As a huge fan of folklore, no matter the origin, I was immediately drawn to this book.
I instantly connected with the main character Alejandra, also having been a stay at home mom once upon a time. I felt myself being in her shoes. Towards the end however I no felt that connection. Mainly due to some of the interactions between characters feeling rushed and predictable (the man sitting at the store, sorry not going to ruin it) Overall I enjoyed this story and read through fairly quickly just to know what was going to happen next.

Castro weaves a haunting tale of motherhood that reaches through the pages, grips reader’s hearts, and squeezes tight. Alejandra is a stay-at-home mother whose identity has gotten lost in the shuffle of daily mundane activities. Her condescending husband is no help as Alejandra spirals into a deep depression and begins seeing haunting visions. Desperate to fight her way out of the darkness, she consults a therapist and together, they dig into Alejandra’s Mexican heritage to search for a way to combat the growing ghostly threat. It’s up to Alejandro to face her demons in order to survive.


Castro’s masterful horror takes readers through generations of Mexican women’s lives and the struggles they endured. Each point-of-view digs into the women’s sorrow, but it also shines a light on their love for their children and a strong connection with their heritage. Alejandra is relatable; she loves her children but feels the heaviness and loneliness of being a mother. Her search for identity mirrors reality, and Alejandra’s strength transcends the page and provides inspiration for those also hurting.


The haunting story of La Llorona (a tragic tale of a mother who drowned her children) intertwines with the characters and plot using a fresh and compelling perspective. Horror elements terrify thanks to Castro’s visceral descriptions. Heavy themes of family, resilience, and motherhood saturate the pages and leave the reader wanting more. Those looking for an emotional journey of self-discovery will devour this expertly crafted horror.


Readers who enjoyed Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder and Full Immersion by Gemma Amor will enjoy the deep emotional journey of The Haunting of Alejandra. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

"The Haunting of Alejandra" has an invitingly spooky premise, along with some exploration of motherhood and folklore. The plot is clever and creative. I enjoyed the exploration of the folklore and Alejandra's family's past. However, there are some weak parts of the novel. The novel frequently breaks the cardinal rule of telling rather than showing. The dialogue often functions as an info dump. That's fine and necessary to move the plot along sometimes, but it happens so frequently that the characters almost never speak in natural ways. For example, Alejandra's husband, a minor villain in the novel, is unloving and useless. Instead of just showing this through his actions (or lack thereof), his character only makes very stilted, stereotypical remarks. It's like he's a stock character named Bad Husband. This happens frequently with other characters too, to the point that it takes away from the story. It's almost as if the author does not trust her readers, and so she must make everything very obvious and on the surface.

I enjoyed the stories about Alejandra's ancestors, but it was frequently unclear to me why we were jumping to this point in time. The backstories were not chronological or otherwise organized. They don't need to be chronological, but having some sort of parallel theme between the modern day story and the backstory would be useful.

With some good editing, this could be a great novel. It's a great concept and makes for a really interesting story, and many women will identify with it. But it needs some polishing.

A BEAUTIFUL character portrait uses horror and suspense to tell the story of generational trauma and depression in a way that gets under your skin and does not let go.

I was SO EXCITED to snag this ARC, I read The Queen of the Cicadas last month and just immediately needed more Castro!

This was an excellent, slow-burn character study of a thoroughly burned out mother, generational trauma passed down from mother to daughter, and a journey of self-discovery and growth. Except... add that all up with a literal family haunting over the span of 400 years.

It was *so* good. Through Alejandra's struggles with the La Llorona creature, she reclaims her own identity and finds strength she didn't know she possessed. All of her inner turmoil resonated a lot and made this whole book emotionally heavy. She's in a bad place and does the hard work to crawl out.

I also loved that we spend a lot of chapters in throwbacks to women earlier in Alejandra's family line. You get bits and pieces of where she came from that eventually form a larger picture. And even though you really only set one section with each of these women (other than Alejandra herself, of course), it's enough to flesh them out and make you truly understand what they each went through. Actually seeing all these links in the chain of the curse invests you even more deeply in Alejandra's fight to break it.

Amazing book and will especially resonate with horror readers that have struggled with depression or breaking their own chain of generational traumas. Comes out April 2023!

This is a very dark tale that spans generations of women who are all haunted by the same spectral creature, one with a bloodlust for children. Alejandra, the primary character, feels overwhelmed by her unhappy marriage and family life. So much so, she is on the brink of suicide. She begins seeing fleeting images of a hideous creature, unsure if it’s real, or a product of her troubled imagination. Are her visions and nightmares, and the self-loathing inner voices that taunt her, a prelude to insanity? Or is there really something more to this? Alejandra has her answer when her young daughter begins seeing visions of the same creature. It’s time to fight back. Fair warning, this one is not for the squeamish.

