Reviews with content warning for Pregnancy - The Hacienda

So, I read this in two chunks (library issues), which may have affected my enjoyment a bit as I think given the horror genre you probably don't want to stop and break the tension...but overall a fun spooky read! I enjoyed the setting and the author does a great job with the horror aspects, I just sometimes felt like characters and their stories fell in and out quickly.

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blissofalife's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.5

The inspirations for this book

Rebecca, Shirley Jackson novels

are obvious throughout but told through a fresh lens and seamlessly combined. The build-up was superb, the climax felt a little too fast. Would still recommend it!

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meredith_williams_'s review against another edition

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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

5.0

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sarahbythebook's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.5

If you like the forbidden romance in fleabag but are more of a fade-to-black romance person, this might be the horror book for you!

I loved The Hacienda. It took me a couple of days to read the whole thing, but the last half nearly kept me up overnight and had me captivated in a race to the end.

The only complaint I have about this book is the amount of questions that it leaves unanswered. There's an unaddressed question about whether one of the characters is unaware of a murder or complicit in its covering up, and as a reader, we never get to know. There are also a few decisions made by characters that are never made clear, and that's the kind of thing that will frustrate me to no end as a reader.

However, this haunted house story set in 1820s Mexico is beautiful, atmospheric, and chilling. I would highly recommend it!

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cassielaj's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

The Gothic and magical realism elements of this book were impressively immersive — I didn’t ever want to stop reading! I also appreciated the context of the Mexican War of Independence: the insurgents, the casta system, the religious Inquisition. Cañas’ author’s note was a great way to end the book; I enjoyed reading about her intentionality regarding those aspects.
I wanted a bit more character development for the main character at times, but I really enjoyed the supporting characters.
TLDR: definitely worth the read!!

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honeywine's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

This book is definitely vibes, though I struggled to get into it until around the halfway mart. The historical part of the historical fiction was pretty neat and enjoyable.

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macknificent's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.75

This story had great bones but it just didn't work for me.

I did find myself fully immersed in the scary scenes, to the point that I could only read this in daylight. Unfortunately, I wasn't much interested in the rest. Neither the mystery, nor the romance were compelling and sometimes it felt like the author didn't really know her characters. The horror/magic didn't seem to have any rules either, which made the ending a bit anticlimactic.

This was a debut novel so I'm willing to try this author again in the future.

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lauramparis's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

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