This book demonstrates one of the starkest contrasts between premise and execution I’ve read in a while. The fundamental idea of exploring Latina women’s intergenerational trauma, internalized hatred, and complicated relationships with family and motherhood through the predatory specter of La Llorona is a truly rich one. But in my opinion, The Haunting of Alejandra fumbled through this premise with flat characters, painfully direct and cursory messages, and some of the most wooden writing I’ve read in a long time.

To me, this is a pretty striking example of how weak writing can detract from a reading experience. Every time I started to get interested in what was happening in the story, I’d encounter writing that was distractingly awkward and clunky to jar me out of my enjoyment.

“It’s why she felt attracted to him: he was someone different from her.”

“His hands were around the waist of the woman. It was in the shape of a woman who had never carried children.”


"She guided this baby into the world through her physical tunnel, and she wished she had her mother to guide her through the emotional tunnel of childbirth.”


The three main weaknesses I identified - prose, characterization and messages - tended to combine in a really painful way during Alejandra’s therapy sessions. What could have been an emotional and complex exploration of trauma’s legacy and healing never felt more than shallow and painfully heavy-handed to me, and all of it was conveyed in wooden dialogue between characters who never approached feeling real.

“You do need help to heal your mind and heart. Work through the trauma of your past to help you cope with your present.”


“Wow. I know an entity is attacking me. And say you are right and it is La Llorona, why me?”

There were also flashbacks to Alejandra’s female ancestors, and these were quite repetitive. All of them were trapped in unhappy and/or abusive marriages, had sex that they regretted and felt alienated about motherhood and traditional feminine roles. Then La Llorona would inevitably arrive to be described the exact same way multiple times and wreak havoc upon them. Perhaps with the exception of Flor, none of these women felt like distinct people at all.

There were a couple of scenes where Castro’s messages were conveyed at incredibly jarring times, such as when a woman who was in labor while suffering from a gunshot wound paused to contemplate to herself that it’s fine for some women to enjoy housework as long as they aren’t pressured into by their husbands, whose expectations of marriage were also shaped by society's expectations in turn lol. The characters’ (limited third person) internal monologues tended to be phrased in strange anachronistic ways, such as when Alejandra’s mother (a teen at the time) reflected that she “knew [her father] was doing his best as a single father at a time when mothers and fathers had their own domains.”

As I said at the start, the premise is a rich one, and I truly wish that this book had been reworked and refined until it got to a place of doing the idea justice. As I read it, it did not succeed for me in its execution and just felt awkward and underdeveloped.

Alejandra is in a shit marriage, is struggling with the concept of motherhood, and has just about had enough whenever she begins to see a dripping wet, rotten flesh covered entity. It begins "casually" enough- a Ring-esque style image in her pool, stringy black hair barely floating above the water's surface. From here, Alejandra begins a journey of reconnecting with her ancestors, her children, and herself.

This is a story of post-partum depression, highlighted by the lore of La Llorona. It is complicated, heartbreaking, and very real. For this, I believe it deserves at least 3 stars.

I don't know if I love Castro's writing style just yet. I do love the gore, the imagery. Great horror elements. The conversations between characters seemed forced at times and not as natural as I would have preferred. However, I think this is a culturally rich book that deserves a nod and its place within the horror genre.

I received this eARC from NetGalley and the publisher in return for an honest review.

The book opens with Alejandra struggling with motherhood as a woman without a support system: she is barely hanging on when she sees an apparition. As a reader, it was disorienting, and I was uncertain how much to trust what she was experiencing with visions of ghosts, or demons? At the same time, her exhaustion and feelings of a lost identity was strikingly real. Combining a Mexican folkloric creature, La Llorona, with a mother’s mental health struggles was well done. Furthermore, Alejandra was of Mexican-American descent, but had been adopted into a white, evangelical family, disconnected from her cultural heritage.

Alejandra is the center of the story, but the stories of her ancestors through her maternal line are told, a parallel to Alejandra’s journey to finding her identity. There were moments in the story that were gripping, but I also found much of the prose to be utilitarian, and the dialogue in particular to be stilted. I struggled most with the writing involving Alejandra’s therapist.

This took me out of the story at times in what was overall an engrossing novel.

This was such a creepy book!!! Alejandra is a mother and wife who must face a darkness that is rooted deep inside herself and her family. The writing is great and I could hardly put this one down!!

I was interested from the beginning when you hear of Alejandra’s family history. The entity haunting her family is spine chilling and I found that I started looking over my shoulder as I was reading. This is a very unique haunting as it seemed to come from inside rather than an outright haunting. Which I thought made it even scarier!

I recommend this to those who like a good chilling read with a lot of fight and creepy things all along the way.

