Isabel Cañas

The Hacienda is so good and so scary! Perfect gothic atmosphere and descriptions are so detailed. I listened to the audiobook which definitely nailed it with how the narrators emphasized their fear in their voices.

I also loved Mexican Gothic which this has been compared to, and while they both take place in Mexico and are gothic horror, I would say that’s about the end of similarities. If you gravitate towards gothic horror this definitely checks all the boxes. A good word to describe this book is bone-chilling. Do you dare to enter The Hacienda??… (more)

I have not read a monster-horror novel in quite a while, and it was so fun to be back! “Vampire of El Norte” had it all: great setting, interesting main characters, romance, and, of course, monsters. These vampires are less Edward Cullen and more huge bat-like creatures with no eyes that suck blood. In addition to these monsters, the Mexican-American war is raging and there are plenty of casualties from that as well.

Néstor went to live at Nena’s family’s ranchero after his family was attacked by U.S. soldiers when he was a child, and the two became close friends. But when they are attacked by a vampire, Néstor believes Nena has been killed and he runs away from the ranchero because he blames himself. Nine years later, Néstor returns to the ranchero to help out his family, and discovers that Nena is still alive and that the moment that has impacted his entire life was a lie.

Nena is training to be a healer and wants to help her ranchero with her skills, but her parents have other plans. They want to make an alliance through her marriage with another powerful ranchero. Nena offers her healing skills on the battlefield to try and show her father her value. Through this journey Nena and Néstor are reunited and there is anger and hurt on both sides. Their journey to save the ranchero and their journey of reconciliation runs parallel throughout the book.

I had a lot of fun reading this book, and I would recommend it to people who are looking for romance with their horror (or horror with their romance).

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.… (more)