Review: Midnight Brunch

Goodreads Synopsis: 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.

My Review:

Our heroine is really down and out this time around.  Milagro is still hilarious and yes her snarkiness is ever present, but she's faced with the daunting task of sorting through her true emotions while trying to figure out her place among her new family.  She forgets to believe in herself and therefore gets thrown into unhealthy situations away from the ranch.  I really do love when an author pushes their characters. Watching Milagro grow was everything is should be; frustrating, sad, and eventually uplifting.  

Oswald has to go away for work, and at first I was disappointed that this book wasn't all about Milagro and him finally together. (I guess I really am a romantic at heart) But I quickly decided that Milagro needed this time for herself.  She needed to go through everything in this book on her own; make the bad decisions and deal with the repercussions.  

Acosta's writing style has done nothing but improve.  The timeline is real and the flow is nearly perfect.  The new characters she introduces fit seamlessly into the story and every detail of the story has a purpose. (always appreciated by this reviewer)

Bottom Line:  A perfect next step for Milagro.  Fans of the series will not be disappointed.  

4 stars

*Book was given to me by the author for review