Scan barcode
welshbookfairy's review against another edition
5.0
Changed this to five star because this book has truly HAUNTED me. I initially dropped a star because I thought it should have/could have gone on for much longer but in all honesty, the impact of this novella is too powerful to give it anything less than 5.
oneanjana's review against another edition
5.0
“She was the Weeping Woman, sure. But I was the woman who made rainwater out of tears. I would use them to water my crops through this drought. When people bought my fat turnips and sharp radishes and long, thick carrots, they would taste of freshly turned futures, hope, the bittersweet taste of things past, and the salty tang of possibility. This I would do to remind others that we are the seeds we plant, not the histories forced upon us. This I would do to wash away the sorrow from my soul.”
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5/5)
This book is so heartwarming. Even though this book categorized as horror, I think it’s more magical realism, and the horror level is probably only 0.000001%. Which is very subtle. Probably because the story is related to La Llorona, the Weeping Woman, so it categorized as horror, but it's actually not horror at all. I think the story is beautiful and touching.
Our narrator and main character, Mercy, tells the story of her life in a circle full of sorrow and grief because of La Llorona’s doing. And how she tries to break the chains of the generational trauma. I like the writing style, which make us seems so close with Mercy and listening to Mercy's story directly. The way the story is told is never a dull moment and it flows beautifully. In my opinion, this book also has its own deep meaning apart from Mercy’s story to fight La Llorona’s curse. I can see that in this life, we are just like Mercy. We have our own 'ghost' ready to haunt us whenever we are drowning in sadness, griefs, regrets, or sorrows. The ghost can be our past that we may not be able to let go or fully accept. That being said, this book is beautifully-written too.
Overall, I didn’t have any particular issues when reading this book. Maybe at first it felt a little slow, but it doesn’t bother me. I’d say again, this book is short but very beautiful and heartwarming. This was a story of letting go, accepting ourselves, and how we work for miracles. As Mercy also said about miracles:
Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for the opportunity to read this eARC. All opinions are my own.
book_bermi's review against another edition
4.0
This story was as beautiful as it was relatable. Looking at this world through Mercy's eyes was an experience. Mercy is such an incredibly resilient character. From a young age, she consistently fought against a fate that she grew up seeing as almost unavoidable. It was the bond she shared with her best friend that pushed her forward, and later the rage and sorrow that kept her going. I loved the use of La Llorona in the story. I also love how overtime, you see the world around her change. The story ends on such a hopeful tone, really inspiring that dreams are achievable. I would have liked to see more of the story after Mercy has some realizations and shifts her perspective. Beautifully written!
bookishcatlady's review against another edition
4.0
Growing up with the legend of La Llorona best friends Sherry and Mercy dream of escaping Sueno, New Mexico and to live lives of happiness.
Life gets in the way of dreams and Sherry is dragged into the river by La Llorona. Mercy is the only survivor, if you can call it that. In reality it seems she gets the worse of the curse and must face a lonely life fearing the townspeople think the worst of her. Regardless she tries to build a life of happiness for herself. She then learns things aren't always what they seem.
Weep, Woman, Weep a Gothic Fairy Tale by Maria DeBlassie is a novella featuring strong women characters. Fast paced and very enjoyable. I just wish it were longer.
Life gets in the way of dreams and Sherry is dragged into the river by La Llorona. Mercy is the only survivor, if you can call it that. In reality it seems she gets the worse of the curse and must face a lonely life fearing the townspeople think the worst of her. Regardless she tries to build a life of happiness for herself. She then learns things aren't always what they seem.
Weep, Woman, Weep a Gothic Fairy Tale by Maria DeBlassie is a novella featuring strong women characters. Fast paced and very enjoyable. I just wish it were longer.
em_harring's review against another edition
4.0
[3.5 rounded up]
La Llorona is one of my favorite legends, and while this wasn't my favorite iteration of the ghost, I enjoyed it! The writing isn't my favorite, but I enjoyed the main character Mercy and her relationship with her best friend Sherry.
La Llorona is one of my favorite legends, and while this wasn't my favorite iteration of the ghost, I enjoyed it! The writing isn't my favorite, but I enjoyed the main character Mercy and her relationship with her best friend Sherry.
trisha_thomas's review against another edition
4.0
This may be a short read, but it packs a good punch. Perfectly paced - it kept me wondering what was next and also worried about what was going on. I loved the lore and the creepy feel of the crying woman. Good read, so glad I gave it a try
A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
sueread2030's review against another edition
4.0
This is a modern-Mexican "Things Fall Apart" from a woman's perspective with a hint of magic.
