Dayanara, daughter of the Acna, the witch’s feared leader, is a weapon for her mother’s vicious vendettas. To end an ongoing war between the witches and the vampires, her mother tricks her into marrying the prince of the vampires, Kaizer. Dayanara has to play a political game to save her clan, but still find a way out of the arrangement. Along the way, she befriends her handmaiden Zuri, and soon their relationship turns more intimate.
The world-building establishes a separation of clans throughout different lands in the kingdom: brujas (witches), vampires, and lobos (werewolves). Each wields magical powers with varying degrees of power over certain elements, but the brujas are the most powerful.
Hornedo also weaves in historical and cultural influences into the world-building. The brujas are coded as being inspired by Latine and Indigenous cultures, while the vampires seem to play the role of the white European colonizers. The brujas’ society is portrayed as sexually free and embracing pleasure. The vampires follow religious beliefs reminiscent of Puritanism, looking down on the witches and their communities.
The plot and pacing of the novel started strong, keeping you reading to see what happens next. But after a specific event close to the end, it felt like it should have stopped there. It seems Hornedo continued for about 100 pages too long to introduce the plot of what was to come in the second book of the series, making it a push to get through. The quality of writing also made it difficult to continue pushing toward the end. The author relies on a lot of “smirking” and “eye rolling” to indicate how the heroine’s personality, making it feel trite.
Zuri and Dayanara’s relationship felt like the most organic and interesting part of the story. Zuri, Dayanara’s handmaiden once she becomes a part of Prince Kaizer’s court, becomes her closest confidante. The way their friendship grows into romantic and sexual feelings reads naturally, and it’s easy to see why they gravitated toward each other.
Blood & Brujas was marketed as a “why choose?” romance, but that aspect doesn’t come into play until about the last 50 pages of the book. It’s also not what would typically be expected of the trope, as Dayanara enters that relationship after ending the previous one.
Overall, it’s entertaining enough to finish the first book. It started showing lots of potential for a full series, and perhaps for other readers, it works well enough to continue reading the next books. It also had enough spice to keep romance readers hooked and wanting more. But be warned, the relationship between Dayanara and her mother is one of trauma and physical abuse.
