What an incredible story! I requested an ARC from Netgalley because it sounded interesting, but it far exceeded my expectations. The story of Alejandra spans centuries and generations. The origins seem to go all the way back to 1522 when the Spaniards conquered the Mexican indians, killed most of them and subjucated the rest. Although Alejandra is the main character, we also learn about Cathy, her mother who gave her up for adoption, Cathy’s mother Frances, who disappeared when she was a child, and Flor, a matriarch in the family’s past.

This is the story of generational trauma and the scars that it inflicts on people still living today. We learn the story of La Llorona, a woman who killed her children for a man, and when he rejected for doing so, she wandered the world searching for her children. She searches to this day. Therefore, when Alejandra first sees the apparition, she thinks it is La Llorona. But it is something far worse.

Alejandra is unhappy with her marriage to Matthew (“Lately his presence felt like a plastic bag over her head.”) and feels stressed by her three young children, so she seeks counseling with Melanie. Melanie helps her to work through her feelings and accept her self-worth. Luckily, Melanie is also a curandera, a spiritual medicine woman. Alex chooses her because she wants to know more about her Mexican roots, but it turns out to be very lucky that she chose Melanie because it’s unlikely anyone else could have helped with this evil entity that has been torturing generations of Alex’s family.

The descriptions of the bloodthirsty being that feeds off of the misery of the women in Alex’s family are disturbing and disgusting. It reminded me of the descriptions of the spirits, the three sisters, in Weave World by Clive Barker. Those are images that have stuck in my mind despite reading the book over 30 years ago, and I think this will too. This being is eternal and it would seem there is zero chance of destroying or escaping it, but after going through a ton of spiritual and personal growth, Alex is convinced she knows how to eradicate it so it will no longer torture the women who come after her.

Although there were many wonderful analogies and metaphors, this is the one that I loved most. Alex is struggling to take care of her children with virtually no help nor expressions of gratitude or appreciation. “...residing in the same space in her heart as her despair was her love for her children. That love was a sweet blossom she held on tightly to until the thorns on its stem made her bleed. These wounds were the stigmata of motherhood, precious and painful.”

I don’t want to include any spoilers, but I so want to stress just how powerful and evocative the descriptions were in this book. At key points in the book, I felt like I could have been there observing what was happening. I could feel the pain and fear of the characters, as well as the love. This book should get more than five stars.

I was initially attracted to this book because it was pitched by the author as a La Llorona retelling from her side of the story and what would drive her to kill her own children.

In my opinion, The Haunting of Alejandra read more like women's fiction with supernatural and darker overtones than horror. It wasn't particularly scary, and the supernatural elements felt more like a plot device than a source of genuine horror. The book relied more on psychological tension than jump scares.

I appreciated how V. Castro seamlessly blended Mexican folklore with topics of generational curses and postpartum depression. The resulting novel was an impressive display of how traditional stories can be used to explore modern themes.

Although it was a bit of a slow burn at first, I found The Haunting of Alejandra to be an eerie, compelling, and heart-wrenching story. It's a powerful exploration of family, identity, and sorrow. I highly recommend it to people who enjoy slower paced literary, supernatural, and psychological fiction!

Alejandra is a married woman with three small children who is struggling to find fulfillment in her life. She is becoming engulfed in her own particular gloom and misery. However, one evening when she is at her lowest, she witnesses a horrifying woman in a white gown weeping, telling her to accept her emotions. She begins to consult a therapist and investigate her family history, discovering that her misery and tragedy may be tied to something far worse than she had previously suspected.

This was a fantastic book idea, tracking multigenerational tragedy and difficulties through the lens of La Llorona lore. The author incorporated numerous fascinating cultural details as well as Alejandra's personal past and some Mexican folklore/history. This was the book's strongest point.

Unfortunately, I had difficulty engaging with this piece. The author's writing style was bland - he used repetitious sentence structure, which became a major issue due to the vast portions of exposition in this book.

We were given a lot of information about Alejandra and why she was feeling the way she was, but she never felt alive. There was no emotional connection or anything that made her feel like she was more than just some pages in a book, which was disappointing. The other characters were similar in that, although having chapters from their point of view, they all felt lifeless and disconnected.

In this story we follow Alejandra who has lost herself in marriage and motherhood. I enjoyed the horror premise of this story while incorporating mental health/self care and generational traumas.

I loved learning about the past women in Alejandra’s past. The last woman’s story was a surprise that I didn’t expect but I’m glad we got.

I’m looking forward to reading more of V. Castro’s work as I really enjoyed this story.

