Customer Reviews

Haunted Honeymoon

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Tabula rasa means `blank slate', and is both a kick-ass season six episode of `Buffy the Vampire Slayer' and the overarching theme of Marta Acosta's fourth and final `Casa Dracula' novel. . .

In this novel Milagro is dealing with the fallout of `happily ever after'. Following the heartbreakingly complicated events of `Bride of Casa Dracula', Milagro de Los Santos made her bed and chose her man. Now she is discovering what happens after you ride off into the sunset with your prince charming. . .

In `Haunted Honeymoon' Milagro discovers that the man she chose can promise her lust, but not love; adoration but not fidelity. She feels seller's remorse for the man she gave up, and to nurse her broken heart (and make some mula off a fauxoir freak) she jet-sets to London and shacks up with a politically-minded surfer with a lush name.

When Milagro returns her problems are just as she left them - caught between the man she chose and the man she wants, and the vampire society who revere and vilify her. . . matters get even more complicated when the English surfer follows her home and gets himself killed. Suddenly Milagro is hunted by military contractors, and pissed off with Cockroaches and Pickles until her memory finally snaps and amnesia gives her a case of tabula rasa.

Marta Acosta's `Casa Dracula' series is not paranormal romance. Rather it is a comedy-of-manners; revelling in absurd non sequiturs, stinging social observations and hilarious juxtapositions. Any paranormal and romantic elements are fringe benefits. . . and I sort of love the way that in `Haunted Honeymoon' Marta Acosta tramples a lot of paranormal romance conventions. She writes messy love, broken characters, awkward situations and scathing diatribes. And I loved every word. . .

If you were ever under the impression that the `Casa Dracula' series is paranormal romance, then Milagro's bed-hopping should quickly dispel such misconceptions. It is very un-feminist and puritanical that in a lot of paranormal/urban-fantasy books the female characters are quite chaste. No way! Marta Acosta writes messy love - her heroine enjoys sex and flirting and she falls into bed for fun and forgetting. I loved reading about Milagro's oozing sexuality - both the references to her chichis and male character's reactions to her bazoombas. Sure, it's funny, but on a more emotional level I enjoyed reading Milagro's sexual armour. Acosta gets very Freudian in `Haunted Honeymoon' and explores Milagro's childhood as it impacts her current adult relationships, and it is fascinating. We all have 20/20 vision in hindsight, and I felt as though Acosta delving into Milagro's past made the previous three books more profound and enriching.

The `Casa Dracula' series is a comedy-of-manners, but some of the most powerful scenes in `Haunted Honeymoon' came when manners were disposed of and characters didn't pull punches.`Haunted Honeymoon' is very much centred on Milagro - deconstructing her personality, her past and her predicaments. She is an infuriating character sometimes - both hyper-aware and utterly ignorant of herself. In other words, Milagro is just like everyone else in the world. But I loved that in `Haunted Honeymoon' a lot of dirty laundry was aired, and characters spoke their minds and had their say - often voicing criticisms and witticisms that had been on the tips of their tongue for three books. The amnesia plot is essentially a stripping down of Milagro's defences; a way for her to take a cold, hard look at her life decisions and gain perspective. It may be a cliché soap-opera storyline, but with Ms. Acosta's writing juju the amnesia plot becomes a deeply profound and funny character exposè, more in keeping with an Oscar Wilde comedy-of-errors than the Goldie Hawn movie 'Overboard'.

`Haunted Honeymoon' does pack quite a punch. I cried, I laughed, I yelled at certain characters when they didn't chase after the girl or made inappropriate marriage proposals. But overall I got a sense of hope from this final `Casa Dracula' novel. This is the grand finale for Milagro de Los Santos - and her send-off is absurdly wonderful and befitting the unique `Casa Dracula' series. Milagro's love life is sorted out, once and for all. She accepts hard truths and her own limitations, and the book finishes on a beautiful note of Scarlett-esque proportions; `tomorrow is another day'. I would be over-the-moon thrilled if Marta Acosta wrote more books in the `Casa Dracula' series. But if `Haunted Honeymoon' really is the last then it's a beautiful send-off for one fabulous señorita.

