Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas

12 reviews

noshakira's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I absolutely loved this book. It's equal parts spooky, empowering, and romantic. It perfectly captures the feelings, both good and bad, when you walk into a space that feels like it is living. Typically, I dislike period pieces, and would have avoided a book set in the 1800s like this one, but the storyline didn't feel as dated as many others and focused more on the timeless human and haunting aspects. Beautifully written and read like a movie in my mind. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Sexual assault, War, Domestic abuse, Abortion, Alcohol, Blood, Racism, Classism, Infidelity, Mental illness, Colonisation, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Violence, Murder, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexism, and Toxic relationship

alexisgarcia'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? Yes

4.0

this was a very good gothic thriller. very atmospheric and the characters and plot were great! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Blood, Violence, War, Alcohol, Death, Sexual content, Death of parent, Grief, and Murder

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

alicelalicon's review

dark 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Toxic relationship, Blood, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Death, and Murder

rochelleisreading's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Murder, Death, Sexism, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Fire/Fire injury

yvo_about_books's review

5.0

 Finished reading: July 10th 2023

“When a man makes a promise, he makes it on his honor. When a witch makes a promise, they feel it in their bones.”

Ever come across a book that you just know you are going to love, but somehow it takes you ages to pick it up anyway? This is exactly what happened with The Hacienda for me. The blurb gave me Mexican Gothic vibes, which had me immediately intrigued. It is being compared to the classic Rebecca as well, which I confess I still have to read myself... But I'm definitely going to remedy that after finishing The Hacienda. Why? Let's just say that this debut blew me away completely, and I loved every single minute with this historical fiction/gothic horror/paranormal read. The pace in The Hacienda is actually quite a lot slower than I would usually like, but somehow it really worked for this story. This probably has a lot to do with the fact that the writing itself is fantastic; I fell in love with the way this story was written from the very beginning, and the gothic vibe is done is a sublime way. The building up of the tension, the uncertainty about what is really going on, the doubts about if the main character is just imagining things or something a lot more sinister (and supernatural) is going on... It was just all done in such a natural way, and the result was glorious. Add the historical fiction aspect with the 19th century Mexican setting, the religious aspect and the political/cultural issues, even the slowburn romance, and I couldn't give this debut anything less than the full 5 stars it deserved. Guess who will be reading a vampire book in the future even though she is usually allergic to any stories about vampires? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Misogyny, Death of parent, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Blood, Classism, Abortion, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Rape, Violence, Body horror, Colonisation, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, War, Xenophobia, Grief, and Murder

lisabrune's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Death, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Violence, and Abortion

aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.5

Really great for the haunted house/afraid of what lurks in the dark vibes. The overall story for me was quite slow to get through until towards the end. 
It is multiple POV. 
The reason the house is haunted was interesting, but it felt pretty slow to get to that point. I loved all the creepiness of it though. It was nice reading a gothic horror that wasn't set against an all white cast. The author also touches on class/classism and colorism/racism a little bit.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Abandonment, Abortion, Blood, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Racism, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, and Rape

honeywine's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Body horror, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Death of parent, Murder, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Abortion

Moderate: Rape, Abortion, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Grief, and Domestic abuse

awebofstories's review against another edition

dark 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? No

4.0

 When they claim that this book is a mix of Mexican Gothic and Rebecca, they hit the target. This is a good, old-fashioned gothic haunted house story with a menacing former wife. 
 
I suppose describing it makes it sound formulaic, but it really isn't.  There are enough details to enrich this tale and keep you guessing truly.  Given its comps, I was looking for certain things, but Cañas smartly subverts expectations at key points.  She also hits the mark on the atmosphere, creating a community brimming with secrets and things that come out at night.

If I had any complaint about this book, it would be that I would have liked the mercury on the spooky meter to go up just a bit.  I don't think this book was especially tame, and I did get a chill now and then, but I was never truly spooked.  However, I've been leaning into horror this spooky season, so my tolerance may be on the high side.  Another reader might find this frightful (in the appropriate way).

This was an excellent debut, and I hope we get more from Isabel Cañas in the future! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Blood, Body horror, and Death