Thanks so much to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this for my unbiased opinion.

I was very excited for this book. I had read and loved Goddess of Filth by this author so I couldn’t wait to read my hands on this one. And it was so good! I loved how dark this book was. Can’t wait to read more by this author.

I absolutely loved this book. I was not ready for just how good and creepy this book was. The thoughts on motherhood, marriage, family, and more. But how it wraps it all in a Spanish horror story? Perfection. 4 ⭐️

The Haunting of Alejandra is a tale of generational curses and healing. Alejandra finds herself in a new city with her husband and three kids. She is overwhelmed with a sense of dread and finds herself plagued by what she believes are hallucinations. She makes the decision to start therapy and, in doing so, begins to discover generational curses held by the women of her ancestry. Having come from adoption and only recently meeting her birth mother, she has to learn all that she can to discover why she is being plagued by La Llorona to save herself and her children.

While reading this, I saw myself in Alejandra more than I'd ever care to admit, and seeing her fight to break the curses bestowed upon her from her birth was healing in its own way. This was a multi-generational POV, and I found myself absolutely engrossed in each woman's experience as I took in each page. I was absolutely moved by the emotion of each of them from the start to the ends of their lives. This one will sit with me for a while.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book!

I was so enthralled while reading Castro's book! The setting and atmosphere were chilling, and I loved the interplay of magical realism with the thrilling element of human behavior and trying to figure out where things WENT WRONG. The characters were intriguing, and I found myself committed to their wellbeing and wanting to know what happened to them. I was also so glad to read a Latin-inspired story that combined mysterious elements with something beyond a true-crime gritty detective whodunnit. Such a great read!

I was a little unsure about this at the beginning, but the slow burn in the story was well worth the wait!

V. Castro has started carving out a place for her perspective in contemporary horror, and no one writes quite like her. Her stories have such a strong feminine point of view, informed by Latin American and Indigenous cultures, and are unapologetically sensual. Her traditional publishing debut, "The Haunting of Alejandra," retains those hallmarks from her earlier indie works, but something is lost along the way. The story is a riff on La Llorona and a curse that affects generations of women from the same family, but the present day scenes are a little too sedate. Ultimately, I was left wanting more.

Alejandra Is a wife and a stay-at-home mother with three children. To her own adoptive mother, she is a daughter. However her husband, adoptive mother and biological mother can’t see who Alejandra has become:. She is a woman struggling with a darkness that threatens to consume her. Alejandra sees. In times of despair, a ghostly vision appears to her, the apparition of a crying woman in a ragged white gown. When her daughter tells having seen the woman in white to a teacher, Alejandra is called in to talk about these dreams her child is having. This creates for Alejandra the push she needs to seek therapy for herself. Her therapist is also a Mexican Curandera and she knows all about the legend of La Llorona. As she begins to delve deeper into her family history, talk to her biological mother and get in touch with her roots and spirituality, Alejandra discovers some truths. She is not alone in her struggles, the women in her lineage have all been haunted by La Llorona who is an angry vengeful mother who killed her own children. La Llorona has appeared to all of the women in her family and pushed them into dark places in an attempt to take them with her. Is La LLorna a ghost or a demon? This is one generational curse Alejandra will need help with breaking the curse. However Alejandra is not weak and she is strong. Will she break the curse?

The novel a dark story of grief, pain, generational trauma, and the harsh battles to exorcise the depression.
However, it’s also a story. that celebrates traditional healing and recognizes the importance of therapy when it comes to healing. The novel is also a critique of the historical and present-day violence against Women of color. This novel moved me when Alejandra feels alone and not understood. I enjoyed reading about La LLorna and how it was a generational problem for these woman. It is a novel that I did find creepy and haunting.

If you like fantasy, horror, or just stories about a woman trying to find herself, then "The Haunting of Alejandra" has something to offer you. This story spans centuries, tracing back Alejandra's lineage and the demon curse that has plagued the women of her family. Author V. Castro does a wonderful job at bringing the supernatural to life as she unwinds this tale of strength and fortitude.

The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro is so much more than a story about a woman haunted by La Llorona. This work is about all the blessings and traumas that come with generational experiences of the Mexican American woman. Can this translate to all women? Yes, of course it can. It is especially meaningful, however, to the Mexican American woman because La Llorona is an urban myth that is particular to our culture as is the generational trauma that coincides with it.

Castro does a masterful job at creating this layered story of generations of women and their link to, not only each other, but to their individual experiences and the connections (or misconnections) to the people in their lives. You go in expecting horror and get so much more than that in my opinion.

I cannot wait to read more of Castro's writing, and I hope you, dear reader, will give this one a shot <3

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley.