I feel like I am about to write a eulogy since I have just discover that this is the final book about Milagro. Marta Acosta is one of the best paranormal writers I have ever read and will sadly mourn the passing of the Casa Dracula series. Fortunately, the books survive the series' demise and you can read them all over and over again. You can't find a better written vampire series that combines wit, a love of dogs and gardening. Actually, I don't know of any other series that combines these three.

This story is a wonderful send off for Milagro since she gets to have her honeymoon after all. Well, honestly, you had to know that much just from the title, so I am not spoiling much. I won't mention who she ends up with, but it is not Oswald. Getting to the honeymoon is a wacky, snark-filled trip and one that I found immensely enjoyable. Milagro is never dull or boring and her philosophical discussions just make you smile. I swear I found a bunch of one liners that I want to use myself. Nancy (my fav!) makes a few cameos as well and check out Nancy's Theory of Style if you need a fix or find yourself missing Milagro.

I just adore Acosta's writing and hope she has more books planned. This is one author who could make her grocery list sound witty and literate.

Haunted Honeymoon ends the Casa Dracula series perfectly. Milagro is finally right where she belongs. Everything about this book is spot on. And fans will rejoice when both Oswald and Ian's true inner selves are revealed.

Silly wacky Milagro has adventures galore, often finding herself somewhere instead of making things happen. This becomes obvious once she really finds that she has no control. In the end, she takes charge of her life and is finally, completely happy.

There are lots of unforeseen twists along the way, including a fun-filled jaunt to London. As mentioned in the synopsis, Milagro deals with a bout of amnesia. Instead of being annoying as most instances of this particular plot twist are, the amnesia is a pivotal, revealing, laugh out loud escapade that makes the book all that more perfect. By far, the very best book in the series.

Marta Acosta wrote a terrific series that joins chick lit and vampires, the Casa Dracula series. The fourth and final installment, Haunted Honeymoon, gave a well deserved ending to heroine Milagro de los Santos. Readers first met Milagro when she was a simple human, but after meeting and falling for Oswald Grant, Milagro has blended seamlessly into the vampire world with vampiristic capabilities and being the only human to survive infection. After the engagement between Milagro and Oswald ends, Milagro begins dating the Dark Lord- Ian Ducharme- but catches him noshing on the blonde next door. Milagro finds vampire activist Wil and engages in a small affair with him, but Wil is murdered- and someone set up Milagro to take the blame. Wanted for possible murder and unable to solicit any help from Ian, Milagro must make some difficult decisions to keep herself- and the vampire clan- happy again.

Overall, I loved this Casa Dracula series. Milagro is the perfect heroine, feisty, funny, independent, but also a little misguided at times. The new romance between her and Ian was exciting to read about in Haunted Honeymoon¸ and there were just enough twists in the plot along the way to keep me guessing how the ending would work out. I think readers will appreciate how Acosta closes the series, and will make them a bit sad that we might not hear from our friend Milagro anymore. I would love to know what happens to her in the future!

My husband and I have read all of Casa Dracula. We thoroughly enjoyed all of them
but this was the BEST, BEST, BEST! We laughed, rooted for our heroine
in the dicey parts, and celebrated a very satisfying ending. Absolutely loved it.
All the pieces of past Casa Dracula came together in this particular book.
It was very satisfying. Hope there are lots more MIlagro adventures in the future.

PJVs QUICKIE POV:
First off, I have to say that I haven't read any of the Casa Dracula series books, which I think is probably why I didn't enjoy this as much as I should have. While the book could be a stand alone - I think I would have enjoyed it much more if I would have read the first three books. But, this book was very enjoyable with a vivacious female lead and two sexy men vying for her attention, along with larger-than-life side characters and and interesting plot sequence - I'm definitely going back to read this one from the beginning.

