Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro

29 reviews

gem114's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

2.5

I actively disliked the first 30% or so and thought about DNFing, but I’ve been in a reading slump and was committed to finishing this book.

I had a hard time sympathizing with Alejandra regarding her situation, despite the fact that I know the author meant for me to feel for her. I also don’t think she’s a healthy representation of mental health struggles, as she goes from rock bottom to an empowered woman ready to battle literal demons after only a month or so of therapy. I found myself more drawn to minor characters, like Melanie, Flor, and Francine. I enjoyed the lore of La Llorona and little details about Mexican culture. 

I think I probably would have liked this book better if it had been edited down about 100 pages. The organization would have needed to be tighter, fewer loose ends regarding the ancestor characters, less repetitive descriptions of the creature, etc. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Child death, Suicide, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Infidelity, Gore, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, War, and Death of parent

Minor: Rape, Colonisation, and Car accident

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

inky_cap's review

challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

4.75

V Castro is a master at her craft, exposing the deep wounds of generational trauma and showing how they fester. How generations of pain can meld demons that feast on its descendants, the only hope of exorcising the evil is by confronting it.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Suicide, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Death, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, and Rape

simplyammee's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective slow-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: Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Colonisation, War, Abandonment, and Death

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Blood, Animal death, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Slavery

schomj's review

dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Suicide, and Colonisation

Moderate: Sexual violence

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

jessreadreceipts's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Child death, Body horror, Blood, Suicide, Gore, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Classism, Misogyny, Racism, Murder, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Colonisation, Abandonment, Cannibalism, and Gaslighting

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Car accident, and Infertility