booksthatburn's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Atl is a vampire hiding out in Mexico City after her family was murdered. Domingo is a former street kid, now working as a scrap picker for a rag and bone man. When he has a chance encounter with Atl on the subway, she invites him to her home to drink from him. What Atl intended as a single meal turns out to be the beginning of a partnership as they work on fleeing Mexico City together. They're pursued by Nick, a Necros who is obsessed with Atl, and Ana Aguirre, a detective who thought her transfer to Mexico City would mean dealing with fewer vampires than she used to.
The rapport between Domingo and Atl is excellently-written, driven by Domingo's adoration of Atl, and Atl's need for Domingo's help but distaste for feeling weak. Atl is using up every one of her mother's contacts along the way, relying on wisps of goodwill and loyalty from humans and vampires who assumed their obligations died long before Atl's mother did. This results in a tangle of one-off and repeating characters as Atl and Domingo navigate this loose network of contacts, just trying to get out of the city alive.
The worldbuilding is immersive, built through stories, buildings, and how the characters move through this alternate version of Mexico City where not only are vampires real but there are several kinds of them. Some (like Atl) are Tlahuihpochtli descended from Aztec blood drinker temple priestesses, but human colonization and the encroachment of other vampires, like Necros and Revenants, have made things more complicated for recent generations. Several decades ago humans found out vampires are real, and many places promptly tried to legislate them out of existence. Mexico City is one such "vampire free" zone, a situation which causes problems for Atl.
The plot is a web of pursuers and pursued, beginning in earnest when one of Atl's pursuers gets sloppy and the police find a dead human. It's a dance of obsession, violence, and death, as Atl tries to use Domingo without him spooking, while Domingo finds himself falling in love with her and not minding being used.
I loved every minute, and am extremely happy with the ending. Don't miss this one.
The rapport between Domingo and Atl is excellently-written, driven by Domingo's adoration of Atl, and Atl's need for Domingo's help but distaste for feeling weak. Atl is using up every one of her mother's contacts along the way, relying on wisps of goodwill and loyalty from humans and vampires who assumed their obligations died long before Atl's mother did. This results in a tangle of one-off and repeating characters as Atl and Domingo navigate this loose network of contacts, just trying to get out of the city alive.
The worldbuilding is immersive, built through stories, buildings, and how the characters move through this alternate version of Mexico City where not only are vampires real but there are several kinds of them. Some (like Atl) are Tlahuihpochtli descended from Aztec blood drinker temple priestesses, but human colonization and the encroachment of other vampires, like Necros and Revenants, have made things more complicated for recent generations. Several decades ago humans found out vampires are real, and many places promptly tried to legislate them out of existence. Mexico City is one such "vampire free" zone, a situation which causes problems for Atl.
The plot is a web of pursuers and pursued, beginning in earnest when one of Atl's pursuers gets sloppy and the police find a dead human. It's a dance of obsession, violence, and death, as Atl tries to use Domingo without him spooking, while Domingo finds himself falling in love with her and not minding being used.
I loved every minute, and am extremely happy with the ending. Don't miss this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death, Misogyny, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Vomit, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Animal death, Suicide, Cannibalism, Bullying, Police brutality, Classism, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Ableism, Xenophobia, Sexism, Alcohol, Torture, Murder, and Child death
Minor: Excrement, Drug abuse, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Animal cruelty, and Sexual harassment
podanotherjessi's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book ended up a little muddled for me, mostly because of the perspectives. If it were just Domingo and Atl, it would make a great romantic thriller. Anna has a noir plot, but the mystery and detective work is ruined by knowing everything already through other perspectives. And honestly, I didn't need Nick or the other perspectives at all. I didn't mind the genre blending, I just didn't love the wa one perspective would ofte undermine the tension of another.
I also kept looking for a theme or some allogory, and if there was some, I couldn't find it. Any message I started to find didn't fit with all the information present. It's possible there was never meant to be some deeper meaning. Either way, once I stopped looking for one, I enjoyed the book a lot more.
On the possitive end, the vibe and tone of the book was fantastic. I really loved the characters - especially Domingo and Atl. And the world building was absolutely wonderful. I found myself intrigued by every new thing a learned about the different vampires of the world and spent most of the book longing for more.
I also kept looking for a theme or some allogory, and if there was some, I couldn't find it. Any message I started to find didn't fit with all the information present. It's possible there was never meant to be some deeper meaning. Either way, once I stopped looking for one, I enjoyed the book a lot more.
On the possitive end, the vibe and tone of the book was fantastic. I really loved the characters - especially Domingo and Atl. And the world building was absolutely wonderful. I found myself intrigued by every new thing a learned about the different vampires of the world and spent most of the book longing for more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Blood
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Animal death
allthembooks's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
A very dark vampire neon-noir novel. Centered around two very different characters:
1. A 17 year old boy from the streets, that has ben through a lot of horrible things but still sees the world with hope and positivity.
