The Haunting of Alejandra follows generational trauma through multiple members of a cursed bloodline, incorporating the Mexican folklore of La Llorona. One thing that stands out to me about V. Castro is her ability to merge feminist prose seamlessly and purposefully into horror plot lines. I cannot wait to read more of her previous work and any future releases!
Big thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC!

This was terrifying, atmospheric and well written! The story follows Alejandra who feels trapped in life, but ultimately confronts her family’s demons and fights to end a curse that has been plaguing her family for centuries. The differing timelines and POV were done well. The Mexican folklore was fascinating. I did feel the ending was a bit rushed, but it worked.

Alejandra is a young stay at home mother who is disenchanted with her life and marriage. She begins to see an image of a shadowy woman dressed in white that she identifies as La Llorada, a mythical creature prominent in her Mexican culture. Alejandra also occasionally hears a voice encouraging her to kill herself and saying that it wants her children. When the children start to tell Alejandra that they also see evil shadowy beings, Alejandra is determined to stop this ghostly creature so she enlists the help of Melanie, a therapist/curandera and her biological mother, Cathy. With the help of these women, Alejandra uncovers the stories of her ancestors and an ancient curse and in the process, she becomes more sure of herself and what she wants for her life.
Overall, I found that I just could not get into this book. One thing that I liked were the historical stories about Alejandra’s ancestors and the Mexican history and culture that was included. I also enjoyed the strong female protagonists and the supernatural suspense that was creepy but not over the top. I would describe it as magical realism mixed with horror which is usually a nice genre change for me. However, there were several aspects of the book that I struggled with. I really felt lost trying to figure out why Alejandra’s family was cursed - apparently this was included but it must have been vague because I never understood it. Also, I felt like the characters were poorly developed - I never really got a sense of the backgrounds of any of the characters and their inclusion in Alejandra’s struggles and acceptance of her solutions seemed unrealistic. And the character of Alejandra’s husband, Matthew and her relationship with him was just weird - his level of detachment was also way too unrealistic. At times, I found the dialogue to be lame and strained such as random mentions of people jumping into cenotes that were meaningless and made way too often. So, I would conclude that many readers will love the book much more than I did but like all books, it’s not for everyone.
#NetGalley #RandomHousePublishing-Ballantine

V. Castro’s The Haunting of Alexandra is unquestionably one of the darkest and perhaps most brutal books I’ve completed. I might have stopped after the first 50 pages, feeling I had given the book a chance. However, although I disliked parts, other factors drew me through its pages. One such factor lies outside the book. Because I recently read Krystle Zara Appiah’s Rootless—another book dealing with a mother’s post-partum depression leading to self-harm and alienation from her husband, I found myself wanting to see how Castro dealt with the issue also at the heart of Appiah’s British Kenyan treatment.

Although Appiah’s Sam was ultimately more likeable than Castro’s Matthew and Appiah’s Effie dealt with her problems without battling a grotesque monster, Castro’s novel is well worth reading because of even greater differences, one of which was her central issue of generational trauma brought out by adopted Alejandra’s search for her family history spanning Latinx history from the days of the conquistadors and Emiliano Zapata to an aging hippie, shifting the timeline to tell the stories of Alejandra’s ancestors and not only reviewing Mexican history but introducing some unfamiliar details.

Throughout the story, the folkloric La Llorona, sometimes known as the Weeping Woman. Although La Llorona haunts the generations of women throughout Alejandra’s bloodline, it shouldn’t take readers long to realize this is more a symbolic ghost or monster than a real one. Each generation has suffered from its own version of the trauma now destroying Alejandra, who has given up her independence and career for a husband who insists she stay at home to raise child after child while constantly reminding her that she has an easy life.
Two of Alejandra’s encounters with people outside the family especially stood out. One was with non-Hispanic educators in her young daughter’s school, who are horrified that she has told the story of La Llorona to a child, the other with the health care professional, also a spiritual healer, who understands her needs and guides her to discover her lost family.

