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A review by themysterymaven
The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas
4.0
I loved being transported by this book into another time, place, and culture. I was completely transfixed by the juxtaposition of beauty against horror. The characters and the setting alike are draped in rich and emotional details that bewitch your senses; it’s a Gothic atmospheric both dream and nightmare of a story that’s as terrifying as it is heartfelt.
The hacienda is haunted by dark secrets seething with anger and betrayal, and I was fascinated by the sheer hostility of a ghost spoiled by its own hubris. As the house and the specter become an inseparable force, they conjure themselves into their own main character that is supremely scary. Blood drenches the walls, red eyes roam in the night like hunter stalking prey, contorted apparitions crawl on the stairs, and a suffocating cold squeezes your breath in a stranglehold all while amused at its ability to torment.
A banished priest that hides his powers as a witch and the fierce survivalist that is Beatriz, newly minted wife of the hacienda’s owner, create their own intricate tale of flaws and forbidden feelings as they work together to solve the horrors of the house. Both are outcasts that bear the disguises of their titles, trying to make their way in a world where what they really come to find is their need for one another.
My mind was mixed with a sway of emotions in this novel, feeling all the reds and blacks of blood, death, love and evil. I enjoyed researching the cultural terms I did not previously know and getting a (fictional) glimpse of Mexico’s politically strife past and the pride of it’s peoples. This story paints a rich palette of landscapes and languages in which I was happily immersed!
The hacienda is haunted by dark secrets seething with anger and betrayal, and I was fascinated by the sheer hostility of a ghost spoiled by its own hubris. As the house and the specter become an inseparable force, they conjure themselves into their own main character that is supremely scary. Blood drenches the walls, red eyes roam in the night like hunter stalking prey, contorted apparitions crawl on the stairs, and a suffocating cold squeezes your breath in a stranglehold all while amused at its ability to torment.
A banished priest that hides his powers as a witch and the fierce survivalist that is Beatriz, newly minted wife of the hacienda’s owner, create their own intricate tale of flaws and forbidden feelings as they work together to solve the horrors of the house. Both are outcasts that bear the disguises of their titles, trying to make their way in a world where what they really come to find is their need for one another.
My mind was mixed with a sway of emotions in this novel, feeling all the reds and blacks of blood, death, love and evil. I enjoyed researching the cultural terms I did not previously know and getting a (fictional) glimpse of Mexico’s politically strife past and the pride of it’s peoples. This story paints a rich palette of landscapes and languages in which I was happily immersed!