I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. This book involves La Llorona and a generational curse. I enjoyed reading the stories of each woman involved in the story and learning more about the tale of La Llorona. It was a quick read.

The Haunting of Alejandra is a book that delves into generational trauma through the myth of La Llorana, and how one's family's path, one's own mental illnesses, and one's culture is deeply connected. Alejandra begins on this journey when her own mental illnesses again become harder to deal with, and she starts seeing the shape of a woman. So begins her journey to learn more about her culture and deal with the generational trauma that has plagued her her whole life. Intertwined with this timeline is the life of other women throughout Alejandra's family tree and their own dealings with generational trauma.

Unfortunately, there was a lot about this book that didn't do it for me. I felt like the past timelines were the strongest part of the book, and I would have rather focused on those women. Alejandra was boring and weak-willed, and not a main character that I found I wanted to spend time with. Additionally, there was a lot about the solving of this entity that plagued her that didn't make sense, and Alejandra bought in with little convincing. Ultimately, this book could have used a lot of tightening to make a more cohesive storyline.

While this book didn't do it for me, the writing was beautiful and I do think V. Castro has talent. I would be interested in reading another book by her, and I think the culture weaved into this book is one of the strongest elements.

V. Castro's "The Haunting of Alejandra" is a haunting and powerful exploration of generational trauma, family secrets, and the insidious nature of legends. With rich prose and profound insights, Castro weaves together Alejandra's unraveling grip on reality with the dark legacy of the infamous La Llorona - the vengeful "Weeping Woman" of Mexican folklore.
As Alejandra descends into a haunting she cannot comprehend, Castro deftly intertwines her present-day struggles with the poignant histories of the women who came before her. The novel becomes a searing indictment of the oppression and suffering imposed upon women across generations, and how the sins of the past cast long shadows.
However, this is not just a tale of darkness, but one of resilience. Castro renders Alejandra's journey for self-discovery and freedom from La Llorona's curse with remarkable empathy. The true horror lies not in the supernatural, but in the all-too-human tragedies and injustices inflicted upon women throughout history.
Deftly blending magical realism with searing social commentary, "The Haunting of Alejandra" announces V. Castro as a potent new voice in Latinx literature. Both a page-turning metaphysical thriller and a profoundly moving family saga, this novel will linger like the myth of La Llorona itself - at once enthralling and deeply unsettling.

I really enjoyed this one from the very first page! It was engaging and consistently interested me! I'm really looking forward to future books by the author, and I can't wait to reread this one once I pick up a print copy!

This wasn't as much a haunting as much as it was a woman coming into her own power, even if it took the haunting to make it possible. A fascinating character development story!

Had me on the edge of my seat. This is definitely not a book that you want to read just before bed, but it's worth giving a read if you enjoy the 'horror' genre.

Unfortunately, I found it difficult to engage with this work. The author’s writing style was bland – there was a use of repetitive sentence structure, which became a huge problem due to the massive chunks of exposition this book is made up of. Even the dialogue was often large monologues that over explains things in a way that felt absurd. The dialogue was stilted and somewhat formal, making it feel forced and unrealistic. There were also large sections of introspection by different characters, which while adding to their depth, didn’t do so in a smooth or meaningful way, making it feel like a chore to read. Related to this, the author told more than showed, adding to the disconnect. All of this took away from any amount of fright I might have felt at the monster and made it where there were only a few parts that were slightly suspenseful.

*La Llorona lore
*Mexican culture/folklore
*Mental health struggles/ generation trauma
*Slow burn

I enjoyed this story, especially being of Mexican heritage and seeing a long told folktale retold in this way.

Oh how stinking depressing. I can't with this book. I hate to do it but DNF. I'm just not in the right mindset for something so sad.

I recently read this book and I hope to be better about reading books on netgalley closer to when they come out and reviewing them as i read them. This author was at the Tucson festival of books recently and I read this book in preparation for the event. I enjoyed this book but It wasn't one of my favorites.

