“The Queen of the Cicadas” is a remarkable insight into Mexican lore that has V. Castro delivering the goods to her readers. I could not put this story down, every second I could steal away from everyday life I was right there sneaking in a few pages. V. Castro is definitely an amazing storyteller so much so you could absolutely feel what Belinda, Hector, and most importantly what Milagros felt. The rage, the betrayal, and the need for justice were at the forefront of it all, and that if it wasn’t for my kindle I would’ve thrown my book in frustration for the characters. The Mexican culture sprinkled throughout the story is one of authenticity, not something you could just simply google search. Having the Mexican culture and its lore throughout the story left someone like me, who is Mexican and grew up in Texas, feeling seen for the first time. The story itself was brilliant and not too long ago this was exactly what I was on the search for, well in terms of a horror story to read and I am forever grateful for it. Everyone in the horror community could use the glimpse into a life and lore they are unfamiliar with. “The Queen of the Cicadas” creates a new boogeyman that could be used as something to be afraid of which is refreshing to the genre. With diversity widening in the lit community in general I am hopeful that we can be presented with more writers like V. Castro. All in all, I greatly enjoyed “The Queen of the Cicadas” and I look forward to reading more of V.Castro in the near future.

The Queen of the Cicadas is a tale of love, sex, revenge, murder, and great power. We start with our main character, Belinda, as she returns to a Texas farm for a friends wedding. The farm is the site of the urban legend, La Reina de Las Chicharras - The Queen of The Cicadas. The legend states that a young farm worker, Milagros, was brutally murdered and the town had no intention of doing anything about it (aside from turning the other cheek). This attracts the attention of the Aztec goddess of death, Mictecacíhuatl. Mictecacíhuatl offers a plan for both to be physically reborn by acts of feeding on vengeance and by worship. Belinda becomes more and more drawn in to this legend as fate continues on. 


V. Castro writes with a passion that most cannot summon and seems to do it effortlessly. I found this book to be one of the more interesting supernatural horror reads so far this year. I absolutely loved how Cicadas focused quite a bit on how powerful women truly are. This is a 4 star read for me. 

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Flame Tree Press, and V. Castro for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I am so blown away by everything I read by Castro. Castro has this remarkable ability to just make you FEEL. And FEEL it hard. Whether that's happiness, sadness, sexiness or pure and utter rage, it's always done with such a passion you can't help but be totally sucked in.

The Queen of the Cicadas, (which is quite different to other novels by Castro so far), had me feeling a lot of rage and anger. It is a brilliant story, totally feels like calling it a "Latinx alternative to Bloody Mary" feels like short changing Castro here. It is so much more, but if that little comment will grab you to give this a read, then fab.

This novel switches between the past and the present, keeping an even and steady pacing throughout, urging you to continue reading to find out what on Earth happened in the past, and how this is affecting the current year. Relationships struck up (in the future at least) are charming, and I was intrigued throughout to figure out how it would end. Totally not how I expected it too.

I may or may not have been avoiding looking in the mirror so much since reading.

3.5 cicadas.

Thanks to NetGalley, Flame Tree Press and V. Castro for an eArc copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Feel the Texan heat, hear the click of cicadas, and that food! This is a very sensual novel in lots of ways. I found myself fully immersed in the settings and loved the way the author portrayed Milagros's plight as well as everything to do with the Aztec goddess of death. Very interesting back story. I love reading about gods and goddesses from other cultures.
The one aspect that didn't work as well for me was Belinda's emotional attachment to those she encountered and that was because I felt she fell too far, too fast which made it a little unreal.
Loved the ending.