Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas

110 reviews

jackyinreadingland'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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Racism, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: Abortion, Death of parent, and War

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

toriwatson'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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Racism, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: Abortion, Death of parent, and War

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

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

volunteerpyromancer's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

There were parts that could be predictable.  But my god.  It was a solidly entertaining ghost story.  And consider me a Padre Andres fan.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, and Murder

Moderate: Racism, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Rape and War

abbiemarie's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexism, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual assault, Abortion, and Gaslighting

Minor: Rape

readwithbells's review against another edition

3.0

Unfortunately, marketing a good book as a cross between Rebecca and Mexican Gothic, two of the greats, only makes me want to reread those books. This book was fine. It wasn’t twisty, the plot was exactly as you expected it to be and there’s nothing wrong with that. I missed a gothic atmosphere; it felt like the whole thing was written as “Beatriz goes here and something happens now Beatriz goes here and something happens” which is a little tedious and cuts the pacing and the stakes to shreds. It didn’t feel unsettling or scary or even nerve-wracking, I liked the characters enough to finish but this was decidedly underwhelming. I’d have to recommend reading either of its namesakes instead. 

Edit to add:
I think the issue with this book is that the dual perspective takes us out of any oppressive atmosphere the author may be preparing for us. Without sitting in one woman’s experience of the house in every single moment, we miss out on what gothics try to accomplish. And to try and accomplish the same thing, she gives us a lot of visual cues and tells us how to feel - that’s just unsatisfying for me. I wish she had leaned more into the witchcraft and less into a pseudo-gothic structure because those were the most interesting aspects of the piece. 

If you are stimulated by visual scares instead of atmospheric ones, you’ll probably find this book pretty creepy! But it’s not a gothic so much as a haunted house story. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism and War

Minor: Rape and Abortion

blackcatkai's review against another edition

dark hopeful tense slow-paced

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

4.5

CW: rape (mentioned), casual ableism, blood, war/colonialism, colourism/racism, violence, death, classism, gaslighting

this is a slow historical gothic horror with romance sprinkled within, dual perspective, and a few flashbacks. overall I really enjoyed it! slow historical isn't usually part of any genre I usually read, but im really glad I gave this one a try. gorgeous writing, creepy atmosphere, supernatural and spooky, I was hooked. can't wait to read more from cañas in the future!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Ableism, Racism, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Minor: Rape and Sexual assault

rbash2391's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Cursing, Death, Misogyny, Racism, Self harm, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Infidelity, Rape, and Abortion

Minor: Confinement and Injury/Injury detail

maya_reads_books's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Racism and Sexual assault

Minor: Death of parent