I had high hopes for this gothic paranormal vampire thriller, horror, romance, but the execution let me down. This book was trying to be so many things and so it got lost and didn't fully achieve any of them in a fully fleshed out way.
The one thing that this book did really well was vibes, so if you are okay with underdeveloped characters and a plot that could use a bit more cohesion you will be satisfied with the vibes.

“These new feelings you awaken in me are more terrifying than not knowing who I am.”

What an eerie, and unexpected surprise. I really enjoyed reading this one. It was gothic, romantic, fantastic, and sometimes just weird, but overall it was great!
It is all thoughtfully put together, very beautifully written, and the world building is done very well. Picture Disney’s Encanto if the house were haunted. The neighbourhood has such history that really leaned into the storyline, strengthening the beliefs some characters held to their core. I really loved how Romina Garber was able to bring in a lot of Spanish culture, including the language.
The story follows Estela after a mysterious tragedy occurs, she is taken from her life in the USA and moved to Spain to be with distant family members. She finds herself alone, struggling, and feeling so lost within herself as she uncovers so much about her past that she didn’t even know about. We meet Sebastián, who begrudgingly teams up with Estela to help her figure out her past, as well as her future, and the spine chilling truth as to why she never knew this part of her family.
I would have liked to know more about the house and the magic within it but I could see how going into it much more would make for a very long novel. The romance in the book was okay. I loved Sebastián but didn’t really feel the chemistry between the two of them.
The last sentence of the book - OMG! Definitely not what I was expecting and left my jaw on the floor!
Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who likes dark romances or paranormal fiction.

I just didn't vibe with this book. It wasn't for me. I wasn't invested in the characters and everything was just too weird, but not a good weird. I felt like the whole plot was rushed but at the same time too slow. The pacing was just so off. I also didn't believe the romance in this at all. It wasn't there one second and the next it was there like magic. This just wasn't the book for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

When Estela's parents die suddenly in a freak accident that leaves everyone but her dead, she is left directionless and alone. After a stint in the hospital she is contacted by a long lost aunt she didn't know about who offers her a home in Spain. The home is full of weird rules and odd things.

This book was pretty good. There were quite a few times though where I felt the story got away from the author and things didn't make much sense. It would pull me out of the story immediately. There was also this weird enemies to insta love thing going that weirded me out as well.

I'd like to thank the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC
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There were many aspects about this book that I loved and some I didn't enjoy as much. I loved the descriptions and the glimpses of the other world. I would have loved to see more of it explored, but I'm content with what we did see. The characters were interesting and I enjoyed getting to know them. I personally struggled with the pacing a little. At times it felt like the story dragged. Despite my few issues, I still loved the characters and world that was created.

This was 100% a very unique take on vampires, one I have never experienced before so I enjoyed the novelty of the idea. The book overall was very dark and sad, basically a grief spiral full of heartbreak, loss and suicidal ideation so if those are topics you do not want to read about then maybe stay clear of this read. I am pretty sure this is YA, but with the dark emotional aspect of the book as well as the sexual encounters, I would not recommend this to the younger readers, only older teens and adults. I will say the part I was the most unhappy with is the instalove. The whole story takes place over less than 2 weeks, the love interests do not know each other except through some violent/abusive encounters and then there was a lot of declaring of eternal love that came out of nowhere so I was not sold on the romance. I will say the ending was a giant WTF moment that left me with A LOT of questions that I need to discuss especially since I am pretty sure this is a standalone novel. Way to throw me a curve ball to keep me up at night.

I love gothic romance and haunting stories. This had potential but fell flat for me. The story went in an odd direction that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. The character development wasn't there. I was unable to relate to the characters and I just didn't connect with the story line at all. I know it's YA book but the romance was severely lacking.
Estela's parents died, she has no explanation of how it happened. All she knows is there was some black smoke and everyone was dead but her. She ends up being packed up and sent to live with an aunt she has never heard of in a castle she didn't know existed. Something is wrong with the castle and the town it's in. Her aunt is less than friendly and Estella is not thrilled with the arrangement. She begins to feel a dark presence surrounding her in the castle. When he finally makes his appearance, she's the only one that can see him. Does he actually exist or is she going crazy? Estela finds out that he's a vampire from another realm and his name is Sebastian. They decided to team up to figure out what the castle is hiding.

