I want to start off saying that I decided not to finish this book at 50% through. While the book was good for what it was, I had an issue with the pacing. While this is a book based on day to day life of a mother and her children while she is struggling with mental health, this book was not what I expected it to be and not in a good way. I found this book almost a chore to read and I am very sorry to say this.

Thank you NetGalley and Del Rey for providing this eARC. All opinions are my own.

I have to thank NetGalley and Del Rey for ethical purposes or some such thing but I actually really want to thank V. Castro for writing this book. For showing our cultura, for putting on beautiful brown women as the lead characters, and for writing this wonderful book.

Generational curses. Generational trauma. How does it begin and how do we end it?
In The Haunting of Alejandra we meet the titular character at her wit's end. She is a married stay-at-home mom with three children, living in a nice home. How many people would love to be in her shoes. What nobody knows and nobody sees are the dark thoughts that plague Alejandra's mind. Are those thoughts really hers or are they part of a generational curse she inherited from her ancestors? And how can these ancestors help her rid herself of those dark thoughts?

The best way I can describe this book is The Conjuring, Mexican-style. La Llorona had me sold on this book from the beginning. Who among us Mexican kids doesn't know the story of the wailing lady who drowned her children and now wanders the earth crying for them. She is known by other names in other cultures but to us, whenever we would hear the wind crying, we knew La Llorona was near (or so we were told).

I really enjoyed how V. Castro introduced the story of La Llorona and even went so far as to let readers know that there are tons of different versions of the story, so don't @ her (the latter is what I surmised, she didn't actually write that). I loved how brutally honest Alejandra's inner dialogue was. The struggles of motherhood, of marriage, of losing our sense of identity or never having it to begin with, of wondering what our existence means. The book starts dark and remains dark for a long time, all the while taking us through Alejandra's journey of trying to rid herself of the dark thoughts and going into the light. We are taken back to how her generational curse began -- who could blame Atzi! -- to how it affected different women throughout her ancestral lineage. I really enjoyed reading all the different points of view and all the different experiences the women had. It was refreshing to have the story centered around these mujeres chingonas who fought against cultural norms or fought that inner demon they were cursed with (or both).

I also really enjoyed Alejandra's journey with her mental health and the thoughts she had while seeking help ("She knew she had to tell Melanie about it, but that old sense of doubt, of not wanting to be a burden, snuck into her thoughts.") that make it clear that this isn't an easy journey. I did feel that Alejandra's transformation into taking charge of her life was too fast. I love it, but it felt a bit unrealistic and that's a bummer because the rest of Alejandra's mental health journey felt so realistic, from her inner turmoil to her discomfort with therapy.

I can't wait for people to get their hands on this book and get immersed into the horror that La Llorona brings.

Alejandra is being haunted by La Llorona. She must fight for her life and her children’s lives with guidance and strength from her ancestors to break this curse that plagues the women of her bloodline.

I was so invested in this story. I saw so much of myself in Alejandra and love this idea of generational trauma manifesting itself as a supernatural creature. Trauma can feel like someone or something is tearing away at your life little by little, waiting for you to fail. Wanting you to fail.

The social commentary on the pressures of being a mother, a wife, a woman of color, meeting unrealistic expectations and being everything for everyone else except for yourself was all too real. Alejandra faces what so many women have to deal with every day. The dark thoughts, the emotions, feeling that something is missing from their lives, the loss of identity or the feeling of never having been able to have one of their own to begin with. From generation to generation we are taught to be pretty and quiet, to serve men and to put the family’s needs before our own. But how can we pour from an empty cup? It is important for us to nurture our own souls so we don’t get consumed by the world’s expectations and lose ourselves.

This was a very emotional read for me. I enjoyed the folklore, the different perspectives of the women in the bloodline and Melanie the therapist. I would love to see her work with characters in other stories. I feel she has so much to offer and she was my favorite character in the book.

Overall, this was an amazing read with a powerful message and I will be encouraging friends and family to read it.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the opportunity to read this book.

V. Castro has a very distinctive style of writing that I really enjoy. Her prose is accessible, and she tends to focus on things that interest me deeply – the experiences of women, Mexican culture/lore, and vengeful goddess-types. The Haunting of Alejandra definitely has all of that and more.

