The title does this book justice because it truly was haunting in more ways than one. And I loved it. It tells such an important story and the author does it in a beautiful way.

This book hit all the right notes: Tejano folklore, the struggles of motherhood and marriage, and connecting with ancestral roots. All of this was wrapped up with the horror of a ghastly creature stalking Alejandra and wanted to consume her and her kids. I loved the historical flashbacks and enjoyed the conclusion.

I would give it 2 1/2 stars, but do not want to fault the author as this is really just not my genre. I skimmed through the horror descriptions of the scary creature. The jumping through time via the ancestors got a little confusing for me. I did not fully understand the resolution, and definitely just finish the book because I was already pretty far along and it is spooky season, but I didn’t really enjoy it.
A lot of the storytelling was really great, and I might’ve enjoyed this as a set of short stories instead of a novel.

Thanks to net galley for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I wanted to love this book; it was okay. I had high hopes since the story revolves around the main characters family history and the Mexican folklore of La Llorona. There were times when the story was confusing, also depressing. My hopes were to have a scary story, in my opinion this was not a scary story rather a tale of a depressed housewife. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for an e-copy of the uncorrected proof in exchange for an honest review.

I was given an Arc copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I will start off by saying I DNF’ed this book. Which I’ve only ever done one other time for an ARC.

I had such high hopes for this book but the way her depression was written about was so hard for me to get through! This book was so heavy and brought me down. Maybe it’s just me but I don’t want to feel depressed when reading a book.

I know a lot of other people have said how much they love it and I think that it had the potential but maybe it just wasn’t for me.

This is a difficult book to review. The good? The ideas and story were interesting, exploring how generational/inherited trauma can be experienced through a haunting. The plotting was a little slow, especially the first half, but not bad. The moving back and forth in time didn’t feel indulgent and it worked well, though I think if there was more action in the current-day sections of the first half then the jumping backwards would have been more effective and compelling. Still, though, a good narrative device. Plus, the mood and feeling, especially of the primary character, felt very real, and almost suffocating and oppressive, especially in the beginning. I could feel the weight of her life and it was compelling and really made her come to life.

With that said, the actual writing, especially the dialogue, it was really hard to get through. It didn’t at all feel like what real people would ever say. The first time we really got more than a line or two was in the first meeting with a therapist, and that felt so stereotypical and cringey that I hoped it was just the attempt to compress a meaningful experience with a therapist into a few pages of dialogue that is what ratcheted up the awkwardness. Sadly, that wasn’t the case, and all of the dialogue kept that same artificiality and cringe-factor. None of the dialogue felt anything close to real life. It felt like what people may want to say, but it all felt very literary and scripted. It was actually distracting enough that it made getting through the rest of the book difficult. It took away from the creative story and the connection I could feel with the characters, because as soon as they started speaking it became impossible to think of them as actual people, since nothing they said felt real. The relationship between the main character and the therapist felt totally impossible, and again just strained belief as written. The relationship with the mother was better and felt both more complicated and more real, but not when they were actually talking to each other. In the same vein as this robotic, unnatural dialogue, the way the characters came to decisions about what the next steps to take and how to navigate the terror they were facing, it was all convenient. None of it felt earned. The situation felt real and terrifying, and then they just had an instinct of what to do. There was no struggle to try things or find means or discover where or how this terror came from, all the answers were just there.

It is hard to recommend this novel, unfortunately, because the writing, especially the dialogue, just made it really difficult for me to get through. I am giving it three stars because the ideas were interesting and there is a lot of potential there. The playing with folklore and trauma felt right on trend with contemporary horror, the pacing a little slow but overall appropriate for the type of story it wanted to tell, and the narrative structure, while not novel, fit the story well. If you are willing to endure some genuinely cringey dialogue that doesn’t sound like living, real humans but instead sounds like weird literary devices who don’t ever use contractions then there is something to appreciate and enjoy here. However, if I hadn’t been given a free copy of this book to evaluate I would have probably stopped reading it before the halfway mark. Depending on what parts of stories and story-telling are important to you, then, your mileage may vary.

I want to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey, who provided a complimentary eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you so much @netgalley and @randomhouse for the free copy in exchange for a review.

The Haunting of Alejandra by @vlatinalondon was a fantastic horror about the generational trauma that women pass on to their children, and what it takes to break the curse. This is close to my heart, as someone who has witnessed this within her own family, and I truly believe that a good bit of my generation are the ones that were born to help heal and break the generational curses of their own families, bringing their ancestors peace. Seeing this played out through a Mexican family of women, with a rich history, Alejandra decides to take on La Llorona and end the terror that it has been wreaking within her family before it passes onto her daughter. This book has adoption rep, as well as a curandera who is also a therapist.

