Title: Happy Hour at Casa Dracula
Author: Marta Acosta
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Series: Casa Dracula #1
Publisher: Pocket Star
Number of Pages: 384
Source: My copy
Milagro De Los Santos needs to get her career on track -- and a sexy man to come home to. At a party for her ex-boyfriend, she meets the unusually attractive Oswald Grant, who sweeps her off her feet. But when he bites her in the heat of passion and she instantly falls ill, Milagro realizes Oswald is not just any fabulous man -- he's a vampire. Whisked away to his family's estate to recover, Milagro learns the ins and outs of vampirism while falling for a wickedly inappropriate man. But when the vampires' lives are threatened, Milagro uses her wits, her wiles, and an incredibly whacky scheme to bring down a power-mad secret society that refuses to let the undead live and love in peace. (amazon)
I am so grateful to Blouedd for recommending this one in her year end post. This fell under the best damn vampire books category, and I had seen this series around before, but I had a gift card burning my wallet, took a chance and fell for Amazons 3 for 1 promotion on this book and am so glad I took a chance on it.
This is unlike any vampire book I've read lately.Happy Hour At Casa Dracula is hard to describe. I would say it's paranormal romance with a dash of chic lit. It was fun, lighthearted, & made me laugh out loud.To borrow a word from the heroine was Fabulous!
Milagro De Los Santos is one of my favorite heroines. She is Latino, and I liked how she talks about what is to be different in the world of her friends, has a wicked sense of humor, and isn't afraid to tell everyone what's on her mind. She has a degree from an ivy league school, but unlike most of her friends is broke and doing odd jobs that I would love to have like being a reader for people who don't like to read books for their book club. One of her clients invites her to a literary party which she finds is for her ex boyfriend Sebastian-who is just wonderful at being slimy.
At the party she meets Oswald, whom like Milagro I thought was fabulous. He is mysterious and she knows better then to be attracted to him, but can't help it. Through a series of events, she gets sick after meeting Oswald and discovers there are a bunch of bad guys after her. She gets taken by the bad guys and is rescued & taken to safety by Oswald's family. Milagro doesn't like it, but doesn't want to put her friends in danger so she agrees to stay for a little while.
What I liked was that once she was at country house of Oswalds family, she didn't lose her spunk, and questioned everything. This book isn't so much about romance as it is about Milagro dealing with what has happened to her and finding out that her life skills aren't so useless after all.
Happy Hour at The Casa Dracula was just pure fun. It's I loved that the villains were so great not to like, the hero wasn't your typical ego centric hero, and that the secondary characters were lovable and became instant book friends. There were also enough twists and turns to keep me guessing till the very end at how things would turn out. There are so many things I want to mention-like how Milagro's favorite book is Jane Eyre, and how I wish I were better at figuring out the layers of novels, because if I were like Tasha from Truth, Beauty, Freedom & Books I would be able to point out the similarities between the two books, but I'm not very good at that sort of thing, so I'll just say again how much I loved this book. If you are looking for a different kind of paranormal romance, then look no further. I can't wait to read the next book in the series.
Favorite Quote:
Some French guy once said that vengeance is a dish best served cold, but when the opportunity arose I would make my retribution as hot as a habanero on a raw cut.
Curran Crush Meter: High
Martini Sigh Meter: High
Barrons Hero Hotness Meter: Medium
Rhiannon Kick Ass Heroine Meter: High
Finn Sidekick Meter: Super High
Sizzle Meter: Medium
