Reviews tagging 'Abortion'

The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas

118 reviews

starbabe2529's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This book was phenomenal. The haunting was excellent, well paced and atmospheric. It was a classic, well spun Gothic story with all the creepy old houses and dark family secrets. But it was also set in a fresh new setting of Mexico in the 1820s. The new culture and setting breathed a new kind of life into a well loved trope. The characters were all so strong while also being realistic and imperfect. My only issue

is that I feel like the revelation of the sister being the killer could have been foreshadowed better. I wish we had spent more time with her as a character and were able to see this insidious side of her.

But otherwise I think this book was very well executed, atmospheric, had a great haunting and I definitely recommend it. 8/10 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Sexual assault and Abortion

folst015's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Death, Animal death, Blood, and Body horror

Minor: Vomit, Torture, Abortion, War, Rape, and Sexual assault

shahdirose's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Death

Moderate: Body horror, Murder, Toxic relationship, Blood, Classism, and Bullying

Minor: Abortion, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, and Rape

elizabeth_lepore's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Rape, Death of parent, Racism, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Abortion

queerreaderchaos's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.0

I love haunted houses. Houses that are characters in their own right, like the hacienda San Isidro. 
The story reminded me a lot of Rebecca, but leaning more into the haunting and ghost Rebecca lacked. The gothic atmosphere, the Mexican backstory, and author’s style made it a book I would definitely recommend in spooky, gloomy weather.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Blood, Classism, and Racism

Moderate: Colonisation, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Vomit, Abortion, Murder, Rape, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Infidelity

kaeleigh's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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: Gore

Minor: Sexual assault and Abortion

yourbookishbff's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Murder, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Stalking

Moderate: Abortion, Rape, and Grief

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Gore, Blood, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Sexism, Physical abuse, Grief, Racism, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Confinement, Animal death, and Death of parent

Minor: Alcohol, Child death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Vomit, Pregnancy, War, Rape, Alcoholism, Abortion, and Sexual content

readingwithkaitlyn's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Murder, Death, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Misogyny

Moderate: Alcohol, Grief, and Physical abuse

Minor: Death of parent, Body shaming, Ableism, Medical content, Confinement, Classism, Sexual content, Abortion, Animal death, Religious bigotry, Pandemic/Epidemic, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Vomit, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Rape, and Colonisation

Colorism.

coreysees's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

4.5

1. I've seen this book compared to Mexican Gothic, which is fair: they both feature young brides who find themselves in a haunted house with hostile in-laws, both feature partially indigenous women as main characters and deal with issues of racism, both are set in the early 20th century, both include dreams and hallucinations, both heroines are helped by an unlikely love interest, both books are by female authors with Mexican heritage living in English-speaking countries. The Hacienda, however, feels much more traditionally "horror," whereas the haunting in Mexican Gothic is almost pseudoscientific. The stakes feel higher in this book and I'd generally say that it's scarier. I found the resolution to the conflict a bit anticlimactic, though the overall ending of the book was very satisfactory, from a character perspective. Cañas does a great job interspersing the flashbacks and alternating viewpoints in a way that creates tension and keeps the story moving. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Minor: Abortion and Rape