I really loved the idea and concept of this book. I think what Alejandra is going through in the beginning being a mom, and in an unhappy marriage is so relatable. I also loved the idea of this generational haunting and I was really excited to read a ghost story like this. I'll be honest the writing was just not good. Every page I kept thinking once I get further into the story it won't stand out to me, but it continued to pull me out of the story and just felt juvenile. I would read a few pages get bothered by it, put it down, remember I needed to read more, so honestly that might have been why it felt disjointed, but overall I felt like it needed stronger editing for the writing and construction.

I'm a big fan of V. Castro, so when I saw this new book featured the legend of La Llorona, I was excited to read it. I enjoyed that this book explored the themes of motherhood, women's issues, mental health, and generational trauma. All of these themes made this gothic horror feel even more realistic. It was interesting not only gaining information from Alejandra's perspective, but also from the point of view of her ancestors.

In terms. of what I didn't like, I wasn't a huge fan of the dialogue in some parts but that didn't detract from the overall story all that much.

Overall, I'd recommend this. Especially for people who enjoy horror novels featuring themes of motherhood and women's issues.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing me with this eARC.

Alejandra is unhappy in her life and in her marriage, her depression and despair begins to overwhelm her and she starts to feel haunted. She is seeing horrifying visions of La Llorona in her daily life. She decides she needs help. But as she delves into her issues in therapy, she finds there might be more going on here. Is she being haunted for real? And where did this come from? The reader is taken on a journey through the lives of her ancestors for answers.
I loved this book, it is a masterful combination of gothic horror, women's issues, fantasy and even historic fiction. The writer uses these elements to tell a powerful story of motherhood, and the generational trauma of women.

The women in Alejandra's family suffer a generational curse, whereby when they are limited to the roles of wife and mother, particularly when their husbands leave them to care for the household by themselves, they grow unhappy and overwhelmed, and their sadness awakens the demon who claims ownership of their bloodline, a demon who drives them deeper into despair and also threatens their children. (It's a flesh-eating demon.)
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POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD
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Things I enjoyed:
👍I enjoyed exploring Mexican folklore and the healing magic of altars, oils, stones, etc encouraged by Alejandra's therapist and curandera.
👍I appreciated that when Alejandra sought help for her feelings, she found support and was able to take more control of her life through self-talk, perspective shifts, and letting go of that which detracted from her joy.
👍I really liked reading the perspective of Alejandra's ancestors and the increasingly influential role they played in her life, particularly since she had been severed from her history through adoption.
👍I liked the inclusion of so many different experiences of indigenous & Mexican/Mexican American women. The abuse of indigenous women after Spanish communication/conquer, the cultural expectation to marry and have children, the rejection of those roles, the welcoming of those roles as part of a more complex identity, and the drive for education and women who make waves in their respective fields as they seek to better their community. That kind of diverse representation is so needed.

Things I didn't like:
👎I really didn't like the way this book starts, and if I had not received a copy to review through NetGalley, I might have stopped reading (though I did end up enjoying parts of the story). The first chapter involves Alejandra's extended internal monologue as she spirals further into depression and dislike of her family. I didn't know her or her situation or history yet, so her feelings at first felt self indulgent and hard to understand. Maybe if you are a person suffering a similar mental state, you might relate to her more at the start. I wish this book had started with the second chapter because that was the backstory I needed to understand.
👎 The internal monologue of the female characters is HEAVILY used, and they started to feel unrealistic, like what you might hear from a therapist rather than how a person actually thinks inside their head.
👎 Similarly, the dialogue felt forced at times and not like how people might actually converse.
👎 There are no redeemable male characters for most of the book, not until a later chapter with an ancestor who goes to war, and if I'm not mistaken, is fighting on the side of wealthy Mexican landowners for a better Mexico. This kind of felt thrown in there but seemed to downplay the plight of poor and indigenous Mexicans without wealth, which was weird considering the family origins described in the second chapter.
👎 I'm glad that Alejandra defeats her demon, but I did not understand the methodology. It felt like a reach. But then, how else do you kill a demon? I also felt that after what she described to her own husband as a suicide attempt, she would be able to just return to her life without further explanation.

I feel like this story isn't quite finished going through the writing process, but clearly I'm in the minority here with my review.

V. Castro's The Haunting of Alejandra was an enjoyable thriller with excellent prose and memorable characters.

I was excited to read “The Haunting of Alejandra” by V. Castro when I found it on NetGalley, because I am really looking forward to getting my hands on her Aliens-franchise story, “Vasquez.” Of course, “The Haunting” is an entirely different story that has its own appeal.

