Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas

152 reviews

kquixotic's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

4.5

My new book club chose this as our first book. When I went to find it at the bookstore I was surprised that it was shelved in the horror section. 

As a lover of magical realism I found the story delightful. It gripped me easily and the writing was fine but not exceptional. Horror was definitely the right shelf for the story, but I’m usually reticent to read horror because I scare easily. Although gory for sure, I wasn’t scared or creeped out reading The Hacienda. 

Whenever a book is written in English but set in a place where English is not the spoken language, I’m often a little frustrated by when and where to use the English word or the word in the language of the setting. For example, why not “La Hacienda” as the title? 

Nonetheless, it’s a great read for when you just want some bubble gum for the brain. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Violence, Death, and Gore

Minor: Rape

blissofalife's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gore, Body horror, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Classism, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

Minor: Abortion, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Mental illness, Vomit, Pregnancy, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, War, Confinement, Gaslighting, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Animal death, and Colonisation

bootsmom3's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Colonisation, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Fatphobia, Cursing, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Gaslighting

Minor: Abortion, Alcohol, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

meredith_williams_'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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Colonisation, Blood, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Pregnancy, Rape, and Abortion

Minor: Sexual content and Vomit

cinderellasbookshelf's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Gothic horror, especially those set in an almost isolated area like a hacienda, are honestly the best kind of horror books to read. 

THE HACIENDA went from mysteriously eerie, to creepy, to completely terrifying in a span of a couple of pages in between the questions posed by its heroine, Beatriz, and the revelations revealed with the help of a priest, Andres, with secrets of his own. It was a slow build, but you definitely want to stick with it. 

The writing was immersive and eloquent, but never heavy. I could see the comparisons to Mexican Gothic and Rebecca, but I felt this one was held its own and kept me curious to keep reading (despite going like this 🫣 a few times) until the very end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Blood, and Death

Minor: Sexual assault and Rape

kshertz's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

I saw a review that this is mexican gothic and Rebecca and I feel like that’s spot on. It’s creepy and you can’t trust anyone. Is it paranormal? Is it a real person haunting everyone? Who is behind all of this? Plus a love story that was realistic. I loved it. Highly recommend 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Violence, Blood, Body horror, and Death

rachelunabridged'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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Alcohol, Blood, Gaslighting, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Racism

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Infidelity

Minor: Abortion, Rape, and Sexual content

ishouldreadthat's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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? No

4.5

A fantastic Gothic horror story set just after the Mexican War for Independence. Incredible characters, proper spooky plot, and a satisfying ending. Would highly recommend.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Classism, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Gaslighting

Minor: War and Sexual violence

serinalovesreading's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

tigger89's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I found this book to be the perfect type of spooky, the kind that gives you chills while you're reading but that doesn't linger once you've put the book down. I particularly loved the way the classic "catholic exorcism" trope was twisted by having the exorcist be not just a catholic priest, but also a witch. The atmosphere was also gorgeous, both outside and inside the hacienda. I felt that sunlight, and those chills!

Something I didn't like was that the female characters weren't as strong as I'd expected. They were all either very passive or they were under heavy aid from(or motivated by) male characters, particularly Padre Andres. It's not that I feel he was a bad character, but for a novel which contained themes centering around patriarchal control and violence, it was disappointing to see the female characters essentially led around by a male lead, even one who was respectful and good. This is especially jarring in comparison to Mexican Gothic, which I felt handled the partnership of the female lead with a male companion much better.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Colonisation, Abortion, Murder, Classism, and Racism

Minor: Alcoholism, War, Sexual violence, Rape, Confinement, and Death of parent