“The Haunting of Alejandra” touched on heavy topics such as mental health, toxic and unhealthy relationships, abuse, myths/legends, hauntings and more. Most importantly: La Llorona.

If you weren’t already aware—"The Weeping Woman" or "The Wailer" is a Hispanic-American mythical vengeful ghost—better known as La Llorona—who is said to roam waterfront areas mourning her children whom she drowned. Growing up in a Hispanic household, my brothers and I were told of the folktale when we were young and being firm believers that she is real—I was immediately drawn to this story and was anticipating the author's take on this infamous being.

Was I disappointed by this take? Yes and no. From page one, I was immersed by the eerie atmosphere, realistic and broken down characters (Alejandra for obvious reasons), the story and the background of “The Weeping Woman ''.

The slow build up for the first 80% of the novel was absolute perfection. The author had a unique writing style that fit perfectly with the novel’s themes and despite it being hard to frighten someone with the written word—there were moments where I felt like something was about to jump through the pages. And I think if the author continued this momentum in the remaining 20% of the novel, this would have received a 5/5 star rating.

What dropped the initial high rating I was going to provide this new to me author? The climax. Once we reached the climax, the story took a 180 and lost its momentum as the build up and suspense was often scarier and more fun than the payoff. I was not satisfied with the rushed ending and wished the author took the time to really flesh it out even if it meant adding additional chapters.

Nonetheless, with some revisions and reworkings—“The Haunting of Alejandra” has the potential to be one of the best reads of 2023.

I’m having a hard time giving this book a rating. Part of me really enjoyed the way this author set up the horror vibes, but I also struggled to get into the story. I felt more interested in the haunting parts than the parts about Alejandra’s life. I found myself wanting to skim over the parts about how much she hated her life and husband and get to the parts where she was dealing with the entity haunting her. I also enjoyed the play on generational curses. Overall if you like books that are slow paced and heavy on the life details, this one’s for you.

Thank you Net Galley and Random House Publishing for providing this eARC.

I understand that the eARC is an uncorrected proof and changes will be made before the book releases. These are my opinions on the current state of the book.

First off, I would like to say that the cover of this book is stunning! I am a big fan of spooky ghost stories and urban legends, so I was very interested to see a "horror" book centered around the folklore of La Llorona. I also appreciate the author's efforts in writing about women's issues.

As much as I loved the themes of this book, I did not have the best time while reading it. The writing style, sentence structure, dialogue etc just aren't for me. The ending didn't really make sense to me either - like I get that we got the end of the story but how we got there didn't really make sense to me.

I started off really liking this book. But towards the middle it just made me feel bored and angry. Maybe when I'm in a better headspace I can go back and reread it and see if it's any better.

“The Haunting of Alejandra,”

WOW! V. Castro wrote a powerful multigenerational horror story. It is a retelling of the Mexican legend La Llorona through generational trauma.

Alejandra, the protagonist, loses her sense of self, causing reality to shift and the ghostly Llorona to haunt her. Alejandra is in a pretty dark place. She is a full-time stay at home mom who has moved away from her family because of her husband’s job. She is depressed and questioning her life. Furthermore, she is trying to figure out what she wants and if these thoughts are healthy.

Aside from Alejandra, the book includes other stories: The ancestral tale of Atzi who curses her captor, Cathy, Alejandra’s mom, and Francis, Cathy’s mom. All These women were haunted and passed the curse from one generation to another.

V. Castro was able to switch timelines and characters flawlessly without confusing the reader. The novel unfolds slowly. Castro wove Alejandra’s adoption and her journey towards understanding her Mexican heritage. I felt the book was repetitive at times, which affected the pacing for me. There was a good amount of tension.

Overall, it’s a phenomenal horror story

This book was amazingly spooky. I had chills while reading and I am not easily scared while reading horror books.
Alejandra is a mother of three, who is being haunted by the demon La Llorona. She keeps seeing visions of the creature. She finally goes to see a therapist Melanie, who is also a curandera, to help her put and end to this demon,

Kicking off spooky season the right way. This story was phenomenal. Generations of Mexican mothers haunted by La Llorona and her desire for their lives and their children’s lives. The story was written so well and broken into sections of each mother going back generations as well as chapters dedicated to La Llorona herself. Mother after mother being haunted and trying to figure out how to rid their family of this awful curse. Alejandra, like her ancestors had many struggles within herself and her role as a mother and wife. I really enjoyed reading about her journey not only to protect her family, but to fight for herself with the strength of the women that came before her. This story truly wrapped everything up so nicely and I can’t think of anything that was missing or I wish would’ve been included.

The Haunting of Alejandra is a tale about a mother's love and what she won't do to end a curse that's been plaguing her family for multiple generations; an entity that feeds on the misery and self-loathing of the eldest females of the family, as well as feeding on the innocence of newborns and small children.

This book had it's fair share of good and bad. I thoroughly felt the love that the main character, Alejandra, had for her children. I understood the sacrifice she was willing to make; one any mother would make without hesitation to ensure the safety and happiness of her family. But the book was hard to finish... The author laid the feeling of sadness on too thick, in my personal opinion, and the book took too long to kick-off.