3.5 stars
Wellll ... that was weird. The synopsis of Castle of the Cursed makes it seem like a pretty straightforward haunted house novel. Going into this book, I was really into the premise, and unsure as to why there were so many mixed reviews. And the start of this book is pretty basic. I really enjoyed the plot and found it easy to follow for the first third of the book. I also liked the romance - it reminded me of Crimson Peak. Then, the first twist hit. Then another, and another, and another. And all of a sudden this story had transformed into something so complex and bizzare. I understand why some people don't like how the story progressed. It is admittedly quite weird, and sometimes the plot becomes muddy. That being said, it was also so unique and intriguing. Once I wrapped my mind around the plot, I really enjoyed it. My only other complaint was that the romance felt a little rushed. Overall, I would recommend this book, but perhaps only to a certain demographic - self-proclaimed weird girls who love spooky, alien vibes.
Thank you to the publisher and MacMillan Audio for the arcs in exchange for an honest review!

Castle of the cursed by Romina Garber was released out in the world at the perfect time because it's mid summer beginning of fall and so I read this in the month of October. and it was a perfect choice for me! Before I begin my review thanks to Wednesday Book for sending me an e-arc of this one and so happy Owlcrate did a special edition of this amazing read. All opions are my own!(:

We follow our main character Estela and she recently get this mysterious attack of claims for this haunted house. Personally for me I love a good haunted house setting and I wasn't expecting the love traingle happening and wasn't excpecting it and sometimes get mad at them but enjoy them this time around! The background knowlege was something I've never learned about so learning some new laungage is something i FIND VERY COOL!
Overall rating is a 4 stars, I read this in 2 days it was so fun if I didn't had work I would've read in one day cause of how quick the author's writing style is and the narrator for the audio was amazing too.

I really tried to enjoy this book because the intro was interesting tho the book lost me by about page 50 and I was done at about page 100.

Castle of the Cursed was a highly anticipated read for me. Just look at that cover! Unfortunately, I was not able to finish Castle of the Cursed. I adored the Gothic vibes and the castle setting. The writing and descriptions were all there including the eerie atmosphere, but the main issue was I just did not connect with young Estela. I appreciate all the care that went into her character’s development but I just feel like maybe I wasn’t the right reader for it at the time. Thank you, for the early readers opportunity.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

My Selling Pitch:
Do you want to read a ridiculously convoluted YA Mary Sue vampire novel that's somehow both incredibly cliche and impossible to follow?

On my do not read list.

Pre-reading:
Love the tagline for this. Genuinely can't decide if I like the cover.

(obviously potential spoilers from here on)
Thick of it:
This is VERY YA.

I fucking love gazpacho.

I'm not like other girls. I don’t wear makeup. Shut up, you pick me.

I'm bored. DNF. (Except I don’t do that because I’m a masochist.)

This is bad.

Her being dead is a good twist. (Except it’s not even true.)

Lmao every book is bears.

Should I stay or should I go now🎶

He doesn’t understand reality but he understands Tupperware lmao.

This is some soap opera shit.

Because plot armor that’s why!

If no one else is gonna say it, I’ll say it. Stockholm syndrome.

I have plot whiplash.

Why does this feel vaguely anti-vaxer.

This book has given up entirely on making sense.

So much info dumping. Like oh, I didn’t explain this, but here’s a sentence to explain away a plot hole.

I’m so checked out from this book. It is badddd.

This book is so dumb.

What is this random smut doing here lmao? No THANKS.

Barely legals doing bondage play for a sentence or two is NOT my idea of a silly goofy time lmao.

I DON’T WANNA HEAR ANYTHING ABOUT A MAN’S BLOODY SACK. TODAY IS NOT THE DAY. (It’s post-election day in America.)

Maybe I’m projecting because I’m fragile rn, but that pregnancy stance feels very pro-life to me, and I’M NOT IN THE MOOD!
Also like kinda insensitive to the infertiles. You can't have a baby because you’re not in love enough? Fuck off.

This book sucks, man.

I know twins run in families, but this is unreal.

Also, their whole thing about how the magic works because the twins have identical DNA, but then they have boy girl twin pairs and non-identical twins- that doesn’t make any sense.

What in the childbride nonsense is this.

This book is firmly YA, but there's too much sex in here for me to be comfortable with a YA label, you know. And like it’s not well done, so I wouldn't even call it smut, but it’s just too much for the children lol.

This is unreadable.

Oh, by all means, choose to live again for some boy.

It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to🎶

How is this not over? Only my stubbornness is keeping me here.

I don’t think they’re letting girlypop into med school after the lack of schooling and the felony investigation, but go off. (You know, I take it back about the felony investigation. We’ll let it slide for a president, so who knows.)

That’s not- that’s not how any of this works, but I’ve been saying that all book, so I don’t even know what to do at this point.

I like that she has time to be a world traveler, hunt pedophiles, go to med school, bang her vampire husband, and garden. She’s a multi-hyphenate girly. Oh and be the mayor. Can’t forget that. Silly me.