5 Stars: I loved it

Genre: Horror

You may like this book if you like:
Ghost stories
Hereditary (movie)
Mother (movie)
Silent Hill (first movie)

Summary: The spirit of La Llorona has her sights set on Alejandra and she won’t stop until she drags Alejandra into the same darkness all the women that came before her were dragged into.

Thoughts: This story explores the horror of intergenerational curses, toxic cycles, and the trauma that’s passed on from parent to child if those who come before can’t heal. Breaking the cycle may not mean having to battle an ancient demon but this story illustrates how monumental a task that can be.

Alejandra was a fully fleshed out character and perfectly crafted for this story. I felt Alejandra’s despair and I shared many of her worries about motherhood. The fear of failing as a parent, passing on unhealthy coping mechanisms to my (future) children, not knowing enough about my heritage to pass on to my children.

While I feel like this story was done well symbolically, the monster was also genuinely scary. The description of it was very creepy, definitely something you might see at the edge of your vision in the middle of the night. I didn’t know much about La Llorona (except from that shitty La Llorona movie that came out a few years back), but it was cool to learn a little more about her.

*spoiler*
I loved that the breaking of the curse is finding community, learning about your heritage, and taking action for your own story. Horror stories don’t often offer a solution for the topics it touches on but I appreciated the conclusions this story came to.

While I appreciate this book a lot, it did lag at points. I’m willing to overlook that because I enjoyed it but other readers may not.

TW: Suicide, body horror, mental illness, SA, Death

“I want to be a healed woman. A strong woman for whatever comes next.”

DNF. The writing is not for me, making it hard to connect with the characters and the story. It has a very good premise though. If you have horror, go for it!

A wonderful book that I thoroughly enjoyed! While I will say this book was a little slow to start, it eventually picks up and pays off in one of the most amazing ways!

An interesting and unique take on motherhood and generational trauma. Not what I expected based on the description!

Unfortunately, I could not give this book my full attention. It was a slow dreary start and it was very triggering. Hate to say it but I don’t recommend

I would like to thank Del Rey for providing a digital copy of this novel via NetGalley. The Haunting of Alejandra tells the story of a young lady at a crossroads in her life--trying to make sense of her tormented state of mind. The novel explores the legend of La Llorona. The chapters alternate between Alejandra's story and that of her ancestors, specifically the female line. By doing so, the connection to the La Llorona legend is brought to light. This switch between timelines was well executed as we see how the same torment being experienced by Alejandra was experienced by the female members of her bloodline. At the same time, the novel demonstrates how legends can often stray from the real events that inspired them. The story was griping and kept the reader invested in its ultimately satisfying resolution.

"We listen to the women who came before us. We change the future by unloading the sorrow of the past. We sever the cord of generational curses. Some cords are meant to shrivel away. They are our blood, we are not them. We do not have to accept it. None of it."

These lines appear twice in V. Castro's The Haunting of Alejandra: once in the latter part of the novel as quoted above, and once in modified form before the start of the novel as an epigraph attributed to one of Alejandra's ancestors, Flor Castillo, soldadera and mother. The epigraph represents the thematic core of the novel, and the dual occupation of Flor equally represents the defining characteristics of protagonist
Alejandra and all the women of her family who came before.

Castro gives all of these women voice through chapters that vary between the point of view of protagonist Alejandra and her predecessors, from the birth mother she has just been reunited with to the original ancestor who made a deal with a demonic creature to begin the generational curse. This construction very effectively establishes the themes of generational horrors, of inherited, perpetuated trauma. It also allows Castro to demonstrate how (as the epigraph implies) overcoming these horrors comes though collective, generational powers of support and committed resilience.

