Romina Garber is back!!! I was worried this wouldn't live up to Lobizona/Cazadora for me but it may have surpassed it. It was so perfectly atmospheric and creepy, and I loved the world building/mythology of this world. I do think some of the more supernatural elements weren't as fleshed out as I'd have liked them to be, but I managed well enough. I'd love a sequel, but this was a stunning standalone!!

I've gotta say, I came dangerously close to DNFing this one, but I'm so glad I didn't!

This had a little bit of a rough start for me. I know there was an intentional aspect of mystery here, but it felt like the story was all together poorly explained up until one particular reveal once Estela is physically in the house. From that point, though, this story really took off. I was expecting a cursed, mysterious house situation and thats definitely what I got, but there was a ton of wildly unique world building and twists that I didn't expect in the least. I loved the inclusion of other worlds, family history, mysterious magic and rituals. I love any story where the house (or setting in general) seems to have almost a character and role of its own, and that definitely happened here.

One thing I remain unconvinced about even come the end, though, was the romance. I felt like throughout the entire story I didn't actually trust Sebastian's loyalty and feelings toward Estela, and like his home world/family situation is pretty insurmountable for them to overcome. The ending was a bit unsatisfying in this way, and I am strongly hoping that the author decides to revisit the Vampire world of this story. It has a ton of potential, and was barely touched.

Regardless, I was overall very satisfied by the ending of this story as far as Estela herself, her role in the castle and in her family, and the outcome of the original murder mystery. I love what this author ultimately did with this world and how magic does or doesn't exist in it, and I think fans of The Last Tale of the Flower Bride, Starling House, and Belladonna will quite enjoy this.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books and NetGalley for this eArc!

I have had this ARC sitting on my TBR pile for so long that I actually forgot what the book was supposed to be about. Yet, that was kind of a good thing. It allowed me to dive headfirst into Castle of the Cursed without any preconceived expectations or concerns regarding what kind of narrative I was getting—and let me tell you, it was well worth it.⁠
Castle of the Cursed is two parts gothic romance, one part haunted house story, with a sprinkling of portal fantasy gone wrong. You’ll spend the first half of the novel just trying to figure out which characters you can trust, including the main protagonist. It thrives on presenting an eerie and mysterious atmosphere that balances somewhere between occult, mournful, and true crime detective novel. For me, my favourite part about this book was that for so much of it I wasn’t entirely sure if Estela was seeing and experiencing everything, or if it was just a break in her psyche as a result of the accident and her parents’ deaths.⁠
Personally, I do believe that the first two-thirds of Castle of the Cursed are a lot stronger than its conclusion. I find that once you know what the black smoke represents/is, the rest sort of falls into place a little too neatly, and it becomes predictable. As a result the ending comes off as rushed when it shouldn’t—as a reader you just know what’s going to happen so it kind of distracts from the lead up to that point.⁠
In terms of if I would recommend it, I most certainly would. I think if you like mainly mystery focused investigation type stories, something similar to T. Kingfisher’s Sworn Soldier series but with a side of romance, then you would probably like this.

Thank you to @netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was so close to DNFing this one. I wanted it to be good from the summary but it just got messy and chaotic and brought in way too many elements. Spanish Brujas, a cursed castle, witches who can only do magic on the full moon (which apparently was totally forgotten about around half way through the book?), then somehow we slipped into vampires and alternate dimensions and traveling through portals with the weirdest most unexpected “spicy” romantic moments that were just so completely unnecessary…

One of my biggest pet peeves is stories with magic that have messy or, even worse, no rules. This magical world got so sloppy at times it just really irked me. If the writing had been amazing I may have been able to overlook it to an extent but it also felt overwrought. None of the characters were particularly likable (or even understandable).

So I’m gonna give this one a big “no” from me.

I thought the cover was very cool, and not just because it's purple, and the story was a cool twist on a gothic haunted house tale.

This had the potential to be really good but the writing just wasn’t resonating with me. I like more expressive language and this felt very matter-of-fact.

At times it felt like I was reading an educational novel rather something meant to pull you into a new world. I will say that the Shadow man definitely had his appeals, he was the best part of the book.

After Estela survives a mysterious attack that takes the lives of her parents, it takes her months to recover and for the authorities to find her only living relative - an aunt she’s never heard of in Spain. When Estela arrives, she discovers that her new home is actually a castle called La Sombra. It’s situated on a hill where the town of Oscuro literally lives in its shadow. The people there seem in equal parts to fear and nearly worship her family and their castle.

