Q: Do you like vampire books? Which is your favorite?
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Certain Dark Things
Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Pub Date: 9/7/21
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This magical book was set in Mexico City, a dark unseen ancient world that still lives within our world. I was enthralled by all the vampiric beings and cryptids that were present. Usually it’s only the normal euro vampires we see in stories but there were so many in this book! And they had a hierarchy and turf. The Revenant, Necros, Imagoes, Tlāhuihpochtli, (I want to read a book about Asanbosam or Obayifo, which glow in the dark to mesmerize their prey).

Domingo is a street teen who collects garbage for money but doesn’t have much. He’s heard of the stories of the vampires but isn’t afraid especially when he runs into a beautiful otherworldly woman.

Atl, the descendent of Aztec blood drinkers accepts Domingo’s help and is needing to escape town to get away from the Necros.

The Necros kill/eat brutally where the blood drinkers are more ritualistic and preserve their food as Renfields.

The more Domingo helps Atl, the closer they get but a romance can’t happen between a human and a vampire.

There were more sides fighting along with the police fighting with specialized weapons. And Atl had a fancy doberman with neon light work done like the picture. This book was so interesting! I love different types of folklore/myths/ legends being placed in current times.

Listening to the authors note- I found it fascinating that colonization leaks into all of her narratives then though they weren’t intended to be there. 

“I wanted to touch upon class, not really colonialism, but it just seeped into the book uninvited, so that you have European vampires versus local Mexican vampires, and it’s as if a natural balance has been wildly disrupted. And then, of course, one thing that happened was that I’ve been chasing the idea of colonialism and what happens in its wake through several other books, including Mexican Gothic. It’s just this thing that keeps coming back.”

Definitely add this to your October spooky stack or to your Vampire TBR!

Thank you tornightfire and netgalley for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.

Synopsis:

From the New York Times bestselling author of Mexican Gothic comes a pulse-pounding neo-noir that reimagines vampire lore.

Welcome to Mexico City, an oasis in a sea of vampires. Domingo, a lonely garbage-collecting street kid, is just trying to survive its heavily policed streets when a jaded vampire on the run swoops into his life. Atl, the descendant of Aztec blood drinkers, is smart, beautiful, and dangerous. Domingo is mesmerized.

Atl needs to quickly escape the city, far from the rival narco-vampire clan relentlessly pursuing her. Her plan doesn’t include Domingo, but little by little, Atl finds herself warming up to the scrappy young man and his undeniable charm. As the trail of corpses stretches behind her, local cops and crime bosses both start closing in.

Vampires, humans, cops, and criminals collide in the dark streets of Mexico City. Do Atl and Domingo even stand a chance of making it out alive? Or will the city devour them all?