Wow what an amazing journey. This story gave me The Push vibes during those first few chapters when we are introduced to Alejandra: A wife and mother with 3 young children. The story starts with Alejandra’s ancestor during Aztec times who sells her soul to an entity in exchange for revenge against the conquistador who took her by force after the invasion. Now the offspring from that bloodline, the first daughters are cursed to give up their soul to feed this creature.

The novel takes through the stories of several of Alejandra’s ancestors where we see how strong each woman was to defend their families and their children at all costs. We see all of the sacrifices mothers make to protect their families. And we see how that is all too frequently unappreciated.

Though our protagonist is on the verge of giving it all up when we meet her, we watch her transform to a strong woman with the power of her ancestors and face the demon once and for all. A very enjoyable read with strong female characters and a bit of the supernatural to make it a nice autumn read.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to make sure my Mother and I don’t have any strange birth marks. 😁

I thought that V. Castro did an excellent job with describing Alejandra and her mental and emotional state. I think there are many women out there who will be able to relate to her on some level.

I loved that some chapters switch to the POV of Alejandra’s ancestors and relatives. I thought that seeing how long “La Llorona” has been following the family really added to the feelings of dread that the monster evokes.

The book isn’t necessarily what I would consider to be “scary” but it has a very creepy and anxiety-inducing atmosphere.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for providing me with this eARC!

(4.5 / 5.0) The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro is one of the rare books that blends horror and literary writing, creating a tense environment that still manages to have reflections on the society and human nature. I will say upfront that this is a disturbing read with content warnings that should be checked, especially if you have sensitivities to postpartum depression or anxiety.

The story centers on Alejandra, who is struggling to find joy and purpose in her life as a wife and mother. She begins to have paranormal visions that are rooted in child loss and heartbreak, so she begins to search for her family history. She also begins to work with a therapist who specializes in generational curses, to try and break her family’s cycles.

At its heart this is a version of the ghost story of La Llorona. It paints a vivid and often visceral portrayal of a haunting. It’s an accurate usage of the label “horror” in that the imagery is often repulsive or upsetting, and though I have a high tolerance for disturbing books, this one had me wincing at times.

I really loved the way the generational curse was unfolded and understood, and the way womanhood and sisterhood were portrayed as a bond that doesn’t end when life on Earth does. I thought the author did a fantastic job weaving in Alejandra’s adoption experience and her journey towards understanding her Mexican heritage, while keeping the tension in place.

Rating: 4.5 / 5.0, with the only piece keeping it from a 5.0 being the repetitive descriptions of the encounters, which is a minor note. Overall, I was really happy to read this book and glad for an accurately labeled horror novel that gave character depth. And the cover – so stunning, the perfect juxtaposition to the content inside.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for the advanced copy in exchange for my review – I was thrilled to read it!

Content warnings: Self-harm, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Postpartum depression, Postpartum anxiety, Body horror

This book is about womanhood, motherhood, and the ties that bind generations. It's also a horror story that is beautifully chilling at times and downright terrifying at others.

The author's prose gives this book a feeling of a literary novel. She does an incredible job at pinpointing the fragility, pain, and love of being a wife and mother while also giving us a picture of a woman whose torn.

Our protagonist loves her husband and children, of course, but her constant belittling of herself and the unfulfillment of her life in general takes her thoughts to some very dark places especially in the first quarter or so of this book.

Then the demonic like creature reveals itself and we begin to understand that these thoughts are not really her own. There's been a curse placed on the females in her bloodline from generations ago that continues to this day.

Now, she must find a way to destroy a creature who is immortal if her daughters are to be spared the same fate of doubts, low self esteem, and little self confidence.

This is also a book about empowering women who feel they have no worth outside of traditional gender roles. With the help of a therapist who also happens to believe in the spirit world and Alejandra's mother (who she didn't get to meet until adulthood), can she truly break this curse and protect her children or will it live to devour her bloodline in future generations?

This is an excellent book. Beautifully written narrative, absolutely horrifying creature, and will definitely keep your attention throughout. Highly recommended!

Very well written and thought out. The lives of women generations past mixed with the current really completed the story. Alejandra's power to overcome "a curse" really portrays a true strength in this Mother. Would definitely recommend! (To be released 4-18-23)

A young woman confronts the demon that has cursed the women in her family for generations. V Castro attributes Alejandra’s family’s decades of struggles with postpartum depression, self-doubt, mothering anxiety and negative self-talk and thoughts of suicide to an ancient evil spirit that feeds off sadness. Through work with a curandera, Alejandra reacquaints herself with her Mexican heritage and learns to love herself and accept help from her female ancestors.

Castro has a strong voice and she is very good at conveying the difficulties and joys of Mexican-American life, especially the lives of young Chicanas. She is also very good at writing horror and the demon in this book is as scary a monster as I have read in a while. Alejandra’s journey of discovery is easy to read and the stories of the women in her family were a great addition to her journey.

