The Bride of Casa Dracula [Paperback]

Milagro De Los Santos is flying high. She is engaged to the love of her life, Oswald Grant. She has a ghost-writing project to keep her busy and a firm grasp on her red-coloured cravings.
Never mind that she and Oswald are fighting constantly, minus any make-up sex since the vampire council has banned copulation until the wedding. She is writing a memoir for Don Pedro, a self-proclaimed shapeshifter who also happens to be a complete nutbar. And Milagro's blood cravings are only under control when she's not around her ex-beau Ian Ducharme. . . the man who makes her blood fizz and her chichis ache.
But apart from that everything is fine. . .

The first two books in the series were all about our protagonist, Milagro De Los Santos, wanting to fit in. Milagro wanted to fit into her fiancées family and to be a part of the vampire society she had been infected into. But this third book is about what happens when the square peg has been rammed into the round hole. . .

Marta Acosta has some powerful writing juju going on in this third instalment of the `Casa Dracula' series. Ms. Acosta draws on some fabulous references throughout `Bride'; rapid-fire allusions that swirl within the text and enrich the paranormal. Oswald and Milagro's pre-marital struggles feel like a head-nod to Pygmalion, with Oswald as Henry Higgins trying to change his flower-girl into a lady she's not. On a baser level it felt as though Milagro was a wolf trying to be tamed.

Milagro's ex-lover and still-crush, Ian Ducharme, plays a vital role in this third book. . . even more so when his wacko sister, Cornelia Ducharme, comes to help plan Milagro and Oswald's wedding. Ms. Acosta has said that she drew on Henry and Mary Crawford of Jane Austen's `Mansfield Park' for the characters of Ian and Cornelia. The Austen hat-tip is wonderful and befitting these twisted siblings, even more so when the Ducharme's layers are peeled back. Cornelia Ducharme reminded me of Daisy Buchanan, and in fact the Grant mansion prompted me to think of Gatsby's sprawling estate. . . even more so for the nostalgia Milagro feels for her first few months living with the Grant's. I also couldn't help but think that Milagro was Ian's green light at the end of the dock.

The exploration of duality is explored when shapeshifters are introduced to the Casa Dracula universe. Then there's the Greek mythology and the story of Persephone. Pomegranate seeds permeate the text - both literally and metaphorically. Milagro as Persephone caught between two worlds, always trying to live in both but belonging to neither. This theme is encapsulated in Milagro's choice between two men - sweetheart Oswald and bad-boy Ian. And furthermore by Milagro's wish for all the normal things; love, family, white picket fence... while she's also desperate to fit into the hush-hush vampire society.

The duality conflict has been a staple of all the Casa Dracula books. The series is first and foremost a comedy-of-manners, and Ms. Acosta has always explored social niceties and hierarchies via Milagro's Latina heritage. This has been one of my favourite aspects of the Casa Dracula series - that for all its paranormal tagging, the books have also been an exploration of modern bigotry. It's not just vampires who are society outcasts. . .
Milagro has been referred to as a common Mexican girl; she has been relegated to the maid's quarters and been the `odd one out' in her group of blonde-haired blue-eyed university friends. Ms. Acosta has written some corker observations about Mexican Americans and their standing in society.
Acosta writes laugh-out-loud, so-wrong-it's-right social observations that keep me thinking and chortling throughout the book.

One of my favourite things about this third book is the romance. Right from book one Milagro has been caught between two men - the safe and steady Oswald, and the dark and brooding Ian Ducharme. I have always been Team Ian, and my reasons felt justified by his appearance in this book.

I don't want to say how the book ends because it concerns Milagro's final, romantic decision. I will say that the love triangle is solved, beautifully and messily. I cried. . . but I won't say if it was tears of joy or frustration. But I will say it was an ending that left me panting for the fourth and final book `Haunted Honeymoon'.

Plot Summary: Milagro De Los Santos is a proud, curvy Latina with interests in gardening and writing. Her engagement to vampire Dr. Oswald Grant should be a no-brainer, considering that she's also a vampire, but obstacles keep coming up like she's running the 100 meter hurdles. The Vampire Council doesn't recognize Milagro as a card-carrying vampire, and they do everything they can to force her to heel like a dog. Milagro has friends and `frenemies' trying to gain control of her big day, and in the middle of this, a series of suspicious happenings has Milagro suspecting there's a malicious saboteur at work.

Well color me surprised. I picked this one up purely on impulse because of the cover art and title, and while I fully expected this to be a fluffy bit of fun, my expectations as to the writing were modest if not low. I decided to start it this morning with my cup of tea, and as the morning progressed I kept telling myself, just one more chapter, until there I was at lunch time still wearing my bathrobe!

This is an utterly charming book, and Acosta has a way with words that I very much envy. Too many times authors create these sassy, irreverent heroines who are all attitude without evidence of having a soul. Not so with Milagro. Her humanity is ever-present despite her vampire status, and she stands out for being kind-hearted without becoming a push-over. All of the digs Milagro takes for being a full-figured Mexican woman while surrounded by pencil-thin wasps had me grinding my teeth and wondering how white-bread blandness ever became the ideal of anything. Milagro's Latina heritage and personality combine to make her a spicy and unpredictable woman.

The dialog is a real treat, and it constantly snaps, crackles, and pops with humor, sarcasm, and witty insights. I take this story as one more cautionary tale against the perils of planning a big wedding, and it's comical to see how many hoops Milagro must jump through to marry her vampire fiancé. Toward the middle of the book, I felt like I was watching the Titanic sail to its doom, and without giving any spoilers, I'll say that I'm extremely happy with how it ended.

This is the third book in the Casa Dracula series, and I'd recommend this to anyone looking to read some vampire fantasy with a nice dose of romance, heavy on the humor, and non-existent gore. I'll be looking up the first two books for certain; no word on book four yet.

The third installment of Milagro's adventures did not disappoint. I still have a major crush on this sexy, saucy, independent converted vampiress despite her affection for that uptight plastic surgeon (I'm not bitter!) I was so proud of her when she took on the vampire establishment, finally realized her writing talents, showed a modicum of domestic abilities and still looked great in that white vinyl mini-skirt.

Seriously, Marta again wrote a majorly entertaining novel, with lovable and loathable characters in appropriate proportions, a plot that keeps you reading and that signature Marta wit.

I don't want to give too much away but I especially loved the way the book ended. I was soooo nervous that she would marry the wrong man!