I like Alejandra a lot – I think that she is living a life not so very different from uncountable women. She is caught in an endless loop of domestic drama with a wooden, crappy-ish husband, kids that exist, etc. I really enjoyed that the narrative – at least in the beginning – is mostly Alejandra’s internal dialogue. It keeps the reader constantly slightly off balance because we don’t know how reliable a narrator Alejandra really is. We have only her word, her interpretation of things to go on.

But later in the book, the narrative splits off. So we are no longer relying solely on Alejandra’s personal perception of reality. And this splitting point is, in my opinion, where The Haunting of Alejandra really shines. The beginning stuff is good, but everything that comes after that shift is incredible.

This story has all of the tragedy you might expect (as well as a heady dose of gore you might not have expected) in a La Llorona tale, but it also has some deeply empowering messaging going on.

I love V.’s intrinsic ability to tell a compelling, empowering, disturbing story with incredible finesse. The Haunting of Alejandra is every bit as beautiful as it is disturbing. You’ll stay thinking about this one for a while.

4.5 stars / This review will be posted on goodreads.com today.


Is it possible for there to be generational curses? Can someone curse a woman hundreds of years ago that would affect the women of the line for generations to come? Apparently Alejandra is being haunted by a creature. A very old creature from a dark place. A creature that speaks to her. A creature that wants her soul.

Pretty horrifying, right? In modern times this might be more apt to be diagnosed as schizophrenia or some other science to explain voices in your head, hallucinations of spirits. Poor Alejandra. She’s been battling these demons since childhood and now, with three children of her own, she simply wants to be happy. Would death be the best choice?

Alejandra is in an unhappy marriage. A marriage that ensures she can be a stay-at-home mom to her kids. A husband who is willing to provide whatever she desires, as long as it fits his desires as well. Three beautiful children who simply drive Alejandra insane. She needs more.

I found this story amazing. I knew nothing of the ancient tale of La Llorona, a demon woman from Mexican culture. I loved learning more about Mexican folklore and how they honor the dead. It’s quite a lesson and quite a journey through Alejandra’s ancestry. It is at once a horrifying experience, but also shows the power of love and courage.

Great novel.

This review is a courtesy provided by NetGalley. To support this site and my other work, please consider being a monthly donor at Patreon.com/amberunmasked.

The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro takes horror to an intersectional feminist level in a way that was unexpected. Castro unleashes a brazen way to deliver tropes and turn them into something brand new.

Castro presents the story of Alejandra and all her female ancestors as a folk tale that is terrifying within the Mexican and Mexican-American cultures. She allows Alejandra to tell her young daughter Catrina about La Llorona. While presenting this iconic legend, Alejandra explains that there are many versions of this story in various cultures. The tale of a weeping woman in white who has killed her children and spends eternity as a ghost searching for them is one that Alejandra can relate to – not that she would ever harm her three children only that she’s so depressed she wishes she weren’t a mother, a wife, or even alive.

As a child, Alejandra was raised by white evangelical Christians who denied her opportunities to learn where she came from or anything about her roots. She left as soon as possible and lived promiscuously and openly bisexual until marrying Matthew. She kept much of her past a secret from him and molded herself into everything he wanted in a wife. This despair she feels makes her wonder if La Llorona is real and if the cursed woman is chasing her.

Castro focuses on a different character or a pair in each chapter. These include Alejandra's birth mother, ancestors, and her therapist, Melanie. Within those chapters readers are gifted the narration of the story’s biggest villain simply called “the creature.” This is a monster who is older than the Earth itself. The creature ends up on this planet drawn to it almost magnetically by depression and despair of women – their tears and blood giving it life and power it hadn’t known before.

These elements of mental illness – particularly postpartum depression and suicidal ideations of women –are the catalyst in Castro's formula to remake the legend of La Llorona. I was not disappointed and I hope other fans of folklore are not either, especially for Chicana readers. Castro's new origin of La Llorona (not spoiled here) is so much better than ones I’ve heard and the one Alejandra tells Catrina.

Melanie is the guiding force for Alejandra to help her find her own strength not to listen to the voice telling her that the world would be better without her. As soon as Melanie begins interfering with the creature's manipulation of Alejandra's delicate mental state, there is payback.

