A review by juliana_reads
The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas

challenging dark 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? No

4.0

Phew! I don’t think I have read a horror novel before. Short stories yes, but this had slow burn intensity that only a novel could achieve. I really enjoyed it, particularly the strong sense of place and time. Two things impacted my rating:
1) The prose was clunky and repetitive at times! Everyone was “worrying” their lips. There were a few “I knew two things to be true…” lists. But, this is the author’s first novel and I would 100% read another. 
2) I could have done without one of the last chapters
when Beatriz and Andres slept together. I think their love and tenderness could have been expressed differently given the intense trauma they had both endured. It also seemed so contrary to Andres’ piety? Maybe they could have just kissed and embraced, I don’t know. But him receiving a letter six weeks after, and Beatriz mentioning her descendants using the house…seems suspicious.
 

But man, was it a creepy book. The visceral descriptions of the house really made it a page-turner. 
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