I did not care for the graphic blood and brutality and am inclined to feel the “rotting flesh” resembling “writing maggots” in the La Llorona’s mouth were overkill. Nevertheless, I tried to set my personal preferences aside, remind myself that this was Alejandra’s symbolic vision of the horrors that were her life, and focus on Castro’s accomplishments, which are many. Her melding of Mexican history, family history, folklore, and all too real social, racial, and psychological issues make me glad I read to the end. Most of all, the book offers hope. As the epigraph tells readers at the beginning, we need to know the past to overcome it. A reminder of that epigraph might help some readers make it through to the end and be happy they did.

Thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey/PenguinRandomHouse for an advance reader copy.

The Haunting of Alejandra was hauntingly beautiful and horrific in equal measures.

Castro delves deep into intergenerational trauma, the way women are abused by the patriarchy and a reclamation of one’s own life. The weight of the history of oppression weighs heavy and I loved how each woman got their own section of the narrative. These were stunning excerpts, totally imaginative and immersive. They were all also unspeakably tragic. Castro welds in darkness and the horror of humanity without hesitation. Through everything, we follow Alejandra. She was a character I instantly connected with, feeling her fractured nature and conflicting desires. Her voice was so compelling and emotionally rich. The narrative entirely spins around her and the slow reveal of her family history, intersecting with the dark curse placed upon them.

It is no secret that I adore the Gothic genre and I think it was the perfect vehicle for this story. Castro takes many tropes of the genre and reimagines them in fresh, startling ways that often intersect with the societal or personal commentary of the scene. This is woven with a retelling of the La Llorona myth and the way Castro blends genres and cultures is superb. There has often been a villainization of anyone considered the other in the Gothic, but Castro delves deeper than this into a grey morality. When choices are forced upon you or there is none other than survival, you will be pushed to unspeakable places. Through this, there is a commentary on the evolution of patriarchal and colonial power, how it intersects and the specific violence done upon the bodies of women of colour. It is deeply powerful and emotional, with a raw vulnerability and an unflinching need to show the full truth.

The Haunting of Alejandra takes questions of legacy, trauma and modern motherhood and combines them with a searing and Gothic narrative.

I was very bored. I didn't really care and I felt bad that I didn't care. I skipped ahead to the La Llorna chapter. Cool take. I just don't care about generational trauma stories either. Weyward didn't work for me. Homecoming was a drag. I wanted more Haunting and less Alejandra

First off, look at the cover! Gorgeous!

I really enjoyed exploring the story of La Llorona in a different way than I expected. I think Castro shines a light to an important topic of generational trauma and mental health in a very unique way. My favorite parts were when we got to look back in time to read the stories of the other women in her family tree.

Although I loved the concept and story, I did have a hard time getting through the first chunk of the book. Overall, I would give it a solid 3.75.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

For generations, women in Alejandra’s bloodline has been haunted by La Ilorona and it’s up to her to end this for her children and the future.

I started this last month but just finished it, currently in Mexico - which was very fitting.
I think this was a very interesting take on womanhood and motherhood, what people do for love. I loved the retelling concept more than the actual story. I felt it would be a better novella as there were quite a few tangents on nothing. Some of it felt super dramatic too but overall, I did enjoy this.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book! Comes out tomorrow 🧡

DNF at 50%. I think that I'm not the audience for this story. Not being a mother, and this story being about motherhood and the challenges that come with that, it was all a bit out of my experience.

That said, I think this could be a powerful, relatable story for mothers. I enjoyed the writing, but the dialogue was a bit unnatural. I would definitely read from this author again.

Overall: Having grown up in Texas, I was familiar with the tales of La Llorona, the ghost of a crying woman. The Haunting of Alejandra expands this legend into a modern horror story. Alejandra, a stay-at-home mom with three children, is deeply unhappy with her life. She feels trapped in a marriage to a man who doesn’t see or love her, smothered by the daily, repetitive demands of her kids, and has untreated childhood trauma from growing up in an unhappy adoptive home. At times in her life, she has heard a dark voice urging her to do terrible things. And now, as she sinks lower into a psychological abyss, she begins to see things, too. Fighting for her life, Alejandra reached out to a therapist who encourages her to connect with her past to try to free herself of the darkness she begins to call La Llorona.

Likes: The central premise, that a person could be haunted by generational trauma, is a fascinating one. Some of the characters provide interesting glimpses at earlier parts of Mexican history; I especially enjoyed the section about Flor’s contributions to the Mexican Revolution as part of Emiliano Zapata Salazar’s fighting group. The horror elements are creative and, especially in the beginning, quite scary. Alejandra’s struggles as a stay-at-home parent are sympathetically portrayed.