But, boy oh boy, there were many typos buried within very awkward, overwrought sentences, such as:
“The pain in his old face pierced her heart like the stab of a broach pin being directly placed directly into the heart.”

Generally a good story with real moments of horror, but buried in some messy sentences and awkward dialog.

A heartfelt, emotional rollercoaster of a novel about women fighting to end a generational curse that is in the guise of a demon.

The Haunting of Alejandra is a beautifully written, atmospheric book about a woman who is struggling throughout her life and is being tormented by a negative entity. You get a good look into the women in her family and how the entity has plagued them all.
I found some of the parts that had different points of view of her ancestors to be a little on the slow side, however, they really helped to understand exactly why things were happening to Alejandra.
This book has a fantastic mix of history, creep factor, and intrigued and I found myself opening the book whenever I had any spare time to read. I recommend this book for those who love being fully immersed in a story because this one has the ability to suck you in.

Highly recommend this one! This was my first book to read by this author but definitely won't be my last. The characters will stay with you long after you finish the book and you will find yourself wishing the story would never end.

Two and one-half stars

Review of Uncorrected eBook File

When Alejandra, Matthew, and their children, Catrina, Will, and Elodia, moved from Texas to Philadelphia for Matthew’s work, they traded up for a luxuriously large, six-bedroom house. Alexandra attempted to ignore her dislike of their new neighborhood and the daily school commute. She’d given up her data entry job and sold her shares in the company, becoming a stay-at-home mother responsible for the children and everything around the house.

Now she felt as if she owned nothing in this world: no money, no job; her name was not even on the bills that came in the mail. And, making things even bleaker for Alejandra, this house simply didn’t feel like home.

Caught up in her own bleak, dark inner world, Alejandra feels as if she lives half her life in the shadows. When she’s particularly upset, a vision manifests itself and she sees a crying woman wearing a mantilla. But no one else sees what she sees.

Alejandra seeks help from Melanie Ortiz, a therapist who is also a practicing spiritual medicine woman, a curandera. As Alejandra explores her family history with Melanie, she discovers she shares a great deal with them . . . including the crying woman in the white mantilla.

And soon it becomes clear that the apparition, a vengeful and murderous mother of Mexican legend called La Llorna, endeavors to push Alejandra into the darkness, just as she’d done with Alejandra’s ancestors.

Can Alejandra escape the merciless La Llorona or is she destined to fall to the same fate as her ancestors?

=========

Told from multiple points of view, this ominous tale moves back in time to tell the stories of Atzi and Flor, two of Alejandra’s ancestors. Readers also learn the backstory of Alejandra’s birth mother, Cathy, and her mother, Frances. These backstories reveal the generational trauma in Alejandra’s family and lead her therapist to speculate that Alejandra’s portentous dreams and hallucinations might result from a generational curse.

The telling of this tale skillfully weaves an urban legend with the horror of the apparition determined to claim yet another soul. It is a mother’s story, dealing with parenting, feelings of unworthiness, and generations past. The personification of La Llorona as the horrific demon is well-drawn, an evil specter bringing terror for its own malicious ends. But some readers may find the not-so-subtle disparagement of Christian beliefs and believers to be particularly off-putting.

I received a free copy of this eBook from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Rey and NetGalley
#TheHauntingofAlejandra #NetGalley

Beautiful cover, exciting and intriguing premise, but unfortunately it fell flat for me. In my opinion, the struggles this book had fell into two main categories: 1) dialogue, and 2) timeline/POV shifts. Without knowing how or if either of these items will evolve before the final print, here is where I stand on both points currently based on the copy I received.

The dialogue between characters throughout the entire book felt wooden and unnatural. Characters would say things that felt like forced exposition to spoon-feed information to the reader. Example- Oh we’re supposed to hate Alejandra’s husband? Let’s make him say the most obviously annoying and straightforwardly weaponized incompetence-y or condescending things. Characters also monologue about things in the weirdest moments, pouring out their thoughts and feelings in one shot rather than parsing the information out over a more natural conversation. Example- two children are just rescued from a raging river by an infertile couple who happen to be walking by. The wife decides to tell these *young* (10 and 4, I believe) children about their struggles with infertility and how she would like to care for them if they do not have any other family… before the kids’ have even had a chance to dry off and come to terms in the slightest with what just happened. Stilted dialogue and weird monologues galore.

