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Haunted Honeymoon

Marta Acosta

Published 2010                       310 pages

Summary (from the book jacket)

Milagro de Los Santos, the only known human survivor of a vampire infection, has won battles against anti-vampire extremists and vampire cults, but she still can’t figure out a few basics: how to pay condo fees, sell her eccentric fiction, and find a balance between upholding her ideals while still having fun. Although she’s having a torrid affair with powerful and decadent Vampire Council member Ian Ducharme, she still yearns for her ex-fiancé, Dr Oswald Grant, and the life she had on his ranch with his family. More than anything, she wishes she could have another chance with Oswald, a chance to do everything over again.

But when she travels to England to meet the leader of a progressive vampire movement, all hell breaks loose and after a scuffle with a security guard that causes an amnesia-inducing head injury, she returns to the Oswald ranch. Having forgotten her entire history with the vampires, Milagro becomes the happy-go-lucky party girl she once was. But can she really start over again with Oswald, or will irresistible Ian Ducharme come to get her back?

The Review

Haunted Honeymoon is the eagerly awaited fourth and final part in Marta Acosta’s Casa Dracula romance series which follows the adventures of fun-oving Milagro de Los Santos, a relatively normal girl who got infected by the vampire virus and survived – giving her the distinction of being the only person to ever be made (rather than born) a vampire. Along the way she has gained new vampire friends and family, fallen in and out of love, and constantly battled against the narrow-minded prejudices of vampire high-society. (Whose faults range from the refusal to accept that leopard print is a colour to the old-fashioned practice of keeping human thralls.) Since this is the final part of a serial romance it’s probably needless to say that these books are best read in series order starting with Happy Hour at Casa Dracula (but I’ll say it anyway).

It’s always a sad day when I hear that an author has decided to finish writing a series that I’ve come to love. Once I’ve grown attached to the characters the knowledge that there will no new adventures is a bit like realising you’ve meeting up with a friend for the very last time and while you can remember the good times you’ve had there will be no new enterprises. However, I defy any reader to feel sad for long when confronted by the irrepressible Milagro de Los Santos.

In Haunted Honeymoon Milagro faces her most dangerous challenge yet. She is framed for murder and kidnapped by an extremely unethical government scientist (think Dr. Frankenstein with a private security force and a 21st century laboratory) but she manages to rise above the bizarre in her usual inimitable fashion going on to finally sort out her feelings for ex-fiancé Oswald and her lover Ian as she stumbles towards her happy ending. The story is by turns a gripping page-turner as Milagro’s dramas take a turn for the deadly and a witty comedy as her character’s happy go-lucky personality deals with the fall out. The action and humour is balanced by Milagro’s character and relationship development – creating a perfect mixture of vampires, fun, danger and romance.

Unlike some of the vampire comedy romances on the market today Marta Acosta’s Casa Dracula books manage to blend wacky characters and unusual situations without turning the characters into unbelievable caricatures or resorting to humour of the lowest forms. Above all the author never insults the intelligence of the reader – drawing on the influences of classic literature, Jane Austen in particular, and mixing it up with her own unique style to create a hugely enjoyable and intelligent reading experience.

Haunted Honeymoon is a fitting end to a great series. It’s definitely the best book in the series so far and readers finally get to see Milagro have the wedding of her dreams – but only after she escapes the mad scientists, loses then regains her memory and discovers she can raise the dead… So it’s business as usual really!

Utterly terrific and highly recommended reading, Haunted Honeymoon is well worth checking out.

Note: Series fans already mourning the loss of Casa Dracula can take consolation in Nancy’s Theory of Style which is written under Marta Acosta’s pen-name of Grace Coopersmith. The book is a stand alone romance featuring Milagro’s friend Nancy who is mentioned though-out the Casa Dracula books.

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