Book Review | Certain Dark Things

After Atl gets revenge on a rival narco-vampire clan, she's a woman on the run. She's alone, hungry, and in need of food. Fortunately, she finds a human blood bag in a sweet boy named Domingo who is obsessed with comic books and who would do anything for her. Together they try to avoid the vampires and human law enforcement trying to track them down.

Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia adds fresh blood to the vampire genre. It combines neo-noir, paranormal fantasy, and even a dash of sci-fi while still paying homage to classics like Bram Stocker’s Dracula.

There’s a lot of really cool concepts going on with this book like Atl’s bioengeered Doberman and I adored that Atl is rooted in Nahuatl lore.

However, the story feels more like incomplete rough draft of ideas. In fact, a lot of the worldbuilding is left explained in the glossary as opposed to being actually integrated and explored in the story itself.

Lastly, I also have qualms over the story’s ending. The conclusion felt abrupt and it completely discards all of the previous relationship build up between Atl and Domingo, leaving wondering what was the point of having a romantic subplot in the first place.

All in all, Certain Dark Things is an entertaining read for vampire lovers. However, it feels underdeveloped and ultimately undermines whatever relationship development it had tried to establish with its final pages.

Thank you, NetGalley and Tor Nightfire, for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Book Details:

Publication Date : September 7, 2021

Publisher : Tor Nightfire

ISBN : 1250785588
Pages : 272

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