Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro

10 reviews

kier__'s review

adventurous dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Slavery, Death of parent, Self harm, Death, Genocide, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Child death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Violence, Abandonment, Abortion, Body horror, Colonisation, Miscarriage, Blood, Grief, and Suicide

Moderate: War, Alcohol, Infertility, Sexual content, Terminal illness, and Drug use

archaicrobin's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Castro’s writing is very blunt and it’s always hard for me to get into at first which affects my overall enjoyment of her books, but it’s very much a personal taste. If you’re looking for flowery, descriptive prose or a complex horror novel I wouldn’t recommend this one, as it’s very point blank and you have to accept a lot and just move on.

If you can do that though, this novel tells and eerie tale of a woman stuck in her depression hating her life, her children, her husband, and herself, all while being haunted by an entity she assumes is La Llorona. Alejandra at first is insufferable because she is so miserable but once she starts seeing a therapist and valuing herself, she begins to find the power within her self to not only change her life but defeat the curse of La Llorona for good.

While Castro’s writing style isn’t my favorite I always love her strong female characters, her ability to create terrifying imagery, and the strong cultural elements she weaves into her story. If you’re looking for a well crafted supernatural tale about strong women, generational trauma, and identity this one is worth trying!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Suicide, Blood, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Infidelity, Self harm, Sexism, Grief, and Toxic relationship

zombiezami's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Sexism, Torture, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Suicide attempt, Blood, Gore, Child death, Death, Grief, Gaslighting, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Medical content, Alcohol, Sexual content, Violence, Stalking, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, and Self harm

Moderate: War, Colonisation, Sexual violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Miscarriage, Cursing, Infidelity, Biphobia, Mental illness, Abandonment, Genocide, Religious bigotry, and Racism

Minor: Gun violence, Drug use, and Infertility

abbie_'s review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

3.0

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my free digital ARC in exchange for a review!

If you’re looking for some creepy horror fiction to add as a late addition to your October TBR, consider The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro! I had a few stylistic issues with it, but in terms of creepiness and content, I can’t fault that - I had to hold off reading it for a night when my girlfriend wasn’t here as I couldn’t deal with the idea of seeing La Llorona at the end of my hallway when I went for a nighttime wee 😂😂

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Alejandra finds herself struggling with her sense of self and purpose being a stay-at-home mother to her three children, with her husband expecting her to be the perfect Stepford wife. Her suicidal thoughts begin to get overwhelming, and she’s suddenly confronted by a figure in white encouraging her to end it all. I found the merging of motherhood, postpartum depression, Mexican folklore and actual hauntings to be super compelling - and super creepy! Castro’s writing shines the most when she’s delving into the nitty gritty of body horror, demonic apparitions and tension.

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Unfortunately I did think her style falters elsewhere. The dialogue sometimes felt stilted and unnatural, and I often felt like I was being spoon-fed certain aspects of the plot. I don’t like it when things are over explained and the reader isn’t able to infer. I also get that Matthew, Alejandra’s husband, was intended to be a villain, but his sexism came off as cartoonish at times. There are definitely men out there who act like this, but I would have appreciated a little more nuance.

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Concerns aside, I do still think this book stands strong as a piece of horror fiction that’ll have you running up your stairs as fast as you can on a night, while also tackling the pressures of motherhood and the idea of reconnecting to an identity previously denied to you!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Suicide attempt, Sexism, Mental illness, Death, Violence, Child death, Body horror, Gore, and Suicidal thoughts

ecn's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Generational trauma, healing, La Llorna, queer rep. This book is AMAZING and feels made for me. I was apprehensive at first since motherhood was a main theme but I am sooo glad I stuck with it

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Violence, Religious bigotry, Racism, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Death of parent, Death, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Grief, Colonisation, Child death, Sexual violence, Body horror, Infidelity, Gore, and Genocide

victoriarose12's review

dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm and Death

Moderate: Abandonment, Violence, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Gore

paulineerika's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful medium-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? N/A

3.5

I struggled a little with how to rate this book. There were some really excellent parts, some parts that made me want to scream, and some parts that just felt a little lacking.

THE GOOD:
- I loved the interspersing of Alejandra's family and their history with La Llorona. Much of the family history and background was so interesting.
- Alejandra's finding her own voice and strength made me want to cheer. 
- I really liked Melanie and her role the story.
- The writing overall was really good.

THE NOT-SO-GOOD:
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Everything involving Matthew made me want to scream. He was completely one-note and one-dimensional, which I guess was part of Alejandra's depression and story, but man, I hated him a lot and I didn't think he needed to be that bad to make the point.

- I can say the same about Alejandra's upbringing and adopted family.
- The pacing was a little off throughout the book.

THE LACKING:
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I didn't understand Flor's chapter. It was interesting, for sure, but didn't seem to fit at all with the rest of the family's story. It felt like a way to throw in a well-known figure in Mexican history without properly integrating him into the story.

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Alejandra's sudden decision that she had to kill herself (or try to) in order to kill the creature and magically knowing what she had to do. That kinda came out of nowhere. See also the pacing issue above.

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Similarly, as much as I loved Alejandra's own journey to finding her voice and her strength, it was definitely a little rushed, given how deeply buried she was.

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The ghosts of her ancestors coming to help her kill the creature was underdeveloped and underwhelming.

- The hints of Alejandra's sexuality could have been better developed, I think.

The book as a whole was definitely uneven, but well-written and I think the strength of Castro's message overcomes a lot. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Sexism, Racism, and Misogyny

Minor: War

catwhisperer's review

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Self harm, Pregnancy, Racism, Xenophobia, Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Body horror, Colonisation, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Suicide attempt, and Violence

enchantressreads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

“Everyone deserves to write their own story.”

Alejandra is a 30-something, stay at home mom with three children. Her life seems normal, except for the bloodied creature wearing flesh and fish skin for a dress that watches her children sleep. 

I love books about trauma. I love books about mental health. I love *raw* and honest books about mental health. V. Castro is already one of my favorite authors, and The Haunting of Alejandra is no exception. I flew through this book quickly, devouring it in about two nights. 

This was a hard book. I don’t have children myself, and don’t want them, but it shook something in me that made me take a look at my past and my trauma and how the people around me treated me over it. Women (and other marginalized communities) are meant to take so much trauma without creating a fuss. They are meant to give up everything to cater to others. And this is the norm, not an extreme. This book forces you to look at the uglier side of womanhood and motherhood. Reading this on the heels of The Lies We Weave by Grace R. Reynolds definitely added a bit of emotion to the story. 

Tread with caution, and treat yourself kindly while reading this book. I loved Alejandra, and I hope you do too. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for the chance to read this advanced review copy. 

CW for death, murder, body horror, suicide, suicidal thoughts/ideation, blood, gore, toxic relationship, sexism, abandonment, sexual assault, emotional abuse, child abuse, rape, mental illness/depression, infidelity, miscarriage, colonization, and racism

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, and Murder

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, and Mental illness

Minor: Colonisation, Infidelity, Miscarriage, and Racism

aldourquiza's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Abandonment, and Body horror

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Violence, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, and Sexism

Minor: Colonisation and Medical content