whimsydearest

Carlota Moreau lives in seclusion with her father and his array of human-animal hybrid experiments. However, their fragile peace is disturbed when their benefactor demands they provide workers for his haciendas and his son, Eduardo, becomes infatuated with Carlota. The Daughter of Doctor Moreau  by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a lush retelling of  The Island of Doctor Moreau  set in the Yucatán peninsula. The story is told from the dual perspectives of Carlota and Montgomery (a hunter who aids Doctor Moreau). I especially found Montgomery to be a compelling character since he is a man in debt who uses alcohol to self-medicate, and yet, he still cares for others. I also enjoyed Carlota’s character growth and seeing her slowly start to question her father’s authority. I do want to mention that this story predominantly feels like a historical fiction. It wonderfully delves into and explores the issues colonialism and classism in Mexico during the 1800s. This might be more of a pe...

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 conclusio...