Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro

45 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

thetruthatallhazards's review

challenging dark emotional reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: War, Self harm, and Suicide

Minor: Sexual assault

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

vi0letskies's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Murder

Moderate: Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Death of parent, and Suicide

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

vexatiousbird's review

dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

3.75

I expected gloomy gothic literature and this went all the way into horror territory, but I’m not mad about it. Very deep feminist themes. Good creepy moments. Mostly well-written, except I found the dialogue stilted and the plot was a little meandering. Interesting ancestral characters, but side characters were a little bland. Sometimes felt like it was trying too hard, but overall good.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Child death, Gore, Colonisation, Sexual assault, Infidelity, and Sexual content

curlydanreads's review

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

allyem_reads's review

4.0

7.14 CAWPILE 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Blood, Body shaming, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Suicide attempt, and Gore

Moderate: Colonisation, Grief, Death of parent, Body horror, Dementia, Infidelity, Medical content, and Religious bigotry

gillian_darkholme's review

dark sad slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Grief

alejandrabro's review

dark medium-paced

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

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts