DNF- I was interested in this book because of the Spanish castle and vampires. However, the book was not what I thought it would be. I’m not a fan of gory stories and this just wasn’t my type of read.

Castle of the Cursed by Romina Garber is the story of a seventeen-year-old girl who loses her parents and is trying to find her place in the world.

Will Estela figure out the secrets the la Sombra is hiding?

Estela Amador Bralaga
Estela Amador is the lone survivor of Subway 25’s lethal accident. The problem is that she has no clue why she’s the only survivor. Not only that, but she also doesn’t want to live without her parents. Estela ends up coming to Oscuro, Spain, to live with the only family member she now has—a maternal aunt on her mom’s side. I have to say that I love seeing Estela change from a happy to a sad person back into one who is determined to solve her parents’ murder, much like her father has taught her to do.

Estela is a great character who wants to live even if she initially doesn’t realize that. She is also our point-of-view character.

Sebastián
Sebastian has been plaguing Estela’s dreams since the subway crash. Except Estela is the only one who can see him. Not only that, but he has no memory of how he got there or where his real home is. I love Sebastian’s arc from being this deadly creature to realizing that maybe he could be something more.

la Sombra
la Sombra, aka Castillo Bralaga, has been the family home for centuries to the Bralaga family. Except it’s not only their home but also a living thing that they have to keep feeding. The castle is always hungry, wanting to feed on the blood of not only the family members that live there but also the ones living in Oscuro. I do have to say that this castle is definitely one out of someone’s nightmares, but the Bralaga have to stay to take over caring for the castle and keeping its hunger at bay.

I consider this castle a major character in this story. Even if it doesn’t have any words or much else, the castle is a big part of Estela’s family, whether she wants to admit it or not.

Five Stars
My rating for Castle of the Cursed by Romina Garber is five stars. I was hooked by the plot summary and, after diving in to read the book, found it better than I imagined it would be. Ms. Garber had me entranced and made me feel like I was right there with Estela, trying to find out who killed her parents and why the castle felt so ominous. Because of the content of the story, I am definitely recommending this book for the older side of the young adult reader group.

Ms. Garber’s author’s note at the beginning was a big help in understanding the sensitive content of this book and how best to be mindful of yourself while reading it.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Castle of the Cursed by Romina Garber.

Until the next time,
Karen the Baroness

If you would like to see other reviews like this one, check out Baroness Book Trove.

Castle of the Cursed by Romina Garber was a step outside what I normally read and overall I enjoyed it. The writing style was great, however I got confused often with the way the story jumped around a bit and some of the plot points felt disorganized and possibly unnecessary. The relationship between Sebastian and Estela felt rushed but there was so much going on with the main plot that it's understandable that their stuff had to be fast.

The overall plot is what kept me reading! La Sombra was its own character and it was filled with originality, intrigue and mystery and I was in awe at the creativity of Romina Garber to think of a "character" like that. And the last 4 words of this book?? Screaming, yelling, frantically trying to flip the page to read more. How dare you Romina?! I am happy I stepped out of the box to read this one and I am grateful to Netgalley, Author Romina Garber and St. Martins Press Wednesday Books for the ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I wasn’t sure what exactly to expect going into this book other than it was going to be a gothic YA romance. This book ended up being absolutely amazing in my opinion. It would have been a 5 star read for me except that the final two sentences in the book kind of ruined it for me. I won’t say more on that because I don’t want to spoil anything, but beware that the book ends on a cliffhanger.

I really loved the world that was created in this book and how the castle was its own living entity. I thought Estela was a really strong female lead and I enjoyed seeing her growth in the book. I liked the romance and I loved all the twists and turns that this book threw at me. I think the mystery was one of the best parts.

If you like vampires, mystery, romance, and a little darkness then this book is for you!

This whole story is a vibe more than anything else, and what a vibe!

In a magical realism setting there's a hint of romance while the subplot is about a mystery to solve, and then it turns into fantasy winking to some sci-fi aspects that got me really concerned about my reading tastes.
There's a hopeless heroine, a morally grey vampire, an evil twin, a distant relative who doesn't want to get attached, and the real villain (who obviously will get away with his wrongs).
Cherry on top, it ends with the most classical fairytale ending: they all lived happily ever after - and many questions unanswered.

Seriously talking, I did enjoy this very much, for reasons I can't really explain, but I hope you’d give it a chance to experience the rollercoaster of emotions I've felt in merely two days since I couldn't make myself stop reading.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley, who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

This does not a good horror story make. The setting was beautiful, very gothic and romantic for a modern setting. The first half of the book was wonderful, it was creepy and intriguing. But then things got weird with adding in the element of different dimensions and blood magic, it became a lot. The romance fell flat for me, the insta-love that the main character experienced was distracting and not at all relatable. The ending felt complicated and lack-luster, but glad that it didn't leave any room for a sequal.