I enjoyed the pieces about Alejandra reuniting with her mother and meeting with other members of her family that she didn't know she had; A few good parts that tugged at my heart strings and brought a tear to my eye... But the story's climax was lack-luster and the brief backstory about La Llorona fell flat.

V. Castro was definitely onto something here though. The premise of the story was very good. I just felt that perhaps it was too disorganized and the execution just wasn't there...

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group, and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for the e-book advanced readers copy!

V. Castro is an extremely important voice in the modern horror genre, providing some of the best feminist-Latinx representation whilst also providing original and expertly written stories. So far, every book I've read by V. Castro has been impactful and a favorite to the point I can't stop gushing about it, which is yet again the same case with this book.

The Haunting of Alejandra was an outstanding and gruesome read. In this story, we are following Alejandra, a house wife, mother of three, and severely depressed woman. Alejandra gives every piece of herself to her children and husband, making her feel like she's lost her own self. In midst of this personal turmoil, Alejandra starts seeing and hearing strange things; a woman that looks just like la llorona. Who/what is this thing/person and why is it "haunting" Alejandra? In regards to the tone, Castro does an excellent job of hooking you into the story from the first page. You're immediately pulled into the plot and are submerged into this tense, and terrifying atmosphere surrounding Alejandra. As the story unravels, we are given a look into Alejandra's family and heritage and how her family may play a part in this haunting. Readers get a look into a lineage of Latinx women at different eras of time and read about their stories and struggles they had to face and overcome. This representation is so wonderful to see as so many people can see themselves in Alejandra or in one of her family members. In addition, Alejandra as a character is so relatable making readers really invested in her and the outcome of her story and really scared as a lot of the events feel like they could happen to any of us. In regards to the horror this book delivers. There were a few scenes that included some quite gory scenes that had me cringing (good cringe), and the tense, haunting tone of the writing worked really well throughout. Overall, if you love horror that is scary, has a unique spin on the supernatural/hauntings trope, and has a powerful message, you can't go wrong with this release.

The Haunting of Alejandra is an interesting examination of La Llorona and the concept of generational trauma. Through the book we explore the disconnect Alejandra is experiencing from her children, and take a deep dive into her past. By exploring the history of her ancestors we uncover the origins of La Llorona.

This book was equal parts terrifying and sad, making for a great horror! I thoroughly enjoyed how the layers of this story were masterfully revealed.

This is not a book I would typically read but I am so happy I did. This was such an intresting take on the La Llorona story. The main character went through so much and overcame so much. I really enjoyed this one.

This is a really good book if you like reading about a woman trying to find herself. It's a little dark and really interesting. Just not typically something that I would pick out for myself. I was looking for more horror and thriller.

Thank you NetGalley and Del Rey/Random House for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I first saw this book mentioned on booktok. A woman being haunted by La Llorona sounded so interesting I immediately put it on my TBR list.
I was a bit nervous though, as the parent of two young children, that the story was going to be a bit too much for me. I’m not usually a fan of suburban horror.
However, The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro was eye opening for me. It really helped me to unpack some mental health biases I hadn’t realized I had. As well as recognize some mental health issues of my own.
Alejandra’s experience raising young children in a new city with no family or friends nearby was extremely relatable. As was the generational trauma she was forced to unpack while learning to parent.
The chapter about her grandmother gave me a whole new perspective about my own Catholic grandmothers experience as a military wife in the 50’s/60’s.
I finished the book a few weeks ago and really had to sit with it. I wasn’t even sure how to write a review of it because so much was still going on in my head.
The thing that brought me to the book, La Llorona, ended up being such an after thought for me as I read the story. Alejandra, her ancestors and even her experience of learning about and working to reclaim her culture were all so familiar and relatable. This was a story I didn’t know I needed to read but I’m glad I did.
Thank you @netgalley for the opportunity to read the Haunting of Alejandra.

Such high hopes for this one I wished for it and actually got it. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for this one. Unfortunately it ended up not my cup of tea. I’m so in love with Mexican folklore I was sure it would be a slam dunk and honestly the la llorona parts were. Unfortunately Alejandra was not. The character almost came off unlikeable and the horror aspect felt lacking. 3/5⭐️

I really loved the idea and concept of this book. I think what Alejandra is going through in the beginning being a mom, and in an unhappy marriage is so relatable. I also loved the idea of this generational haunting and I was really excited to read a ghost story like this. I'll be honest the writing was just not good. Every page I kept thinking once I get further into the story it won't stand out to me, but it continued to pull me out of the story and just felt juvenile. I would read a few pages get bothered by it, put it down, remember I needed to read more, so honestly that might have been why it felt disjointed, but overall I felt like it needed stronger editing for the writing and construction.

I'm a big fan of V. Castro, so when I saw this new book featured the legend of La Llorona, I was excited to read it. I enjoyed that this book explored the themes of motherhood, women's issues, mental health, and generational trauma. All of these themes made this gothic horror feel even more realistic. It was interesting not only gaining information from Alejandra's perspective, but also from the point of view of her ancestors.

