Happy Hour at Casa Dracula

Hilarious, and I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did. Love the literary commentary, love the latina protagonist, love that she's pissed at the loss of her curvy chichis.

I liked the author's writing style - her turn of phrase. However, any time an author creates a character that's competition for the affections of the heroine they run the risk of making the rival a more interesting character. That's what drove me crazy about this book. Ian, the rival, was charming, smart, sexy, and dangerous. A temptation that could maybe be avoided but...he seemed to have really good chemistry with the heroine. The hero, by contrast, seemed like a cold fish throughout the book as well as the second book in the series. Ugh! I'd love it if the author made a spin-off series with the Ian character.

Review courtesy of AllThingsUrbanFantasy.blogspot.com

Funny and urban fantasy are not words that often go together, at least not intentionally, but HAPPY HOUR AT CASA DRACULA is the rare exception combining cool characters, witty dialogue, and laugh out loud moments in this Jane Austen channeled vampire romp.

Milangro had a strong voice and her outlook on life was hilarious in a Bridget Jones meets Charo kind of way, and there were several bitable vampires who pursued her, but it was the vampire matriarch, Edna who stole this book for me. She was prickly, condescending, and subtly insulting every time she spoke. I loved her.

And did I mention funny? I laughed so hard while reading HAPPY HOUR AT CASA DRACULA that I actually had to put the show more book down at one point because I was crying too hard to see the pages (it was the scene where Edna takes Milangro shopping for the second time).

Was it predictable? Yes. Was it groundbreaking in terms of world building? No. But it was smart, and clever, and great fun from beginning to end. If you’re feeling a little depressed by all the somber plotlines in most urban fantasy books, HAPPY HOUR AT CASA DRACULA is like a shot of margarita flavored sunshine in you tukis. I’m already planning my next visit to Casa Dracula.

Sexual Content: References to sex. A few mild sex scenes. A few mild scenes of sensuality. show less

Milagro meets Oswald at a book party for her jerk of an ex-boyfriend. They end up making out so heavily that they both fall down and cut their lips, exchanging blood. The next day, Milagro falls ill. Her symptoms include craving raw meat and sensitivity to sunlight. Her ex kidnaps her and tells her she’s a vampire now. However, Oswald’s family rescues her and takes her to their estate. The family insists that they are not vampires and neither is she. They say they suffer from a genetic condition and she has a virus.

The writing of Happy Hour at Casa Dracula was not the greatest – many cliché metaphors and whatnot. (Also, the word transvestite is used several times. I don’t think that word is okay to use now? This book was show more published in 2006 though, so it was probably okay then.) But I know the focus for these types of books is plot and I did think the story was amusing. I know nowadays, most romance readers want spice so fair warning: There is zero spice in this book. All love scenes fade to black. Lastly, I always like to document whenever Unitarians are referenced in popular culture since we so rarely are. When Milagro is trying to talk a girl out of being a Satanist, she says, “And you should find a decent religion. I’ve heard great things about the Unitarians.” Thanks, Milagro!

This book is the first in a series of four. I’m still deciding whether or not I liked it enough to read book two. This book doesn’t end with a cliffhanger so I feel pretty satisfied. show less

I picked up Happy Hour at Casa Dracula because of the title and I wasn't disappointed. Marta Acosta takes the idea of vampires and makes it her own. These aren't your average vampires. These are sophisticated, modern vampires that lean more towards funny than scary.

Spending time with Milagro de los Santos is a pleasure. She's an interesting mix of beautiful curves, savvy intelligence and feisty wit. She's a force of nature and definitely a character I would love to know in real life. She has this random way of thinking that makes complete sense. Like putting a humorous spin on the most mundane of topics and getting your point across better than being straightforward. It's one of those things you need to read to understand, but trust me, show more it completely makes the book.

Happy Hour at Casa Dracula is fun and light, which doesn't make it any less meaningful, just more enjoyable. A great beginning to a wonderful series. show less

The first 50 pages of HAPPY HOUR AT CASA DRACULA were fantastic, wonderful, off-the-charts. Full of witty little literary references, really funny, featuring a smart Latina heroine - Miraglo de los Santos - who leads a charmingly ramshackle life while she tries to find some direction for herself now that college is over. I read the first few chapters and thought, "Wow! I am so sorry I didn't pick this book up the second it was released!"

And then...well, and then. A series of twists and turns deposit Miraglo at Casa Dracula. All the vampires at CASA DRACULA call vampirism a "condition" and they never, ever suck blood. Instead, they have a groundskeeper who bleeds farm livestock and bottles the blood for the vamps, who drink responsibly, show more in small quantities, from glasses. Aside from one shady character who pops in for a visit, nobody seems at all interested in drinking human blood.

I just don't get vampire novels about genteel, civilized vampires who don't drink blood from the vein. Change out those bottles of blood for wine, and the vamps of Casa Dracula would be regular old humans. Which means that the plot boils down to shenanigans at the country house, like a Regency romance - who is sleeping with who, and who's going to catch who first, who is a friend and who is a foe.

Meanwhile, Acosta abandons all the fun literary references and the characters become increasingly one-dimensional. In the beginning, Miraglo was a bodacious Latina who had graduated from a top-notch school with a degree in English - she was a sort of scatterbrained, intellectual sex-bomb. But the 'smart' aspects of her character dim, and that just leaves...sexy and scatterbrained, a much less interesting combo. The villains grow more cartoonishly dastardly, the good guys are less ambiguous in their treatment of Miraglo, her college friends are neatly divided into true and false.

The first few chapters had my expectations so high that I could only be disappointed by the rest. Acosta is clearly an author who could have written a great book - but didn't. show less

This funny, frivolous novel gives Gothic literature a new twist. The heroine, a feisty Latina, turns vampire despite herself and finds herself at the center of whirlwind adventures. The writing is snappy and the characters are witty. However the plot becomes quite convoluted, there is a bit too much lusting after pretty boys and the politics of prejudice and money become wearisome. Nonetheless a relaxing fun way to pass a sunny summer day.