A genius retelling of the legendary folktale of La Llorona, The Haunting of Alejandra follows the titular character as she struggles with her mental health, all the while dealing with a generational curse that is not only threatening her life but those of her children. Alejandra must find the power within herself to fight the demon that has been haunting the women in her family for years and prevent it from claiming her and her daughter.
Most books ease you in, but this book wasted no time diving into the very real pain that Alejandra was going through. It paints the most realistic picture of what it is to live with generational trauma that I have ever read. Colonization is a curse that we continue to struggle with and the journey towards healing is a long and painful one. It also has strong themes surrounding motherhood and it reminds us that above all else, mothers are also human. It made me think of my mom the entire time, and I wondered if she ever felt similar to Alejandra at any point in her life.

What I loved:
✨Reading about Alejandra’s healing journey and her reaching out for help in order to regain agency over her life.
✨The honest depiction of an unsupportive and manipulative man-child of a husband.
✨The flashbacks we get of Alejandra’s ancestors, even if their stories were hard to read

What I didn’t like:
✨I wish it had been longer! I would’ve loved a couple more flashbacks and a stronger storyline for La Llorona
✨It’s not really that spooky, which is actually fine because I’m a scaredy cat😂
✨The writing could’ve been stronger, but the story was still fantastic nonetheless!

All in all, this was a great book! I give it 4.25/5⭐️. I definitely recommend you all add it to your TBRs and keep an eye out for its release on April 18, 2023!

Thank you to @netgalley , @delreybooks , and @randomhouse for providing me with an e-arc!

I like the idea of using Mexican folklore to explore generational trauma, motherhood, and mental health. Some bits of the book were creepy, but overall this didn’t feel like *horror* to me.

The writing was a little bland and stilted at times. I felt like there was a lot of redundancy in talking about Alejandra’s mental health, which maybe was to drive the point home and get us to empathize w her, but it didn’t work for me. Truthfully I struggled to stay engaged w this book, it just wasn’t my cup of tea.

The Haunting of Alejandra completely absorbed my attention from the first paragraphs. It immediately introduces a haunting, ghost-like presence in Alejandra’s life, but it also shows how deeply mentally unwell she is. She’s depressed and suicidal, and her husband is no solace. He and their three kids can feel like a burden on her, yet she also loves her kids with all of her heart. The book goes into some dark spaces, and the writing is deeply moving and raw. Even though I’m not a mom and don’t experience suicidal ideation, I really felt for Alejandra. The writing is that powerful and visceral.

The novel goes into two different directions. On the one hand there is mental illness. I appreciated the sensitive depictions of Alejandra’s mental state and how isolated she feels. We get a glimpse into her past and how it may have contributed to her feelings, as well as how her identity as a Mexican-American woman largely hasn’t been reflected in others she’s close to. However, we also see Alejandra find empowerment through therapy; this is an important aspect of the book, and I appreciate where it leads Alejandra by the end.

The other theme of the novel is, of course, what is haunting Alejandra. This isn’t a case of her new home being haunted; this is something that is specific to Alejandra. The demon is similar to La Llorona, and it reiterates the worst of Alejandra’s suicidal ideation, encouraging her to end things. What I found fascinating is how this demon has gone back dozens of generations in Alejandra’s family. From at least the early 1500s, this demon has haunted women. It combines the concept of intergenerational trauma with the famous ghost of Mexican folklore. I loved how these two themes played together, and how Alejandra’s mental illness factored in as well. Her therapist is also a curandera, which further connects these themes.

While most of the story focuses on Alejandra in fall 2020, other chapters follow her women ancestors’ experiences with the demon. From 1522 Mexico to her mother in 1978, this demon has wreaked havoc in so many women’s lives upon them becoming mothers.

Speaking of the demon: I love how this creature is described throughout. Sometimes it seems like an evil woman in a white dress, similar to La Llorona. Other times, the demon seems more disgusting, with umbilical cords wrapped around it and blood drool dripping from its mouth. The writing is immersive, painting a vivid picture of terror as Alejandra faces the demon haunting her and her children.

As much as I loved all of the above, The Haunting of Alejandra could have been improved in some ways. One that took me out of the story was the often stiff dialogue. Conversations Alejandra has with her therapist and with her mother don’t always sound authentic to how people really talk. It felt like the dialogue tried too hard to push certain plot points forward, but ultimately sounded stilted.