Thanks to NetGalley, St Martins Press, and Wednesday Books for this copy of "Castle of the Cursed."

Creepy mysterious castles, gothic village with secrets, estranged relatives. What will Stela learn about her new home in the castle?

Stela is the lone survivor of a subway attack that killed her parents and the other passengers. She saw weird black smoke before the attack - was it a hallucination or is there something that her aunt Beatriz Bralaga needs to tell her?

This book was fun with interesting twists and turns and cool cursed characters.

#CastleOfTheCursed:

In all honesty, I wanted to DNF this several times. But, something in the back of my mind kept saying, “just wait and see what happens” so I never did. Do I regret it? No, it was an overall good read.

Estela becomes an orphan thanks to a black smoke. She’s the only survivor, and they don’t know why she did. She finds out her past was not what her parents said it was, and she’s off to meet her living relative in Spain. She lives in la Sombra, a beautiful gothic castle, where everything also is not what it seems. She needs real answers about the past before it catches up to her.

There’s a lot of back and forth between timelines and places and piecing things together from the past and present to make sense. It was choppy in a sense that I don’t think it flowed well to really give it the effect we needed for surprise. Also, the romance was.. different? I felt like it was very fast and it was a “oh, we’re in love now?” I just didn’t feel like it fit with the plot tbh.

Ana Osorio is such a good reader, I loved her narration. She just gets the vibe and does it right. She brought the soooky, the creepy, the unsettling perfectly.

Definitely a slow burn gothic horror, I still wouldn’t sleep on this one. It’s different from Garber’s previous work, and I loved her previous work. But different isn’t a bad thing. This was a lot darker, more menacing, and Garber masters that kind of writing for her readers to truly feel the horror. Out now!

I was provided an ARC & an ALC of this title for free and am leaving this review voluntarily. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Castle of the Cursed was a decent almost edge of your seat paranormal gothic romance. The spooky vibes are very much giving, but the romance just didn’t quite hit the mark for me. Overall I enjoyed it but it wasn’t a standout for me.

Thank you to the author & NetGalley for the opportunity to read & listen early!

While I had mixed feelings about this book while reading it, but ended up liking it overall. I was really intrigued by the beginning which sets up a spooky event followed by our main character, Estela, moving to an even spookier castle. This had a great gothic horror/thriller/mystery setup. But then once we get to the castle I got a little lost in all the events. There was a lot going on that felt like they were all coming from different directions. While it was intentional, I wasn’t a fan of it. But it all came together in the end, which I then liked. It did make sense by the end and leading up to it, and at that point it pulled me back in.

Overall, this was an okay gothic story and I recommend if you like stories with a lot going on.

I'll be completely honest. I feel like this story became very convoluted by the end of it. I felt like the author just kept adding different tropes and by the end I almost couldn't tell you the main genre of this book. Was it a mystery? Was it a dark romance? I don't know. All I know is that by 60% I was really pushing myself not to DNF. I liked the first half. I was pretty enthralled by the mystery aspect of the book. What happened to Estella and everyone on the subway? What was the black smoke that killed everyone but her... but once she went to Spain and more mysteries were added... then the addition of a shadow daddy and their enemies to lovers romance... it just became weird. Then the ending... so predictable. It didn't need that. I don't know if there's going to be more to this story or not but I don't think I will be reading it if there is.

Romina Garber has become an auto read author since I discovered Lobizona, also her Hispanic roots. As a Latina myself I absolutely loved the Argentinian folklore that she weaves into her stories and that is just the cherry on top. Her writing is lovely. I loved the mystery and more on YA versions.

Castle of the Cursed is a YA fantasy gothic romance that sounds intriguing, but lost points on execution.

I love Gothic novels. I started reading them when I was 12 and have had a soft spot in my heart for them ever since. So, I came into Castle of the Cursed with high expectations. I finished it feeling ambivalent.

Author Romina Garber definitely gets the tone aspect of the genre, creating a setting that has you looking over your shoulder, even when you’re not sure why. There’s also lots of emotion and a romance. It’s just that not all of it fit together. And the romance element just didn’t work for me.

Garber’s pacing/structure could also have benefited from some reworking — there’s a big info dump that happens later in the book that feels just like an info dump for necessity’s sake.

Castle of the Cursed isn’t one of my top YA picks for the summer, but if you’ve got time, it makes for an interesting library read.