In terms. of what I didn't like, I wasn't a huge fan of the dialogue in some parts but that didn't detract from the overall story all that much.

Overall, I'd recommend this. Especially for people who enjoy horror novels featuring themes of motherhood and women's issues.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing me with this eARC.

Alejandra is unhappy in her life and in her marriage, her depression and despair begins to overwhelm her and she starts to feel haunted. She is seeing horrifying visions of La Llorona in her daily life. She decides she needs help. But as she delves into her issues in therapy, she finds there might be more going on here. Is she being haunted for real? And where did this come from? The reader is taken on a journey through the lives of her ancestors for answers.
I loved this book, it is a masterful combination of gothic horror, women's issues, fantasy and even historic fiction. The writer uses these elements to tell a powerful story of motherhood, and the generational trauma of women.

The women in Alejandra's family suffer a generational curse, whereby when they are limited to the roles of wife and mother, particularly when their husbands leave them to care for the household by themselves, they grow unhappy and overwhelmed, and their sadness awakens the demon who claims ownership of their bloodline, a demon who drives them deeper into despair and also threatens their children. (It's a flesh-eating demon.)
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Things I enjoyed:
👍I enjoyed exploring Mexican folklore and the healing magic of altars, oils, stones, etc encouraged by Alejandra's therapist and curandera.
👍I appreciated that when Alejandra sought help for her feelings, she found support and was able to take more control of her life through self-talk, perspective shifts, and letting go of that which detracted from her joy.
👍I really liked reading the perspective of Alejandra's ancestors and the increasingly influential role they played in her life, particularly since she had been severed from her history through adoption.
👍I liked the inclusion of so many different experiences of indigenous & Mexican/Mexican American women. The abuse of indigenous women after Spanish communication/conquer, the cultural expectation to marry and have children, the rejection of those roles, the welcoming of those roles as part of a more complex identity, and the drive for education and women who make waves in their respective fields as they seek to better their community. That kind of diverse representation is so needed.

Things I didn't like:
👎I really didn't like the way this book starts, and if I had not received a copy to review through NetGalley, I might have stopped reading (though I did end up enjoying parts of the story). The first chapter involves Alejandra's extended internal monologue as she spirals further into depression and dislike of her family. I didn't know her or her situation or history yet, so her feelings at first felt self indulgent and hard to understand. Maybe if you are a person suffering a similar mental state, you might relate to her more at the start. I wish this book had started with the second chapter because that was the backstory I needed to understand.
👎 The internal monologue of the female characters is HEAVILY used, and they started to feel unrealistic, like what you might hear from a therapist rather than how a person actually thinks inside their head.
👎 Similarly, the dialogue felt forced at times and not like how people might actually converse.
👎 There are no redeemable male characters for most of the book, not until a later chapter with an ancestor who goes to war, and if I'm not mistaken, is fighting on the side of wealthy Mexican landowners for a better Mexico. This kind of felt thrown in there but seemed to downplay the plight of poor and indigenous Mexicans without wealth, which was weird considering the family origins described in the second chapter.
👎 I'm glad that Alejandra defeats her demon, but I did not understand the methodology. It felt like a reach. But then, how else do you kill a demon? I also felt that after what she described to her own husband as a suicide attempt, she would be able to just return to her life without further explanation.

I feel like this story isn't quite finished going through the writing process, but clearly I'm in the minority here with my review.

V. Castro's The Haunting of Alejandra was an enjoyable thriller with excellent prose and memorable characters.

I was excited to read “The Haunting of Alejandra” by V. Castro when I found it on NetGalley, because I am really looking forward to getting my hands on her Aliens-franchise story, “Vasquez.” Of course, “The Haunting” is an entirely different story that has its own appeal.

The plot follows Alejandra. A stay-at-home mother of three, she battles with depression and her own expectations of what motherhood is supposed to be. Alejandra was adopted by a white family as a baby, and as such doesn’t have a lot of connection to her Hispanic roots. Is her depression and dissatisfaction a mental health issue, or is it something more sinister, dark, and much, much older? To answer these questions, she enlists the help of a counselor who is also a curandera, and Alejandra reconnects with her birth mother. Together the women work to unravel an ancient curse on the bloodline.

I love how the author interwove the perspectives of the women in the modern world with those of their ancestors. This technique gave a rich narrative with lots of interest for the reader. The specter is well formed and graphically depicted, which I appreciate in ghost stories. I want to be able to picture what the author sees, and she gives plenty of details to make that possible. This is also a very women-heavy book, with the husband, though the cause of some strife, largely out of the picture in Alejandra’s battle. There is little sympathy for him in the story, and Alejandra does little to try to explain or involve him. The author, too, does nothing to redeem him. Some of the dialogue seemed a bit lengthy and contrived, particularly during the counseling scenes. And the counseling scenes often seem to take precedent over the horror elements of the novel. Some trigger warnings should probably be added to this book, attempted suicide and ideations at the top of the list.

At the end, this felt like women’s fiction with a touch of horror rather than straight horror. It was not necessarily what I expected, but I enjoyed the read. I’ll definitely look for other works by V. Castro.