I pretty much devoured this book like this demon devours human misery.

A special thanks to Ballentine, Random House Publishing for the E-Advanced Reader Copy of this gem.

As a Mexican-American, especially as one raised as a girl, this book hit me on a profound level that I cannot articulate in words. The Haunting of Alejandra dives into pain, sorrow, and the excoriating effect of sexism and generational trauma without ever feeling exploitative of its characters. If anything, the book is deeply invested in the nuanced layers of how women - specifically these Mexicanas/Chicanas from histories of colonization - take back the agency that was robbed from them.

The genius of this horror story is that often for communities of color, our histories are rife with horror. This book brings these histories to life in all of their dizzying terror, and even has some sci-fi elements to it that reminded me of a Jordan Peele movie.

If you liked Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno Garcia or The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones, please check this book out. It’s a horror story grounded in love and the hope that we’re put on this earth to end the generational curses that haunt us at our most vulnerable. Highly recommend.

The Haunting of Alejandra is suspenseful fiction and well-written work that keeps the reader intrigued. I enjoyed this literary tale on the horror genre (better than most I’ve read).

The title, “The Haunting of Alejandra,”is more than appropriate. But to determine what exactly is haunting the main character is vexing.

Alejandra, mother of 3 young children and wife to Matthew, is living her life as a half shadow in Philadelphia, feeling as if her life has no value, possibly still suffering from post-partum depression even though her youngest is 18 months old. She wants her husband to listen but all he can do is quip “I am listening, and all I hear is complaining and negativity.” So Alejandra stays quiet as something is definitely bubbling up inside her and, increasingly, she starts seeing ectoplasm mantillas, hollow faced elderly women, shadows on the bathroom tiles, and memories of the story of La Llorona told to her by a Chicano classmate: the crying woman in white drawn to tears and sadness. Alejandra, an adoptee, had also recently located her birth mother before moving to Philly.

Depressed and realizing that she’s seeing and hearing things, Alejandra starts seeking solutions, finding a combination generational trauma therapist/ curandera (spiritual folk medicine practitioner) to assist her in defining her visions and finding a way to end them.

The narrative then includes the ancestral stories of Atzi, a woman imprisoned by conquistadors in 1522, who curses her captor by making a deal with a fetus-eating creature, the story of her birth mother, Cathy, and Cathy’s mother, Frances. All women haunted like Alejandra and passing the curse and the demon’s presence down through the generations. Alejandra decides it must stop with her and not be passed to Catrina, her daughter.

Alejandra’s mission is difficult and the descriptions of the demon are explicit and gory. I was tempted to put the book down a couple of times to reflect on the horrible journeys of the characters — would Alejandra be successful or would her own mental health demons make her succumb to the real demon? 4 stars for a complex, emotional and sometimes draining story that makes you think about the generations and hardships of women before your time.

By the way, I loved the cover art!

Thank you to Del Ray and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): YES But it’s self-centered Matthew with the green eyes.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO Ancestor Atzi attempts to kill herself with the seeds of ololiuqui/Ipomoea corymbosa, Latin American morning glory

Such a beautiful, haunting, and grotesque story. I resonated as a mother, as a Mexican American mother myself especially. La llorona is nothing new- but V. Castro put an amazing spin and story to her and the generational turmoil a lot of us women face. Such a beautiful, sad story. 10/10. Cannot wait for a physical copy for my shelves.


Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to receive an arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Where to begin?! This book was creepy, atmospheric, and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. The legend if La Lalorna was terrifying and beautifully written. The book explores various generations of Alejandra’s family in different chapters which was interesting to read. I can’t wait to see what this author comes up with next!

Alejandra is a mother at her breaking point. She has lost her identity and has an insatiable darkness dwelling inside of her.
Alejandra begins seeing a crying woman in a white gown and it terrifies her. She seeks the help of therapist Melanie who gives Alejandro the tools she needs to figure out her family’s history. She discovers they all shared heartbreak and tragedy, and they all encountered the crying woman in white.
Alejandra must find the strength and love within herself to defeat this apparition once and for all.

The Haunting of Alejandro is available April 18,2023.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing-Ballentine for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Strong female characters are always a plus in my mind. There was a strong character build and I liked the history incorporated. Really really sad but I liked the outcome.

This story!!!!! No....this LEGEND blew me away. I am usually not one for contemporary books but this one took the cake and made me reevaluate my previous notion. I loved the mysterious turn of events that we follow Alejandra on and the representation of Mexican folktales. The Haunting of Alejandra was suspensefully paced and gives Verity vibes in that manner. The one grip I have is that the writing is a little simply put, the prose not quite polished, but that didn't take away much from my enjoyment of the story. Overall this gets a 4.25/5.

Extended Breakdown:
Story: 4.5/5
Characters: 4/5
Pace: 4/5

TikTok: @wvbookwitch
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The book's cover and description drew me in, as both are gorgeous and complicated. Haunting story of urban legends and generational trauma. Women may relate on issues of mothering/parenting, family lineage, and post-partum depression. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

A big WOW! This book will haunt my dreams for a long time. Powerful Mexican folklore blended in women’s fiction, fantasy and horror genres with so much powerful women stories from different eras!

This is more than Alejandra’s heartbreaking story who is dealing with depression, feeling incapable, like a ghost people just walk over or step on, yearning for love she never felt in her marriage or from adopting parents. This is the story of women who try to evolve, earn their freedom, embrace the power of self growth!

Alejandra is in deep pain: She feels empty, after moving to another city, saying goodbye to her birth mother she recently met. She moved to Texas from Philadelphia suburb because of her husband’s promotion, trying to adjust her new life at six-bedroom house as stay-at-home mom after resigning from data analyst job to take care of three kids: nine years old Catrina, four years old Will and their little baby girl Elodia who is only eighteen months old.

