TW/CW: Language, violence, death, mild sexuality

RATING: 4.5/5

REVIEW: Vampires of El Norte is the story of a vaquero named Nestor and the eldest daughter of a rancher named Nena. Taking place in the mid-1840’s during the war between Mexico and Texas, the two are faced with war and the appearance of vampires in the area.

This is a beautifully written book, and I really enjoyed it. It was scary in points, but very sweet at points too, and I loved the relationship between Nestor and Nena. While for the most part it was realistic historical fiction, the author worked in the vampires so that it didn’t seem absurd or out of place. It was an exciting book and very engaging – I read the whole thing in two days.

I definitely recommend this book, and this author – I love everything she’s written! ( )

Beautiful writing. I don’t know that the story held many twists and turns that were unexpected or that the vampires were very terrifying but the writing is captivating. ( )

I had heard this wasn't heavy on horror going in, so I wasn't surprised to find this lacking in scary. However, I didn't realize instead this was basically historical romance, which is not always my favorite. This is set in 1840s Mexico/Texas which was a fantastic backdrop for the story, and I did love the characters. I just wish the war conflict/vampires had played a larger role. I did love the type of actual monster vampires here, no one is falling in love with them any time soon. ( )

I had read the author's first book 'The Hacienda' and was cautiously excited for this one. Cañas's first book was creepy (marketed as a cross between 'American Gothic' and 'Rebecca') but it looked like this one was not similar: instead, it's vampires vs. vaqueros! Sure, why not? I do not know much about this time period and was a little iffy because I am not into horror and don't have much experience with gothic literature but decided to go with this.

The book alternates between two people: Nena, who was attacked and possibly left for dead (she got better!) and Néstor, who was with her when she "died" and flees in the aftermath, unable to face what has happened. It turns out that Nena is alive and so is Néstor, out in exile. But when the United States attacks Mexico in 1846, the two are reunited to face a horror draining blood in the nights.

Sounds fun, huh? Unfortunately that was not it. I appreciated 'The Hacienda' for what seemed like a genuine mystery, complete with a gothic setting. This was not really gothic or horror: as other negative reviews say, it's really a romance with a smidge of gothic/horror in the background. The vampires are not really the story here.

So it was not for me, and it was disappointing. Yet another mismarketed book for me, although I also agree with other reviews that there is definitely an audience for this: perhaps those looking for a romance with supernatural/gothic/magical realism elements, but nothing too scary or gory.

I'll read other books by the author and did appreciate the note after the text about her process, why she chose to write this, etc. which did make me appreciate it a little more. But it definitely was not for me. Recommend this as a library borrow for most people, but it might be fun as a Halloween book club-type of read. ( )

Even though this book is titled Vampires of El Norte, it's really about the love between the daughter of a rich land owner and a lowly worker on the ranch that she grew up with. There are vampires in the story, but they really are not the main focus of the story. But I was really ok with that because I loved the story of Nena and Nesto. Well worth checking out. ( )