Alejandra has another champion in her birth mother Cathy who had given her up for adoption at the moment of the birth. This is a recurring theme as well. What makes a family? Are you supposed to love and trust everyone even they hurt you? Cathy's story is also beautiful in its own way; as is Flor’s, one of the ancestors who rebuffed life in an unhappy arranged marriage and joined the war for Mexico's independence.

Castro shows how all these women are bonded yet vastly different in what choices made them truly happy in their sad, awful lives.

In typical (white American) horror stories, there will be some way to get female characters in their underwear and often soaking wet or naked gratuitously. When Alejandra gets into a bathtub naked and bloody, this is a scene surpassing other stories that tried to make urban legends claiming to be more feminist like Jennifer’s Body. I started thinking of all the female protagonists in thrillers and then I asked for help on this part because these aren’t movies I’d watch. The list illustrated that women ended up naked or in underwear for no reason other than titillation: Ripley in Alien. Norah in Underwater. Chrissie in Jaws. Most of Friday the 13th, Hellraiser, Wrong Turn, Piranha 3D, It Follows, anything labeled horror in the 1970s and 80s-- Scream basically tried to parody the exploitation but it wasn’t parody. There are too many to list quite frankly. If showing a gun or poison in a mystery has to be either a red herring or a clue; then in horror, blood-covered naked women have to serve a purpose to the plot.

To all the female characters dying in hot tubs and bodies of water, there can be more to your story! (Editors and Writers, are you reading this?)

CW:
Severe depression and mental illness
Sexual assault
Religious zealotry
Children/infant/fetal danger including miscarriage
Gun violence
Partner & child abuse

Summary:
If you feel the content warnings won't deter you, let me highly recommend this book. I do not like being scared and I never felt like I had to "put this book in the freezer." I loved it!

Thank you to Hear Our Voices for including me in this book tour. All thoughts remain my own.

<b> A haunting novel of womanhood, mental health, generational curses and ultimately freedom and self forgiveness. </b>

What a beautifully rich novel this was. Not only was I immersed in the frightening lore of La Llorona, but I felt a connection to each of Alejandra's ancestors and loved that we were able to get pov chapters from each of them.

I just wanted to cuddle Alejandra. Not being a mother myself, I can only imagine how lonely and filled with self hatred she felt with these emotions she was experiencing. I felt deep empathy for her and although it was hard to read due to a lot of the subject matter being incredibly dark and upsetting, there was uplifting moments and inspiration advocating for external and self help, both in therapy and spiritually (whether that's believing in a higher power, your ancestors or the magic of your own existence and will power).

The strength and female kinship displayed in this novel was breath taking. It felt visceral and attainable.

This was a strong novel, battling struggles of the mind, manifesting into a physical sinister entity and it was an incredibly, empowering read.

The first time I had ever heard of La Llorona was actually during an episode of Riverdale. I was fascinated by the lore of her. When I read the description of The Haunting of Alejandra, I was excited to learn more about her in what sounded like a super creepy horror story.

There were certainly parts of the story that were creepy, but most of the book was setting up the back story of Alejandra's haunting, and discussing the generations of women before her that experience La Llorona. I enjoyed the multiple timelines and the other women's stories, more than I did the actual haunting. I'd say the last 15% of the story was the creepiest and gave me some really ill feelings.

I considered putting The Haunting of Alejandra down right up until the halfway point, and by then I decided to just keep going and finish the story. The writing is beautiful, but the story just didn't fully grab me. However, I'm glad I pushed on and finished it.

Overall, it was a decent read.

Thank you Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the eARC!

Thank to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for an ARC of this book.

The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro is a modern horror book like no other. Castro seamlessly weaves the struggles of motherhood and mental illness with the horridness of the Mexican folklore of La Llorona. It is a beautiful novel about facing generational trauma and having the courage to break the cycle.