Gothic romance, mystery, secrets, vampires, what more could you want? While this book had some confusing and small moments that didn’t quite fit with the narrative, overall I was hooked and read this book in two sittings. Absolutely breathtaking ideas and the castle was everything my gothic loving heart needed and more. So many moments gave me chills and this book had the perfect amount of eerie, thriller, spooky without verging on true horror.
Highlights- the setting, the castle, the deeper themes and struggles woven throughout (many possible triggers so read warnings prior to reading). It was these deeper themes that really drew me in initially. The mystery element also gave a nice twist and helped engagement with the plot.
Lows- some of the relationships seemed to jump quickly and seem unlikely (ex B being super secretive to all of a sudden sharing everything). Also the romance just didn’t do it for me. Even though this is absolute fantasy/fiction I found not buy into the fact that someone would become blood bound/equivalent of married two weeks into a relationship that for half of the time was purely hateful. It felt too quick and rushed. I would have been content with this left out and the story moving forward in another way.
Overall, the highs far outweighed the lows on this gothic, eerie tale. And the ending…. What??!!!???

Estela is the soul survivor of a mysterious subway accident that claimed the lives of her parents and other passengers. Determined to find answers, but also struggling with survivors guilt, she decides to go to Europe to live with estranged family. As she starts to uncover her hidden past, the reasons her parents fled Spain, and the supernatural nature of the family castle, Estela also rediscovers her voice and love. Will she too fall to the curse of la Sombra?

This was a good gothic romantasy. The story quickly jumps from the subway tragedy into the mysterious and interesting world of la Sombra and the community of people that have molded to it needs for generations. There is an insta romance introduced fairly early on too. A few of the threads woven into the story were a bit abrupt or over the top but for the most part the novel cruises right along leaving you with good gothic style vibes. 3 stars.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books and NetGalley for sending this digital Advanced Reader’s Copy for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

This book is and also isn’t what I thought it would be based on the description. The female lead goes through a lot of tragedy and is understandably distrustful of others, but there is one character to whom it seemed like an insta-trust and insta-love happened. The family secrets are buried deep and deeper in this story. There were times where I wasn’t totally sure the riddles you read throughout actually match what happened. However I was engaged along the way and interested to see how it ended. I am, however, confused if the very last section labeled 13 months later was actually supposed to be an alternate ending or an epilogue…

I loved the setting and the family secrets. The creepy dark gothic castle was a great setting for a family that is unwilling to share their knowledge with each other. I like Estela’s determination to solve the mystery even if her family is lying to her. I didn’t really like the romance and the epilogue made it worse. Maybe this kind of supernatural romance isn’t for me.
So if you like a dark gothic everyone is lying type book with some steamy romance, you might like this one. I would definitely recommend this for older YA readers only.

Castle of the Cursed definitely delivered on the Gothic setting, but it was hampered by tonal shifts that were abrupt. Estela's attraction to Sebastian eventually became more developed, but the scenes that hint at the steamy part of their budding relationship at first were so jarring. The first part of that relationship was extremely underdeveloped and it felt forced. I don't know how much pressure there is in the book world right now for everything to get steamier (the Maas effect?), but I think the book would have honestly been better with more authentic interactions between the two characters than the physical aspect played up so fast (binding her hands in rope, OK, that escalated fast...).
On the positive side, the plot about Estela's family and the conflict tying them to the castle and the magic behind the castle was excellent. I was reminded a little bit of Silvia Moreno-Garcia.

The castle atmosphere was perfect for a gothic fantasy and behaved like its own entity with wants and needs. Garber does a fantastic job at creating the vivid imagery of the rooms within in all their chilling glory.

Estela’s character was well done – her struggles after the accident that claimed her parents made her feel even more realistic. It was a constant struggle for her to get through her life, especially when she was thrown curveball after curveball. Sebastian & Estela’s relationship seemed slightly shallow to me – that’s not the appropriate word though, maybe lacking groundwork or a solid foundation to build on. They shared a lot of their life history with each other but, in my eyes, they didn’t spend enough time together to warrant the “I’m eternally yours” vibe. The supporting cast was also well done, but I wish we had more background with them.

"Grief is like climate change: the sobbing comes in cycles, bands of storms that roll in with little warning and uproot my thoughts."

The castle offered just enough shrouded mystery to ensnare family members who ceaselessly hunger for more – more wealth, more time, more knowledge, etc. It could give them what they’re looking for, all they have to do is pay the price. Only sometimes, the cost isn’t what they anticipated. I have never been a big fan of open-to-interpretation endings – if there isn’t a second book I would prefer it to be wrapped up (especially where the main characters are concerned).

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this spooky, twisty, and paranormal book from an author I am a fan of. I would have liked this one more had it been a duology instead of a stand-alone, it would have allowed more time to explore integral aspects of the book to a fuller extent. I recommend checking this one out – especially if you enjoy books with gothic romance & a castle hiding its hunger, as well as secrets.

Starts off with a bang and then some slow build up. Glad a stack with it. The second half of the book so much happens. Loved the lore the writer buildsup. Refreshing take on vampires. Did remind me of Stephen Kings Rose red and Henry James turn of the screw but in the best way. Enjoyed seeing the combination of a multiverse, curses and vampires all working together to tell this story. Loved the ending!