The plot follows Alejandra. A stay-at-home mother of three, she battles with depression and her own expectations of what motherhood is supposed to be. Alejandra was adopted by a white family as a baby, and as such doesn’t have a lot of connection to her Hispanic roots. Is her depression and dissatisfaction a mental health issue, or is it something more sinister, dark, and much, much older? To answer these questions, she enlists the help of a counselor who is also a curandera, and Alejandra reconnects with her birth mother. Together the women work to unravel an ancient curse on the bloodline.

I love how the author interwove the perspectives of the women in the modern world with those of their ancestors. This technique gave a rich narrative with lots of interest for the reader. The specter is well formed and graphically depicted, which I appreciate in ghost stories. I want to be able to picture what the author sees, and she gives plenty of details to make that possible. This is also a very women-heavy book, with the husband, though the cause of some strife, largely out of the picture in Alejandra’s battle. There is little sympathy for him in the story, and Alejandra does little to try to explain or involve him. The author, too, does nothing to redeem him. Some of the dialogue seemed a bit lengthy and contrived, particularly during the counseling scenes. And the counseling scenes often seem to take precedent over the horror elements of the novel. Some trigger warnings should probably be added to this book, attempted suicide and ideations at the top of the list.

At the end, this felt like women’s fiction with a touch of horror rather than straight horror. It was not necessarily what I expected, but I enjoyed the read. I’ll definitely look for other works by V. Castro.

Thank you NetGalley and Del Rey/Random House for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It is important to note this review is based on an uncorrected proof so there may be some differences once the final version of the book is published.

Initially, I thought this was a beautiful cover with creepy horror elements, so I was excited to receive an ARC. The descriptions of the monster, La Llorona, were genuinely creepy, and knowing it preys on generations of women was an interesting premise. This also piqued my interest when I saw it was based on Mexican folklore, because it is not something I commonly come across.
However, once I started reading, I quickly realized this book was not what I expected it to be. I started reading this thinking it was a true horror novel, but it reads more as a literary novel with horror elements. The author relies on gory descriptions for everyday occurrences and killing characters, which is probably why it is marketed as a horror. As a result, this may attract the wrong readers to this book.

In terms of Alejandra, the author does an incredible job to show how she is struggling with her decisions in life and how this impacts her mental state. As the reader, it becomes a little redundant because you feel for her suffering, but you are tired of rehashing it again and again. I believe the beginning of the novel should be focused on the first woman La Llorona interacts with and then flashes forward to the present day with Alejandra. Starting the novel with the main character’s internal dialogue made it difficult to keep reading. By beginning with the monster, I believe this novel would have had a stronger start.

Another edit that should be made is to reorder the flashbacks, since they felt disconnected from Alejandra and with each other. Lastly, the dialogue between characters felt forced and at times, awkward.

Overall, this was not the right fit for me. I would still recommend this book to literary fiction fans, who are interested in reading and relating to the struggles of motherhood and depression.

I picked this book for a spooky read around Halloween, but it turned into more than what I bargained for. The narration was tough to follow at times and the creepiness was disturbing and made it harder for me to follow along. Perhaps it is because I am not a huge fan of horror, but this sounded awesome and I wanted to try something new.

Thanks to Net Galley for allowing me to read this novel before publication date. The review that follows is honest and done freely.

I have become more interested in Mexican folklore lately, and The Haunting of Alejandra was a perfect fit. I knew a little about La Llorona, but it was still new enough for me that I really enjoyed diving into the world created by the author. I don't have children of my own, so I can only imagine how being a struggling young mother would feed into the horror.

V. Castro created a wonderful character with Alejandra. It is easy to relate to her character's depression even if you are not in her particular situation. The author was able to put into words how someone in this state can feel.

Horror aside, I strongly recommend this book for anyone that is interested in reading about a woman who is trying to find herself again.

Admittedly since it deals with the story of La Llorona, I do think some people will find this book a bit too dark. If you are not a fan of horror (or the story of the La Llorona), you should skip this book. The horror is more psychological but some descriptions are rather graphic and can unsettle those that are easily disturbed.

V. Castro's The Haunting of Alejandra brilliantly incorporates themes of generational trauma and motherhood into this modern retelling of the La Llorona mythology.

We meet Alejandra is in crisis. She is clearly suffering from depression and is unsatisfied with her stereotypical upper middle class life as a stay-at-home mother to three kids. She loves her kids but feels stifled by them just as she feels repressed and dismissed by her controlling husband.

Adopted from birth, Castro uses Alejandra's interest in reconnecting with her Mexican heritage and her birth parents. This brings about flashbacks and insight to the origins of the generational curse plaguing and feeding off of the women in Alejandra's family as each generation can claim the trauma of maternal abandonment or emotional distance. While the curse manifests as the ghost La Llorona, there are very clear inferences that this ghost could easily be postpartum depression as the spirit was often first seen in the hospital room after they gave birth.