2. A 23 year old vampire girl, that had everything and lost it all. Full of cynicism and violence trying to survive.
1. A 17 year old boy from the streets, that has ben through a lot of horrible things but still sees the world with hope and positivity.
2. A 23 year old vampire girl, that had everything and lost it all. Full of cynicism and violence trying to survive.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death of parent, Gore, Gun violence, Murder, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, and Death
applejacksbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
4.25
I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the audiobook for this story. I think it really brings out that this story is a neo-noir story with Aztec style vampires. There are five POVs throughout the story and I think it's the perfect amount.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Violence, Animal death, Blood, and Death
baytamax's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Medical trauma, Cannibalism, Gun violence, Gore, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Slavery, and Torture
peachani's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Classism and Gun violence
Minor: Ableism, Animal death, Colonisation, Drug abuse, and Sexual content
bumblebeefarts's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Gun violence
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Fire/Fire injury
books_n_pickles's review against another edition
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Started listening to this one in the car with Areg but ended up finishing it by reading on my own. It's more my genre than his, but our bigger issue was that the audiobook--while well-narrated and infinitely helpful with pronunciations (seriously, if we're translating languages into the Latin alphabet, why do we have to import English's nonsensical pronunciations into them?), it was just a bit too quiet to hear in a car that isn't very soundproofed. It also has what feels like a bit of a slow start before breaking into a turbo-charged obstacle course, and I think the slower beginning wasn't the best for long drives.
Anywho, the plot.
The near-future "neon-noir" (as Moreno-Garcia calls it) Mexico City has banned vampires from its environs, though the rest of the country has been something of a safe haven for vampires who faced persecution once they "came out" to the world in the 1970s. Atl is a descendant of Latin American vampires who have been around since before the Aztecs; the European Necros, a younger lineage more prone to violence, have been encroaching into her family's territory, including their narcotics empire. After staggering acts of violence, Atl is on the run, hiding in the safest place she can think of, the last place a reasonable vampire would be: Mexico City.
There, she meets Domingo, a charming trash-picker who is absolutely fascinated by vampires in general and Atl in particular. He eagerly assists her by giving blood and making connections with both her mother's old allies and his own underworld contacts, all in an effort to get her safely out of Mexico City and over the border on her way to vampire-friendly Brazil.
The world- and character-building that I so admired in Moreno-Garcia's <i>Mexican Gothic</i> are in more than full force her, since she's not as constrained by history and remote location as she was in that book. Mexico City is vibrant and alive, with its established neighborhoods, historic districts, seedy lower-income housing, hipster gentrification zones, and massive landfills; its dive bars, diners, metro, and retro automats. The biggest near-future-y element is the "Sanitation" department, a slightly sinister public health body that monitors Mexico City for signs of a deadly disease and, of course, the illegal presence of vampires.
Character-wise, along with Atl and Domingo, we have a woman cop who transferred from northern vampire territory to Mexico City to keep her teenage daughter safe, only wind up tangled in the Atl-Necros mess; a live-wire young Necros hopped up on violence and drugs, determined to capture and torture Atl for daring to reject his romantic advances and later There's a young gang member eager to kill a vampire, to send a message to other vampires that they and their drug trade are not welcome in the spoken-for territory of Mexico City. There are Diego's connections, both friends and foes: gun traffickers, dog fighters, street kids, rivals in love. And there's a weary "Renfield" (a <i>Dracula</i> reference) who's served as a dogsbody to the Necros clan leader for a very long time and just wants to retire, not chase down Atl while trying to control the hot-headed heir. Oh, and there's Atl's awesome doberman with a florescent tattoo.
That's a lot of pieces to put on the board, which accounts for the slow start. It's the kind of sprawling world building and character establishment that I absolutely love, but which is probably divisive among readers. The complex global vampire lore--which is helpfully broken down at the end of the book, though I didn't realize that since I was reading the ebook--is nuanced and fascinating.
I'm kind of torn about this book. For everything I loved in it (and there was a lot, so I'm going with four stars instead of three), I didn't feel a real connection. I did feel quite a lot of discomfort with
Sprawling and complex, this book won't be for everyone--but for vampire and urban fantasy enthusiasts, it's a heady and delicious brew.
Anywho, the plot.
The near-future "neon-noir" (as Moreno-Garcia calls it) Mexico City has banned vampires from its environs, though the rest of the country has been something of a safe haven for vampires who faced persecution once they "came out" to the world in the 1970s. Atl is a descendant of Latin American vampires who have been around since before the Aztecs; the European Necros, a younger lineage more prone to violence, have been encroaching into her family's territory, including their narcotics empire. After staggering acts of violence, Atl is on the run, hiding in the safest place she can think of, the last place a reasonable vampire would be: Mexico City.
There, she meets Domingo, a charming trash-picker who is absolutely fascinated by vampires in general and Atl in particular. He eagerly assists her by giving blood and making connections with both her mother's old allies and his own underworld contacts, all in an effort to get her safely out of Mexico City and over the border on her way to vampire-friendly Brazil.
The world- and character-building that I so admired in Moreno-Garcia's <i>Mexican Gothic</i> are in more than full force her, since she's not as constrained by history and remote location as she was in that book. Mexico City is vibrant and alive, with its established neighborhoods, historic districts, seedy lower-income housing, hipster gentrification zones, and massive landfills; its dive bars, diners, metro, and retro automats. The biggest near-future-y element is the "Sanitation" department, a slightly sinister public health body that monitors Mexico City for signs of a deadly disease and, of course, the illegal presence of vampires.
Character-wise, along with Atl and Domingo, we have a woman cop who transferred from northern vampire territory to Mexico City to keep her teenage daughter safe, only wind up tangled in the Atl-Necros mess; a live-wire young Necros hopped up on violence and drugs, determined to capture and torture Atl for daring to reject his romantic advances and later
Spoiler
retaliating against his clan's broadside shot of beheading her mother by killing three of their own--the Necros may have responded by slaughtering Atl's entire family, but it's the personal slight that drives this guy on.That's a lot of pieces to put on the board, which accounts for the slow start. It's the kind of sprawling world building and character establishment that I absolutely love, but which is probably divisive among readers. The complex global vampire lore--which is helpfully broken down at the end of the book, though I didn't realize that since I was reading the ebook--is nuanced and fascinating.
I'm kind of torn about this book. For everything I loved in it (and there was a lot, so I'm going with four stars instead of three), I didn't feel a real connection. I did feel quite a lot of discomfort with
Spoiler
the inevitable Atl-Domingo romance. As Atl contemplates, Domingo is like a puppy in his outwardly innocent enthusiasm (though of course, as a kid who lives on the streets he's much more experienced in life than he lets on). When they get together, even though the narrative has stressed that they're kind of the same age, even if vampire Atl is a bit older chronologically, it still feels a bit icky. Part of why Atl feels so much older and so mature is the bloody violence that she's seen and crippling guilt that she feels--all deep, dark feelings that are so at odds with Domingo's sunny, almost childlike disposition. It just kind of felt...a little too close to statutory, and that colored my whole experience of the rest of the book. Probably unfairly. Oh well, that's just my brain.Sprawling and complex, this book won't be for everyone--but for vampire and urban fantasy enthusiasts, it's a heady and delicious brew.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Blood
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug use, and Blood
ruthjenkins's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.5
The author does a good job creating a rich and diverse world of vampires and narcos, without description impeding the story. There are a few bits of exposition dialogue but they mostly make sense in the context of those characters.
The story is a little slow to get started, since the protagonist is in hiding so isn't doing a huge amount, but when the action gets going it becomes quite tense, and very violent.
The story is a little slow to get started, since the protagonist is in hiding so isn't doing a huge amount, but when the action gets going it becomes quite tense, and very violent.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Vomit, Blood, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Torture
dreareads_'s review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
4.75
BISEXUAL VAMPIRE WITH A GOLDEN RETRIEVER BOYFRIEND IN A GRUMPYxSUNSHINE RELATIONSHIP WHERE SHE IS THE GRUMP AND HE IS THE SUNSHINE (My dreams have come true).
BUT ALSO:
- The lore behind each vampire race was crafted wonderfully.
- The focus on Mexico City, and Latin America was so refreshing I almost cried.
- Oh my gosh the story was tragic and it was intense, and truly grabs you from the beginning.
My ONLY complain:
- I wanted to learn more about Atl's MOM!! Please Silvia, if you ever create a prequel around Atl's mom I would love you forever. Please. I am begging!
This is NOT YA. It is intense, but so fun and cool. It was really COOL.
Anyways, Loved it. I need more books about Atl and set in this universe asap.
BUT ALSO:
- The lore behind each vampire race was crafted wonderfully.
- The focus on Mexico City, and Latin America was so refreshing I almost cried.
- Oh my gosh the story was tragic and it was intense, and truly grabs you from the beginning.
My ONLY complain:
- I wanted to learn more about Atl's MOM!! Please Silvia, if you ever create a prequel around Atl's mom I would love you forever. Please. I am begging!
This is NOT YA. It is intense, but so fun and cool. It was really COOL.
Anyways, Loved it. I need more books about Atl and set in this universe asap.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Gun violence, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Gore, Misogyny, and Murder