Thank you Netgalley and Del Rey for ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Synopsis:
"Alejandra no longer knows who she is. To her husband, she is a wife, and to her children, a mother. But they cannot see who Alejandra has become: a woman struggling with a darkness that threatens to consume her.
Nor can they see what Alejandra sees. In times of despair, a ghostly vision appears to her, the apparition of a crying woman in a ragged white gown.
When Alejandra visits a therapist, she begins exploring her family’s history, starting with the biological mother she never knew. As she goes deeper into the lives of the women in her family, she learns that heartbreak and tragedy are not the only things she has in common with her ancestors."

My Thoughts:
This is a medium paced book about a generational curse of the women in Alejandra's family. It also focuses heavily on the mental health struggles and resilience of a woman who feels like she has lost herself in marriage and motherhood. Alejandra grabbles with understanding if the images she is seeing is a complete mental break or something much worse.
While Alejandra is our main narrator, we also flash back to the women in her family that have had similar experiences. What I found frustrating in this book is that the curse is never spoken about through the generations, leaving each woman to try to figure out what is happening and to fend for themselves. As a result there is a lot of tragedy in Alejandra's family. However, this is also what kept me reading to find out what actually was happening. Please don't go into this book expecting much horror and twists, this is story of family curses and tragedies passed down through generations until someone finally takes a stand.

Thank you to @netgalley and @randomhouse for the gifted copy of this book.

I really enjoyed this creepy tale of a Mexican American woman haunted by a demon. I loved the generational trauma aspect. I think it’s a fascinating topic and this was a really unique and interesting way to explore it in a way. The writing was good and the pacing of the story kept my attention the entire time. I will say that some of it felt like it was tied up a little too neatly to be believable, but that didn’t lessen my enjoyment of the story. I’ll definitely check out more from this author in the future.

Alejandra is being haunted by La Llorona due to a multi generation curse that was placed on the women in her family centuries ago. She will do anything to banish the demon once and for all!

I liked this La Llorona retelling/spin-off but found some of the storylines were more interesting than others. I wouldn’t say this was a literary masterpiece but I enjoyed the folklore and atmospheric writing. It was definitely creepy but felt repetitive. I liked how each chapter focused on different characters, especially when they skipped around in time/generation. The caveat with that is the characters were a bit one dimensional for the most part. I thought this was a unique story and many people might really enjoy this!

This book started off so strong for me, I identified quite a bit with Alejandra who was well articulated within her inner dialogue. I loved the concept of generational curses and family. However, the blocks of emotionless dialogue between characters made me put the book down more times than I could count. It started to feel like a New Age workshop since the deep significance of the cultural rituals was combined with lifeless monologue that read like an instructional manual which just leeched all beauty from the scenes. I wanted more depth since the concepts and culture surrounding the lore is so good. It scratched the surface unfortunately.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this e-ARC.

This book is the tale of two halves. The first half of this book really dives into conversations surrounding postpartum depression. I think the author does a good job of putting you into the perspective of the title character as she deals with this seemingly impossible feeling of guilt and shame. The second half of this book puts the plot into action and the pacing picks up.

I really enjoyed the quieter moments of the book where we delved into Alejandra's struggles and the women of her past. I think the way the author approached the subject with the "demon" representing her feelings and the feelings of past generations.

All that being said, I struggled getting through this book. Despite the interesting exploration of the theme, I think the plot got tedious and I didn't necessarily get the horror feels I was looking for.

I liked sections of this and loved the opening, but the further in I read, the more I found myself unable to lose myself in the story. The dialogue was heavy handed and awkward in so many sections that it was hard to not see it as such.

This novel has important things to say, but I fear they are lost in clunky storytelling.

Thanks to the publisher and author for the advance copy in exchange for this honest review.

Thank you, Random House Publishing, V. Castro, & Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was the most beautiful and creepy book I have ever read. This will be a must read I pass down to my daughters and future granddaughters.

This was definitely a scary and creepy La Llorna retelling, but it was so much more than that. Sprinkled with historical fiction about the inquisition and struggles of women before we were considered human. It touched on toxic societal standards set for women, spiritual beliefs, Hispanic cultural beliefs, Hispanic folklore, generational trauma and curses, and struggles women have faced throughout history!

10/10 every woman should read this!

3.5
I was so excited to see a La Llorona horror story, I grew up hearing the story all the time, so I had high expectations.
I wish I had ended up liking it more.
The idea is interesting, but I found the only parts keeping me engaged were the present chapters from Alejandra’s perspective.
The past chapters didn’t hold my attention, which is unfortunate since the plot heavily relies on the past.
This isn’t really what I was hoping for from a story about La Llorona.

Alejandra is mother to three exhausting kids and wife to an epic jackass. She is seriously depressed and unsatisfied with her life. When she is crying in the shower while her kids bang on the door, she sees a ghostly image of a sobbing woman in white in the bathroom. It is La Llorona, the vengeful mother of famous Mexican legend. When she begins seeing a therapist, she starts looking into the history of the women in her family and discovers that her family has a connection to La Llorona and a creature that wants to pull Alejandra down into the darkness with her ancestors. Alejandra will need to summon all the strength she has to banish La Llorona for good.

