Scan barcode
A review by _christinacreads
Solita: A Gothic Romance by Vivien Rainn
5.0
Actual Rating: 4.5
CW: Suicide
"Do you know what it's like to have a wound cursed to never heal?"
Solita by Vivien Rainn is a Gothic Horror slow-burn romance set in the Palawan Islands of the Philippines with a heavy Hispanic influence from the Spanish colonization in the country.
We follow Sadie who runs her family’s estate, The Hacienda Espinosa all by herself in the wake of the loss of both her parents. In the mansion that she was born in, the land that her parents died, she’s plagued with nightmares that are so bad that not even waking up erases the horrors that she faces. Alone in the house she’s surprised when she hears a rhythmic beating coming from beneath the floorboards inadvertently unearthing a demon, the Hacienda’s very first owner.
This book feels kind of like Interview with a Vampire meets Inception but make it unapologetically Filipino with the barest hint of dark romance and a whole lot of exploration on loneliness and grief.
As a light warning, there is Catholicism in the book. But that I feel that you really cant talk about demons while making it unapologetically Filipino without talking about the role Catholicism has played in our culture and history.
The vibes and imagery throughout the book were extremely vivid and engaging. I’m not too sure if it was that intense for me because I’m Filipino and therefore am familiar with the style of house, the wood that was talked about, the windowpanes of the house. I spent time in houses that very much reminds me of the Hacienda and streets that were very much lit up like those that were illustrated.
It reminds me more of LitFic with how it doesn’t really have a specific formula of how books in other genres tend to go but it more is very character driven and everything that happens impacts our main character and while there was a lot of foreshadowing that the ending did not surprise me, I really had no clue where Rainn was going to go with the character’s motives or where the plot was leading up to other than it was going to be an angst filed journey.
There is no spice, based on the artwork, I honestly thought there would be. But instead, I read a book that was so surprisingly gothic and disquieting and elegantly written. There’s so much yearning for both solitude and companionship, for both life and death, for both suffering and peace. The juxtapositions in this book were immaculate. There are a lot of symbolisms in the text and a lot of metaphors and you can very much tell that a lot of thought went into writing this book.
If you want to read a book that very deeply immerses you into Filipino history culture while giving you everything that you could ever ask for in an eerie gothic novel that is perfect for Halloween, read this book. This does read like a stand-alone but there is a sequel coming out this October 31 called Silencia and I am very, very excited to read the next book.
CW: Suicide
"Do you know what it's like to have a wound cursed to never heal?"
Solita by Vivien Rainn is a Gothic Horror slow-burn romance set in the Palawan Islands of the Philippines with a heavy Hispanic influence from the Spanish colonization in the country.
We follow Sadie who runs her family’s estate, The Hacienda Espinosa all by herself in the wake of the loss of both her parents. In the mansion that she was born in, the land that her parents died, she’s plagued with nightmares that are so bad that not even waking up erases the horrors that she faces. Alone in the house she’s surprised when she hears a rhythmic beating coming from beneath the floorboards inadvertently unearthing a demon, the Hacienda’s very first owner.
This book feels kind of like Interview with a Vampire meets Inception but make it unapologetically Filipino with the barest hint of dark romance and a whole lot of exploration on loneliness and grief.
As a light warning, there is Catholicism in the book. But that I feel that you really cant talk about demons while making it unapologetically Filipino without talking about the role Catholicism has played in our culture and history.
The vibes and imagery throughout the book were extremely vivid and engaging. I’m not too sure if it was that intense for me because I’m Filipino and therefore am familiar with the style of house, the wood that was talked about, the windowpanes of the house. I spent time in houses that very much reminds me of the Hacienda and streets that were very much lit up like those that were illustrated.
It reminds me more of LitFic with how it doesn’t really have a specific formula of how books in other genres tend to go but it more is very character driven and everything that happens impacts our main character and while there was a lot of foreshadowing that the ending did not surprise me, I really had no clue where Rainn was going to go with the character’s motives or where the plot was leading up to other than it was going to be an angst filed journey.
There is no spice, based on the artwork, I honestly thought there would be. But instead, I read a book that was so surprisingly gothic and disquieting and elegantly written. There’s so much yearning for both solitude and companionship, for both life and death, for both suffering and peace. The juxtapositions in this book were immaculate. There are a lot of symbolisms in the text and a lot of metaphors and you can very much tell that a lot of thought went into writing this book.
If you want to read a book that very deeply immerses you into Filipino history culture while giving you everything that you could ever ask for in an eerie gothic novel that is perfect for Halloween, read this book. This does read like a stand-alone but there is a sequel coming out this October 31 called Silencia and I am very, very excited to read the next book.