Silvia Moreno-Garcia has written so many books I loved, I couldn't miss out on this one. Vampires in Mexico City, what's not to love? It's a thrilling urban fantasy with different factions of vampires. Some more gruesome than the other. I love this idea, that even within a fantasy race, they develop differently. And what are factions without rivalry or gang wars? Also, have you seen the cover? I absolutely love it.

As with all of her books, Certain Dark Things has its own voice that fits the genre well. Its pacing is much faster than The Beautiful Ones for example. The descriptions are sharp, filled with scents and lights. Or lack thereof. The first page is an excellent example of how to use voice to describe something. It's a description of the garbage but from the perspective of Domingo, a homeless young man. He doesn't see trash, he sees possibilities. It's a way to make money. It's beautifully written and I'm looking forward to analysing it further.

Domingo and Atl are great characters. Two completely different people who are forced together due to circumstances. He admires her for what she is but that soon changes when he gets to know her. It's interesting to see how their two stories mesh together even though you'd never expect it at the beginning of the book. Atl's dog is a very good dog and I'm glad he makes the end of the book.

I give Certain Dark Things four stars. It's a great vampire novel with interesting worldbuilding and thrilling setting. If you're looking for something completely different but with vampires, I highly recommend this one.

Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for providing me with this eArc!

This was something different for me! But I really liked it, much like the title suggests it indeed was dark! I definitely will be reading more from this author.

In Mexico city Domingo fights to survive, collecting rubbish amidst a heavily policed city. However ,one night he meets Atl; a vampire whose whole family and clan have been killed and is hiding in the city to stay alive. As the two slowly become friends danger is not far behind; will they both survive and even if they do would they ever be able to be together?

This was an intriguing take on the vampire trope; I loved the familiarity of Mexico city with the addition of the vampiric history and both Domingo and Atl were very sympathetic characters who I desperately wanted a happy ending for. Each new Silvia Moreno-Garcia book is wo wildly different but enthralling so I will continue to read anything and everything that she writes.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review

I've wanted to read Silvia Moreno-Garcia and have had Mexican Gothic on my to be read for a while but Certain Dark Things sounded much more up my street! Great to see a new take on Vampires.

Certain Dark things does some things absolutely brilliantly. I loved the mythology in this book, with the different types of vampires and their origins in different parts of the world. The connections between the different characters and how we got to se into each character’s mind with the different point of views
All of the characters where interesting and complex. The one thing I felt lacked some depth was the story itself. It felt a bit simplistic in contrast to the other parts of the book, so with a stronger story this would have been a five star read for me, but as it is it gets four stars.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia has definitely become a favorite author of mine and I’m looking forward to reading more!

Fun! Vampires! And the world gone mad! While I didn't love Certain Dark Things as much as Mexican Gothic, Gods of Jade and Shadow and The Beautiful Ones, it's still an incredibly fun read. Moreno-Garcia has such a sense of place in all of her novels and Certain Dark Things doesn't disappoint, you're plunged right into the big city and the darkness that lurks in the corners. I loved the atmospheric ride you go on with these characters. Perfect for adult fans of Holly Black and Robin McKinley - people looking for their vampires with a little more bite to them.

This is the first Silvia Moreno-Garcia book that I have read, after hearing many amazing things about their work. I can say with certainty that I plan on picking up more of their books, as I really enjoyed Certain Dark Things.

If you know me then you know that I love stories about vampires. When I heard that this book focused on them I knew I had to read it. What I didn’t expect is the rich lore that the author created in this book. There were many different types of vampires with different abilities and histories. I loved learning more about each kind. Their history and their abilities were fascinating. This was probably my favourite aspect of the novel. The world is simply fascinating and I wouldn’t mind reading another story set in it. I must say that in the beginning the world-building was a bit clunky, but that got fixed as the story progressed.

The story was very interesting to me. I couldn’t put the book down, as I needed to know what was going to happen next and how the conflicts would get resolved. At some points in the story the exposition was a bit too much, but nothing too bad that ruined the story. It was very interesting seeing how all the different characters navigate throughout the same city and which difficulties each of them face. I don’t think I can write more about the story without spoilers, so I’ll leave it at this. (Plus, I’ll mention that I liked the way the book ended.)

Now onto the characters. To be honest, I read this book a while ago and I’m just now writing a review so my memory of all of them isn’t the clearest. I liked Domingo and Atl, they were very interesting characters to follow. They are completely different from each other, it was interesting seeing them interact with each other and try to understand one another. Their dynamic was compelling to read about. The only problem that I had with them was the romance. First of all Domingo is 17 and Atl is 23, so that wasn’t sitting right with me. Plus I didn’t really feel the romantic chemistry between them. The romance felt completely unnecessary and I would have enjoyed the story more without it. The other characters that we follow throughout the story were interesting. Each of their perspectives brought something to the table and made the story feel richer. It also showed the different sides of the world, as all of them had a different background.

