Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro

27 reviews

iseefirede's review

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No

3.25

If you want a quick read, I got through this in less than 24 hours. I was curious about the generational trauma and how it would be addressed. Reading Alejandra's ancestors' POVs was probably one of my favorite parts. 

I feel this book was too explicit in its themes. There was no subtlety to it. The therapist she sees is used to explain what we could've inferred was going on. There's not much, if any, character development. 

If you are looking for a quick horror read, this is for you. If you're looking to explore themes of generational trauma, you probably should look elsewhere.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Misogyny, Blood, Body horror, Gaslighting, Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Miscarriage, and Self harm

Moderate: Abandonment and Body shaming

Minor: War and Dementia

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

caseythereader's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Blood, Colonisation, Death of parent, Abandonment, Self harm, Gore, Grief, Medical content, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, and Death

Moderate: Rape

caidyn's review

adventurous dark emotional 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

Definitely found a new author I like! This was an intense book, but so good. I enjoyed how it was generational and involved reconnecting with the past.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual assault

edevoe8891's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Abandonment, Blood, Death, Gore, Grief, Self harm, Child death, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Misogyny, Colonisation, Miscarriage, and Medical trauma

ticktock's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Rape, Suicide attempt, Grief, Colonisation, Death of parent, and Suicidal thoughts

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

royallyreading's review

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-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

4.5

The Haunting of Alejandra is a stunning book that really resonated with me as a Latina. It hits a lot of cultural notes that we struggle with and even though I'm not a mother, I definitely related to Alejandra's struggles with receiving, seeking, and giving herself, love. I love the narrative structure and the way everything feels so accurate and powerful culturally. Even the blend of spiritual/religious elements is right on point. This is a fantastic take on La Llorona which I highly recommend. Be sure to check the trigger warnings though!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Abandonment

Minor: Violence and Misogyny

laurenbookwitchbitch's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-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

I’ve been a big fan of V. Castro since reading “Goddess of Filth,” so I was very excited for this new, even longer horror novel. First off I mean look at this gorgeous cover! I adore a grotesque book filled with ghosts and blood that has bright pastel flowers on the cover, five stars for the illustration! Alejandra is a mother, wife and home-maker plagued by depression, anxiety and recurring nightmares of a woman in white whispering encouraging her to kill her children. As Alejandra’s terror increases, she begins to delve into her ancestry to discover a long lineage of women, who have had similar encounters w/ this demon masquerading as La Llrona.  This book does that thing where it switches POV and goes back and forth in time between the different ancestral women who also encounter this demon in a way that is hard to pull off seamlessly but Castro nails it! “The Haunting of Alejandra is dark, emotional, fraught, frightening and will threaten to devour your own soul. But like, in a way that makes it a fantastic horror reading experience! 

My only criticism of this book is that it very much equates womanhood with motherhood. 🙁😐

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Child death, Genocide, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Abortion, Death, Grief, Suicide attempt, Violence, Emotional abuse, and Gore

ericarobyn's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

3.0

The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro is a story of grief, anger, and generational trauma that won’t remove its claws from the backs of the women in this bloodline.

Content Warnings below.

Alejandra is struggling. She has a privileged life when it comes to classic things like the family and the house, but that’s where the picture-perfect reflection ends. Within her mind, there’s a storm that won’t settle. Finally hitting a breaking point, Alejandra goes to therapy. But there, she learns that this wasn’t all just in her head. There is a real danger, and it has set its sights on her and her children.

Will Alejandra be able to sever the cord of this generational curse once and for all, or is her bloodline doomed to keep repeating the horrors of the past?

Set up in a way that jumps from the current mother struggling with the demon to each of her ancestors throughout the years since the curse began, we slowly learn why each mother seems destined to meet a horrible end after an unhappy life.

I will caution readers, the first half of this book was difficult to read as it is very raw and will leave readers feeling miserable if you’re one that puts yourselves in the character’s shoes. But eventually, the story starts to come out of the darkness as Alejandra becomes stronger and the focus shifts to determination and hope!

My Favorite Passages from The Haunting of Alejandra

For years she abandoned herself to be a willing sacrifice to please everyone around her, and now nothing existed within her anymore. Even her own hand was not a hand at all, but a blade she used to carve her heart for anyone who asked for it.

I’ve come to learn that thoughts often get in the way of intuition. You have to turn the dialogue down and listen to the music of your soul.

Words could eviscerate or they could be a miracle.

My Final Thoughts on The Haunting of Alejandra

This deeply distressing tale is an amazing example of real-world horror mixed with the paranormal.

Get ready with your tissues and a stress ball (or a stiff drink!) to prepare for the rage some of this will induce, and dive into this story. Just make sure you have calmed your inner demons by the time you hit the last page so you don’t bring the cursed one back to life!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Gaslighting, and Grief

Moderate: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Self harm