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.

Lovely story, this. So lovely that I'm not going to finish the arc, and will instead wait to purchase it for myself once it is officially published.

These Vengeful Wishes, is a YA horror steeped in folkloric lore. The tale of La Cegua is woven, creating an eerie atmosphere that draws you in. While the plot is somewhat predictable by the halfway point, it remains engaging throughout. The author has a way of crafting a haunting, heavy ambiance. I look forward to reading additional books from this author.

Thanks NetGalley for the arc

thank you netgalley for the e-arc


3.5 stars

The cover really intrigued me to see and look what this book was about.

having said that, i really wished i liked this story more than i could have.
i did enjoy the story and the idea behind it overall, but i felt like something was missing from the story.
i just wished there was more of an horror element to the story, than i thought it would have.

I did like Ceci and Jamie together in the book. Jamie is very sweet in the book.
which i do like to see in books

“Choose me, it says. Look inside and walk deep, find the parts I keep hidden.”

High-schooler Ceci and her mom move to her mother’s hometown into the infamously cursed mansion of the Sevillas. Ceci finds herself entangled with the ominous voice of La Cegua, beckoning her to make a wish.

This YA dark fantasy/horror takes on a unique perspective from Central American lore. I think Vanessa Montalban does a great job in setting up the atmospheric eeriness and bringing the detailing to life. I think what I struggled with was connecting to the characters through their flaws, the lack of depth in the dialogue, and the overall pacing of the novel. However, I am happy to see the representative voice in this book for both cultural history and female empowerment.

This book lacks a sense of urgency, and I think it has to do with Ceci’s very ambivalent attitude towards her mother. But it also has a lot to do with the kind of scattered focus between Jamie, Ceci’s first actual friendships, the art scholarship, the mysterious girl who knows too much, the supernatural entity, Ceci’s mom’s past, the missing rich kid from 20 years ago, and the spooky house. That’s A LOT of things to juggle and Montalban quite frankly doesn’t - there are huge swaths of pages dedicated to Jamie and mystery girl Adel randomly appears, is forgotten, and then appears again in a way that, rather than building tension, makes it feel like she was an afterthought. It’s just not at all cohesive.

Huge thank you to NetGalley and Zando Young Readers for allowing me to read this ARC! Vanessa Montalban does an amazing job at writing characters and stories that are incredibly engaging and well thought out. The elements of horror were absolutely perfect and added the needed suspense. This is a great YA horror to start with if you are new to the genre and are wanting something suspenseful but not too scary.

I liked the premise behind this story, the curse, the wishes, and the stories about La Cegua. Figuring out how the wishes worked and how to end the curse kept me interested. I also liked the mystery centered around Ceci's mom's past. I had a hard time connecting with Ceci, something about the voice of the character didn't fully draw me in. I also wish Myra and Di were more present, like Jamie was.

This is a horror book geared towards young adults. It was REALLY good but I felt like it needed something a little more. It was still REALLY good! I would recommend this to my YA horror people. I would like to see this redone and feel like it is a complete without the feeling it is not complete.