She didn’t want to give birth to the third child or she didn’t want to stop working. Now she doesn’t own any possession: even her last name belongs to her husband. Her choice for financial security over love makes her question her marriage. She’s not sure she loves her husband or she even likes him.

And now she’s about to lose her sanity: she starts seeing a shadow of a woman in white dress just like La Llorona: a Mexican folklore figure and a vengeful spirit of a woman who drowned her own children, still mourning them by hunting the delicate souls of women.

Alejandra thinks to kill her life after hearing whispers encouraging her to end her misery. But she has to be stronger for her children. She makes research and finds a psychiatrist also a curandera who can help her with her healing powers. She starts seeing Melani which forces her to dig deeper to the history of her ancestors.

After connecting with her mother Cathy who left her to chase her dreams to become a doctor, she realizes she’s also abandoned by her own mother who tragically died.

Alejandra finally realizes an ancient curse is ruining the women’s lives in her family for centuries! One of her ancestors had made an agreement with the vengeful spirit: La Llorona and after that all those women’s souls have been haunted, even their tears have been taken away from them. The vengeful spirit gets feeding by their sorrow, anger and resentments.

The only person who can stop this to protect her children could be Alejandra!

Well, so powerful, heart wrenching, mystic, folkloric and horrifying, dreadful story I’ve read in one sitting! Absolutely recommended!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/ Ballantine for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

I was drawn to this book the second I laid my eyes on the cover! It is one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever seen. This story is incredible, as it blends horror and urban legend, and also tackles postpartum depression & generational trauma. It’s more than just a horror read and I think many will be able to identify with this story.

Our main character, Alejandra, in The Haunting of Alejandra, appears to be living THE picturesque life: She has three, healthy, beautiful children, an extremely wealthy husband, a gorgeous home, and, as a bonus, Alejandra doesn't have to work. Sounds straight out of IG and the ideal living situation for any woman. However, underneath this façade, Alejandra is absolutely miserable and often thinks of ending her own life.

On top of her already existing mental issues, Alejendra begins to see shadows and hear a malevolent voice calling out to her and her children. This freaky occurence causes Alejandra to recall her adoption as a child and causes her to wonder about her family tree......

Alejandra schedules a visit with therapist, Melani, due to her curandera abilities, and together they uncover the ancient curse that has wreaked havoc on the women in Alejandra's family for DECADES. Big Yikes,

Alejandra reaches out to her BIO mom who reveals that she has been aware of the evil that follows them. The legendary entity that has been causing such despair to the family is known as "La Llorona"- a Hispanic-American vengeful spirit who is mourning the death of the children that SHE drowned!

The descriptions of "La Llorona" were GROTESQUE and EFFECTIVE. I physically cringed reading it. I do not want to give anymore of the plot away and as I have not seen the movie LA LLORONA,, I cannot say if the story and the movie are the same.

I appreciate the diversity in this story and leaning about a new culture that I had never heard of. before HIGHLY recommend! 4.5/5 stars!

For starters, the cover is beautiful and is what initially caught my interest in reading this book. As more women's issues are being talked about in the media, the over-arching story is one many women can identify with. According to the NIH National Library of Medicine, 1 in 7 women will experience postpartum depression. PPD tends to last longer and severely affects women's ability to return to normal function. PPD affects mothers and their relationships with their children. Alejandra seemingly leads a picturesque life- 3 healthy children, wealthy husband, beautiful home, and doesn't have to work. Underneath the façade, she is miserable and often dreams of taking her own life. As she begins seeing shadows and hearing a malevolent voice call out to not only her, but her children too, she reminisces on her history as an adopted child and wonders about her family tree. She is drawn to therapist Melanie for her curandera abilities, and together they uncover an ancient curse that has plagued the females in Alejandra's family for decades. Eventually, she reaches out to her biological mother who reveals she is aware of the evil that follows them. There are various narratives from each female in Alejandra's family, going all the way back to her grandmother. We also even get acknowledgment of a trans identity in one minor character in the book, which was great to see. The legendary entity causing such despair to the family is known as La Llorona, a Hispanic-American mythical vengeful ghost who is said to roam waterfront areas mourning her children whom she drowned. I loved the hideous descriptions of La Llorona with the dripping lace-like rotting flesh. I thought the book flowed well, and I was anxious to find out how this spirit was going to be defeated (or if it even could be!). I was not familiar with the term "curandera" previously, so it was interesting learning more about this culture. My only critique is that I felt like the other narratives went a little too long (the POVs from Alejandra's family), but it wasn't over the top or anything. Overall, I really loved the book, and I will recommend 100%!

3.75 stars

I really enjoyed this book, it is written very well and I love the strong female characters. Perfect blend of horror and urban legend.

I *LOVED* this book! Just enough horror to titillate without terrifying, and more of a horror-fantasy, in my opinion. This is definitely one I’ll read again.
I adored the main/title character, Alejandra, and really enjoyed reading about a wife and mother in this type of situation, when usually you’d encounter a young single female.
I’d recommend this to any more mature readers who enjoy some scares with their fantasy.
4/5 ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

It's a riveting read, containing the staples of Castro's excellent writing and storytelling. Strong female characters coming into their own, and dripping in folklore. This would be a great title for a book club discussion, with so many strong themes that most will identify with in some form.

A Mexican ghost story that goes back for generations, The Haunting of Alejandra is an engrossing read.

The ghost of this story is a mythological creature who torments mothers and leads them into a deep abyss. As she searches for a way out Alejandra follows the history, torment and strength that her fore-mothers (biological) shared. Will she make it out? I can't give that away. You have to read it for yourself.