Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro

22 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

twitchywitchy314's review

dark emotional inspiring 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Suicidal thoughts, and Self harm

Moderate: Sexual assault, War, and Violence

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

time4tori2read's review

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Gore, Blood, Mental illness, Body horror, and Grief

sophi_b's review

challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Suicide, Grief, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Infidelity, Abortion, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Blood, Domestic abuse, Child death, and Body horror

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

alisacress's review

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gore and Violence

Minor: Abandonment

thrillakilla's review

dark emotional 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence and Miscarriage

Minor: Domestic abuse and Child abuse