This book was lovely to read, and will be published on 18 Apr 2023, be sure to keep an eye out for it (and how could you miss it with that stunning cover??)!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

#booksta #bookreview #thehauntingofalejandra #vcastro #latinxauthor #netgalley #bookish #reading #booklover #ereader #ARC #generationaltrauma #lallorona #mexicanfolklore #horror #horrorcommunity

Alejandra knows what she is: a Mexican American woman, adopted as an infant and grown into a mother who puts everyone before herself. Now if only she could figure out who she wants to be. Quietly weeping in the shower one evening, the voice inside her head reminds her how worthless she is. But then the shape moving in the mist causes her to second guess where that small voice originated.

I really enjoyed this book. It was generational trauma all the way down. . . but in a good way? This book is a story of not only the trauma that makes its way down the family line, but also the strength. While Alejandra is the protagonist, we are given multiple POVs throughout history that give us a clearer picture of where it all came from: the fortitude and the pain. The connections between Alejandra and the women she chooses to take her journey with are wonderful.

There are a few places where the dialogue felt a little stilted and the moral of the story felt a little heavy handed, but it still did exactly what it set out to do, which is talk about how we find our place in the world and how it is always easier when we find a tribe, be it blood relations or found family. Each of the characters is interesting and rooting for Alejandra, which makes the things happening to her all the more horrific. This is a horror story about hope and that is one of my favorite things. I highly recommend checking it out.

(Review will be published to Instagram in April)

I am so glad that I got this book as an ARC. It was a perfect intro to horror for me, and I have become hooked! This book tells a story interesting Lee from different eras, one is from when the Spanish were overtaking Mexico, and the other story takes place in present day. I can strongly relate with the main character being a mom and feeling that a lot of the every day tasks are monotonous and dealing with feelings of depression, etc. This book was highly entertaining and I couldn’t put it down.

V. Castro once again delivers a propulsive story centered around women that will scare you, anger you, and show the injustices women face in our society.

This story is about La Llorona. It's a story of motherhood, of dreams, and of survival. It's a multi-generational tale told through the women in one family who are cursed. Castro delivers a story that is rich with folklore and cultural significance, but it is also modern and addresses social issues in our current society.

Probably my favorite by this author.

3.5/5 stars

Alejandra feels like she is sleep walking through life, she struggles with a deep darkness that threatens to consume her while trying to keep up the façade of being exactly what her husband and children expect her to be. What they do not know is of the ancient curse that haunts the women of Alejandra’s bloodline by a fearsome creature that has been around longer than anyone can imagine that takes the form of “La Llorona” of Mexican legend. When Alejandra begins to visit her therapist who also happens to be a curandera, she begins to find a strength in herself that has been buried deep within and her burning desire to keep her children safe sparks a fight in her. To put an end to the curse she must dive deep into her family history starting with her biological mother and the strength of her ancestors to finally defeat the creature that has haunted their family for generations.

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This was a perfect Halloween read with mentions of Día de Los Muertos and filled with Mexican culture which I really enjoyed. This was a story of horror with some gruesome depictions of violence that chilled me to the bone. Growing up, I had heard the story of “La Llorona” a woman who drowned her children in the river and is said to haunt the land wailing searching for her children. This story was told to me by mother as a child and it terrified me (but it worked because I always went to bed on time, no questions asked 🤣) so I was very intrigued to see how this story would play out and how the legend would be incorporated. The author’s take was unique and easy to follow, I do wish there was a little more structure with the time jumps because it did seem to jump all over the place throughout the story. Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This title will be released on April 18, 2023.

A book about generational curses and the struggles of motherhood. As Alejandra grapples with her role as a stay at home mother, she wonders about several things. Did she make the right choice in getting married, having kids, and is the ghostly figure she sees is a figment of her imagination or is it real? Who is the voice behind the dark thoughts that cloud her mind? When the world begins to close in on her, she seeks help from a therapist/ curandera.

V. Castro weaves in the story of La Llorana in this novel very well. IT makes a reader think about the choices or compromises women make in their lives. I loved every word of it.

When a woman becomes haunted by the Mexican folk demon La Llorona she begins to discover her own family’s history that is intertwined with this demon. Alejandra is tired, her life revolves around taking care of her husband and her three children, she’s become a stay at home wife who’s day consists of screaming and crying children, a husband who acts more like a child, and never a moment of peace or for anyone to actually look after her. Yet there is a darkness that has begun to creep into her and she begins to see a demon, or rather the apparition of a crying woman in a ragged white gown who eggs is either telling her to kill herself, her children, or that she is a horrible person. She begins to visit a therapist that has her exploring her family’s history starting with the biological mother she never knew.... yet this leads her to realize that the lives of the woman in her family is surrounded by heartbreak and tragedy... and that this demon might not have just suddenly appeared to her but been haunting her family. This is a story of motherhood, strength, and courage, as Alejandra begins to regain herself and fight against not only the demon but her own worries and insecurities. You get to see Alejandra work through many difficult things and define herself again because at the beginning of the book she is lost but by the end we get to see her set boundaries for herself and take back control of her life. It was a great horror story, particularly with the experiences that the women all experienced as well as the demon that moves from person to person. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one!