The ancient demonic entity that adopts the form of the legendary La Llorna feeds off of the doubts and self-hatred that it provokes in its victims down the female line through Alejandra and her eldest daughter. Uniquely, passages also provide point of view from this creature. This allows Castro to really shine with her strengths in writing depictions of the literal, physical horrific. With the supernatural antagonistic force of La Llorna, Castro couples antagonistic realism in the form of Alejandra's husband. Unfortunately, Castro fails to develop this human character to the extent of her supernatural creature, making him an over-the-top, cardboard model of callous and abusive masculinity.

On the other end of the spectrum, Castro includes a supportive character for Alejandra apart from the generational ties, a therapist and curendera who helps guide Alejandra down the path of self-affirmation and listening to her heart and generational guidance to find a way to overcome both the supernatural curse and the husband/culture that afflict her. Yet, this therapist is cast in equally cardboard fashion, making such 'realistic' elements of the novel less believable than the fantastic horror.

Aside from the underdevelopment of these two key secondary characters, The Haunting of Alejandra also suffers from unnatural dialogue and overwrought internal monologue. This issue pervades all of the points-of-view through the novel, tied to a lack of distinctive voice (or authorial writing style) for each of the characters through the generations of time and context. While highlighting the similarities between Alejandra and her ancestors is integral to the themes of the novel, Castro fails to balance that with any diversity in character voice or eccentricities of dialogue to make any view seem unique or fresh.

Despite such significant flaws, The Haunting of Alejandra remains an entertaining and interesting read just through its conceptual mastery of literal horror and allegory, as well as Castro's superior skills at writing descriptive text, particularly passages of pure horror genre. The horror of The Haunting of Alejandra probably won't be scary, but it will be unsettling with flashes of terror. Body horror best describes what Castro works with here, and its a form that has often been explored by female horror writers that
compare the blood associated with female biology with traditional horror gore. It plays with concepts of what is beautiful and natural with what is considered disgusting and unnatural. What should be celebrated and talked about/looked upon openly versus what should be stopped or overcome. Though a familiar avenue of horror speculation, Castro both does it well and gives it a fresh perspective by tying it to this new take on La Llorona. For this alone, fans of horror genre should appreciate what Castro sets out to do and accomplishes in The Haunting of Alejandra.

CONCLUSION: In The Haunting of Alejandra, Castro conceptually captures generational female horror and its transcendence through resilient collective feminine power. The novel perfectly balances allegorical horrors of psychology and culture with literal supernatural terrors, as well as the wondrous blood and viscera of biology with chilling gore. Though offering a refreshing take on the Mexican legend of La Llorona through a multiplicity of POVs, Castro's execution of the novel falters with unnatural dialogue and overworked interior monologue.. Similarities in the stories of Alejandra and her ancestors work well, but fail to be balanced by any diversity in their voices. Despite flaws in the novel, Castro's descriptive passages reward richly, particularly in those moments of pure horror. While The Haunting of Alejandra may not be scary per se, its unsettling spiritual terrors bridged with onslaughts of psychological trauma should be enjoyed by devoted horror genre fans.

As a mother myself this book definitely touched on some topics that I related and sympathized with the main character on, as well as the generational trauma that can plague a family. It was a bit of a slow burn but as I kept reading I began to appreciate that fact. I'm still not sure if V. Castro's writing style is for me but I'm definitely interested in reading more from her in the future.

This book was good. Read this for book club! Trigger warnings for depression. I thought it was greatly written. It did not have the folk tale of La Llorona like I thought it would.

**NetGalley review**

I wish I wouldn't have taken so long to read The Haunting of Alejandra. The cover is beautiful, but I thought it was going to be scary. While it did have some horror elements, I enjoyed the cultural journey that Alejandra brought us on. Her growth throughout the novel and the women/ancestor empowerment was so well done. I loved learning more about Mexican culture and La Llorona. I would definitely read another book by V. Castro. Thank you to NetGalley, V. Castro, and Random House Publishing Group for the chance to read this in exchange for an honest review.