Alejandra's life is perfect on the surface: stay at home mom to three charming children, new house, and a husband who makes the big bucks. Below the surface, Alejandra's mental state is all violence. Feeling trapped by her husband's indifferent misogyny and believing her existence is being wasted as a stay-at-home mother, she begins having dreams of ending her life, accompanied by visions of a terrifying figure in white which she identifies as the Mexican folk demon La Llorona. As Alejandra spirals further into madness, she turns to a therapist to help her unravel her thoughts, setting in play a deadly series of events that will threaten herself, her family, and all of her ancestors.

Pros:
- This turns into a genuinely interesting take on the La Llorona folktale, adding and expanding on the mythology and offering a completely different explanation for it. It's a good way to get some more out of a very well explored tale.
- Alejandra's plight in her life and marriage should offer some real sympathy, as her husband is easy to hate as a villain figure.

Cons:
- On the converse, the characters beyond Alejandra are fairly shallow, and her husband often falls into becoming a pantomime villain, spouting off dialogue that sounds like it's ripped straight from everyone's favorite misogynistic social media influencers.
- The exposition is often given in a way that very much feels like an information dump, and more showing instead of telling for the reader would have been nice.

Three stars. This is a disturbing look at mental illness and generational unhappiness, hampered by some pacing and dialogue issues. Alejandra's journey of empowerment leaves a generally good feeling upon completion, however.

FFO: folklore, generational curses, empowerment.

**I was given a copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and Netgalley*

The Haunting of Alejandra is a body horror about the struggles of motherhood and being female. Written from multiple points of view, the story does jump around a bit and I had trouble staying engaged. I like the depth that the author goes to in examining issues that affect us all. The book is a great example of feminist horror but I'm sorry to say I just didn't enjoy reading it. V Castro will always be a favorite author of mine but domestic dramas just aren't my bag.

Alejandra is having a bad time. She’s depressed, married to an absolute dickbag, and perilously close to lacking a will to live. She loves her three children, but she feels like she’s failing them. She’s also starting to see things, namely, a demonic presence that calls her all sorts of nasty names and is pushing her toward the edge of her personal cliff. Will she be able to defeat the demon or will it claim her and her children in the end?

Sad to say it, but this one was not for me at all. I found the characters to be incredibly flat and the conversation stilted and clunky — very few contractions in anyone’s speech made it unnatural for a contemporary setting. I considered DNFing at the halfway point but it’s a short read, so I pushed through. I can’t say I’m glad that I did, as the plot didn’t do anything for me either.

The horror elements were pretty successful, graphic and gross descriptions of the demon and its deeds, but otherwise the writing was tedious and droning for me. I found myself not at all invested.

Thank you anyways to V Castro, Del Ray, and NetGalley for my advance digital copy!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the opportunity to review this heart wrenching and brutal ARC.

V. Castro used her voice and wrote about the struggles that many mothers endure about motherhood and wrote about topics that seem “taboo.” This book hit home when it came to the topics of being a mother and that will forever stick with me about this book. It made me feel like I’m not alone and made me feel all the emotions. I read this at a time where I needed another woman to look up to and for guidance. She did that! Alejandra is such a respectable, relatable, bad ass woman.

The story was beautifully written, bringing in generational trauma, self-identity, marital problems, of course stigma with motherhood that isn’t discussed more, oppression, suicide etc.

This book is written with multiple perspectives and enjoyed being able to see all the characters with their own story, but I did not enjoy Flora’s perspective. I felt like it did not add much to the overall story because the author previously implied what her perspective entailed before getting to her perspective. I got a little bored reading her perspective and honestly just skimmed her perspective. I just loved Alejandra’s character so much I wanted more of her.

The body horror was fantastic and it was gut wrenching to imagine what Alejandra endured.

Overall I gave this 4 stars.

I really enjoyed how the cultural folk story of La Llorona mixed with a woman fighting a generational curse. The way that Alejandra was able to not only connect with her family's past but find herself in time to be there for her children was beautifully written.

I loved all the incredible Mexican women throughout time that made up Alejandra's family and were able to lend their strength to future generations when need be. The work of Melanie the curandera was beautiful, I loved the mixture of herbs and crystals with ancestral knowledge and magic. The representation was amazing to see.

This story follows a mother seemingly suffering from postpartum depression (and an absolute trash husband) who believes she is being haunted by La Llorona. The entity ends up being something even more terrifying; a demonic creature that feeds on trauma through a generational curse that affects mothers going back to the colonization of Mexico.