REVIEW:
Milagro de Los Santos is the only human to ever survive the vampire infection and is regarded as something like a superhero in the vampire community. If they aren't trying to kill her they are staring at her in awe - or trying to get some Milagro action. If only that celebrity could pay the bills. Behind on her condo fees, unable to sell her novels and the one book she did write - as a ghost writer for a lunatic - hit the best-seller list and is raking in millions, but for someone else, not her.

On top of the monetary crisis she is also having a bit of a romantic crisis also. Besides pining over her ex-fiance', Dr. Oswald Grant, philanthropist vampire plastic surgeon, her current beau, Ian Ducharme, ridiculously sexy, mysterious but stand-offish, is making sexy eyes at the stuck-up, perfectly coiffed neighbor with the absurd name of Cricket.

In a bout of desperation she dumps Ian and heads overseas to see her lunatic client and to have a torrid adventure in London. She ends up in a sexy surfer, vampire, activists' bed and in the midst of a torrid adventure affair with one Wilcox - whom she just loves saying his name Wil-cox.

After a week of partying, reality hits home and she heads back to her condo and life. She isn't there for two seconds when she is framed for murder and she has to run and hide - the first person that comes to mind is Oswald. Barely escaping being autopsied and cloned, Milagro makes it to Oswald's ranch only to bump her head and lose her memory. She has to regain her memory to clear her name - and now she can't remember all the reason she decided not to marry Oswald. Does this mean that she has a second chance for marital bliss with Oswald, or will everything screw up again?

Quite an intense plot, dontcha think? I thought so too, but Acosta pulls it off fabulously. The characters are all played out well and I didn't notice any hanging plot lines. The novel is comedic and light, with the character of Milagro full of one-liners and off-kilter remarks. I kept thinking it was in line with the Betsy Vampire Queen novels.

Because this was my introduction to the series, I did feel a disconnect to the emotional ties between Milagro, Ian and Oswald, which in a paranormal romance I find integral. I also thought Milagro was a character I just couldn't respect. She was one of those chick lit characters that everyone else always solves their problems. The ones that bumble along looking sexy, shaking their tails, kissing strangers and then they get a phone call that solves all their problems, or their ex shows up and fixes what is currently wrong. While enjoyable to read, I personally never attach to characters like these. I did like the hot sexy male leads, but there wasn't a lot of them.

Besides what I mentioned earlier, I did enjoy this read and found it entertaining and witty. I liked Acosta's play on words throughout the book and Milagro's sharp and sometimes silly tongue-in-cheek dialogue.

RECOMMENDATIONS:
If you are looking for a fun read, this series might be right up your alley. Fans of Betsy the Vampire Queen should definitely take a look. This is an adult read and recommended for mature readers.

There is nothing to say except that this book was fabulous and I'm sincerely going to miss Milagro and her adventures.

Anyway Ms Acosta can just carry on?

This book is great, could not put it down, worth every penny. I love author Martha Acosta, any book with her name I will buy.

How can you resist a heroine that gets equal joy from quoting literature as she does over emphasizing the second syllable in the name "Wilcox"? Milagro's been on one heck of a super-duper-natural journey and it is one she forgets about in this book due to a trauma. But can the party girl go home again? If this is the end of Milagro's story, I'm sad to see her go. It has always been Milagro's wit which has helped her deal with the bad things, whether it's a bad thing like being infected by a vampire or having to wear a scrunchie (or bigger, badder things, but I'm not putting spoilers in the review). In the end, Milagro faces what she needs to face and finds what she needs. This has been a charming, intelligent paranormal series that's tinged with a touch of melancholy, and whose humor and joy made it a favorite of mine. I hope this series is not over, I'd like to see what happens after the honeymoon-- but if not, what a great send-off.

I love Milagro's adventures, as well as her silliness, and I couldn't be happier with the way things ended. I wish the series would keep going but I'll just have to make do with reading the books over again.