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cheeraven21's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
sunshine_honey19's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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
3.75
spunglass's review against another edition
4.0
A huge thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the digital ARC of "The Haunting of Alejandra" by V. Castro.
I began reading, and couldn't stop.
The heartbreak was so tangible, and the pain of these connected women echoed through time.
The shared heartbreak and trauma throughout the generations were what hurt the most.
It might just be my opinion on how I read this... but in every segment, it felt like almost every woman lost part of themselves (who they were/what made them strong), or had to give up something precious - due to a man... and ultimately childbirth became a strength and a weakness for them.
The real horror for me wasn't the supernatural aspect... but how real the trauma, and losses were.
The only real downside to this book though was how quickly things wrapped up at the end, and there were a few parts that felt a bit disjointed from the pace the story started taking.
Overall though, I am thrilled to be able to recommend this book to anyone that will listen!
4/5
I began reading, and couldn't stop.
The heartbreak was so tangible, and the pain of these connected women echoed through time.
The shared heartbreak and trauma throughout the generations were what hurt the most.
It might just be my opinion on how I read this... but in every segment, it felt like almost every woman lost part of themselves (who they were/what made them strong), or had to give up something precious - due to a man... and ultimately childbirth became a strength and a weakness for them.
The real horror for me wasn't the supernatural aspect... but how real the trauma, and losses were.
The only real downside to this book though was how quickly things wrapped up at the end, and there were a few parts that felt a bit disjointed from the pace the story started taking.
Overall though, I am thrilled to be able to recommend this book to anyone that will listen!
4/5
rene_'s review against another edition
4.0
[4.5] ahhh this book was extremely ugly. It follows Alejandra and the maternal generational curse that haunts the first born mothers of the entire line. The creature creeps into the mothers’ minds (and times, their first born daughters), manifesting as a physical being only seen by them, filling them with depression and pain from their situations, ending with the creature feeding on the mothers’ fears and at the end of their lives, their physical bodies. My thoughts throughout the entire book was just if the women were able to leave their goddamn husbands and without society taunting them for it, the curse could’ve gone away so much sooner. With La Llorona, though im sure is a real myth passed amongst Mexican history, I kind of imagined it as depression and anxiety of not being enough for your families. We were also able to see some of the stigmas women loved through from like the 1800s to the 2000s and I think that’s a neat part of this book :) .5 off because I didn’t cry reading the book
ctrejo's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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? No
5.0
thefolklorefaery's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
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
3.5
copascribe's review against another edition
1.0
I DNF'd this book with exactly 18 minutes and 53 seconds left. I couldn't take it anymore.
The story of La Llorona has held a special place in my heart since my Nana told me the tale when I was five years old and wouldn't go to sleep. I was super excited to hear this was a retelling of said story, but having read a book from the same author before, I tried to keep my expectations low.
The Haunting of Alejandra takes on the interesting challenge of morphing generational trauma and post partum depression into a curse/demon that haunts this specific line of women. For me, this book missed the mark. There are so many repetitive sentences, so much of the same narrative generation after generation, and my pet peeve, women making horrible decisions and blaming "toxic masculinity" instead of themselves.
The writing is bland, and even worse, some of the older stories on the timeline are told through a modern societal lens. On top of which, the actual story of La Llorona is completely twisted and misinterpreted. Granted, there are loads of renditions and the author definitely has a right to make it her own...but the interpretation is wrecked from what I know it as and so I think this book and I got off on the wrong foot anyway.
The main character is whiny and the commentary doesn't flow smoothly, there's a lot of interpretation of the character's thoughts within her own head, which feels like the author didn't trust the reader to put things together themselves and so needs the mc to spell it out for us.
And don't get me started on the husband! What a caricature of a man...he will say all the things that make it obvious you're supposed to hate him, it's comical and unrealistic. He's a monster because he works to support his family and his wife, who agreed to the traditional life he proposed, is now bored with having to do the laundry? Because he picks out Gucci shoes for her and other designer outfits that just "aren't her"? Guess he should've invested in a crystal ball so he could read her thoughts since she pretended to be someone she wasn't so she could escape the life she had. He is almost as whiny as Alejandra with his cardboard-cutout repertoire.
The only character who felt real and interesting was Cathy. All of the other stories felt inauthentic, and sometimes I wasn't sure what the author was trying to say about some of the issues she highlighted. There was room for the story to be fleshed out more, and I wish the time was taken to do so.
But the real kicker is this is supposed to be horror?? It's not scary at all. It has some gory demon monologues peppered throughout, but this book drags and is like a stream of consciousness for chapters upon chapters of how depressed and powerless the character feels. Loads of contradictions, and I just couldn't take anymore.
Maybe one day I'll finish that last chapter and epilogue, but life is short, and my TBR list is long. If I hadn't been on a road trip in the middle of nowhere, I would've DNF'd much sooner.
The story of La Llorona has held a special place in my heart since my Nana told me the tale when I was five years old and wouldn't go to sleep. I was super excited to hear this was a retelling of said story, but having read a book from the same author before, I tried to keep my expectations low.
The Haunting of Alejandra takes on the interesting challenge of morphing generational trauma and post partum depression into a curse/demon that haunts this specific line of women. For me, this book missed the mark. There are so many repetitive sentences, so much of the same narrative generation after generation, and my pet peeve, women making horrible decisions and blaming "toxic masculinity" instead of themselves.
The writing is bland, and even worse, some of the older stories on the timeline are told through a modern societal lens. On top of which, the actual story of La Llorona is completely twisted and misinterpreted. Granted, there are loads of renditions and the author definitely has a right to make it her own...but the interpretation is wrecked from what I know it as and so I think this book and I got off on the wrong foot anyway.
The main character is whiny and the commentary doesn't flow smoothly, there's a lot of interpretation of the character's thoughts within her own head, which feels like the author didn't trust the reader to put things together themselves and so needs the mc to spell it out for us.
And don't get me started on the husband! What a caricature of a man...he will say all the things that make it obvious you're supposed to hate him, it's comical and unrealistic. He's a monster because he works to support his family and his wife, who agreed to the traditional life he proposed, is now bored with having to do the laundry? Because he picks out Gucci shoes for her and other designer outfits that just "aren't her"? Guess he should've invested in a crystal ball so he could read her thoughts since she pretended to be someone she wasn't so she could escape the life she had. He is almost as whiny as Alejandra with his cardboard-cutout repertoire.
The only character who felt real and interesting was Cathy. All of the other stories felt inauthentic, and sometimes I wasn't sure what the author was trying to say about some of the issues she highlighted. There was room for the story to be fleshed out more, and I wish the time was taken to do so.
But the real kicker is this is supposed to be horror?? It's not scary at all. It has some gory demon monologues peppered throughout, but this book drags and is like a stream of consciousness for chapters upon chapters of how depressed and powerless the character feels. Loads of contradictions, and I just couldn't take anymore.
Maybe one day I'll finish that last chapter and epilogue, but life is short, and my TBR list is long. If I hadn't been on a road trip in the middle of nowhere, I would've DNF'd much sooner.
nitrojen's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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
5.0
echood's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0