Review: "Happy Hour at Casa Dracula" by Marta Acosta

[fiction-theory.livejournal.com]

Title: Happy Hour at Casa Dracula (Casa Dracula, Book 1)
Author: Marta Acosta (MartaAcosta.com)
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Page Count: 312 (Trade Paperback Edition)
Publisher: Pocket Star



Note: If any or all of my review is not appropriate for this community, I will remove or edit it at the moderator's request. Thank you.



Basic Plotline: After Milagra de los Santos, a struggling Latina writer, encounters Oswald at her snooty ex-boyfriend's book reading, she becomes infected with the hereditary disease that Oswald's family has been struggling with for generations, one that makes people think they are vampires. To keep her safe, his family secrets her away to their country estate to recover. As she tries to fit in with his family, her ex-boyfriend, working with a secret organization that wants to destroy these "vampires", is after her.

The Positives: This is a very fun, light read, and that was nice.I definitely would call it a "beach read". If you're looking for something with depth and grit, go elsewhere. If you're looking for a book that doesn't ask much, throws some heat, has some wit, and never gets too boring (even when it becomes predictable), I'd recommend this.

It owes more to the chick-lit tradition than the paranormal romance tradition, and there are moments when the "vampirism" is just a plot device to cause the kind of personal and romantic drama for the heroine that's the very hallmark of chick-lit.

The heroine is witty in her way, and about 85% less annoying than others I've read. She does have the presence of mind to be aware when she's being shallow and to want seriousness in her life.

The characters are all quite colorful. Most are likeable and come across very clearly. My favorite relationship in the book was not romantic, but the sometimes clashing, always snarky, satisfying frenemosity (frenemy + animosity) between Milagro and the vampiric family matriarch, Edna. Their banter was hilarious at moments, Edna came across with a sort of lovable grumpiness and seeing them get the better of each other while forging an interesting friendship was the best part of the book.

The plot moves along at a steady pace, sometimes slower than I'd like, but it never completely stops.

If you're a literature geek, references to the classics - from Jane Eyre to Pride and Prejudice - abound, both stated in the text and in more subtle subtextual implications. A lot of this book harkens back to those books, so if you're a fan, keep an eye out.


The Negatives: A lot the negatives I'm about to list are things which are part and parcel of the genre that Acosta is writing. While I'm an urban fantasy/paranormal romance fan, this book is about nine parts chick-lit and one part paranormal.

The attention to fashion, clothing, serial romances, plus the hints of self-insertion are part of the genre, and, sadly, a turn off for me when dealing with female protagonists. Other women, I'm told, get a kick and a half out of it, so who am I to judge?

The heroine's impressive vocabulary felt forced, as though the author tried to wedge ten dollar words into places no human being would have actually used them. The dialogue and speech patterns felt artificial, and I couldn't get a sense of the voices of the characters.

The novel wraps up in two short chapters, making the ending come across as manufactured and convenient. For instance, Milagro's friend just happens to be a highly skilled hacker who can break into the database of the anti-vampire faction, though her computer skills are not previously mentioned anywhere. Edna just happens to have been the former lover of Milagro's ex-boyfriend's grandfather who stops his grandson's plans.

Of course, once this is done, the way is instantly cleared after 300 pages of angst for Oswald and Milagro to be together with no loose ends or messiness. Oswald's fiancee is fobbed off on someone else and her ex-boyfriend and his bitchy fiancee are left in tears.


CoC Score: 10. Full marks for a book about a Latina heroine by a Latina author. Plenty of her culture, flavor, language, and heritage fused in without dipping into any stereotypes that I am aware of, though I will readily admit that there may be stereotypes or problems I am not aware of.

Language note: there are Spanish words and phrases used in this novel without any direct translation given. As an English-only speaker, they weren't enough to confuse or detract from my enjoyment.



GLBT Score: 3. I was a very disappointed by the use of the "gay best friend" trope here, especially from a heroine who referred to the gay man, Gabriel, who saved her life as a "nice Froot Loop" while he was saving her life! I awarded three points instead of two for letting Gabriel play the action hero and him pointing out Milagro's prejudices (against "vampires", not queer folks).

However, seven points were deducted for:

1) a comment on Gabriel's "broken gaydar" when he comments that his cousin, Oswald, isn't her type. Because he couldn't be referring to their incompatible personalities or that his disease makes him a problematic boyfriend (which is 100% true) or anything! The heroine finds out later that her assumption about his statement was wrong, but never gets to the point where she thinks "Geez, maybe if I hadn't stuffed him into the Magical Gay Helper box, I'd've saved myself an assload of problems!"

2) No other GLBT folks appearing save Gay Male Best Friends, who are there only to provide support and fashion advice and promptly disappear when they aren't useful. Gabriel pops in and out and seems to exist only for Milagro's entertainment and convenience. Clearly, the only sexuality that really counts in this novel is HETEROsexuality. Might cause some gnashing of teeth.



Gender Score: 4/8. I'm conflicted on the gender score. On one hand, Milagro is intelligent, strong willed, and enjoys her sexuality and her body. This novel easily passes the Bechtel Test, and features a wide range of women from the bitchy, shallow society mavens to Edna to Milagro.

On the other hand there are uncomfortable moments that imply the narrator's self worth derives solely from her sexual attractiveness to men.

Milagro states that her landlord lowers her rent because he likes her boobs, and makes many references to her breasts as weapons and tools.

More disturbing is when the narrator comes staggering into a hotel lobby after being infected with the vampire disease. She is in rough shape, disoriented, her lip is bleeding. A door man she's friendly with from previous visits calls a cab and gives the driver extra money to look after her, but the narrator attributes his kindness to the many times she let him pat her ass. As she's getting into the cab, the narrator "brushes [her] breasts" up against him to thank him for his kindness. The bouncer's response is ambiguous. He merely says "you can thank me later", and one can't tell whether he means: "hey, you're vulnerable, now's probably not a good time" or "hey, you owe me a sexual favor for this now".

Toward the end of the novel, Milagro spots hemophiliac dying from a cut to his wrist. He lays on the floor and mourns that he'll "never get to touch a woman's tit!" At that point, she lets him touch her breast while saving him by biting him and passing on her healing powers.

These moments hit a gender-related squick button for me, even though the narration says (or at least implies) Milagro enjoyed and consented to these encounters. Thus, a split score.

Comments

[parallactic.livejournal.com]

My favorite relationship in the book was not romantic, but the sometimes clashing, always snarky, satisfying frenemosity (frenemy + animosity) between Milagro and the vampiric family matriarch, Edna.</>

Ditto. Milagro and Edna's developing friendship was a thing of beauty. Sadly, Edna doesn't get as much screentime in the sequels.

I didn't think the heroine's vocabulary was forced, since she repeatedly stated that she graduated from a fancy university and was an aspiring writer. I figured her for a book geek.

Gender Score:
Huh. While I was reading the book that stuff passed by me, but having it laid out like that is troubling.