Review: Happy Hour at Casa Dracula

[onceupon.livejournal.com]

Happy Hour at Casa Dracula, by Marta Acosta, is a fun vampire/romance/comedy. Actually, I kind of hate to call it a romance because there is nothing of the explicit sex in this one (though some characters do, thankfully, get it on). Basically, if you are on a smut mission, this is not the book you are looking for. However, it IS clever and delightful on several different levels.

Milagro de Los Santos is a smart and sexy Latina who, in true Regency romance style, can't seem to get her shit together especially in the man department. She's a product of a fancy pants college education but it isn't doing her much good in the "real" world.

I actually can't stand to read most Regency romances because the heroine is so passive; Milagro is anything but. She has complex relationships with her friends and former lovers. She has a complicated family situation. But none of it feels heavy in this book - it simply is what it is - Milagro isn't going to waste a lot of time moping, she's going to muddle through as best she can.


And then comes the upheaval - Milagro is infected with the vampire virus and introduced to a modern clan of vampires. Wealthy, upper-crust Northern California vampires who look chic and sleek and practice philanthropy. Hijinks ensue.


The tone shifts between Regency romance and flat-out caper fairly regularly. It keeps the pages turning.

This is not Serious Literature. It's awesome fluff without being dumb.

My biggest complaint is actually the cover. My copy was an ARC with an illustration. But there's something about the actual cover and the cover of the third book (which I haven't read yet) that looks like they chose the most Anglo-Saxon Latina model they could. though that might also be tied in with my irritation at the insistence on representing not-thin characters as no, really, quite thin on book covers (Milagro is one of those not-fat, not-thin characters and her body confidence is actually totally awesome).

Comments

[littlebutfierce]

Oooh, exciting--I think I had this bookmarked to look into at some point & didn't go back to it... but I've been looking for POC-written stuff of just this type of thing, so yay!

[onceupon.livejournal.com]

There are 3 books in the series so far - I've only read the first two but they are just so FUN. I hope you enjoy it!

[sparkymonster.livejournal.com]

Interestingly, there is ANOTHER latino author of humorous vampire romance named Mario Acevedo. There is an interview with Acosta and Acevedo here (http://www.beatrice.com/A2A/archives/002098.html)

[littlebutfierce]

I read one of Acevedo's books & found it a little offensive, alas.

[sparkymonster.livejournal.com]

CURSES

That does sound offensive. I just finished "Happy Hour at Casa Dracula." I devoured like a maniac. This is basically a fluffy romance with random vampirism. And yet there is interesting stuff going on about body image obsessed people, about assimilated vs. non assimilated latin@ people and..yeah. I definitely recommend this.

[onceupon.livejournal.com]

That is a damn shame.

[lonecow.livejournal.com]

This sounds fantastic! I cannot wait to hunt down the books!

[onceupon.livejournal.com]

They are so fun.

[melodyunity.livejournal.com]

Sounds like fun! Thanks for the review.

[onceupon.livejournal.com]

You are welcome!

[b-writes.livejournal.com]

That sounds really fun! The cover is disappointing though.

[onceupon.livejournal.com]

I go back and forth on the cover. I'm all, "Marianne, are you the one to say what a Latina looks like?" and, no, I"m not but I also know how publishing works and my instincts say problematic.

The second one doesn't have a person on the cover so that one is easy to love. *grin*

[cynthia1960.livejournal.com]

I just devoured all three books and need More Milagro Now.

[onceupon.livejournal.com]

She totally needs to write moar!