Dislikes: Unfortunately, I did not connect with the writing style, which often felt stilted and awkward. There were lots of repeated passages of description that bogged down the plot. I also felt that the book spent much more time telling the reader about emotions and family backstories that would have been more effective had they been shown. And I thought the big reveal about the source of the haunting came too early, and consequently the psychological tension evaporated in the last half of the book.

FYI: Murder, suicide, attempted infanticide, traumatic pregnancy, stillbirth, forced marriage, rape, violence, gore, mental illness, parental abandonment.

The actual story of this book was fantastic, It was incredibly unique and could have been terrifying. Unfortunately, the writing was stilted and awkward and so it didn't have the full effect it could have. It quickly repetitive and flat and I think just needed a little more work.

I was intrigued by the premise of the book- a demon from Mexican folklore haunting generations of women. But while a lot of people enjoyed it, it wasn’t for me. It was slow, and I couldn’t connect with any of the characters. The main character spent most of her time complaining about her life. The story didn’t pick up until two thirds of the way through a short book.

The author did a lot of telling instead of showing, and the dialog felt formal. There’s a lot about how mothers feel for their children, which probably would resonate with me more if I had kids. It was interesting to read about La Llorona, and I’d like to know more about her. It comes out April 18. Thank you to Del Rey and NetGalley for my copy.

I loved this book so much! I really didn’t know what it was about when I started reading it, but I quickly was obsessed! The characters are well developed, and I couldn’t help but love them all!

I LOVED this. A horror novel based on the folklore of La Llorona. It featured supernatural entities, mental health representation and the real life horror of most Latino families: generational trauma. As a Hispanic woman who has my own mental health issues, there were some parts of how Alejandra felt that really resonated with me. Highly recommend this read.

I have posted my review to goodreads and StoryGraph as of 4/16/23. I will post my review to Amazon on 4/18/23.

What a rich novel exploring motherhood, connection, generational trauma, and myth. Alejandra finds herself in a new city with her husband and three children feeling disconnected from life and resentful of how tedious every single day feels. Alejandra soon finds herself being tormented by La Llorona. Alejandra must make the choice to explore her past, heal herself, and fight for her children if she doesn’t want to lose everything that matters to her.

This was a slower paced novel for me but I really enjoyed watching Alejandra come into her own and find her power. We’re presented with a multigenerational story from the perspective of the different women which made the story even more complex for me.

Alejandra is a stay-at-home mother of three children who is unhappy with the roles she's acquiesced to being pushed into by other expectations. She begins to see visions of a creature haunting her who is reminiscent of La Llorna. Throughout the story, Alejandra tries to recover from the generational trauma of the women in her family along with trying to quell the visions. The blending of healing from generational trauma along with the aspects of a well-known horror story was masterfully done. Getting to come along as Alejandra tried to take back her life from both the expectations of others as well as the creature that is haunting her was an absolutely amazing experience.

A re-telling of La Llarona using the origin of the urban myth? Alejandra was definitely a tortured soul. She helped feed the demon that plagued her ancestors since the colonization of Mexico. Once Alejandra started taking back her life and coming to terms with her depression and unhappiness, the demon became displeased. Its food source was changing. A really good folklore tale.

Having heard the name La Llorona only in passing years ago, I had no preconceived ideas of what she was about, and was completely grabbed by her description in Castro's story. This was intense at times, but also challenging to connect with at others. I enjoyed the story, and found it to be a relatively easy and quick read, but there wasn't always the need or want to keep going that I like in a good psychological drama. The connections with the characters in the past was well done, although some felt a bit forced/unrealistic, but overall this was an enjoyable read.

My thanks to Random House - Ballantine/Del Rey, the author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Interesting premise, gorgeous cover, but not much else going on. The pace is slow and tedious, the characters flat. The narrative is over burdened with too much “tell” and ideas are developed shallowly. The horror elements feel tacked on instead of ingrained into the voice of the piece.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my free copy. These opinions are my own.

I love stories about generational trauma, and stories from Mexican and Mexican-American mythology, so this was right up my alley. But this book surprised me by making me think deeply about motherhood, and it gave me some pretty big feelings.