I tried to read this twice. The first time, I thought maybe it was because I was not in the right headspace. (I appreciated Romina Garber's author's note at the beginning of the book.) This last time, I'm in a healthier headspace and still have not connected with the book. I made it further in, about 30%, but I don't think it's for me. I feel like I'm reading two stories: a depressed girl and a mystery. Two stories are fine, but usually there is a blurred overlap. Here, it's not, and it's so jarring. I'm just not a fan.

This story follows a young girl with survivors guilt who moves to la Sombra where there are secrets and curses. I read Garber’s previous books and really enjoy her story telling. This one is no different. It is very action packed and fast pacing. It did take me a while to get a bit used to the whole plot of the story because I got lost many times but I enjoyed the gothic environment. Also I wish they had a bit more translations in the beginning as some of the dialogue didn’t get translated over. This story is told from Estela’s pov.

Estela is the FMC of the story who doesn’t know what is happening with her life. There are so many secrets she need to discover. I loved her growth but I do have to say that it happened quicker than expected. Then we have Sebastian whose trapped at the castle and is helping Estela unravel the secrets. There are other side characters that come into play but there was one person who I felt like was just so random. The romance was not the best in my opinion. It’s forced proxmity and age gap. I thought their romance was a bit off.

The ending made me confused with the time jump as it made it feel like there could be a next book. But I could just be reading into things. The concept of this book was great but I think the action didn’t get there. I would rather choose Lobizona by the author which was such a well written story.

*this book was sent to me by the publihser to give an honest review in return*

I am very thankful to have been gifted a copy of this book; however, at this point this book will be moving to my DNF shelf. It sounds like something I would have really enjoyed, and will happily come back and re-review once I am in a better mindset for the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for the eARC and the opportunity to read and share my thoughts on this book!

There is something about the setting of an ancient family castle in Spain, mysterious family secrets, and the darkness that comes with profound grief that really sets the mood for a dark and beautiful story of loss and romance. I also enjoyed the contemporary setting which is nice to see in fantasy!

We follow Estela, who is wracked with grief and survivors guilt after surviving a mysterious attack on a subway that left her as the only survivor and her parents dead. Estela accepts an invitation to live with her estranged aunt in Spain at the family castle of La Sombra and there she finds that her family has been the subject of much speculation and possibly has some dark skeletons in her family’s past. Things become even stranger when Estela meets Sebastian, a silver-eyed boy that somehow only she can see, but he just may be the clue she needs to solve the secrets of her family’s past and the darkness that seems to be ever present in the town of Oscuro.

For a YA book, this book dealt with the realities of grief and loss so well and it definitely had me shedding a few tears at the emotions of Estela. This book was simultaneously hard and easy to read because of those heavier themes but I loved the setting and the romance between her and Sebastian so much that it balanced out well.

Holy freaking smokes, this book was AMAZING. As a fan of dark romance, and paranormal fantasy, this book had it all for me.

One of the unique aspects of this book is the incorporation of Spanish language and culture. As a non-bilingual reader, I was initially concerned about following the story, but the author helped with including the translations. Because Estela was essentially a non-bilingual and had to (re)learn Spanish, the author helped us understand Spanish through teaching her FMC. Estela also wasn't what I expected. She was smart and clever; she was filled with grief and rage, and I feel like I felt her pain as she worked through her own emotions. Girl was relatable.

Now the atmosphere was so amazing, and it gave all the chills. The gothic manor, the secrets, the magic, the monster...the romance. I loved Bastian from the moment we meet him, I enjoyed seeing him on the page, and his mystery along with Estela's own history was fascinating to uncover. And la Sombra was utterly terrifying and amazing to unravel. This was a book I thoroughly enjoyed getting lost in.

Thank you @wednesdaybooks @netgalley for my free copy!

📖 After Estela suffers the loss of her parents, she learns she has a distant relative overseas. When she arrives, she learns her family has an ancestral Spanish castle named La Sombra. But the castle holds many family secrets and the more Estela investigates, the more deadly things become.

💭 I’m not going to lie, this book was kind of weird. It’s not going to be for everyone, hence the mixed reviews on Goodreads. For me, it was a good weird. I was totally mesmerized with the story. There was so much happening, it kept taking me by surprise. I was a little confused by the ending, but overall I was here for all the drama. Plus the gothic, creepy castle vibes were totally on point.

📚 Read this if you like…
Family secrets
Curses
Forbidden love
Magic
Dark gothic vibes
Supernatural elements

I thought the the concept of this book was good and enjoyed the Gothic elements. I did feel like it was a bit rushed at the beginning and the plot twist provided some information that could have been included earlier on. I think some of my students will enjoy the romance piece of it, though I wouldn’t recommend it to everyone because of the trigger warnings.

I ended up DNFing this book. THe premise was very intriguing but I ultimately could never get into enough to keep reading.

Just when I thought I'd read every kind of vampire story there was Castle of the Cursed comes along and blows my mind.

A haunting story of loss, redemption and even love set in a gothic castle that set my imagination free to make it everything I ever dreamed of.

Estela goes through so much in this story, with her parents, her aunt, the people around her, and then that twist, ohh I felt for Estela, she had every reason to look at the world the way she does.

