I honestly have to say this was very very good. The main reason for the four stars is that the book gets a bit slow at times, and even the author points that out because of the historical notes that she focuses on that sometimes derails the main plot. I do love the historical aspects of this novel (hey history major here) but can’t pretend it didn’t drag things down. But I do love that Cañas points out that vampires existed in Mexican culture decades before Dracula came about.
Vampires of El Norte follows 13 year old Nena and her best friend Nestor as they sneak out one night in search of silver. The two have been fast friends and something else for a while. And then something dark and scary comes out in the night and bites Nena. Nestor getting blamed and told that Nena is dead, flees. Nine years later Nestor does what he can to forgot Nena and the ranchero. Nena though has decided she will be like Abuela that lives on the ranchero and will do what healing she can to protect the men, women, and children there. She doesn’t want to be married off to make her father’s land even bigger. But when the Yanquis attack Mexico and say that parts of it belong to them now, many Mexicans are forced to fight for their land. Along with that, the beasts that have started to attack them more and more seem to be leaving many of the men weak and near death.
I really liked the perspectives of Nena and Nestor in this one. I honestly felt the most for Nestor. I liked that Cañas doesn’t focus on them getting back together right away. There’s a lot of history and anger there on both sides. But you can definitely understand each of their feelings about what happened when they were children and what draws them apart and together now as adults. I also liked the other characters we get in this one like Abuela, Nestor’s best friend Beto, and others.
I thought the overall plot was good, but would have loved to read more about the vampires. They are definitely not vampires as depicted in Bram Stoker’s Dracula or even vampires that show up in romantasy novels these days. As I said, the flow was a bit down here and there, but not enough to keep me from finishing this one.
The setting of the book takes place in the 1840s in Mexico. It follows the beginning of the Mexican-American war. We all know what happens, so you have to wonder about the ending of the book we get here. It feels a bit dark considering.
