Midnight Brunch (Casa Dracula Series, Book 2) [Paperback]

Marta Acosta (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 24, 2007

What's a girl to do when she discovers she's the main course on the menu?

Hip, funny Milagro de los Santos thinks she's finally found love and a home at the California ranch of fabulous Oswald Grant and his urbane relatives, who have a rare genetic disorder that some call vampirism. But Milagro is bewildered when she's excluded from an ancient and mysterious midnight ceremony whose participants include Oswald's unfriendly parents, a creepy family elder, and Milagro's ex-lover, the powerful and decadent Ian Ducharme. What skeletons are the vampires keeping in their designer closets?

When Milagro's life is threatened by a rogue family member, she flees to the desert to hide. Instead of solitude, she encounters an egomaniacal actor, a partying heiress, a sly tabloid reporter, and a lavish spa full of dark secrets -- all of which might help her find a way home.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When last seen in Acosta's debut, Happy Hour at Casa Dracula (2006), aspiring writer Milagro De Los Santos had fallen for wealthy, dashingly handsome Dr. Oswald Grant, a board-certified plastic surgeon and part of a vampire dynasty whose members refer to their condition as a "genetic autosomal recessive disorder." In this amusing sequel, Milagro has recovered from a vampirism infection and is living on Oswald's California ranch when she's informed she won't be allowed to attend the naming ceremony for his cousin's baby. While Oswald takes off on a humanitarian medical mission, Milagro must escape the subversive clutches of clan weirdo Willem Dunlop and Silas, Willem's "aide de corpse," whose terrifying Project for a New Vampire Century features a juicy sacrificial role for Milagro. Acosta doesn't spare the cilantro or the jalapeño in this addictive combo plate of romance and vamp satire. (May)
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From Booklist

In her second in a series featuring Milagro de Los Santos, an intrepid Latina heroine involved with a family of vampires, Acosta shines. Milagro believes she's just a regular chica, albeit one with a talent for attracting men. She's a writer and a gardener, and the Grant family seems to have accepted her into their midst. She lives in a cottage on their ranch in northern California with Oswald, a plastic surgeon who, like the rest of his family, has an aversion to sunlight and a preference for meat served very rare. Milagro senses that there are family secrets she is not privy to, and follows various leads to San Francisco and, when her life is threatened, to a desert spa. Along the way, she uncovers a secret vampire plot to take over the world in which she seems to play a vital role. This sexy, sardonic siren is unlike the usual romantic-suspense heroine, and unique and alluring Milagro will continue to amaze readers in Acosta's terrific new adventure. Maria Hatton
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Gallery Books; Original edition (April 24, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416520392
• ISBN-13: 978-1416520399
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,001,477 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Author of: Happy Hour at Casa Dracula, Midnight Brunch at Casa Dracula, and The Bride of Casa Dracula. Haunted Honeymoon at Casa Dracula will be released on October 5, 2010.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A sequel with no equal!, May 21, 2007

By 

M. Eagan (Michigan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Midnight Brunch (Casa Dracula Series, Book 2) (Paperback)

Marta Acosta has done what so many writers fail to do: she has written a sequel that is at least as good as the original novel, if not better! She is a writer who knows her characters and breathes life into her words so that we may know her characters, too.

"Midnight Brunch" is a fantastic, funny, and smart romantic comedy which continues Milagro de los Santos' wacky adventures in life and love. We're introduced to Goth drones and megalomaniacal, effeminate vampire politicians, a high school English teacher who moonlights as a tabloid reporter, and an alcoholic former Hollywood heartthrob who favors nudity and the company of rich menopausal women.

Marta Acosta is an author to watch! I am so impressed with her wit and intelligence. As a rabid Jane Austen fan, I also appreciate her nods to "Mansfield Park" and "Northanger Abbey".

You MUST buy this book, in addition to the first book in the series, "Happy Hour at Casa Dracula". I anxiously await the third novel in the series, rumored to be coming out next year.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars These Fangs Still Got Bite, May 3, 2007

By 

M. Tomas (Tiburon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Midnight Brunch (Casa Dracula Series, Book 2) (Paperback)

I really enjoyed the biting humor in Marta Acosta's first novel, Happy Hour at Casa Dracula. So I began reading Midnight Brunch with the same trepidation that I face when I read any author's second novel: fear that the author might only have one good novel in them. I am happy to report that Midnight Brunch has even more of a cutting edge and dark humor than Marta's first effort. This novel can be read as a stand-alone novel but, if you have read Happy Hour at Casa Dracula, you are already familiar with the main character, Milagro, who continues to stumble into wild and outrageous situations among vampire society. Milagro is funny, sexy and quirky and throw her into a situation and comedy ensues. The only downside I can see is that now I have to wait for some unknown time until Marta writes her third novel

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars lampoons the vampire romance sub-genre, May 5, 2007

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Midnight Brunch (Casa Dracula Series, Book 2) (Paperback)

In California wannabe writer Milagro de los Santos has moved into the ranch house of her beloved plastic surgeon Dr. Oswald Grant in spite of his family's delicate condition; Oswald and the rest of the Grants suffer from "genetic autosomal recessive disorder" also called vampirism. Besides Oswald, Milagro and his grandmother seem to get along so she feels more like a princess.

However word of a purebred human living and loving their son has staked horror into the hearts of Oswald's concerned parents. They arrive for a clan naming ceremony as well as to drive out the evil human. They exclude Milagro from attending a family rite involving a midnight blood curdling ceremony for his cousin's newborn. When Oswald leaves on a medical mission, two other vampires Willem Dunlop and Silas, decide they need a human sacrifice to launch the Project for a New Vampire Century; Milagro as a vampire lover is perfect.

The sequel to HAPPY HOUR AT CASA DRACULA is a delightful satire that lampoons the vampire romance sub-genre. Milagro is wonderful with her hot saucy observations on life and death amidst the vampire horde. Fans will enjoy her latest zany escapades as she tries to stay one bite away from the screaming mob.

Harriet Klausner