Vampires of El Norte

Standalone novel. Set during the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) on the Texas-Mexico border. Nena is a rancher’s daughter and curandera; Néstor is a vaquero. They were childhood sweethearts separated by a vampire attack nine years earlier. The vampires are folklore-horror creatures, not romantic—they drain blood and are tied to colonialism as metaphor. Spice is mild (one on-page scene, heavy tension throughout). Published August 2023, 384 pages. Cañas also wrote The Hacienda. Dual third-person POV alternating Nena and Néstor. Penguin Random House—not KU.