Then she meets a boy who lives in the castle but that no one else can see, who claims to be trapped there. Using her father’s detective rules, Estela tries to figure out how what happened is linked to what is going on in La Sombra which is made more difficult by the fact that everyone is lying.

This book is very Poe-esque in that the castle feels like some thrumming organ beneath your feet. A lot of the world is represented in a haunting portrait of Gothic proportions in blacks, reds, and greys. There are metaphors in abundance with black obscuring smoke, closed off and dangerous hallways in the castle, flashing lights, haunting mirrors, decay, and a town that seems in some ways lost to time. There’s also some fascination with blood–it’s mentioned often in the writing. In some ways it reminds me a bit of Dark Shadows in that the world is mostly dark with brighter pops of color (i.e., blood).

In some parts of the novel I felt that Estela was very naive and should have known better. The names of the town and castle felt a little heavy-handed, but I’ve found that’s often the case in translation. Some of Estela’s thoughts felt repetitive. It makes perfect sense to be consumed with dark thoughts but it still can seem repetitive (who hasn’t thought in a depressive episode that this whole thing is tiring and repetitive?) Repetition doesn’t make it not true.

I did guess some of what was going to happen in the story, but I felt that the actual reveal was truly original, albeit slightly terrifying. There were some parts that might make some people squeamish. The end was open and left one or two threads to subjection–if you catch it.

I insanely love how the inside of one of the rooms was described as if the beams/structure inside made it resemble a rib cage.

Incredible!

The way this book explores grief is a fascinating gut punch done up in gothic horror.

I really resonated with Estela and her survivors guilt as she tries to solve the mystery of the shadow castle.

I just can't imagine how it would feel on top of all that trauma, to realize that pretty much everything you knew about yourself was a lie.

Phenomenal book with a haunting last page.

A dark, haunting, and beautifully written story that delves into themes of grief, loss, and the supernatural. The protagonist, Estela, grapples with deep depression after her parents' death, and the cursed castle's dark secrets add to the story's gothic atmosphere. The unexpected twist involving Sebastián and the development of his relationship with Estela are particularly compelling. The book's blend of horror, romance, and gothic elements, set in the mysterious town of Oscuro, creates a suspenseful and emotional narrative that lingers long after reading.

This was a refreshingly unique dark fantasy. I can’t think of anything I’ve read to compare it to which is so wonderful in my opinion lol. The author did a great job building this creepy yet beautiful castle in my mind and the way she realistically depicts the FMCs trauma along with this magical castle really give it a different feel. I was suspicious of everyone but as always I found myself rooting for the morally gray love interest! Wonderful read!

This is going to be *one big spoiler* so don’t read any of it if you don’t want to be spoiled.

But also, don’t read this book.

I have so many issues with this book.

SPOILERS
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.
.
.

1. The characters. One-dimensional with no real-sounding emotions. The beginning had promise, with her depression and suicidal tendencies but those fell short as well.

2. The romance.
What the fuck was that? Two weeks. That’s the time frame of this book and yet her and Sebastian fall in love and get vampire-married.
She’s 17 and he’s who knows how old.
What the hell?
This was so cringe.
All their interactions were cringe. She gets mad when Felipe (what the fuck was that character too) forces himself on her then she forces herself on Sebastian later? Gross.

3. Her twin. Her aunts twin. I didn’t see that coming but I hated that whole plot line, which was basically the story. They were all horrible.

4. The other dimensions and beings. It just felt like it didn’t fit with the story. Didn’t help that it wasn’t explained enough, but it was weird.

5. The plot. Super dumb. And written childishly.
“I wAnNa TaKe OvEr ThE wOrLd” okay, calm down.

6. The ending.
Fuck that final “reveal” Like, no, I don’t do non-HEA and if the twin survived over Estela, that’s a non-HEA. People who have read this book, how could you possibly have missed the VERY LAST LINE where it makes it clear that it’s not Estela that survived but the twin. How did Sebastian not notice that she is calling him “Bast”??? How does he think it’s normal for Estela to lure men to the castle for him to hunt?? These are VERY OBVIOUS things her twin does, but oh no, this guy loves Estela, so he clearly can tell. Jesus Christ.

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for the e-galley, SMP for the physical galley, and Macmillan Audio for the audiobook. This review is entirely my own thoughts and opinions based on the copies I recieved!