This the first book I've read by V Castro, and I honestly loved their writing style.

The worldbuilding in this book was brilliant.
Be warned; this book does touch on a lot of dark topics. This book is heavy and raw. But it's also powerful.
It's an unique retelling of the "La Llorona" folklore. It's a mix of genres as well, which makes it all the more unique in my opinion.

If you enjoyed "baby teeth," I THINK you'll like this one too.

Ok I LOVED this. It had everything I love in it: folklore, generational trauma, motherhood horror, and proof that loving your family is a strength that must be nurtured!

Big recommendation for anyone interested in getting into this genre.

4.4 stars

THIS WAS... VERY DARK, UNSETTLING, AND UNIQUE.

CW: Postpartum Depression, Suicidal thoughts, sexual abuse, oppression, miscarriage, and gore

This book is not for everyone. I ended up enjoying it, but I struggled a lot to get through the writing style. The story deals with heavy topics and portrays mental anguish, which might be distressing for some readers.

If you like books with a dark take on motherhood like "The Push" and "Baby Teeth," you will probably enjoy this dark and violent tale of motherhood, perfect for the spooky season. Here are some reasons to read this book:

- Genre-bending: a unique blend of mystery, horror, fantasy, and history. Compelling unraveling of family mysteries, shocking revelations, and hidden truths.

- Unique retelling of the e"curse of the Weeping woman" (La Llorona). Dark and chilling Mexican folklore that will send shivers down your spine.

- Dark, relevant themes: Identity exploration, generational trauma, colonialism, oppression, womanhood, motherhood, postpartum depression

The Haunting of Alejandra is an evocative exploration of the ties that bind women across generations, their struggles, and the supernatural forces that can both terrorize and empower them. For those who appreciate horror that delves into the human psyche and the supernatural, this book delivers a chilling and thought-provoking tale that will stay with you long after "the end".

The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro
A deeply haunting and harrowing story that retells the tale of La Llorona, yet deeply looks into the darkness of motherhood.

The synopsis
Alejandra is tired and over extended. She is a stay at home mother and has since lost sight of who she is. She has also recently been having strange visions and thoughts, sometimes capturing glances of transparent figures, and what looks like to be a crying woman.

Each day she devotes her hours to mothering her two toddlers and eight year old daughter. Giving all her energy and time to their daily needs, cooking her husband’s favorite dinner, even ensuring that he gets his pleasure whenever he asks for it. Leaving so very little time for Alejandra to check with herself, to remember how deeply human she is. As she seeks out professional help from a curandera (a healer both physically and spiritually.) Both in the Alejandra’s sessions and alone, she gets deeper into the meaning of the visions and family curses that might end with her efforts in finding herself.


My experience with this book…
I had such a profound connection to The Haunting of Alejandra, V. Castro was able to both retell a classic Mexican folklore yet also paint a secret picture of the dark side of motherhood.

With each new vision, revelation, and hauntingly relatable dark thoughts, thought-out on paper I felt such an attachment to Alejandra and her journey. Even when I felt the symbolism was too deep to explain, my heart felt the kinship to *that feeling.*

That goes to say that V. Castro’s writing style is rich, vivid, beautifully macabre, they are lethal yet take great care of details. The Haunting of Alejandra was my first V. Castro book and I now want to read the rest of their back-list.

Do I recommend?
I absolutely encourage everyone to read The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro! This book is eerie, it’s sharp like a knife, yet compassionate. V. Castro wrote an all-absorbing story that will shake you to your core and revive your senses.

I'm always here for a retelling of myth and this was a fantastic one! La Llorona is a myth that hasn't been explored as much as more colonial-based ones, so from the start Castro grabbed me. Even though the plot itself is a slight slow burn, the story becomes engaging the further you read, and as a reader I also feel haunted (in the best way).

This book is STUNNING. Castro really encapsulates postpartum depression and its intensity so well, but also describes it in such a delicate and tasteful way. The lore behind this story is so interesting, and I feel as though this book is a creative take on it. I loved it.

First I want to start out by saying that I really love Castro's writing and the voice that she uses. Technically, this book was well written and I enjoyed the prose itself. What I did not connect with was the story and the characters. BUT that said, this book was not written for me. This is the story of a Latina woman trying to reconnect with her roots and navigate motherhood and her marriage. I can not relate to a single one of those things. I struggle with stories about motherhood, but that is purely a person thing. Like I said, the book was excellently written and the unsettling moments were top notch, the story was just not meant for me. I can see so many people finding representation here though, and I would recommend people pick it up. Also, the cover art is phenomenal. I will continue to read and recommend Castro's books!