Overall I really enjoyed reading Certain Dark Things and I definitely plan on reading more from this author in the future.

To call this a vampire novel is to do this a disservice, because Certain Dark This is so much more than that. Combining rich and diverse mythology with complicated characters with plentiful backstories and lore and you have a novel that manages to reinvent the vampire story and make it feel fresh and relevant.

Our main characters are Alt and Domingo. The first is a vampire on the run and the other is a garbage collecting street kid. They're worlds apart in every respect, yet somehow end up working together to fight enemies and somehow try not to succumb to their growing feelings for each other. The friction between them is undeniable band wonderful to read.

The whole world brims with a dirty undercurrent that I've come to expect from Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Nothing and nobody is safe, with danger lurking around every corner and anyone could be subjected to a bloody end. There's no niceties in this world, just the cold hard truth. The plot is also tightly packed into under 300 pages, meaning we're in for a whirlwind of a ride and the pace does not let up until the end. I'll admit that the ending does wrap up very quickly, and not entirely to my satisfaction, but I can overlook this somewhat because I was just having so much fun.

Wonderfully complex lore in an atmospheric and detailed world, this is a great interpretation of the vampire genre that feels inclusive and different.

I've read every one of Moreno-Garcia's books thus far and I would definitely consider myself a fan of hers. I
understand that this is a re-release of one of her earlier novels and one of the things I really like about Moreno-Garcia as an author is that every one of her books is about something different. Although there are often supernatural or magical elements to her books, they each stand on their own as something unique which is refreshing in such a prolific author.

The book tells the story of Domingo, a street kid, and his relationship with Atl, a Meso American vampire. Don't be fooled into thinking this is a typical vampire story, the Aztec influence is strong and I really liked how the author drew from traditional Aztec mythology in her depiction of Atl and her powers.

The main plot of the book follows the conflict between Atl and her conflict with encroaching Western-style vampires and organised crime elements in Mexico City. I wasn't sure if the conflict between the 'old' vampire families to which Atl belongs, and the newer 'Necro' European elements were an allusion to colonialism in general but if so then this was a clever touch. Domingo and Atl's relationship was surprisingly sweet although I struggled to get a mental picture of Domingo sometimes despite him being the 'main' character. I liked how the usual female human/male vampire dynamic was reversed and that a female vampire was the more powerful of the two. The lead up to the climax was exciting and I was personally satisfied by the ending although I could see why some might not be.

What threw me a little was the difference in the writing quality compared to Moreno-Garcia's later books. It is interesting to see how far she has come as a writer but as someone used to her more recent books it felt a little bit like a step backwards in terms of sophistication.

All that said, it was an enjoyable read and something a little different to the usual vampire focussed stories.

The queen of genre-switching strikes again! Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Certain Dark Things is a blend of sci-fi, horror, and noir set in the near future when the existence of vampires is acknowledged and Mexico City has closed its borders against them. Vampires also apparently run drug cartels now. Atl, the youngest daughter of a drug cartel leader, is on the run after slaughtering a rival gang in revenge for her family’s death. She’s hunted down and gets help from Domingo, a garbage-collecting street kid who’s always looked for a little action in his life.

Certain Dark Things contains all the hallmarks of noir: detectives, seedy criminal underworlds, hidey-holes in a big urban city, drugs, and guns. But it’s made even more exciting with the addition of vampires. And we’re not just talking your standard bloodsuckers. Silvia Moreno-Garcia makes use of different vampire myths from all over the world to create a setting where different species of vampires exist and have different methods of feeding. This was such an interesting, immersive read and honestly, I’d love to see it as a movie!

Wow wow wow!
I'm so happy that this book published again necause it was so good!
Silvia Moreno-Garcia really knows how to tell a good vampire story. It was really unique and I love the spins she put on the myth of the vampire.
Even though we got multiple perspectives in the story, the book never got boring or repetitive. In addition, every character was interesting and I loved reading about our villains and seeing what they were up to. This is definitely a book I'll continue to recommend and I'll for sure reread it multiple times in the future. The way Silvia-Moreno-Garcia blends the myth of the vampire so easily with Central and South American history was done flawlessly (at least from the perspective of a European)..