I enjoyed it very much
It was different from what I usually read because it felt like a memoire of a woman coming to her strength, telling her own story
and as someone with similar background, it always amazed me how different cultures separated by oceans could be so much similar.
"he stopped going
to her at night because she couldn′t produce a son,
the only kind of child that mattered. "
my only critique is that I wished that the writer did not have to explain the situation so forward and just let us as readers figure it out.
I enjoyed it very much
It was different from what I usually read because it felt like a memoire of a woman coming to her strength, telling her own story
and as someone with similar background, it always amazed me how different cultures separated by oceans could be so much similar.
"he stopped going
to her at night because she couldn′t produce a son,
the only kind of child that mattered. "
my only critique is that I wished that the writer did not have to explain the situation so forward and just let us as readers figure it out.
gen_wolfhailstorm's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
3.5
Thank you to Black Tide Book Tours / Henry Roi PR for a digital copy to participate in the Book Tour. All opinions remain my own.
Part We Have Always Lived in the Castle, part The Haunting of Alejandra, Weep, Woman, Weep tells the account of Mercy as she grows up with the ever taunting presence of La Llorona in the shadows.
Hoping for a better life, one where she can feel genuine happiness and pride, Mercy strives to break the multigenerational chain of trauma and curses and consistently tries to out run the depths of a watery grave.
This was a solid story. I've really enjoyed learning more about the weeping woman legend through my reading over the last year and I particularly enjoyed that in Weep, Woman, Weep, Mercy had this sort of pure terror mold into an old nemesis mentality with the legend. It was a different dynamic to what I've read before, concerning the legend, and it felt inspiring to see her really push to avoid becoming a carbon copy of those who's will just wasn't quite strong enough to escape La Llorna's baptism. A not on the baptisms - I thought this was an interesting and unique way of merging the fantasy with reality and it was frightening how hollow these girls would come back after that encounter... were they really alive, were they scared so much that they completely changed, was society pressures just too much to push back against? I a left wondering.
I wasn't overally fond on the lack of distinct chapters, but the writing style did allow to be read more diary like/stream of consciousness, so it wasn't too jarring for me - I just prefer a more sturdy break point when figuring out where to pause my reading.
As usual, I'm a closure Queen, so I'm not the best with open endings, but I think this ending was... not sweet.. considering the specific scene we left on, but ... hopeful? Yeah, I'll go with that!
Part We Have Always Lived in the Castle, part The Haunting of Alejandra, Weep, Woman, Weep tells the account of Mercy as she grows up with the ever taunting presence of La Llorona in the shadows.
Hoping for a better life, one where she can feel genuine happiness and pride, Mercy strives to break the multigenerational chain of trauma and curses and consistently tries to out run the depths of a watery grave.
This was a solid story. I've really enjoyed learning more about the weeping woman legend through my reading over the last year and I particularly enjoyed that in Weep, Woman, Weep, Mercy had this sort of pure terror mold into an old nemesis mentality with the legend. It was a different dynamic to what I've read before, concerning the legend, and it felt inspiring to see her really push to avoid becoming a carbon copy of those who's will just wasn't quite strong enough to escape La Llorna's baptism. A not on the baptisms - I thought this was an interesting and unique way of merging the fantasy with reality and it was frightening how hollow these girls would come back after that encounter... were they really alive, were they scared so much that they completely changed, was society pressures just too much to push back against? I a left wondering.
I wasn't overally fond on the lack of distinct chapters, but the writing style did allow to be read more diary like/stream of consciousness, so it wasn't too jarring for me - I just prefer a more sturdy break point when figuring out where to pause my reading.
As usual, I'm a closure Queen, so I'm not the best with open endings, but I think this ending was... not sweet.. considering the specific scene we left on, but ... hopeful? Yeah, I'll go with that!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Misogyny, Murder, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Infertility, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Violence, Addiction, Confinement, and Cursing
mindsplinters's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
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? It's complicated
4.0
A gorgeous gothic-flavored modern fairy tale about generational trauma and finding yourself and learning how to heal yourself... and, sometimes, others. This book was a fast read and the conversational first-person tone of Mercy dragged you along with her, feeling as she did, seeing the world of her tiny insular town as she did. Somehow DeBlassie married the uncomplicated dialect of a mestizo woman who was not given educational growth opportunities with the feel of fairy tale language; at no point do the words feel like something Mercy wouldn't use but yet it still felt bigger than a simple tale in the way the best fairy tales do.
