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maeverose's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
My favorite tropes/themes from this book:
-🦇 gothic atmosphere 🦇
-beautiful prose
-clashing religious beliefs
-hot priest
-forbidden romance
I loved this!!! This was my first real horror novel (besides Dracula), I usually avoid horror because I really dislike gore, but this one sounded like it was tame enough gore-wise so I took a risk and I’m so glad I did. This felt a bit like a classic gothic novel. I LOVE the writing style. I’m a sucker for beautiful writing. That first chapter. Yes. I was a little surprised how much focus the romance got, but I’m not complaining at all because that was actually my favorite part, unexpectedly. This felt like a pretty even mix of historical romance, gothic horror and fantasy, which apparently is my thing. I need to find more.
The only negatives I can think of are that after finishing the book I can see how some things might’ve been a bit predictable to more avid horror readers, but I actually didn’t predict anything while reading lol. And secondly, I was never actually all that scared while reading.. I only found a few scenes a bit scary, about two thirds into the book. I think because a lot of the horror elements are so fantastical it didn’t really phase me? I’m more scared by real life horror (and there is a bit of that in this book too). It also didn’t have a ton of suspense, it kind of just throws stuff at you pretty early on after Beatriz moves in.
Anyway I need to go buy a copy of this book now
-🦇 gothic atmosphere 🦇
-beautiful prose
-clashing religious beliefs
-hot priest
-forbidden romance
I loved this!!! This was my first real horror novel (besides Dracula), I usually avoid horror because I really dislike gore, but this one sounded like it was tame enough gore-wise so I took a risk and I’m so glad I did. This felt a bit like a classic gothic novel. I LOVE the writing style. I’m a sucker for beautiful writing. That first chapter. Yes. I was a little surprised how much focus the romance got, but I’m not complaining at all because that was actually my favorite part, unexpectedly. This felt like a pretty even mix of historical romance, gothic horror and fantasy, which apparently is my thing. I need to find more.
The only negatives I can think of are that after finishing the book I can see how some things might’ve been a bit predictable to more avid horror readers, but I actually didn’t predict anything while reading lol. And secondly, I was never actually all that scared while reading.. I only found a few scenes a bit scary, about two thirds into the book. I think because a lot of the horror elements are so fantastical it didn’t really phase me? I’m more scared by real life horror (and there is a bit of that in this book too). It also didn’t have a ton of suspense, it kind of just throws stuff at you pretty early on after Beatriz moves in.
Anyway I need to go buy a copy of this book now
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcohol, Animal death, Death of parent, Racism, Vomit, Body horror, Murder, Physical abuse, War, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Abortion, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Fatphobia, Sexual assault, and Rape
As someone who doesn’t like gore, I’d say it was pretty mild. Only really injury descriptions (some detailed), blood, and a description of a partially decomposed body. I was fine reading it, but if you’re especially sensitive I’d say be careful. Minor memory loss from a concussion, and to my fellow hyperhidrosis sufferers: there is a negative sweaty hands/face comment in here :/hanarama's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Book at a Glance:
• Haunted house
• Gothic mystery
• Historic Mexico
• M/W pairing
• Witchcraft
• CWs: religious bigotry, racism, classism, colorism, blood, death, injury detail, psychological abuse, fire, sexual assault (mentioned), unwanted pregnancy (mentioned), abortion (mentioned)
Living in poverty following her father’s execution, Beatriz makes a bid for a better life by marrying the wealthy and handsome Don Rodolfo. Though his ancestral home San Isidro has seen better days, Beatriz is excited to begin repairs. She is confident that she can make the hacienda into a home for her and her mother.
However, San Isidro has more problems than general wear and tear. There is something possessing the land and which seems to hate Beatriz. Hunted by the darkness and pulled into the mysteries of San Isidro, Beatriz finds herself desperate for help. And the only person prepared to aid her is Padre Andrés, a strange priest whose history is also tied to the hacienda.
The Hacienda hits a lot of the typical gothic tropes. For people that love gothic stories, I think there will be a lot to love here. The feeling of isolation, the haunted house, dark family secrets, all play prominently within the story. However, it felt weak overall. Cañas does some things well, but struggles in others.
The atmosphere is beautifully written. Cañas crafts really beautiful scenes, with salient imagery that builds upon the emotions of the characters. As a result, San Isidro feels particularly lively, with even the weather reacting in accordance to the hacienda’s whims.
I have a soft spot for desert gothics. There’s something so isolating and haunting about dry expanses of rural deserts, and I am so happy that more authors are using this environment for their gothic tales.
Unfortunately, I did find the story really slow. I think this is in part due to Cañas’ over reliance on her prose. It felt like there was an inability to match the prose to the energy needed in every scene. As a result, scenes sometimes dragged much more than they should have. There were also descriptors that got overused. For example, emotions were often described as “curling” within a character’s chest/stomach/whatever. After the description occurred twice within one chapter, I found it distracting anytime I came across it.
The characters were mostly likeable, though I had issues with both of the leads. Of the two, Andrés is the more compelling. Cañas slowly reveals his backstory through flashbacks, making him feel more integral to the mystery. However, I don’t think he should have been a POV character as I felt like his knowledge of the situation took away from the danger. Further, I felt like his abilities made the haunting too easily solved.