*Thanks Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

The writing seems robotic and unnatural. Given that this book follows la llorna maybe that was the point but it makes dialogue and the narrator's thoughts unbearable at times. In the beginning of the story they are in a car accident and the 9 year old child in the back seat loses her food (again in the Car Accident) and says "what am I going to eat now?" Not to mention the other two younger children don't make any sounds when they were just crying before the accident. It's unrealistic and made me hate the family instead of feeling sympathy for the narrator, which I'm assuming was the opposite intention of including that mess. It tried very hard to push the abused and ignored wife narrative but came off as a caricature of the worst possible scenario.
I was interested in everything about this book but I knew within the first chapter that this "gamma ray hatred" filled book was not for me..

I DNF’d pretty early on, so disregard this review if you think it’s unfair.

I was super intrigued by the cover and description- I expected a super creepy retelling of Mexican folklore.

It started out strong, but there’s definitely a disconnect between the reader and the main character, Alejandra. She is depressed, and suicidal, and doesn’t have many thoughts/emotions beyond that. So it’s hard to read about her constant negative emotions.

Also, the writing style was really stilted- it felt like a chore to read the incredibly long inner monologues and descriptions, while also trying to keep up with the story that was choppy.

Overall, this wasn’t for me but I appreciate the opportunity to read it early.

The perfect book to read for this spooky season. Very creepy and chilling. I wouldn't say it's a fav of mine, but it was mostly enjoyable and a cool version of this haunting lore.

The concept of this book was so exciting to me, even though horror isn't usually my genre. Generational trauma embodied in a spirit out of Mexican Folklore? Such a great idea, but it fell flat to me overall.

What I liked:
I loved the whole idea of generational trauma showing up throughout Alejandra's family line via La Llorona. There were also ties to the emotional and physical labor that women/wives/mothers carry and how difficult it is to break generational trends. The introduction of Alejandra's mother, who did not raise her and had a different experience with La Llorona/trauma, connected with her own upbringing, was great. I think the book did a good job showing the challenges related to caregiving in an unsupportive environment.

What didn't work for me:
Overall, the writing felt very stilted to me. Especially in the large chunks of dialogue, it was very matter of fact and devoid of emotion or flow. It made it hard for me to invest in the characters, because the dialogue felt robotic and not natural/conversational. The husband felt like a caricature, and the examples of his horribleness felt like they were hitting me over the head. The book struggled with timelines and moving settings even within chapters. I found myself having to reread sections to figure out why Alejandra was suddenly in a different place or in a different day. On a professional note, the therapist was breaking all kinds of ethical rules. It would have been better to have had her drop Alejandra as a client/switch to curandera work early in the book. I think the book has a lot of promise but it would work better for me if the writing (especially the dialogue) was cleaned up a bit.

Thank you NetGalley for a free e-arc in exchange for this review.

First of all, I was absolutely drawn in by this novel’s beautiful cover. Secondly, the premise of Mexican folklore meeting contemporary women’s struggles? Sign me up!

The novel touches on many important subjects, especially woman’s rights, racism, and generational trauma. The horror parts of this book are truly terrifying, gory, and upsetting. It was an interesting exploration of the story of La Llorona combined with contemporary and generational issues.

Unfortunately, I found the dialogue within the novel very bland, emotionless, and unnatural. The characters seemed very one dimensional while speaking with one another. While some parts (especially those regarding Alejandra’s thoughts) seemed to drag on forever, other parts (mainly those discussing her ancestors/family) could have benefitted from more depth. The ending also wrapped up very quickly, and anticlimactically.

This book is really promising, and I hope some of its issues are fixed before launch.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an eARC in exchange for my honest review!

The Haunting of Alejandra throws you right into the story, creating a sense of disorientation that helps you quickly understand the mindset of the book's protagonist, who starts off unsure of the validity of her own feelings or experiences. From there, V. Castro dives even deeper into Alejandra's psyche, presenting an empathetic, unflinching, and relatable exploration of what it's like living with suicidal ideation and depression. As the book progresses, we're introduced to different ancestors of Alejandra, each of whom suffered and struggled, both at the hands of the creature who cursed their bloodline and with their own relationships to motherhood. It's a visceral novel that cuts deep, but some of its power is diminished in the last quarter of the book when the thematic complexity gets boiled down to flat literalism.

This book was very meh. The concept seemed super, super cool. As a Mexican living in the US, I love when traditional Mexican stories are shared through the lens of literature. I feel like this sect of literature is not covered as much as it should. I I have always loved the story of La Llorona.
However, this fell flat. I totally get that Alejandra is supposed to be a depressed woman who appears to have it all together, but I got tired of reading about her same depressive thoughts chapter after chapter after chapter. It got boring. And I wasn't a fan of the "twist" about who/what La Llorona actually is.
However, this book did touch on important conversations that need to be had about the role of Latina women in society and how they are viewed within their gender/culture and the roles they are expected to perform. I loved that we got to know all of the women in Alejandra's family line--it was very special.
All in all, this book was alright. I wouldn't read it again, but I also didn't hate it.
Thank you NetGalley for the free e-arc in exchange for the review!