The overall plot gets a bit lost by the end, too. Different themes don’t come together as fully as I would hope, and sometimes the flashbacks to previous generations seem too out of line with the rest of the story. While I enjoyed some of those chapters, others felt less vital to the story. I would have liked to see more impactful connection between generations.

Overall I greatly enjoyed The Haunting of Alejandra. It is immersive and unsettling, with a thoughtful connection between mental illness, intergenerational trauma, and hauntings. I loved what was done with La Llorona and how that well-known story factored in here as well. While some elements could have been a bit stronger, it was still a fascinating novel. I would love to read more from V. Castro.

*Note: A slightly longer version of this review will appear on my blog on April 17, 2023. A link to that post will be added then.

This is a story of generational trauma told through the backdrop of La Llorna, the vengeful ghost weeping over the children she killed.

The story alternates between Alejandra in present day and her ancestors and the choices they made. The first ancestor we see is Atzi from the time of the conquistadors and their time colonizing Mexico. She has a terrible choice to make which sets off a generational curse.

The writing was beautiful although the story with all of its tragedy and trauma was tough to read. I loved how close the reader is to Alenjandra, hearing all of her thoughts.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher!

This is the second book I have read by V. Castro. The first being Goddess of Filth. Like the first book, I found this one to be okay. Nothing spectacular but still worth the read. I do love how her main characters are strong Latina women, I totally dig the feminism V. Castro is trying to showcase. I did enjoy the La Lorna character but I would have liked to see more with the actual La LlornaI've been on a haunted house kick lately and I thought this would be a fun read. The book has its moments but overall it kept my attention enough to finish it and feel satisfied. What truly stands out to me are the characters and how real Castro seems to write them. I would recommend this book for anyone who is a fan of Haunted Houses, Latin folklore etc

As a fan of all things supernatural, and as someone with utmost respect for incorporating authentic culture and history into fiction, I began this book with much enthusiasm and anticipation. In the end, the good writing and the dark, emotional mood made the book too heavy and too much for me. The story is meticulously crafted, and as a mother, I have so much empathy for the main character. As a woman, I felt for the historical struggles of all the women in the protagonist's maternal line. But, the overwhelming sensation of the book, to me, felt like fear, hopelessness and depression, even when the main character turns the tables on the monster. Alejandra tells her therapist in the final passages of the book that she wants to be a light for other women experiencing this demon, but I don't feel the light.

I find myself wondering if she did defeat the demon. Is the demon external at all? Or merely a metaphorical representation of Alejandra's own pain? The book raises many questions and leaves me out-of-sorts upon its completion.

The writing and complexity deserves five stars. But my lingering sense of confusion and the fact that there was a literary quality to this book that made it slow reading force me to drop that rating. This book raises many questions and that also is a good thing, so maybe I am being too harsh and need more time to digest.

I believe the author wants me to be disturbed but empowered by the end of the story, but I'm not. I'm unsettled and wondering about Alejandra's sanity.

I just finished this book and I loved the gothic vibe it embodied. There was a wonderful creepy atmosphere throughout the whole book that made you want to pull your covers a little tighter.

I love how the author combined so many themes into one book without it ever feeling "too much". You get gothic horror, Mexican folklore with the La Llorona ties, feminism, and the author did an amazing job of putting to paper how women with postpartum depression can feel, whether intentional or not. At the very core it is a love story, the love Mothers have for their children and the strength that comes with that.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing - Ballentine for an advanced copy for my honest review.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Honestly, one of my favorite books this year! I already know I am going to be thinking about this story for the foreseeable future. Alejandra is a stay at home mom of three, engulfed by a dark thoughts and a deep sense of dread. Right off the bat, Castro really nails the internal struggle of differentiating between mental illness and spiritual attack. No time was wasted getting atmospheric and creepy as hell. The tension of her trying to raise the kids, deal with her husbands' nonchalanche/passive aggression, and delve into her ancestry had me super anxious, in a way that heightened all the paranormal aspects.

Love, love, loved the Mexican folklore with La Llorona being the presence depicted. The imagery was detailed, unsettling, and unforgettable. As the previous generations of Alejandra's family came to light, I became more and more invested. This generational curse was no joke. I also have to shout out the therapist, because holy shit, where do you find a therapist like that because I NEED. The fact that this had such a heavy feel throughout but still managed to end on a hopeful note made me happy because I really didn't want this to be one where the evil presence won. A scary story but also one that emphasized how one can use there personal power to overcome generational trauma and pain.