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚

Oh wow. This book is... a lot. In a mostly good way. The story focuses around an almost 18 yo girl who has her entire life ripped away from her in the span of a single moment. Estella is in NYC with her parents when an accident happens on the subway car they're in, causing everyone in the car to die, except for her. Her only living relative is an estranged Aunt in Spain, who reaches out to take custody of the almost-adult. From the moment Estella stepped foot in the ancestral castle of her family, la Sombra, bizarre things begin to happen, leading her to believe there's more to her parents' death than meets the eye...

𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐒, 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐒, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐒𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐎𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐒:

☆ Amnesia
☆ Blood magic
☆ Haunted Castle
☆ Vampires
☆ Small, gothic Spanish town
☆ Secrets, secrets, and more secrets
☆ Dual Timeline (past/present)

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚

☆꧁༒𝗠𝗬 𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗦༒꧂☆

I definitely have some mixed feelings on the story itself. Overall, I enjoyed the book. The atmosphere is deliciously gothic and creepy. The mysteries are compelling and kept me in suspense. The reveals are also incredibly shocking and some are disturbing. Overall, well done.

Castle of the Cursed is a fantastic 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 YA Horror. I emphasize mature because, this is absolutely written for an older YA audience. With content that focuses around suicidal ideation, grief, and severe mental health issues, along with a uh... surprisingly steamy scene between the Estella and Sebastián, this book is absolutely written for an older YA audience who has a firmer grasp on understanding mental health, death, and mental health.

The writing over all is fantastic. The pacing stutters a bit at times, but the structure of the story, the mysteries hidden within, the amount of foreshadowing, was all incredibly well thought out. It made for an insanely spooky read that's perfect for autumn.

Garber was incredibly clever with her use of the spanish language. If you're unfamiliar with Spanish, you will feel as lost as Estella did at the start of the story. But as her understanding of the Spanish language progresses, Garber begins to include the translations in the story's narration, allowing you to progress in understanding at the same pace as Estella. This was a fantastic way to get the reader to connect to Estella.

The characters are where I have mixed feelings. Estella is a great unreliable narrator. With how shakey her mental health is, there are times where you wonder if what's happening is reality or hallucinations. However, for someone as clever as her, she sure does make dumb choices that irked me as an older reader. However, for a YA heroine, her decisions are par for the course for her age.

Honestly, I didn't trust a vast majority of the cast. And I think that was Garber's intention. Almost all of them were throwing red flags left and right at me, which just amp'd the story's tension because I needed to know why these characters were just the biggest of walking red flags that Estella continued to miss.

Overall, this story is incredibly creepy and the reveals had me having to pause and process because "holy heck, w h a t ?!?!" was my repeated reaction.

𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗦:
☆ Great representation of severe grief and depression
☆ Incredibly world building
☆ Dark, Gothic, and Creepy Atmosphere
☆ Reveals that kept intensifying the horror/fantasy aspects of the story

𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗦:
☆ An almost spicy scene between an 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 18 year old and a Vampire. Yea, I was creeped out by that.
☆ Pacing had some hiccups
☆ Sometimes hard to follow what was Estella having a mental break and what was reality.

☆꧁༒𝗔𝗨𝗗𝗜𝗢𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗞 𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡༒꧂☆

Ana Orsorio did an insanely good job narrating this story. I was completely enraptured by her portrayal of Estella. I’m pretty sure my lack of trusting any of the characters—including Estella—stems from Ana’s excellent narration. Every voice she did for the different characters was easily recognizable. The emotion she threw into the dialogue had me completely in her grip, especially when Estella would have mental breaks.

**I was provided an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley.**

Romina Garber presents Castle of the Cursed, a YA horror centered on the familial curse of the Bralaga lineage. Readers follow Estela, the sole survivor of a mass tragedy on the subway in New York. Estela is hospitalized for mental health treatment until a relative is found in Spain. Her aunt, Beatriz, is willing to allow Estela to come live with her. Estela has learned that her parents were illegally in the United States and that she has no where left to go. Estela is not prepared for la Sombra, the castle that has belonged to her family for centuries. But la Sombra has been waiting for Estela and the castle is always hungry.

Multiple content warnings on this one. The main character is part of a mass death event in which her parents die. She is forced to undergo mental health treatment and is forced to take medication. There is some nonconsensual sexual contact (kissing). And this list is not all-inclusive. The author does include a brief note about the content prior to the beginning of the book.

This YA horror combination of several well-loved tropes: sentient/haunted house, generational curse, twin magic, and enemies to lovers with vampires just to mention a few. The thing that breathes life into la Sombra is the Spanish culture and the manufactured history of the people and the city that is beholden to it. Everything else is, quite frankly, a bit surface level.

