Midnight Brunch by M. Acosta

When I first picked up Marta Acosta’s Happy Hour at Casa Dracula, I have to admit, I went in expecting a certain type of vampire and that’s not really what I ended up with. My expectation did not do me any favors and it colored my opinion of the book a little. This time around, when I picked up Midnight Brunch (at Casa Dracula), I knew exactly what to expect and I loved it.

Milagro de los Santos has been at the ranch with the rest of the Grant family for a year now. She’s happily involved with Oswald and she’s getting ready to meet more members of his family, including his parents. Sam and Winnie have had their baby and more vampires are gathering for a naming ceremony, hence the family gathering. At the ceremony, Milagro meets Silas Madison who’s more than willing to share some of the society’s secrets. What Milagro doesn’t know is he has plans for her and they don’t necessarily take into consideration her health or her interests. When she realizes what Silas wants, she escapes to the desert where she’s offer the chance to rewrite a script, stay at a gorgeous health spa resort and finds herself in even more trouble than before.

Midnight Brunch (at Casa Dracula) is a fun and quirky novel that continues on with Acosta’s witty sense of humor and gives us some great character development. Plus, we’re given more insight into her vampire culture various members gather for the birth of Sam and Winnie’s child. Through this family gathering, Acosta allows us to glean various tidbits from some eccentric characters without having to develop any emotional ties to the family. Of all the new faces we meet at the Grant Ranch, we are introduced to one man who becomes the epicenter for all of Milagro’s troubles and he’s not your typical nefarious vampire bad guy.

I did have one part of this novel that didn’t sit well with me. At the beginning, Milagro takes a lot of flack from various different characters. Because of her heritage and body, some of the “upper crust” that are her friends begin to take advantage of her generosity and she continually gets walked over. It’s like she really doesn’t have a backbone, or she does, but she either doesn’t care or she doesn’t want to use it. I understand that Milagro has a very low quota of self-esteem when it comes to herself, and it works with the story, but I guess I just have something against the idea that people should be walked all over.

Overall, I really did enjoy this novel. It took me a little longer to get through since I was in the process of moving, but I found myself wanting to get back to the story. I wanted to see what was going on. There are all these little nuances that something is going on, but nothing so obviously that it trips any radars. The characters have so many different layers that it’s fun to watch them all unfold. Acosta has a unique view on the vampire society and it’s really refreshing. Especially if you love vampires and are looking for something that isn’t of the dark and/or twisted natures that a lot of authors are sharing these days. This is a really fun series to read, and if you like the Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris or even the Queen Betsy series by MaryJanice Davidson (although I starting to think the Casa Dracula series is going to start trumping the MJD series on my “must get” list) then you should definitely run out to a bookstore or library and find this book.

Read Order:
Happy Hour at Casa Dracula
Midnight Brunch (at Casa Dracula)
The Bride of Casa Dracula (9/16/08)

About Jackie 3282 Articles
I am a 30-something SAHM with two adorable boys and a supportive husband who is very tolerant of my reading addiction. I love to read and easily go through about a dozen books a month – well I did before I had kids. Now, not so much. After my first son was born, I began to take my hobby of reviewing a little more serious and started Literary Escapism to help with my sanity. I love to discuss the fabulous novels I’ve read and meeting all the wonderful people in the book blogging community has been amazing.

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