I’m so torn on this. From the first pages you can literally feel the suffocation Alejandra is experiencing. It’s honestly one of the best opening chapters I’ve ever read. But, it fizzled for me from there and I didn’t feel the urge to pick this story up again.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the opportunity to read!

I wasn't entirely sure what to expect when I started reading this book, but I genuinely enjoyed what I got. This book's discussion on generational trauma is well constructed and beautifully done, as is its depiction of the importance of mental health. I loved seeing Alejandra learning to love and accept herself and growing confident enough to tackle the issues that she faced head-on.

This book started out with a strong premise but I feel like it petered out a bit. Honestly, I think there’s a great book in here, but it needs editing for me to give it the 4 I wanted to give. The dialogue was probably the biggest thing - the general writing is well written, but the dialogue sounds stilted and choppy. A lot of the times I was taken out of the story because I’d be reading thinking “Nobody speaks like this.” I found the ancestor chapters super interesting, but I wish it followed a more consistent chronological timeline. I would have loved seeing the curse build over time, or to start most recent and go backwards to see how it all started. I love the idea of a generational haunting/curse but wish it were incorporated better.

There’s also just a lot of graphically written gore and violence in this - which isn’t a bad thing and it has a purpose, but it isn’t really my thing and I guess I had different expectations. When I saw the title and read the summary I thought this was going to be more of well, a haunting. It started out more like what I thought of a quiet horror of sorts, but then kind of turned in the middle to a demonic, bloodier tone. Again not bad just wasn’t really something I was into or expecting.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a very original and well written book. I loved the history tied into the story and how the author made it seem so authentic and creepy at the same time. I enjoyed reading about all of the characters and I grew to hate Matthew but I think that was intended! My only fault with the book was that the conflict was resolved very quickly at the end and I think it should’ve been longer and more fleshed out.

Thank you for the publisher for the ARC.

This was not a horror novel. This was women’s fiction/literary fiction about a woman who essentially hates her life as a mother and wife. Those are valid feelings and I’m not saying stories centering those feelings shouldn’t exist. The problem is that The Haunting of Alejandra is being advertised as a horror novel and it failed to deliver on that. The “horrific” elements are extremely lukewarm and insignificant, almost as if they were added in as an afterthought. Essentially, after you read yet another chapter of what is 95% just Alejandra’s internal monologue of her being depressed and hating her cartoonishly evil husband, there will be some reference of her being haunted, mentioned as an afterthought. Then there were these random chapters from other perspectives, where the same themes would be replicated. Like they would claim this was a diff character from Alejandra but the character voice sounded exactly the same and were dealing with the same issues. Idk why this just didn’t get advertised as lit fic w/ magical realism bc I don’t foresee many ppl being satisfied with this as a horror novel.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have to say I’m surprised by this novel, in more ways than one. I went in just having skimmed the synopsis, and what I assumed from the cover was that this is just another lukewarm YA “horror” novel. Lots of YA horror covers right how have female faces surrounded by flowers.

In actuality, The Haunting of Alejandra is an adult horror book that focuses on generational trauma, specifically generational trauma of Latina women. The horror elements of the novel are surface-level to the deeper themes of generational trauma and extreme depression. (Major TW for suicide and blood.) I was truly able to feel Alejandra’s pain when it came to the depression, that feeling of not being able to go on for much longer.

These deeper themes where not what I expected but they were a pleasant surprise. Generational trauma was something I wouldn’t have considered reading about but it is an important topic.

Overall this was a very powerful book that still gave me the creepy horrific scenes I was craving. I also liked that it was spiritual without being about religion.
Now I am inspired to explore non religious spirituality.

SPOILERS
This was a great spooky book to read around Halloween! It was a little heavier than I expected, in that it deals with depression, generational trauma and coming to terms with yourself, all in the guise of a haunted demon. I thought the character of Alejandra was well written, and I liked how the author switched back and forth between characters and time periods. Clearly, she was going for the generational trauma but also the power that comes from linked generations of women, and I appreciated her exploring what this meant for Alejandra's lineage.
I don't usually get scared while reading, but I found the demon to be very scary and I'm glad the characters were able to defeat it in the end.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Alejandra is a housewife and mother of three who is beginning to have visions of a woman in white. She sees her through the persistent steam of a warm shower. Then there's some kind of demon tearing apart a bird in her backyard. Suddenly she realizes her daughter is seeing something too. Then, her son. She's also plagued by intrusive thoughts about how worthless she is as mother. What a terrible person she is. How she should just give up. Die.

