Maria the Wanted was my choice for the #ladiesfirst20 challenge by Ladies of Horror Fiction. It's not the first book that I've finished this year, but it was the first that I started. Sadly, I had to read the first 100 pages in starts and stops because of other obligations and deadlines, but when I picked it back up yesterday, I didn't put it down until I finished. It was one of those classic situations where I was telling myself just one more chapter, ok, just one more, really this time only one more, until I finished. Maria is not a technically perfect book; I noticed some errors, and the cover is off-centered, which will both some people. They bothered me at first. But as I got into Maria's story, I didn't care.

Maria is a badass heroine in one of the most original vampire stories I've read. Based on the cover, I expected the Latina version of Blade or Buffy, but what I got was much more than that. There's plenty of action throughout the book, but the events and themes explored in this story are much grander than those movies/shows. This book is not a slash em up bite em up adventure, but a story told on a grand scale over decades. There is so much in here that I didn't expect, including some phenomenal music references (I need a link to the playlist!). The ending is quite the cliffhanger, and I legitimately want to read more in this world with these characters and will be anxiously awaiting The Keepers #2.

There are some stumbles and some flaws, but based on the strength of the character and story, I just let go and rode the ride that V. Castro wrote. It's a beautiful story of revenge, justice, family and friends, good and evil, compassion, violence, sex, gore, and death, all centered around the wonderful character of Maria. This book is definitely worth your time!