What I didn’t like: I DNF’d this at about 50%. The sentence structure was super repetitive and sorta cheesy at times. And despite there being so much focus on Alejandra’s emotional and life issues, I just couldn’t connect with her as a character (or anyone else for that matter).

What I did like: Good “grass is always greener” reminder. Alejandra has three kids that love her, money, a huge house, and she doesn’t need to work. But she is miserable AF. Granted, she was being haunted by La Llorona. 🤷‍♀️

I’ve seen a lot of good reviews for this one, so give it a shot if the story sounds good to you. Just not for me. 2023 is my year of DNF’ing without guilt if a book is not for me! Thank you to netgalley and del ray for the advanced review copy in exchange for a review.

This book is a love letter to every woman who has ever felt overwhelmed, under appreciated, disrespected, depressed, alone…the list goes on.
I felt for this woman with every new challenge she had to face and, while I have never had children or felt the post-partum stress and anxiety she was going through, I can relate to her internal frustration.
The side plot of a generational curse was interesting and ramped up the horror aspect but, really, it almost felt like filler compared to the angst-driven story of a woman who desperately wanted out of the life that she living/surviving(?).
It was a little metaphysical in places, but an overall enjoyable read.
I’ll be searching more from V Castro in the days to come.

3.5⭐️

This was my first V. Castro book and am looking forward to reading more from her. The Haunting of Alejandra tackles issues of generational trauma and mental health through horror. I did enjoy the story but found it dragging at times. This could just be that this isn’t the typical horror I’m used to reading nevertheless I’d still recommend reading this if slow burn mental health horror is something you’re interested in. It’s definitely probably more of a specific audience and that’s alright it just wasn’t for me.

Generational trauma, rediscovering a lost culture, La Llorona, and a personal fear of drowning in a unwanted marriage. This story was tailored made for me, the good and the bad.

Beautifully written with really emotional themes from Alejandra. Also the tie in of her being adopted and so having lost touch with her heritage. I would recommend to anyone who likes the unsettling and foreboding atmosphere.

I don't know if this wasn't that great or if I just didn't give it the time it deserved. It was an interesting concept, but the book did not hold my interest.

The premise of this story is what initially caught my attention. The Mexican folklore and feeling like I was going to finally read something that really sat with me and related to me. That being said: what a heavy read!! Immediately throws you into the themes of depression and suicide and pretty much how the main character feels like her life ... sucks. I guess I just felt surprised because I went into it expecting it to be more of a mystery/thriller type story vs self discovery. Overall, I think I would've enjoyed it more if I had been able to connect to the main character.

It might be beach reads season, but that doesn’t mean you can’t dive into some Halloween-level nightmares courtesy of the literary world’s latest horror offerings. Case in point: The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro, which has an excellent (and terrifying) concept that had me blanching in fear more than once on my well-lit, crowded subway commute.

The novel combines traditional Mexican folktales with contemporary horror, specifically revolving around modern-day motherhood, to nightmarish effect, as a woman grapples with a familial curse threatening to destroy everything she holds dear.

The story really excels during scenes of horror, where the vengeful La Llorona stalks its victims through history. From a candlelit bedroom belonging to a despicable Spanish colonizer, to a steam-filled bathroom in Philadelphia, these interludes are incredibly spooky and graphically rendered. I wasn’t necessarily expecting the level of gore that goes down in scenes (sparingly, but it’s there), which hammers home just how perilous — and grotesque — Alejandra’s situation is.

I’d had a bit of knowledge about the background of this particular demon thanks to watching The Curse of La Llorona back in 2019 (a truly abysmal movie undeserving of Linda Cardellini), but V. Castro gives a far more authentic (and disturbing) portrait of how the spirit came to be. She ties its origins in seamlessly with ill-fated stories of the female ancestors in Alejandra’s family. It took some getting used to, but I ended up really enjoying that storytelling device.

Where things fell apart for me, unfortunately, was the dialogue. I wasn’t a big fan of how the book handles themes involving the painful realities of motherhood, either, which I think also comes down to how characters express themselves throughout. Pretty much anytime a character opened their mouths, it felt off, to be honest.

Conversations between characters are rough and choppy, and hardly feel like genuine interactions real people would have, supernatural content or no. This is particularly glaring where the character of Alejandra's husband is concerned — he comes across as a cardboard stand-in for the Bad and Neglectful Husband trope, rather than a fully fleshed-out character. His presence is so shallow, in fact, that it makes an important decision towards the end of the novel far less impactful. At that point I could hardly bring myself to care.

All in all, as a horror fanatic I loved the freaky idea behind the book, but the execution ultimately fell short.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!