The creature itself has a voice. Describes itself as coming from a different world and arriving among inferior humans who are self-destructive and ripe for preying upon. Beginning with one desperate woman's attempt to save her child from the brutality of colonialism, a generational curse is born that feeds on the despair of women and their children.

The shifting perspectives of Alejandra's female ancestors and their stories fuels the tension of the story. I really enjoyed the creative storyline exploring motherhood, the role of women throughout history, and the effect of colonialism on everyday lives.

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

I really wanted to love this one, but it just wasn't what I expected. I think the premise is great, and the horror is (for the most part) well-done, but the book itself falls flat. I do think with some editing and some polishing this could still end up being a good book, but as it currently stands (unpublished, expected out in April), it needs some work.

The good:
*I thought that the monster was really well done! The descriptions of it and its actions were genuinely creepy. The little segments at the end of the flashback chapters where we learned more about its origins were interesting.
*The premise itself is very interesting. The idea of a monster preying on generations of women, and the cultural aspects from Mexico that were brought in were interesting, and I wish there had been more of them.

The less good:
*I found the dialogue really stilted and awkward throughout (no one in real life actually talks like the people in this book). There were a lot of weird monologues that very much felt out of place, and all of the therapy parts felt like they were copied straight out of a psychology textbook example conversation. Pretty much whenever the characters were having a serious conversation I got pulled straight out of the story because of how awkward the dialog felt.
*I felt like this relied a lot on body horror, lots of descriptions of periods and childbirth and general female pain, which is fine, but not my cup of tea. (TW for rape, blood, and suicide throughout)
*The alternating chapter structure could use some work. The ancestor stories aren't chronological so you don't really get a good grasp on how the generational trauma is building.
*The final flashback chapter, featuring the original La Llorona, felt tacked on at the end, kind of like an afterthought. It didn't feel necessary.
*The pace of the book was very slow. A lot of time was spent on Alejandra's mental state, which was fine, but it really felt repetitive and boring after awhile. A book this length would normally take me about a week to finish, but this took me over a month because I just wasn't invested enough to want to pick it up and keep reading.

Thanks netgalley and penguin for letting me read and review this book!

Alejandra thinks she is losing her mind- in her desperation and depression she is thinking of hurting her herlf and her children, and seeing a ghostly apparition of a woman in white. When her children are also affected by this spirit, she seeks help from a therapist/curandera and her mother to destroy the spirit and take back control and her life.

This book was a struggle for me. The prose and dialogue didn't flow in a way that seemed natural to me, which made it hard for me to fully commit to the story. The idea of generational trauma and curses effecting a family was very interesting, and the role of melanie as a curandera/therapist was fantastic, but it wasnt enough to make the rest enjoyable for me.

I really wanted to like this. I've read many tales of La Llorona, and reading the summary of this book where the protagonist's story loosely relates to that of the woman in white? Sold. But I struggled to get through this.

The storyline had potential, but I did not like the author's writing style at all. There was little to no buildup to certain scenes where there should have been some (the very few "horror" scenes), and other parts of the book were agonizingly dragged out--I don't need to read paragraph after paragraph of the main character Marie Kondo-ing her possessions in a supposed horror novel. I was bored after the first few chapters.

The idea behind the story is great--a badass woman finding herself and rediscovering her culture? Great. But the execution was subpar in my opinion. I would recommend this novel for anyone who has lost themselves and is on the verge of breaking up with their sh*tty husband but would not recommend to anyone looking to read a horror novel--because this isn't one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

2/5 stars

“The Haunting of Alejandra” is a creepy and sad little story packed full of themes, messages, and ideas it wants and needs you to know. For the most part it’s successful, but it does feel often heavy handed in its execution and overstuffed despite its shortness. It doesn’t help that the dialogue is awkward making all the human interactions fall flat. Alejandra’s husband is written more as a caricature of a bad husband as opposed to a normal human. Sometimes it feels as if the author doesn’t trust us to understand the story and its themes so she has to hammer us over the head with them. Also the time jumps killed the momentum of the story and all felt similar. I still enjoyed the book, but it was somewhat underwhelming. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.