The characters as well are all really well-developed. Domingo as the lead is the perfect choice as we navigate the world with him and his human vulnerabilities are the key to his strength making him more endearing than ever. The development Atl goes through is so engaging to watch especially as her relationship with Domingo develops through out. Nick provides a truly dastardly antagonist to the narrative and the glimpses of the him we get through his chapters make his end all the more satisfying.

This being a reprint, and knowing the author has continued writing makes me a bit more mellow in my review here, I feel. This reads like an early novel by an author who wants to break out of the Western-centric fantasy tradition and is fairly successful at it. There are moments when there is just too much of "look at me" in the book. I mean take for example the "companions" of vampires in this world have a author-original (I assume) name of Tlapalehuiani but when introducing the term, the author states the protagonist "refused to use the word 'Renfiled'" as it was a "coarse term foisted upon them by Anglo pop culture." Good, great, invent your own term for the idea, but don't draw attention to the fact that you don't want to use the "western" term. There was no point to emphasising this. This way you only draw attention to the "western" term and you are defining your own term in relation to it, and not to your own created world!
All in all, I will check out more of this author's books in the future.

A DNF for me, unfortunately. I thought the character and world design were brilliant, but the writing was so choppy and almost rough that I found it really hard to stay focused, so ultimately I just gave up ^^; I think this would definitely work for the right reader, but the writing just made it too hard for me to push through.

Like a breeze of fresh air in vampire fiction - I'm so glad Moreno-Garcia gets her older works reprinted, it's what she deserves, with cover redesigns and all! The near-futuristic, almost dystopian vibes of Mexico City in Certain Dark Things remind me of the Blade franchise, which was deeply formative to me in my early teens. It could have been 5 stars, if I had been into the romance, but that was sadly a major part of the plot I couldn't get behind. In any case this is only the second instance of me reading a non-Anglo-centric vampire reimagination, but I hope it inspires more authors to put their culture out there!

I really wanted to like this because I like vampire novels and the connected sound incredibly interesting, but the book fell flat for me. I don't particularly enjoy the sci-fi genre, but there were elements that I was surprised to really like within the book. I think this book would be great for the right reader

Certain Dark Things is a rich and compelling story about Atl, an Aztec vampire who has fled to Mexico City after the death of her mother and sister with a rival vampire clan on her tail. Domingo is a street kid who is immediately mesmerished after meeting Atl. Atl seeks a way to escape the city before the rival vampire clan, the Necros, will kill her. Intrigued by Domingo and his devotion to her, Atl lets herself grow closer to him and accepts his help in getting out of the city. Will Atl and Domingo be able to make it out of Mexico City alive?

Certain Dark Things has a rich world-building and an even richer and compelling history of the different vampire species. Atl is a mysterious and interesting character with a complex background. Domingo is a naive and kind-hearted guy willing to help Atl out. And there's Cualli, Atl's genetically modified Dobermann, who's definitely at times the star of this show.

Even though I enjoyed the story a lot, I found the pacing to be really slow. So even though the story was good, it got dragged a bit. The pace did pick up after halfway through and that's when the action started. The stakes got higher and made me turn the page faster in order to find out if Atl, Domingo and Cualli would make it out alive.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia knows how to craft a beautiful and compelling story and Certain Dark Things was no different. I give this book 3,5 stars and can't wait to her more of Silvia Moreno Garcia's work.

I'm not sure if this is totally my genre but i did still enjoy it. The different species of vampire were really fascinating and it seems like Moreno-Garcia was inspired by the vampire mythology around the world. I found all the characters likeable except Nick but i dont think you are suppose to like him. I'm curious what happened to the characters next but feel satisfied with the ending.

I revived the ARC from Netgally in exchange for and honest review.

Absolutely in love with this book! It’s the fist Silvia Moreno Garcia that I’ve reas but surely I want to read everything she’s ever written.
I love the names of the characters and the subtle and not so subtle references to Mexican pop culture of the 70s Most characters are rounded and with their own flows which made them more realistic even in an alternative Mexico City we can easily see the humanity in the vampires and their sub-species. It’s not as fast paced as I’d like yet there’s plenty of action. I’d say the author took more time in character development and world building.
This is a vampire book like no other I love it so much they I actually purchase it on audio version so I could hear the pronunciation on Mexican words and I wasn’t disappointed.
Highly recommend!

I much prefer her newer work. I think I've almost read everything Silvia Moreno-Garcia has published. This was another one that didn't do it for me. The writing felt way more choppy and stilted, the fight scenes were meh and now I can kind of see a pattern in her characters. Domingo felt very much like Elvis.
Although this was not that great for me personally, I'll be looking forward to any of her new titles.