I found myself getting through this book quickly when I was reading it as it was accessible and had good pacing for the most part. However, I was never particularly motivated to pick it back up. I wasn't dissatisfied or anything, but overall just felt pretty mid about the experience.

I would still happily recommend this to interested readers, despite the apparent mismatch for me personally. I am grateful for the opportunity to have read Castle of the Cursed early and wish the author much success.

Fans of Starling House by Alix E Harlow, and Gallant by VE Schwab will enjoy this imaginative YA haunted house story!

I was asked to review this YA Gothic Romance based on other similar titles I had reviewed through NetGalley, and was intrigued by the description. The following options are my own.

After our main character, Estella (17) loses both parents in a mysterious train accident, she is sent to live at her family’s estate in Spain. Her Aunt is not the warmest person, she hardly speaks Spanish, and the house is falling apart (and creepy).

When she starts to see a silver-eyed boy, seemingly conjured from smoke, that no one else can see, she begins to question if her homecoming is more sinister than she believed, and everyone in her small town seems to be covering up the dark curses of the castle.

What I enjoyed:
•The writing, story structure, and vocabulary was excellent. I am curious to read other works by Garber.
•The story was very fast paced, driving me through the story.
•The audio narration by Ana Orsorio was excellent! The variety of voices and languages was so enjoyable.
•Story was creepy, but not scary.
•Vampires!

What missed the mark:
•The plot heavily focuses on some hallucinogenic states, that were very fantastical and difficult for me to imagine and follow. She would have multiple revelations, but then I wouldn’t be able to pick out which was true, which a dream, and why it was important to the later story.

Mature content: talks of death, sucking blood, nightmares.

Overall, I enjoyed my experience, but it felt quite similar to other books I’ve read, and didn’t give me at unique and memorable feeling. 3⭐️

I struggled with how to rate this one as much as the book struggled to figure out where the story was going. It starts out atmospheric, then becomes almost campy horror, and then... well, I can't explain without spoilers but it went kind of scifi? I don't know.

Perhaps I simply wasn't the right reader for this one. If you enjoy genre-bending YA, then this book may be more your speed than it was mine.

A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Rounded to 4.5 stars.

CONTENT WARNING: grief, death of parents, trauma, PTSD, anxiety, depression, mutism, suicide attempt, bullying, violence, murder

I couldn’t wait to dive into another Romina Garber book, and this time I brought Julie @ One Book More along for a buddy read. It was the best way I knew to show her the wonder and magic of a Romina Garber story, and this book didn’t disappoint. I was approved for both the ebook and audiobook versions of this ARC, and Ana Osorio did a wonderful job with this narration, effortlessly switching between English and Spanish at the drop of a hat. Her Spanish pronunciation is beautiful to listen to as well.

To start with, Garber’s writing is fantastic. She has this amazing ability to paint a wonderfully detailed picture using her words, and sets a scene that makes me feel as though I’m right there with the characters. In this story, the castle that Estela stays at, la Sombra, almost becomes a character in itself, lending to the gothic-ness of the story. Even the name of the castle, which translates to ‘the shadow,’ and the name of the town it overlooks, which translates to ‘dark,' add their own ominous pall to the story.

One of my favorite parts of buddy reading is that it forces me to slow down my reading and analyze the book with another person, allowing me to come up with some creative theories about what could happen next in the story. I was surprised when some of my theories came true, although most of them were pretty far from the mark. But Julie and I loved exploring the complexities and idiosyncrasies of the characters in the story, and what we thought their motivations were, as well as whether we thought they were going to turn out to be heroes or villains.

We quickly developed some strong thoughts on the major players in the story. Estela has only known life with her parents, never staying too long in one location. All she knows is that they don’t talk about their past in Argentina, but the family policy is that they don’t keep any secrets. So when they are killed along with 23 other people in an unexplainable accident that leaves Estela as the only survivor, she is left with survivor’s guilt that affects her mental health so severely she is hospitalized. While she is there, the officers investigating the accident give her information that leaves her with more questions than before. An opportunity comes from an aunt she never knew about, to live in a family castle she didn’t know existed, in Spain, and Estela jumps at it. I can’t blame the girl, it sounds a lot better than what she was leaving behind.

