Another satisfying read! And it's Latinx!
These Venegful Wishes is a YA fantasy horror based on the Nicaraguan folktale of La Cegua - a vengeful spirit who preys on bad men and lures them to their death.
Montalban does an exceptional job creating an immersive setting within a small haunted Florida town and a creepy mansion with a generational curse. She particularly excelled in writing a female lead with flaws, strengths, and a beautiful arc, as well as including a great cast of characters that challenged her preconceived notions about love and family. The love interest is sweet and gets so flustered, but is also confident and sharp. I loved Ceci and Jaime so much. They need to be protected at all costs.
Most of all, I loved the exploration of female rage. With the use of Nicaraguan cultural and historical elements, this book delves into the legend of La Cegua and shines a light on a complex character, wronged by the man she loved, the abuse she endured and the vengeance she seeks because of it.

Cecilia's world turns upside down when her mother's hasty divorce sends them to the small backwater town in Florida where her mother grew up. Ceci thought she knew her mother, but the creepy old manor house and the town begin revealing more secrets about her mother's past than she can process.

If you loved Mexican Gothic, this story is for you! Full of dark twists, mysterious magic, and the authentic cultural flair that Montalban executes so beautifully. I can't recommend this enough!

Read if you like mother daughter relationships, Central American folk lore & wronged women getting their vengeance.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this story.
SPOILERS TO FOLLOW

I've been trying to get more into horror and so this was a very interesting story. Admittedly, I really didn't like Ceci for several chapters. She was all hard edges and annoying sarcasm. The story eventually softened her though, made her more vulnerable which is always important. I don't think it's mainly because of Jamie but I do think he helped her to be more in touch with her emotions. Soledad helped in this aspect too. Overall the magic surrounding Soledad and the curse of the Sevillie family was pretty cool too. I like the idea of vengeful ghosts going after the people who wronged them. Especially since it seemed like none of the men in this family were very upstanding people. What I wished we'd seen more of was Mayra and Di. They were really good side characters and very funny too but they were hardly in the novel.

This was such an atmospheric and beautifully written story! It was spooky and sad and I loved the characters and relationships! The added elements of an ancient curse and a superstitious small town made this book so hard to put down! I devoured it.

If you’re a fan of YA fantasy books that delve into curses, you’re in for a treat! Ceci has just been unrooted back to her birthplace, and the adventure is only beginning. As she delves deeper into her new surroundings, she’s on the brink of discovering the mysterious curse of La Cegu. What hidden truths will she uncover, and how will her connection to the curse ultimately shape her destiny? The excitement is building as we await the revelations that lie ahead!

Thank you NetGalley, Vanessa, and Zando Young Readers for this ARC

I feel once I started the book my interest dwindled a bit. The synopsis sounded great but I wasn’t grabbed when reading.

These Vengeful Wishes by Vanessa Montalban is a darkly enchanting tale that weaves together revenge, power, and the complexities of desire. Montalban masterfully constructs a world where wishes come at a price, blending lush, vivid imagery with morally complex characters. The story’s fast-paced plot keeps readers on edge, exploring themes of justice and consequence while unraveling a web of secrets and betrayals. With sharp, lyrical prose and a touch of the supernatural, Montalban crafts a compelling narrative that asks: how far would you go to get what you want?

5 Stars

This book was everything. So atmospheric. The setting was amazing. The horror elements were so well done. The take on magic felt new and fresh, and I love it.
I love how the Nicaraguan folklore was entwined with the main plot.
I love Ceci and how fiercely protective of the people she loves.
I love Jamie. He was *puts in pocket* my baby.
I really liked how family trauma was dealt here, and that ending brought me to tears.
Overall, this is a new favorite book, and I can't wait to read more of this author.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest.

I reviewed an ARC of These Vengeful Wishes by Vanessa Montalban from NetGalley. #NetGalley

I could not put this book down. It was written differently than a lot of books I've recently read. Despite that, it was still super easy to become immersed in the story and follow along. The characters were easy to understand and get to know. The story building was not large but I did not feel I was lacking for information.

Not everything was a shock. Some twists were predictable. However, I don't feel like that took anything away from the storyline.

This book was great at pulling me in and not letting me go until the story was finish. Loved this book and writing style.

This started off with a scary/ creepy vibe, but it didn't end up being that kind of book which I was equal parts sad about and fine with. It became a story of a woman that fell in love with a man that used her and isolated her, but in the end could it keep her in that prison. Soledad's story was heartbreaking, she fell in love with a man that promised her a life full of love all while never planning on giving her that, he just wanted to use her and her gift. I wished we got more into Jaime's story, but I get this was about giving the women their time to shine instead of being forced to be the backdrop to a man's story. This was great in showing how the women suffered because of a man's greed and incessant need to have more even when they have more than enough to be happy. Thank you NetGalley and Zando.

Thank you to Hear Our Voices for the e-arc. Truly honored to be participating in Montalban's release tour!

This was a hit Latinx YA Horror book!

