh
Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Certain Dark Things follows several characters in a neo-noir Mexico City, where vampires are well-known and forbidden. A teenage boy, Domingo, meets Atl, a vampire girl who needs help out of vampire-free city.
The city felt both bright and dark, the perfect setting for the story Moreno-Garcia was telling. Each character brought into the mix felt well-developed; everyone was their own person with motivations and worldviews you could understand. Even if you didn't agree and hated them. And, god, does Moreno-Garcia know how to write an arrogant, entitled white man!
That's not even going into the cool as hell vampire lore that I drank up. I loved how real it felt, with different subspecies of vampires with aspects of vampire legend embedded into them. I love how some of the history was explained, but not so much that it felt like it was dragging out and away from the story being told. The Tlāhuipochtin vampires, which Atl was part of, was so damn interesting with the hummingbird qualities and connection to Aztec history!
I also loved how not everything was clear-cut and easy. Morality was blurred and what a character wants may or may not pass for them. The ending made me both cry and feel content.
Looking at other peoples reviews, it seems that Certain Dark Things is either a love it or hate it sort of book for people and I'm definitely in the LOVE IT category. The worldbuilding, Domingo and Atl, the drama--I was so there for it all. I need this part of my collection immediately!
The city felt both bright and dark, the perfect setting for the story Moreno-Garcia was telling. Each character brought into the mix felt well-developed; everyone was their own person with motivations and worldviews you could understand. Even if you didn't agree and hated them. And, god, does Moreno-Garcia know how to write an arrogant, entitled white man!
That's not even going into the cool as hell vampire lore that I drank up. I loved how real it felt, with different subspecies of vampires with aspects of vampire legend embedded into them. I love how some of the history was explained, but not so much that it felt like it was dragging out and away from the story being told. The Tlāhuipochtin vampires, which Atl was part of, was so damn interesting with the hummingbird qualities and connection to Aztec history!
I also loved how not everything was clear-cut and easy. Morality was blurred and what a character wants may or may not pass for them. The ending made me both cry and feel content.
Looking at other peoples reviews, it seems that Certain Dark Things is either a love it or hate it sort of book for people and I'm definitely in the LOVE IT category. The worldbuilding, Domingo and Atl, the drama--I was so there for it all. I need this part of my collection immediately!