Wow what a book. I admit, it was hard to get through because it was so poignant, but well worth it. It covers so many important and difficult topics, plus the addition of La Llorona… absolutely riveting and entirely unique.

This sorry is so relatable as a mother of two who also suffered from a bit of post partum depression. The author represents this aspect of mother hood perfectly. Weaving the lore in between that trope gave the book so much depth with a whole new perspective on the la Lorena myth.

"Break the curses. Feed your soul."

The Haunting of Alejandra is a thought-provoking and gut wrenching horror novel, centering generational trauma through the vehicle of La Llorna, one of Mexico's most infamous folklore ghosts.

I really loved this book. I loved the many different topics the author explores from generational trauma, spousal neglect/abuse, mental health, and motherhood. These topics reflect the multifaceted of a character, of a person, which made it so real, and at times, quite relatable. I felt angry. I felt sad. I felt cathartic by the end.

This is a book club kind of book, where you'll talk for hours about Alejandra and her maternal ancestors, while sharing your own experiences about womanhood and breaking down social constructs.

A haunting examination of motherhood against the backdrop of La Llorona. The different POVs can feel repetitive but to me that was the point; an illustration of the cyclical nature of generational trauma and experience. I think anyone who has gone through the stages of motherhood will resonate with this book and the doubts and fears experienced by all of the women.

Thank you Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Readers should be warned this is a horror novel. At first it may not seem as such but by the end there is visceral, gory, graphic events that may make some queasy or uncomfortable.

For another woman this book could rank extremely high. It’s about the female legacy of generational trauma; and how as women we often tend to take on everything that our families suffered, we suffered and that future children may suffer.
I broke this particular strain many years ago. Being unable to carry a child to term, and choosing not to try, have surgery, or adopt; as a childless woman I believe I hold less guilt than many. I am not guilty of what the world will look like for my children; nor do I begrudge anyone for my sacrifices. I think for many women this is reality and so I see a very important place for The Haunting of Alejandra on many women’s shelves.

I loved the Mexican culture entwined into this story. Castro does a wonderful job of telling the story of La Llarona and instead of twisting it to her needs she creates something a bit different. Her use of the drowned woman who took her children with her in the river remains intact while still allowing Castro room to tell Alejandra’s story (along with all the women who came before).

My biggest critique of this novel is that it feels a little too strong on its hatred for men. Yes men kept women down (and in some cases continue to) but to hang every woman’s happiness on the man in her life seems a bit unfair. By the end we get a reprieve of this; but it felt a little too late for me. I can’t condone hating all men. As then my husband would not be the wonderful man he is. Nor would so many other men I have known over the years. Yes history is fraught with awful things and arranged marriages and a lack of purpose for women; but if we begrudge this too much and hang on too tight we won’t be able to break the cycle. I want to believe that we are gaining ground as women to make our own choices.

I would remiss to write a review and not mention the transgender representation here. It snuck up on me but felt like the perfect inclusion of how trapped someone can feel inside their own skin. In a way that is what this book is about, or can be for some. Finding yourself and being okay with that self that you find. This comparison and inclusion nearly pushes The Haunting of Alejandra to four stars for me; but alas I cannot ignore the lull I felt and desire to just reach the end by about three quarters of the way through.

All that said I do believe many people, especially women, will really connect with this book. Just because it wasn’t that for me doesn’t mean it won’t be that for you or others. And so while I give it only 3 stars I think if your identity feels far away, you feel trapped in life by marriage, circumstance or otherwise this is the perfect read for you. I hope everyone can find the strength to fight back their demons and be comfortable selecting their own path that gives them some happiness. It may not be perfect; as life never is, but at least it can be yours. The Haunting of Alejandra may help you see those choices and give hope to fight those demons.

I wanted to love this, but I just did not vibe with the writing style. The legend of the 'La Llorona' has always been interesting to me, and I did a bunch of research for a paper in college, so this should have been a great novel for me. However, the story of the two protagonists, Castro's interpretation of the legend, and the contemporary housewife felt disjointed and almost like the legend didn't even have to be involved in this.

The novel follows Alejandra, a woman haunted by a sinister presence while navigating personal and cultural challenges. Castro’s writing excels in creating a richly atmospheric setting and a palpable sense of dread, which enhances the psychological and supernatural elements of the story. The character development is particularly strong, providing a heartfelt exploration of Alejandra’s fears and vulnerabilities. While the pacing may lag slightly in parts, the novel’s compelling narrative and vivid imagery make it a standout in contemporary horror fiction. This book is a must-read for those who appreciate a blend of cultural depth with their chills. Highly recommend!