This book revolves around The Nicaraguan Leyenda of La Cegua. La Cegua is a folktale about a woman wronged who appears in the night and lures away untrustworthy men to their death.

This book not only features the tale but this version is written with complexity and real characters. La Cegua isn't only a tale of a woman seeking revenge but it's a tale of a women who has been wronged by men with themes of the importance of family.

I love how complex all the characters are in this book, no one is completely innocent and this is truly rare to see in YA horror. Ceci is a unique character, her perspective is one worth reading about despite it's bias. You get to see her mature and grow throughout the book, understanding that her purpose in life is bigger than what she believes.

Ceci and Jamie are a great duo, they compliment each other in a loving way. Jamie is the softness in Ceci and Ceci is the protective shell of Jamie. Their romance was truly sweet to read about alongside the

One of the things that I truly enjoyed about this book is that it touched upon serious subjects that are occuring in our world today. Such as the effects of Gentrification within Latinx cultures, alongside Generational trauma within Latinx households.

The pacing of the book is fitting to the novel, and it's ending is satisfying for the characters. I truly had such a great time reading this. I'm excited for everyone else to tune in on release day!

This was SO. GOOD. Like read it all one day good.

I loved the characters, the south Florida gothic Mansion, the mystery, the horror elements, a vengeful spirit that punishes bad men 🎉.

The story moves along at such a nice pace, we have a lil teenage romance, lots of tension, I personally could not read this at night when home alone 😂.

Overall, so good, I enjoyed this so much. You can read it anytime, but this would be a perfect September/October book.

A haunting tale of generational curses and how no matter how much you try the past will come back to haunt you - literally.

I found this book to be a fun and fascinating read, filled with legitimate danger and significant character growth as our main character learns to try to fight the curse haunting her and the town - as well as attempt to reconnect with her mother. When exploring the strange house that she and her mother moved into - seen as haunted by the local town - Ceci discovers a mysterious door that leads to a well that seemingly grants wishes. All is not as it seems, as this wishing well is more like a Monkey’s Paw situation and soon Ceci realizes the very real danger she is exposing to her friends and family by trying to find the easy way out of her problems.

This book flew by as I read it, and I was hooked onto the local superstition of the town, as well as the very real history that is uncovered when Ceci begins to investigate further. I thought the tension was done extremely well, as we’re never certain how exactly this tale will end - or who are the true villains in this story. I also liked how even as we, as the reader, were putting together the pieces of Ceci and her mother’s past, we were never fully able to guess the ending or how everything would resolve. While I found the ending itself to be a bit predictable and cliche, I was never bored or uninterested in the storytelling itself.

The thing I found the hardest to deal with during my reading was some of the dialogue between Ceci and Jamie, as well as the almost naive way Ceci embraces the wishes from this mysterious magical well - and refuses to acknowledge the very real dangers that ever wish she uses causes. However, this is a YA book so I cannot fault the book for having a young naive main character, when she is only about 16 and dealing with many issues on top of the magical wishing well. I also feel like, considering the book’s title being These Vengeful WIshes, that many of the wishes - and their consequences - were rather tame.

A huge thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Zando Young Readers for providing this e-ARC.

The introduction had me hooked, but not long after I found that I was getting bored. Loved the Nicaraguan lore. I just unfortunately was not as into this book as I had hoped to be.

Thank you NetGalley and Zando Young Readers for this ARC. My review is honest and all thoughts are my own.

These Vengeful Wishes by Vanessa Montalban is a YA mystery that intertwines small town, found family, with a haunting beauty. This story has the ability to heal us all. This is a new folklore for me and I was excited for the exposure and to look more into the culture that it's rooted in. I also enjoyed the femme rage and believe this will be a big hit for young adults and readers of the genre.

I really enjoyed this one. The main character Ceci actually feels like a real teenager, making teenage decisions, which always helps a YA feel extra engrossing. I loved the way that folklore was woven into the horror, and created this awesome sense of foreboding and othering that made the book feel fast-paced. Montalban did a great job of creating that creeping, haunted atmosphere in the house, the woods, and the town as a whole. I found the way that Ceci’s art was used to be a really interesting format as well.

Will check community feedback from this publisher prior to requesting books in the future due to the formatting issues.

Yes it is uncorrected, but it needs to be accessible. If not, I cannot read it. I believe I have had this issue with EVERY single book I have borrowed so far, so formatting is not prioritized until printing, which makes ARCs to ereaders inaccessible.

I was already not feeling great and was beyond excited to get this, so to have yet another ARC not be formatted properly, it makes me want to cry. I don't think I will be purchasing this book when it releases due to this bad experience to be honest...... please make your electronic copies accessible. I know it's not a tech issue.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this e-arc! I’m excited to look into more work from this author in the future.

Thank you Netgalley for this e-arc. This is a YA horror, but I still enjoyed it. Cici is the female main character who moves back to her mom's hometown after her step father is arrested. There's stories of a witch roaming the streets at night and a haunted well. This gave me vibes of la llorona. If that is your vibe as well, I would definitely check out this author and book.