Thank you to St. Martiin's Press and NetGalley for providing a copy of this e-book, I have volutarily read it and all thouhts and opinions are my own.

Unfortunately, after reading the Author’s Note at the beginning of this book and seeking out trigger/content warnings, I decided this book would not be for me based on its content.

The premise of this book sounded so intriguing and I wish it had been a good fit for me as a reader. Regardless, I appreciate St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books for sending me an eARC!

I will not be rating or reviewing any St. Martin's Press titles until they address the racist comments one of their employees made in October. See @readersforaccountability I read this in July 2024 while boycotting SMP. I did not enjoy this book. It wasn't really young adult but was still written as if it was young adult. The plot was very thin and kind of cheesy. I didn't write a review after I read it but I remember not liking it and rated it 2 stars.

I thought the synopsis of this book sounded intriguing, but unfortunately the story fell apart about halfway through.

The book starts with a huge tragedy and our FMC Estela spends a lot of time dealing with that trauma and her recovery. Then she goes to live with an aunt in Spain she doesn't know in an old familial castle she knew nothing about.

The author spent a lot of time on mundane things about Estela's day to day life to the point I was pulled out of the story multiple times. I was so sick of all the detailed food descriptions & how much/how little she eats. Like, it's so prevalent it's distracting and adds nothing to the story, it just feels like it's just giving the author the opportunity to describe Spanish cuisine.

The flavor of the story abrubtly changed from a paranormal gothic feel to include an unexpected sci-fi element that comes out of nowhere. Then we see that part of the story in passive third person flashbacks, as if Estela is watching a movie, so not engaging at all.

The characters are 1-dimensional and don't show any growth. I felt like they were just confused and reacting to events vs thinking things through and then taking action. I felt nothing when tragedy would strike because there was no depth in the relationships.

The author stoops to using villain sililoquies to explain the magic system, the worlds and historical events, without which Estela would never figure anything out in spite of her self proclaiming to have detective instincts.

And the insta-love makes no sense, since neither of the characters explains what they even like about each other. One minute they don't know anything about each other then all of a sudden they're "making out" and declaring their love. I mean the guy's kisses were described as tasting like a weird mix of blackberries, chocolate and mint icecream (yuck) but he's a vampire, so how??? And the "romance" in the last 10% of this book was unbearably cringeworthy and felt so forced.

Speaking of the end, it was trying to be twisty, but ended up feeling rushed and confusing. Unfortunately this book was not for me.

While this book has mixed reviews, I personally love Romina Garber and will devour anything she publishes, this book included. I love how spine-tingling it is, the paranormal and romance elements, and the gothic elements. I enjoyed the overall story and the characters. I truly enjoyed this book and love Romina Garber.

The setting, a spooky and seemingly cursed castle, adds an exciting layer of tension throughout the story. Loved the mystery elements. The characters, particularly the protagonist, are well-developed and relatable, and you can’t help but root for them as they face unimaginable challenges.

Garber’s writing is immersive, with vivid descriptions that paint a clear picture of the haunting world. I loved the details painting the world.

Thank you for providing a copy for me to read and review.

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

This book was very creepy at times. I really enjoyed the mysteries this story was built around and how Estela has to unravel these mysteries to figure out what happened to her parents and why. I loved the supernatural elements in the book and how intricate they were.

Castle of the Cursed is perfect for fans of Twilight and Crave looking for a fresh and unique spin on YA supernatural romance with a gothic horror romance twist. Sullen, haunted girls, angsty, cursed boys, and moody atmospheric settings make this a swoon-worthy and satisfying treat. There was mystery, suspense and a compelling premise along with all the lovable tropes that come with dark YA Fantasy. I really enjoyed it!


Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books, Netgalley , and the author for a complimentary copy of this ebook. I am leaving a voluntary review. All thoughts and ideas expressed are my own.

A very interesting read. Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this book. It wasn't really for me, but I am sure that it will be loed by the right audience.

This was a unique read. It started out engaging and fast-paced, but as it got further into the story, all kind of outrageous things started happening, causing me to kind of lose interest in both the characters and the story. I struggled to finish the book, but others may enjoy it more.

Hhmmm….the first half of this book was actually decent. The paranormal mystery intrigued me and I kept wanting to read. HOWEVER. Once I hit the second half, there were a LOT of weird random twists that didn’t make sense, lots of reveals that didn’t quite add up.

Romance was interesting, but not overly compelling.

I felt like the plot had way too much going on.

I ended up skimming to the end bc I wanted to know what happened, but this isn’t a book I’d read again.

Romina Garber’s The House Is Always Hungry sets out to deliver a dark and atmospheric gothic romance but ultimately stumbles under the weight of its ambitions. While the premise is promising—a grieving young woman unraveling family secrets in a haunted Spanish castle—the execution leaves much to be desired, resulting in a story that feels uneven and unsatisfying.

The biggest issue lies in the pacing. The novel starts off with a strong hook—Estela’s parents’ tragic deaths and her subsequent move to la Sombra—but quickly becomes bogged down by excessive exposition and meandering plotlines. The central mystery, though intriguing, unfolds too slowly, with long stretches where little happens to advance the story. Instead of building tension, these lulls make the narrative drag, diluting the suspense and horror the book is aiming for.