A review by amandalorianxo
The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas

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

4.25

So I definitely had moments of haunting and dark thrill vibes as I read this stand-alone novel set in Mexico. I had to look up the purpose of a hacienda and they were (and some still are) used for a multitude of reasons. Large estates were used as mines, factories,  or even plantations. The basic point? Making money. We meet Beatriz and she is married to Rodolfo, yet the people she is meeting and interacting with are not a fan of her. Racially she is not "pure" and her own family line is not as rich or well connected as her husband's. Isabel has to live in the hacienda she is to share with her husband. However, it's basically haunted by spirits that do not people living there. Beatriz is able to call on the help of Andres, a priest, who wants to perform an exorcism to remove the demons from the home. We follow the two pov's of Beatriz and Andres, getting glimpses of their backstories as well as how the hacienda came to be. It's not going to make you piss your pants or anything that traumatizing but I recommend pairing this with the audio to read along to make the excitement that much more enticing.  The audio narrators do a great job at creating the tension that is needed. 
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