Secondly, the timeline and POV shifts seemed all over the place. I wish it was more apparent why they were in that particular order. For context, throughout the book we are given perspectives from some of Alejandra’s ancestors about how they, too, were haunted the same way and how it affected their lives and choices. If I had it my way, we would have alternated between Alejandra’s POV and an ancestor’s POV every other chapter or so. Alejandra’s POV would be “present-day” and the Ancestors’ chapters would be in chronological order starting with the very earliest, or perhaps reverse chronology if the very first haunted ancestor would have explained the origin and been the final “twist” and explanation for the climax of the story. Instead we jump around to different time periods and different ancestors, and it becomes very difficult to pinpoint where in the timeline they fall or to really discern what their story has to contribute to Alejandra figuring the whole thing out. It would have been cool if each ancestor had a piece of the puzzle, and therefore by connecting with each of her ancestors, she gradually heals from some of the abandonment and adoption trauma she carries with her and learns of her ancestry. With the way it is structured, I really didn’t care about the stories of her ancestors. They didn’t provide any value to moving the story along other than padding the length.

I think this book has a lot of potential, but needs some polishing.

I loved Castro’s disturbing and atmospheric Goddess of Filth so I was thrilled to receive an ARC of this book. The Haunting of Alejandra follows the titular heroine as she grapples with generational trauma and tries to survive an unhappy marriage. What I loved: the scares, the rich cultural heritage and folklore, Alejandra herself. What didn’t work as well for me: the plot/narration veered into some cheesy territory at times and some of the antagonists (like the husband) felt a little thinly drawn.

On the whole, I enjoyed this one and would recommend it to anyone who loves a good creepy read—just in time for spooky szn.

Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for an early copy of this book.

"Remember if I heal myself, I heal the generations before me and the generations to come." (Andrea Garcia)

V. Castro creates an aura of the real and the unreal, the enemies of our enemies, and the last fibers of a quickly shredding legacy. Castro hails from San Antonio, Texas where I do as well.. We grew up with stories and legends like La Llorona and El Cucuy which stay solidly in our memory like the continuous sounds of creaking stairs in the dead of night.

But Castro blends in your bones real trauma with those long corridors of your high energy imagination. They both exist and feed off one another for their sustenance. They have taken root from generations past and work their way into the choking vines of today. And they are continuously watered and maintained year after year after year.

Alejandra stares at her image in the mirror. She's a wife and mother of three beautiful children. Born in Texas, Alejandra has left all that behind to move to Philadelphia due to her husband's job advancement. She's a stay at home mother, since this is what her husband, Matthew, has talked her into. And it always seems that Matthew is the driving force in this marriage.

That mirror reflection draws Alejandra's eyes to the permanently furrowed brow and the dark, dark circles under her eyes. Although she loves her children, they've drained her. But it's more than that. Alejandra has no desire to keep living.

As an adopted child, she lacks a connection to a past that she's had no part in. It's only been recently that she found her birth mother, Cathy, who was a Texas teenager at the time of her birth. And Castro will slowly unwind the threads of Alejandra's ancestors each laying a coil of abandonment from linking generation to generation. Alejandra has a lost sense of her "being" and what the Universe is demanding from her. She exists by hanging precariously by one of those loose threads.

And now Alejandra has been experiencing phantom images of a creature in white perched in the corners of her home. It's then, for the sake of her children, that Alejandra seeks help from Dr. Melanie Ortiz, a psychologist and curandera. Melanie is her only hope in dealing with generational trauma and darkly held indigenous beliefs.

V. Castro does an amazing job of lifting the veil on Alejandra's depression and deep anxiety. She breaks open and puts into exacting words what so many suffer from in learned behaviors and mindsets floating unconsciously within DNA and life surroundings. It's a demanding cycle that needs breaking.

Add to that those stories streaming in from a cultural perspective, Castro pinches the ingredient of horror to make all this enter into the differentiation of what is real and what is not. Do these things exist waiting for the next generational nest to nurture itself in? Is a curse really a curse?

I was blown away by The Haunting of Alejandra in its telling and its close proximity to my own awareness of the legends and culture. But I would have wished that Castro would have taken out a chunk from the near ending. It concerned me greatly. But it's part of the story. A story that will definitely stay with you after hours. Be sure of that.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Random House and to V. Castro for the opportunity.

The Haunting of Alejandra is a horror novel covering generational trauma that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

This novel follows Alejandra, a mother who is struggling with her life as a mother and wife she's been forced into. Her life seems perfect from the outside, but on the inside there is a darkness and bitterness inside of her that scares even her. She begins to start seeing a women in a white dress and starts speaking to a therapist that gives her the ability to start realizing her family's history.

This novel is truly a unique way of covering generations of trauma-- the reader gets to follow Alejandra as she discovers her identity and the history of the women in her family. Castro does a great job of connecting all these women and making them all feel developed. This book is very gory and graphic in a way I was not expecting, For those looking for a horror book with more depth, The Haunting of Alejandra is for you. With its cultural ties, ideas of discovering oneself, the realistic depictions of motherhood, failing relationships along with horror makes this book different and enjoyable to read.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.