Beatriz is better suited as a gothic protagonist, but often feels uninteresting when compared to Andrés. It felt like there wasn’t much to her personality beyond her initial desire to fix up the property. I also wasn’t very interested in their budding relationship. It didn’t add much to the story for me, and highlighted the issues I had with Beatriz as a character. Andrés frequently expounds her virtues, which weren’t really illustrated through the story. Overall, she just feels like a pretty face without a lot of personality or development.
The mystery was also fairly lackluster. I would have preferred for there to be a little more ambiguity with the mystery, which for how slowly it was developed reached a fairly manic end. This can be done well, but here it felt at odds with the rest of the story.
• Haunted house
• Gothic mystery
• Historic Mexico
• M/W pairing
• Witchcraft
• CWs: religious bigotry, racism, classism, colorism, blood, death, injury detail, psychological abuse, fire, sexual assault (mentioned), unwanted pregnancy (mentioned), abortion (mentioned)
Living in poverty following her father’s execution, Beatriz makes a bid for a better life by marrying the wealthy and handsome Don Rodolfo. Though his ancestral home San Isidro has seen better days, Beatriz is excited to begin repairs. She is confident that she can make the hacienda into a home for her and her mother.
However, San Isidro has more problems than general wear and tear. There is something possessing the land and which seems to hate Beatriz. Hunted by the darkness and pulled into the mysteries of San Isidro, Beatriz finds herself desperate for help. And the only person prepared to aid her is Padre Andrés, a strange priest whose history is also tied to the hacienda.
The Hacienda hits a lot of the typical gothic tropes. For people that love gothic stories, I think there will be a lot to love here. The feeling of isolation, the haunted house, dark family secrets, all play prominently within the story. However, it felt weak overall. Cañas does some things well, but struggles in others.
The atmosphere is beautifully written. Cañas crafts really beautiful scenes, with salient imagery that builds upon the emotions of the characters. As a result, San Isidro feels particularly lively, with even the weather reacting in accordance to the hacienda’s whims.
I have a soft spot for desert gothics. There’s something so isolating and haunting about dry expanses of rural deserts, and I am so happy that more authors are using this environment for their gothic tales.
Unfortunately, I did find the story really slow. I think this is in part due to Cañas’ over reliance on her prose. It felt like there was an inability to match the prose to the energy needed in every scene. As a result, scenes sometimes dragged much more than they should have. There were also descriptors that got overused. For example, emotions were often described as “curling” within a character’s chest/stomach/whatever. After the description occurred twice within one chapter, I found it distracting anytime I came across it.
The characters were mostly likeable, though I had issues with both of the leads. Of the two, Andrés is the more compelling. Cañas slowly reveals his backstory through flashbacks, making him feel more integral to the mystery. However, I don’t think he should have been a POV character as I felt like his knowledge of the situation took away from the danger. Further, I felt like his abilities made the haunting too easily solved.
Beatriz is better suited as a gothic protagonist, but often feels uninteresting when compared to Andrés. It felt like there wasn’t much to her personality beyond her initial desire to fix up the property. I also wasn’t very interested in their budding relationship. It didn’t add much to the story for me, and highlighted the issues I had with Beatriz as a character. Andrés frequently expounds her virtues, which weren’t really illustrated through the story. Overall, she just feels like a pretty face without a lot of personality or development.
The mystery was also fairly lackluster. I would have preferred for there to be a little more ambiguity with the mystery, which for how slowly it was developed reached a fairly manic end. This can be done well, but here it felt at odds with the rest of the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Colonisation, Blood, Death, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Racism
Moderate: Pregnancy, Sexual assault, and Abortion
Minor: War
shannananahey's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Death, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Blood, Abortion, Alcoholism, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, and Physical abuse
regen20's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Death of parent, Classism, Colonisation, Gaslighting, and Infidelity
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, Abortion, and Pregnancy
doomluz's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
As a Mexican American with not a lot of knowledge of Mexican history, I love that this story explored an important time period. It added to the uncertainty and the theme of power, especially women's and native/mestizo people's power.
The story was a little predictable and slow, but I love the lush descriptions of the setting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Death of parent
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, and Abortion
leahrosiee's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Misogyny, Confinement, Rape, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Classism, Colonisation, Death, and Medical trauma
mdinkle1's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Violence, Vomit, Sexual assault, Animal death, and War
thinginprogress's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Death
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, and Abortion
author2223's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Blood, Murder, and Colonisation
Moderate: Rape, Abortion, and Sexual assault
Minor: War and Racism
atrevin12's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
As far as gothic horror stories go this as *chef's kiss*. I really enjoyed reading The Hacienda! The writing is so atmospheric that I actually had a hard time reading this book at night, because of all the "creepy" shadows in my house. The beginning was a little slow, but I enjoyed learning a bit more of the aftermath of the Mexican War of Independence. I also enjoyed the inclusion of cultural superstations and magic. I'm definitely excited to read more from this author.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault