Happy Hour at Casa Dracula
Pocket Star Books
(January 29, 2008)
384 pages
$6.99
Amazon
A little bit of Buffy meets Twilight meets Rebecca* meets Ecce Romani** meets Veronica Mars meets Bourne Identity*** meets a whole lot of an original, new tale.
I got this book on one of the first few days of October and then my whole life went kaboom for a while so it took me a while to read it (not because of the book at all) and I can't wish more that I wasn't able to get a review up by Halloween.
I'm not really sure how to summarize this book without getting spoliery, so I'm going to say what I like about it first: I love that (main character) Milagro De Los Santos has a job (as a writer) that she can logically keep with the changing setting and hectic events of the novel--I hate books where the girls have lives they've worked for and then it's just over; there were great descriptions throughout the book but they never got distracting (which descriptions can sometimes do).
Some other things I also loved: the funny/snarky dialogue (sometimes internal sometimes not), it didn't cross the line into being corny and reminded me, actually, of Veronica Mars; there were some killer similes (I was stupid and didn't mark any but I'll try to find some for an example); and the chapter titles were hilarious (ex: 'to snooze, perchance to hallucinate' & 'the icing on the sin cake'); & I loved the secondary characters who all had their own little quirks and personalities which made you love each of them individually.
A few things I had problems with: I still never figured out the flip flops and tube socks thing; what seemed like the same sentence nuerous times about Tessie; a part in the ending that maybe came a little too easily (but it was minor). I think that's all.
And more thing, this might be listed (some places) as a 'vampire romance' but what I really loved most about it was that it wasn't just another 'yay!vampire...yay!sex' book. There was romance in the book and there were vampires (in a way that I'm 99.999995% sure they've never been in any other book) but for 98% of the book I at least wasn't sure who ultimately was going to end up being the lead male character for the next book (there are 3 so far).
and because reviews do need some sort of a summary:
amd my rating: 10/10
*I just got that vibe for some reason--the Hitchcock movie more than the book
**my Latin textbook-I can explain :)
***it was the least blow-y up spy movie I could think of
and thank you to Marta Acosta for sending me the book :) (and here I was worried about what to do if I didn't like the book..guess that didn't matter ;) Sorry it took me so long)
*is Blogger acting funky for anyone else?*
Pocket Star Books
(January 29, 2008)
384 pages
$6.99
Amazon
A little bit of Buffy meets Twilight meets Rebecca* meets Ecce Romani** meets Veronica Mars meets Bourne Identity*** meets a whole lot of an original, new tale.I got this book on one of the first few days of October and then my whole life went kaboom for a while so it took me a while to read it (not because of the book at all) and I can't wish more that I wasn't able to get a review up by Halloween.
I'm not really sure how to summarize this book without getting spoliery, so I'm going to say what I like about it first: I love that (main character) Milagro De Los Santos has a job (as a writer) that she can logically keep with the changing setting and hectic events of the novel--I hate books where the girls have lives they've worked for and then it's just over; there were great descriptions throughout the book but they never got distracting (which descriptions can sometimes do).
Some other things I also loved: the funny/snarky dialogue (sometimes internal sometimes not), it didn't cross the line into being corny and reminded me, actually, of Veronica Mars; there were some killer similes (I was stupid and didn't mark any but I'll try to find some for an example); and the chapter titles were hilarious (ex: 'to snooze, perchance to hallucinate' & 'the icing on the sin cake'); & I loved the secondary characters who all had their own little quirks and personalities which made you love each of them individually.
A few things I had problems with: I still never figured out the flip flops and tube socks thing; what seemed like the same sentence nuerous times about Tessie; a part in the ending that maybe came a little too easily (but it was minor). I think that's all.
And more thing, this might be listed (some places) as a 'vampire romance' but what I really loved most about it was that it wasn't just another 'yay!vampire...yay!sex' book. There was romance in the book and there were vampires (in a way that I'm 99.999995% sure they've never been in any other book) but for 98% of the book I at least wasn't sure who ultimately was going to end up being the lead male character for the next book (there are 3 so far).
and because reviews do need some sort of a summary:
Despite her Fancy University (F.U.) degree, Milagro de los Santos isn’t having much success at life. She can barely pay the rent and all of her boyfriends are as frivolous as beach reads. Then, at a party in honor of her successful ex-boyfriend, she meets the unusually attractive, quirky Oswald Grant.
Who knew that her passionate kiss with Oswald would result in serious illness, a craving for raw meat, and an aversion to sunlight? Well, her ambitious ex knew, and after he attempts to kidnap Milagro, she must hide out with Oswald’s snobby family at their country estate to recover and learn the truth about their mysterious “genetic condition.”
When Oswald and his family are threatened, Milagro uses her wits, her wiles, and a whacky scheme to bring down the power-hungry creeps who refuse to let the undead live in peace. (via author's site)
amd my rating: 10/10
*I just got that vibe for some reason--the Hitchcock movie more than the book
**my Latin textbook-I can explain :)
***it was the least blow-y up spy movie I could think of
and thank you to Marta Acosta for sending me the book :) (and here I was worried about what to do if I didn't like the book..guess that didn't matter ;) Sorry it took me so long)
*is Blogger acting funky for anyone else?*
I read and loved this book as well. Marta Acosta commented on my review of it, and she ended up sending me Midnight Brunch at Casa Dracula & Bride of Casa Dracula as well :)
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