Overall, the husband was the least interesting aspect of the book. He was such a stereotypical gaslighter that his dialogue felt odious and it made his character a bit flat, but that wasn't a significant detriment and more of a jab at the fact that this story wasn't about him, or even really Alejandra's marriage even though her dissatisfaction with the marriage carries through the story. What does stand out is the strength of women supporting women, as Alejandra finds healing by connecting with her birth mother and therapist to take ownership of her identity and find support in saving herself and her children from suffering the same generational curse as her ancestors.

When we first begin The Haunting of Alejandra we find Alejandra in a pretty dark place. She is having feelings and thoughts that if acted upon could be harmful for herself and her three kids. She is married to Matthew and they’ve recently moved away from her family and friends. She is a full time stay at home mom thanks to Mathew’s job but she is beginning to question whether or not that is what she wants. We see her struggling with different thoughts and trying to figure why she feels this and deciding what she’s going to do about it. Being of Mexican descent she is also curious to learn more about that part of herself. Without giving too much away this novel is perfectly titled. Alejandra is being haunted and it goes deeper than anything she can fathom. I enjoyed myself immensely reading this book. I’m not normally a horror reader but this is the perfect book to introduce you to the genre. I went into the book expecting and thinking I knew where it was headed to being completely enthralled by the direction the author takes us in.I loved the Mexican folklore found within these pages as well as the deep conversations surrounding motherhood. I also enjoyed the different POVs it really made the story that much more cohesive. I will definitely be reading more from V. Castro. 4⭐️

The Haunting of Alejandra is a captivating horror novel with Mexican folklore and urban legends. The history and culture surrounding Dia de los Muertos is beautifully illustrated and as I reader, not only have I fallen in love with the story line but I have also learned through the generations of Mexican woman as they journey and fight for healing.

Wow. This story was so well written and engaging. There were a few times where it was so real and relatable that it was viscerally painful to read. The generational trauma was so vivid and tangible. I don't know that it would be one I'd revisit, but it was absolutely worth a read.

The Haunting of Alejandra was an interesting, albeit dark, story of Alejandra, a woman who has sacrificed so much for her family until one day she no longer knows who she is. Exacerbating her woes, Alejandra's marriage is stale and she has come to resent her husband for his career success and for not helping as much with the kids. Dwelling on all of the ways life isn't working out in her favor, she begins to see a ghostly woman who pushes her further into the darkness that threatens to consume her.

Combining the tale of La Llorona with generational curses presented an intriguing conflict for Alejandra as she wrestled her inner demons. I liked watching her struggle with reconciling who he was with who she's become when she realizes she's lost her identity, as motherhood can often be consuming, especially when raising littles.

It's written in a way that crosses timelines and characters to piece together Alejandra's ancestor's past to make sense of her present, which also means other points of view are used. Some readers may not care for this, but I enjoyed reading other character's experiences with the ghostly woman that haunts the women in Alejandra's lineage.

This book deals with suicidal thoughts, depression & hopelessness, and loss of children, so if those are triggering, this book may not be for you.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The premise is good here, drawing on the folklore of La Llorona, but the writing is cliched and forced. It reads like an early draft, where the author is trying to make things very obvious but does so in a clunky, unpolished way. This really could have used some more developmental work.

I think I would’ve preferred reading this in Spanish. There are so many different versions of La Llorona and I found this to connect to some of them that I’ve read but I kind of expected more. But, again I think if this was in Spanish, I would’ve enjoyed it more.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a powerful read for me. The first pages drew me into the story as it felt as though this could be written about my own life. Alejandra is a mother of three young children dealing with the loss of identity many of us experience as mothers. This book has so much deep and metaphorical meaning regarding generational trauma, personal identity, motherhood and our journey to becoming our authentic selves. This is so much more than a story. There’s much meaning to be found here if you are open to it.

La Llorona is one of those ghost stories I’ve heard time and time again but this book’s take on it was wild! I really really enjoyed it even though it definitely had me a looked spooked at times (ghosty stuff always gets me!) Horror and paranormal fans alike will enjoy this!

A book about motherhood and the sacrifices one makes all set against the backdrop of an ancestral monster and La Llorona.

I’d never heard of the legend of La Llorona until I moved from the plains to Arizona. The story is fascinating and the way her legend is interwoven in this book is well-done and well-placed. She’s used as a device to talk about ancestral damage, the damage caused by adoption, and the pain of motherhood. The world this book occupies is vivid and realistic, even during fantastical moments.