When she gets to la Sombra, it isn’t anything like what she expected. Her aunt Beatriz is all the family she has in the world, and no matter what she’s like, she’s a stranger. In addition, Estela recently learning that her parents omitted some important information about her own past and theirs, leaves her with a deep sense of betrayal that isn’t easy to overcome. It makes it even more difficult for her to trust new people, and everyone in her life is new to her. It doesn’t help that she’s also been having some old, forgotten memories begin to resurface, but she doesn’t have anyone to turn to that can help her understand and place these memories, since she doesn’t trust anyone enough to go to them.

One of the joys of Garber’s works is that when she puts a twist into her story, it is almost guaranteed to go in an unpredictable direction. I never know where the storyline is going with one of her books, and she used that technique to marvelous effect here. There were so many plot twists and they were all so surprising that Julie and I would just gush over how surprising the twist at the end of each section was, because there was a mini cliffhanger every time we stopped to discuss, giving us plenty to chat about.

Ultimately, this book turned out to be so exciting and unpredictable, with a romance that doesn’t outshine the fantasy and mystery aspects of the story. There’s some action, but a lot more uncovering of family secrets, and some of those affect the town as well, since there’s an interconnected dynamic between the castle and its residents and the town. I loved how layered the relationships between all the characters were, and how their unique experiences influenced the way that they connect to others. While it ends as a stand-alone, it could also potentially become a series (hopefully). This was a fantastic read, and reinforced Garber’s place on my must-read author list.

Pub day July 30th!

Thank you to NetGalley, St Martin’s Press and Romina Garber for the chance to read an advanced copy of Castle of the Cursed!

The things I loved:
-If you love gothic dark academia and anything supernatural then you should give this one a chance. I read it in two sittings. It kept me on my toes the last 50%. And the chapters were short, which is ALWAYS a plus for me. I absolutely loved the subtle Twilight vibes too.

The things I didn’t love:
-I didn’t rate this 5 stars because the pacing felt extremely off to me. Some parts were definitely rushed in my opinion. I think certain aspects could’ve been executed way differently because this concept has so much potential. Sometimes the jump between the past and the present confused me. I also wish the romance was developed a little more.

However, I still enjoyed this book. And I will definitely check out the author’s other books!

Castle of the Cursed was my surprise 5⭐️ of the season! I went in not totally knowing what to expect, only knowing it was a horror with gothic vibes. Horror has never been my favorite genre, but Garber may have converted me!

After the death of her parents, Estela journeys to live with her estranged aunt in a castle in a small Spanish town. Very quickly upon arriving, Estela learns not all is as it seems. Her aunt forbids her from bringing anyone home, she finds a vampire named Sebastian haunting it's halls, and the town oddly worships her family. As the threads around her unravel, Estela learns that all she knew may have been wrong.

The characters in this book were engaging and easily pulled me in. The timing and placing of the big reveals kept me reading long past bedtime. Estela's parents refused to teach her Spanish, so she arrives understanding no one but those who speak English to her. It was fun getting information in pieces as she tried to put together the bits of Spanish spoken around her.

Pros:
-Worldbuilding
-Interesting characters
-Mysterious gothic vibes
-Satisfying, cut romance that doesn't overwhelm the plot

Cons:
-Without being spoilery, there are a couple moments where I wanted some info earlier to help with tension

Overall this book was a win for me! It's the perfect dark, gothic read for autumn. I'll be buying my own copy as soon as it hits the shelves! (Many thanks to the publisher for an advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)

NOTE: READ the trigger warnings before you read this. It's an immersive read that deals with some heavy issues. This may not be the book for everyone at all times.

I really enjoyed the Gothic atmosphere of this novel, as well as the supernatural elements. What I didn’t enjoy was the many mentions of suicide, although the author had a trigger warning at the beginning of the book. I also thought the plot development and pacing was uneven and didn’t care for the main characters. This had a lot of potential, but I wanted more depth and redemption.

I was given an early copy of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Castle of the Cursed follows Estela to a family castle after her parents die is a mysterious incident. The castle, named la Sombra, carries many secrets of magic and the supernatural. Estela arrives to live with her aunt after spending time in a youth mental facility after her parents deaths. She befriends a boy who claims he is trapped in the castle and together they investigate into the strange happenings of the castle and her family.

This is my first gothic/horror fantasy, which is why I gave it 3/5 stars. I don’t often stray towards that genre, but wanted to try. The story was intriguing and I desperately wanted to know the secrets surrounding the castle, her aunt, and her parents deaths. I do feel as the story wrapped up, it was a bit quick and at times confusing. However, the ending was satisfying and you do discover a lot of information.