Thank you Netgalley & Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine for an Arc in exchange for honest review!

The Haunting of Alejandra is not only a horror/thriller with an interesting take on the ghost story of La Llorna but also a story about being brave.

This book hit close to home on several counts. Admittedly, I did cry quite a bit, too, because of how much I could relate to Alejandra and other characters. Generational curses, PPD, unhappy marriage just to name a few.

That's all the spoilers you gonna get from me.

Thank you so much to Del Rey books for a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a really hard one for me to rate. I wanted to like it so much, but I think there was just entirely too much going on in this short book.

I wanted this to be just a straight La Llorona retelling where the monster preying off the protagonist’s postpartum depression and mom guilt. Instead the author chose to use this book to try and address so many issues. There is absolutely no way that this 270 page book could have handled motherhood, postpartum depression, interracial adoption, religious trauma, female body autonomy, teen pregnancy, sexual assault, and spousal abuse (I probably missed at least seven other things this book tried to address).

And because so many issues were trying to be handled many characters felt very dimensional. The husband was AWFUL, like just a personification of the patriarchy.

I will continue to read this author. I think she has a lot of talent, this book just tried to do too much.

I was disappointed by this read, especially as I didn’t find this to be scary. This book has potential but needs some definite reworking.

The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro is a haunting and empowering tale that will captivate readers who crave stories of strong Latina heroines, Mexican folklore, and the unbreakable bonds of family and cultural heritage, making it a must-read for fans of magical realism, dark fantasy, and women's fiction.

Some cringy sentences distracted me from the story but overall it was ok. The main theme is women trying to break past the exploitation of them by men and becoming their own person. This is shown by following a family through their ancestor women and telling how each woman handled this need.

I really don't think this author is for me, unfortunately. maybe I'll still give Goddess of Filth a try. We'll find out

Castro’s story is both intense and thought-provoking, exploring the depths of personal and familial trauma. This novel is a compelling and haunting exploration of a woman’s fight for sanity and survival.

While I loved The Queen of the Cicadas, this one was a little harder to follow. There is definitely space for the creeping horror of being a stay at home parent but unfortunately the terror wasn't clear enough for me to get invested in this story or the character.

I like V. Castro. I enjoyed Queen of the Cicadas and Goddess of Filth. And that is why I found it so surprising to find the writing here choppy and weird. I almost DNF'D it.
It did greatly improve for me when we met Dr. Ortega. This is directly from my notes:
It kills me to give a female horror writer anything under a 4 star rating but this was problematic. Stiff, stilted language, repetition, too many things ripped me from the story. And the ending. She does something at the end a woman who wants custody of her children would never, ever do.

I found V. Castro's inventiveness to tie the legend of La Llorona, being used by a very real immortal, evil creature, as a metaphor for generational trauma a very clever literary device. Her imagery of the monster was eerie and left my skin crawling every time we encountered it (this book does peter on body-horror but NOT the worst version of it by far. Good for beginners curious to dip their toes into more gory reading). However, my major complaints with this book were flat and repetitive dialogue, stagnant characters, and a rushed plot. I ended up skimming through many portions of the book by the end, especially the moments shared between Alejandra and her therapist. The dialogue tended to feel jumbled and unnatural, simply there as exposition for the plot when the author wasn't quite sure how to SHOW the audience where she wanted to go next with the plotline. I would still recommend this book to readers who I know like diverse authors and characters, especially those interested in fantasy/horror based on Mexican folklore.

I wasn't expecting to be so emotional reading a horror, but this book did a really good job of depicting the female condition.

V. Castro's writing style is so gripping - sultry, emotional, visceral. This story about motherhood and its attendant demons, inspired by the legend of La Llorona, hit different now that I am a mother myself. The anxiety of being responsible for another person can certainly be horrific and this story captures that intense love so well. Highly recommend to horror fans, especially if you already read and enjoyed anything else by V. Castro, The Need by Helen Phillips, or Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Del Rey for an early copy in exchange for my honest review!!

The Haunting of Alejandra was not exactly what I was expecting but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Even though I liked the main timeline, I kept looking forward to the chapters set in the past; I loved learning more about this family.

The horror in it was mild, though it did have some tension that I enjoyed.

The characters, like in Goddess of Filth, are what kept me reading. I normally don’t enjoy reading about kids, but in this case I was rooting for them and Alejandra.