More than that, DeBlassie took the threads of La Llorona - a story well known to anyone along the US Mexican border and even to anyone who collects good ghost stories - and weaves them through the internal rot of the small town. Part of you will think La Llorona caused the abuse in the town, the smothering of the women and the degenercy of the men, but then you could be (might be, probably are) wrong and La Llorona just feeds on and encourages what is already there. The generational trauma that Mercy experiences and, tangentially, what she sees her best friend and other women suffer breaks the heart. To watch her fight it while not fully recognizing it as such is heartbreaking and uplifting all at once. For her, it is La Llorona and the curse. For us, we see the real world mirror of it.
This story grows full of hope and pulls you from despair towards the light with every discovery Mercy makes and you find yourself crossing all of your fingers for her even as you wait for the other shoe to drop... Because we all know how the past keeps its claws in you and how one moment of safety could let something through. As Mercy says in the most poignant of ways, "I realized that once you got used to living a certain way, you stopped trusting the good things that happened, even if you made it so."
We can't always save each other. We can't always undo another's cycle or heal their trauma. Sometimes we can only save ourselves and the bit of land we call home... and sometimes that is enough to give everyone a bit more hope.
More than that, DeBlassie took the threads of La Llorona - a story well known to anyone along the US Mexican border and even to anyone who collects good ghost stories - and weaves them through the internal rot of the small town. Part of you will think La Llorona caused the abuse in the town, the smothering of the women and the degenercy of the men, but then you could be (might be, probably are) wrong and La Llorona just feeds on and encourages what is already there. The generational trauma that Mercy experiences and, tangentially, what she sees her best friend and other women suffer breaks the heart. To watch her fight it while not fully recognizing it as such is heartbreaking and uplifting all at once. For her, it is La Llorona and the curse. For us, we see the real world mirror of it.
This story grows full of hope and pulls you from despair towards the light with every discovery Mercy makes and you find yourself crossing all of your fingers for her even as you wait for the other shoe to drop... Because we all know how the past keeps its claws in you and how one moment of safety could let something through. As Mercy says in the most poignant of ways, "I realized that once you got used to living a certain way, you stopped trusting the good things that happened, even if you made it so."
We can't always save each other. We can't always undo another's cycle or heal their trauma. Sometimes we can only save ourselves and the bit of land we call home... and sometimes that is enough to give everyone a bit more hope.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Animal death, Death of parent, and Violence
schnoebs13's review against another edition
3.0
3.75⭐️
In a small town in New Mexico, there is a legend that the residents don’t talk about. Every day down by the riverbank on at dusk the Weeping Woman gains her power and lays in wait to baptize young women who venture too close to the water’s edge. Their pain and tears give her strength and every mother warns their daughter to stay away or else she’ll return with forever damp hair and bloodshot eyes to live in a world of sorrow and never a moment of happiness. Knowing the truth, Mercy and her friend vow to do whatever it takes to keep La Llorona just out of reach.
I had a hard time with the start of this book. The narration style of Mercy talking directly to the reader is not my favorite but I can see why the author chose to go that route. What I appreciate about this book is that on goodreads it’s tagged as a horror which I can definitely see while also striving towards this underlying need for hope and true happiness. In the beginning I wasn’t the biggest fan of Mercy but once we got to the point in life where she was in her late 20s, early 30s I really started to root for her. I liked that the author focused on food and farming as a type of medicine and how it’s easy to have dreams but harder to actually make them become a reality. Even though this isn’t my favorite story, I feel that it’s going to stick with me a lot longer than most which makes me happy that I read it.
In a small town in New Mexico, there is a legend that the residents don’t talk about. Every day down by the riverbank on at dusk the Weeping Woman gains her power and lays in wait to baptize young women who venture too close to the water’s edge. Their pain and tears give her strength and every mother warns their daughter to stay away or else she’ll return with forever damp hair and bloodshot eyes to live in a world of sorrow and never a moment of happiness. Knowing the truth, Mercy and her friend vow to do whatever it takes to keep La Llorona just out of reach.
I had a hard time with the start of this book. The narration style of Mercy talking directly to the reader is not my favorite but I can see why the author chose to go that route. What I appreciate about this book is that on goodreads it’s tagged as a horror which I can definitely see while also striving towards this underlying need for hope and true happiness. In the beginning I wasn’t the biggest fan of Mercy but once we got to the point in life where she was in her late 20s, early 30s I really started to root for her. I liked that the author focused on food and farming as a type of medicine and how it’s easy to have dreams but harder to actually make them become a reality. Even though this isn’t my favorite story, I feel that it’s going to stick with me a lot longer than most which makes me happy that I read it.