Reviews with content warning for Animal death - The Hacienda

Beatriz is desperate to escape the household of her mother's cousin, where she is forced to work as a scullery maid due to her mestizo heritage, and she thinks marriage to Rodolfo Solorzano, a wealthy hacienda owner in the country, is the key to a life for her and her mother similar to the one they lost when her father was killed in the Mexican Revolution. However, the Hacienda is anything but a refuge. Servants and Rodolfo's sister avoid it at night, no one really knows what happened to Rodolfo's first wife, shadows move on their own, areas of the house are unnaturally cold, and Beatriz is haunted by visions of blood. Beatriz's only hope of rescue is Andres, a mestizo priest with ties to the hacienda and supernatural powers that he's suppressed out of fear of the Inquisition.

It's a horror and historic fiction hybrid, and while I don't read the former much and can't say how well it holds up to others (it's the best of the few I've read), but the historic fiction aspects are excellent. Isabel Canas shows an expertise of the era of history she has set this in, and I think she gets around the issue of delivering exposition about the setting to readers less familiar with life in the era by making its presence related to some of the emotional wounds of her primary characters and really most of the cast. Canas demonstrates an excellent knowledge of how social issues like sexism, racism, colorism, and classism impact people/characters, and I find it hard to completely hate most of the antagonists.

The prose is gorgeous and at times macabre. I (and a few members of the book club I read this for) quickly learned that reading it at night is not a good idea as we were quite jumpy afterwards.

It's not a flawless debut. While the book focuses heavily on the casta class system in Mexico, the few members of the servant class that get development is almost entirely Andres and his family, which I think slightly undercuts the theme. Rodolfo also feels more like a plot device than a character, which I'm not sure how I feel about it. His decision to leave the hacienda in Beatriz and Juana's hands while he rubs elbows with politicians in the capital is necessary for character motivation, it leaves him underdeveloped, and readers are left on their own to reconcile the Rodolfo who his first wife adores and the one who (sexual abuse mention and a spoiler)

rapes serving girls and hides Beatriz's letters from her mother.

There is also something about the ending that left a bad taste in my mouth.

Beatriz's mother inherits a small home from her husband's family and moves into it while Beatriz is surviving her husband's home and invites her to come. Something about the knowledge that if Beatriz waited she'd have a home that she didn't have to fight a malevolent spirit to survive in feels unsatisfactory. Returning to her mother fits with the other theme of home, and I don't know how else to do that in a way that isn't majorly depressing. Plus, Beatriz grows as a person and initiates healing for Andres and his extended family as well as the hacienda itself through her actions, so it's not a total let down.

Content Warnings

vaguely_pink's review

Go to review page

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

Content Warnings

mamawantsbooks's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

Content Warnings

bandysbooks's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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? Yes

4.0

This book first came to my attention when it was selected as a BOTM book. I kept hearing it compared to Mexican Gothic and Rebecca, which one one hand sounded intriguing, but on the other hand made it seem like it might not be all that original. I actually didn’t get it the month it was picked. I got it months later as an add-on after hearing a few good reviews. I’m so glad I did!

This book is no knock off. While I understand the comparisons, I don’t feel they really do It justice. This is gothic horror set in Post-Independence Mexico. Even though it’s about a long past time, it feels so fresh and in some ways relatable.

One of the biggest strengths is the way this book is so deeply anchored in the time and place. The mentions of cultural beliefs, foods, and traditions really help make this feel deeply set in Mexico. The mentions of the people living through colonialism, the colorism, sexism, misogyny, etc. are all things that were common to that era. There are just so many details that really bring the story to life.

The main two characters, Beatriz, the young, naïve wife of a Ascendado and Andrés, a local priest with unusual powers are both so interesting. Usually, for me, one POV is stronger, but in this case I found both of them enjoyable.

I did find myself wishing that the ending was slightly different. I was able to predict a few key parts of it, but not enough to ruin the story. I think it mostly made sense.

All in all, if you are into gothic horror, you’ll like this book. It has all of the elements for a good spooky read!

Content Warnings

blissofalife's review against another edition

Go to review page

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!

Content Warnings

xangemthelibrarian's review

Go to review page

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? No

5.0

This debut book is absolutely incredible! I found the story to be believable and it was so easy to listen to as an audiobook. I adore Beatriz, Andrés, and Paloma. All three of them deserve the world.

There's so much that I want to say about the haunted hacienda. About Rudolfo and Juana and Ana Luisa and the first Doña. The complicated relationships and the tragedies that happened in that house. And how the caste system played into so much of what happened in the book! I want to talk about it and how incredible reading this book was but I don't want to give away any potential spoilers!!

Just. Read it. It's amazing. And if Cañas writes anything else, I'm reading that too.

Content Warnings

aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition

Go to review page

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.

Content Warnings

More...