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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"Does one call a monster the same way one calls a god?"
A retelling of Persephone and Demeter set on the Mexicali Borderlands that blends mystery, the supernatural and messy characters.
Book Stats:
đź“–: 380
Genre: Mystery/Suspense
Publisher: Mulholland Books
Format: Physical ARC from publisher
Series: Standalone
Audiobook Stats:
⏰: 11 hours 24 minutes
🎤: Victoria Villarreal
Publisher: Mulholland Books
Format: Multi POV / Singular narrator
I enjoyed the narrator quite a bit. The voice was please to listen to and was clearly a native Spanish speaker. I never had to adjust my speed.
Themes:
đź’«: Mother/daughter relationships
đź’«: Generational secrets
đź’«: Grief
đź’«: Ecological Trauma
Representation:
🪽: Latinx characters
🪽: Conversational Spanish
🪽: Queer characters
🪽: Characters with dementia
Tropes:
đź’—:
🥵: Spice: closed door
Potential Triggers: **check authors page/socials for full list.
Short Synopsis:
When Mal's daughter goes missing it forces her to confront the past when her sister went missing. Family secrets aren't always easy to stomach.
General Thoughts:
I had a really good time with this book. I liked it a lot more than I expected to overall. The conversational Spanish was wonderful and accurate. The characters were super messy, but in the most fabulous way. It added so much depth and layering to the story as it unfolded.
I really enjoyed the Mexican/indigenous mythology that was woven into the story. It felt very organic and natural to the plot and gave it a supernatural element that was compelling.
The story was well done. It unfolded at just the right points to keep it entertaining. I was never bored or lost interest in the story. The first 25% was a little slow as things got settled, but after that, I was definitely immersed.
I felt like the ending unraveled really well. There was lots of tension and suspense, and it was a very dramatic reveal. I did not guess all the layers to the ending and I'm glad that I didn't because it definitely had more impact that way.
The petty part of me wanted more consequences for some of the people at the end of the book. I feel like a few of them got off a little too easily. Others I feel got their just desserts.
Disclaimer: I read this book as a gifted physical ARC from the publisher and a gifted audiobook from the Hachette audiobook program. All opinions are my own. This is my honest and voluntary review.
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The more I sit with this book, the harder it is for me to say I truly loved it. While I found it deeply engaging—particularly the final hundred pages, which I read in a single sitting—the overall pacing left me somewhat unbalanced. The novel unfolds as a slow burn, only to accelerate rapidly toward its conclusion, with revelations arriving in quick succession. To her credit, Givhan lays careful groundwork for these narrative turns, yet their delivery feels abrupt.
My deeper frustration lies in the emotional distance I felt from the characters. The majority of the novel is filtered through Mal’s perspective, and while this is compelling, the chapters that offered alternative points of view were, for me, the most resonant. I found myself longing for greater access to the interior lives of Amar, Gris, Gus, and especially Mami. The glimpses we are offered are rich and evocative, hinting at depths that remain just out of reach. A fuller exploration of these perspectives could have elevated the narrative’s emotional texture.
That said, the prose is beautiful. As someone who grew up in a community where Spanish was seamlessly woven into everyday speech, I found the integration of language authentic and skillfully executed. Givhan's command of voice and cadence is a clear strength throughout.
In the end, while it didn’t fully land for me, this is a haunting and lyrical novel that I’m still glad I read—and one I’d readily recommend to others looking for something both heartfelt and distinctive.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
You should definitely listen to this one. The Spanish phrases and Hispanic accents helped the story flow.
This is a slow burn mystery that keeps you guessing till the last page. For much of the beginning I didn’t know what was going on. But it slowly unfolded and wrapped up well. It’s lots of family and small town drama. It’s a mother trying to raise her daughters in a family full of secrets. It’s indigenous people whose ancestors have lived on the land forever versus the decedents of colonizers who now own the land. And it’s the value of women and who gets looked for when missing.
The Salton Sea of southern California is a part of the country I didn’t know existed before this book. The setting lends an atmospheric air to the story and in many ways becomes one of the characters. I definitely wasn’t aware of the many environmental issues facing the area.
This one is worth the read even if you’re not sure what’s happening for the first half!
Thank you to @Netgalley @mulhollandbooks and @littlebrown for the chance to review this ARC and to @hachetteaudio for the ALC.
This is a slow burn mystery that keeps you guessing till the last page. For much of the beginning I didn’t know what was going on. But it slowly unfolded and wrapped up well. It’s lots of family and small town drama. It’s a mother trying to raise her daughters in a family full of secrets. It’s indigenous people whose ancestors have lived on the land forever versus the decedents of colonizers who now own the land. And it’s the value of women and who gets looked for when missing.
The Salton Sea of southern California is a part of the country I didn’t know existed before this book. The setting lends an atmospheric air to the story and in many ways becomes one of the characters. I definitely wasn’t aware of the many environmental issues facing the area.
This one is worth the read even if you’re not sure what’s happening for the first half!
Thank you to @Netgalley @mulhollandbooks and @littlebrown for the chance to review this ARC and to @hachetteaudio for the ALC.
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book was such a good mix of mystery, horror, and folklore! I really enjoyed how engaging the prose is. The author weaves the story with both English and Spanish and includes a lot of traits from traditional Indigenous story telling that works really well. The book makes you question what is true, what "reality" really means, and I can say that I did not predict the ending!
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
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
Jennifer Givhan masterfully mixes true crime, family drama, thriller, and folklore in this enthralling story of loss and resilience. Malamar leads a challenging and seemingly haunted life, becoming a mother much too early to her youngest brother and picking up the pieces to become the backbone of her family after the mysterious and tragic disappearance of her sister. Now, decades later, history seems to be repeating itself, with disappearances and the hauntings of La Siguanaba, the horse-headed woman. Is she there as a threat or as a protector? Does she prey on the women of the community or give them guidance? The legends are not clear and Malamar has a lot of conflicting, confusing evidence to work through in her search for the truth. The mix of Spanish and English and the raw emotion of the character’s voices in this book kept me fully engaged and wanting more each time I picked up this book. It was hard to put down, but always exciting to pick back up the next time an opportunity to dive back into the dark and haunting world of the Salton Sea presented itself. If I could read it again for the first time, I would!
Thank you so much to Little, Brown and Company and NetGalley for an early copy of this book!