I really enjoyed this book and the stories told from multiple points of view. Castro did a great job of painting a picture of the creature that really terrified me. I found myself cheering for the main character through out the book. Well done.

This story has A LOT going for it. Castro really excels at incorporating folklore into a modern story. We follow Alejandra, a mother of three, who is feeling trapped by her marriage and motherhood. She begins seeing visions of a woman in white and recalls the story of La Llorona. With the help of her new curandero therapist, she learns what these visions mean and formulates a plan to stop the creature.

I loved the spirituality discussions that therapist Melanie brings to the narrative. She was a fascinating character who brought, in my opinion, the most intriguing portion of this story to life.

I do feel this should have been longer to really fill out the story and bring us more in tune with Alejandra. We are thrown in the deep end right from the beginning, with her perspective starting with a vision of the creature as well as thoughts of suicide. I feel a little more time at the beginning with Alejandra would have been beneficial in bringing the reader closer to Alejandra.

We also do a lot of jumping around in time to different members of Alejandra’s family, which I felt did not add to the story much. I would have rather had more time with Alejandra, which I think would have made the story feel less disjointed.

The horror elements were well realized with some pretty gnarly imaging, especially towards the end. Castro really does well with the body horror scenes!!

Thematically, we are exploring generational trauma/inherited trauma told through a horror lens, which was really cool. I liked the message, but felt like the story could have been a bit more cohesive and more time spent of bringing the reader and Alejandra closer together. I am excited to give V. Castor’s other works a try - I like what she is doing!

I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A creepy novel that is also deeply poignant, this is the story of Alejandra’s literal and metaphorical haunting. Her evolution from the beginning to the end is very moving. Being of Spanish heritage, la Llorona kept me awake at night when I was little, so seeing her as the boogeyman here made my skin crawl. Castro writes in such beautiful prose, that it’s almost like the poetic images are planted directly in the reader’s mind. The characters are three-dimensional and deeply flawed. I liked how the author doesn’t fall in the usual feminist trap of making men unlikable evil cartoons, but just misguided people trying to do the right thing. The scary parts are truly horrifying and not for the faint of heart. I don’t usually enjoy books where people talk a lot about their feelings but this one somehow worked for me. Supernatural horror with a big, big heart.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey!

From start to finish, this was a depressing and unsatisfying read. It felt like an ode to postpartum depression and an unfulfilling marriage in the worst ways. Even the cultural references weren’t enough to redeem the plot that just completely missed the purpose of this “horror” of a book.

I loved The Haunting of Alejandra already just by its premise. La Llorona and generational trauma? Sign me up! I've definitely read enough mediocre to horrible magical realism works by male authors who write things from a tired patriarchal perspective and they think they know how to write body horror. Castro definitely shows us how it's done. Mary Shelley would be proud of all the body horror going on in this book. I'm only giving this four out of five stars because I felt all the descriptions of the generational trauma and Alejandra's daily migraine life a little too well; not sure if I'm a weakling or if some editing could have been done. (I received a free ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.)

This was a really hard one for me to rate because there was such a mix of things I really enjoyed as well as things I did not. The premise and the cultural background were all done so well but the story wasn’t a home run for me overall.

I went into this one just knowing we are following a woman severely struggling. She’s lost herself to being a mom and a wife. Darkness is consuming her. But what she doesn't know is that La Llorona has been haunting the women in her family for generations, feeding off their sadness and grief and coming after their children. Let me tell you, the premise is fascinating!

In these pages we not only follow Alejandra, but we also learn about the women of her past that were also haunted by La Llorona. My favorite chapters were the flashbacks to different times in history and learning about Alejandra’s ancestors. Adding those additional stories of the other women really added a deeper layer and understanding of what Alejandra was going through.

This is not just your standard horror story. There are so many different, deep elements here. I was instantly drawn into Alejandra’s struggle with feeling like she has lost herself to being a stay-at-home mom and wife to an ungrateful, distant husband. Speaking of horror, I will say Castro is a gifted horror writer. This story is graphic and dark.

The premise is there. The story is interesting. There were elements that I was completely invested in. It was a fast read, but overall, the story just wasn’t my favorite.