Post-reading:
Y'all, what was this? It’s an incredibly cliché YA vampire novel. It also takes every cliché and just throws it at the wall in the hopes that something will stick, but it just becomes an incoherent mess. There’s a lot of plotholes. There’s a lot of info dumps. The pacing is very disjointed. The romance feels insta lovey. There’s random smut in this that feels so out of place, and I hesitate to even call it smut because it’s only a few sentences, but at no point do I want to read about a 17-year-old playing with bondage. One of my pet peeves is when a book tries to sell itself as diverse but the only diversity in it comes from food and using a different language, only to restate the exact same words again in English. Either you want your reader to translate it or you don’t. The characters are so flat. The main character is a Mary Sue. The romance isn’t romantic. It can’t decide if it wants to be a gothic, or some folk horror, alien, urban fantasy nonsense.

And the first half of this is readable. It’s not well done. It’s crazy boring, and you’ve definitely read it before and better, but it’s readable. The back half is such a jumbled mess. I think the author was aiming for plot twists, but it just felt like a lot of explanation after the fact and everything got resolved too quickly with little to no consequences. There was really nothing worthwhile in this for me and nothing to redeem it. It’s going on my do not read list, and I wouldn’t pick up the author again.

Who should read this:
YA vampire die hards
Telenovela fans

Ideal reading time:
Anytime

Do I want to reread this:
Nope.

Would I buy this:
Nope.

Similar books:
* The Witch and the Vampire by Francesca Flores-YA queer fantasy romance, enemies to lovers, vampires
* Court of the Undying Seasons by A. M. Strickland-YA fantasy romance, magical school, enemies to lovers, vampires, shadow daddy
* Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli-NA witchy fantasy romance, enemies to lovers
* Immortal Pleasures by V. Castro-historical retelling, urban fantasy, romance, vampires
* Garden of the Cursed by Katy Rose Pool-YA urban fantasy mystery, enemies to lovers romance, family drama
* Bring Me Your Midnight by Rachel Griffen-YA witchy urban fantasy, enemies to lovers, family drama, shadow daddy
* A Crown of Ivy and Glass by Claire Legrand-NA fantasy romance, enemies to lovers, shadow daddy
* Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros-NA fantasy romance, magical school, enemies to lovers, shadow daddy

I DNF’d this one. I just couldn’t get into it. I felt no connection to the MC and found the plot a bit boring.

First time reading this author but will be on the lookout for more of her books!
Perfect book for Halloween-time! This had me absolutely addicted and I couldn't wait to finish this!
Highly recommend this!

Thank you to the publisher to for allowing me an advanced copy of this book to enojoy!

I am trying to finally work on my eARC list and this is next on my list. Yes, I know it's incredibly late, and I have no excuse for that. With that being said, I checked out some reviews on Goodreads, and seeing that it only has a 3.36 star rating is enough for me to not even give it a try. It's possible I could be someone who absolutely loves this book, but I also am a firm believer of not wasting time reading books I don't think I'll enjoy. I still want to congratulate the author on their work, but I will be passing on this one.

I wanted to like this book. In fact my review is late because I was trying to re-read the book just to like it better the second read....that didn't work. I found it odd, confusing, and the pacing is unbelievably quick - like the entire story takes place in a span of less than a month!! The first part was intense and captivating and then it just sort of fell apart. So much potential but just not for me.

Scary and goth AF - For lovers of Beetlejuice, Wednesday, the Addams family, or Silvia Moreno-Garcia

DNF @ 48%. This is billed as a Gothic telenovela, but it doesn't lean into its Gothic or campy elements enough to fulfil the brief set forth in its marketing. I had a tough time following the plot and investing in the characters.

This enchanting fantasy weaves a rich tapestry of magic, intrigue, and self-discovery that kept me hooked from start to finish.

Garber’s world-building is phenomenal—every detail pulls you deeper into a realm filled with mystery and danger. The characters are wonderfully complex, each with their own secrets and desires that drive the story forward. I particularly loved the protagonist’s journey as she navigates the challenges of her past while uncovering her true power.

The pacing is just right, blending action with moments of reflection that make you invest in the characters' journeys. There were plenty of twists and turns that kept me guessing, and the emotional depth added layers to the narrative that I really appreciated.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was… interesting? I liked the beginning best. The second half was a little TOO paranormal for me. I mean everything got thrown into this book like some kind of drug induced dream. Vampires? Yup. Alternate dimensions? Yup, even have the creatures to go with them. Magic? Why not, that’s always the good part. But together it was all just too much.

Also, we dealt with the dreaded insta-love trope. Less than two weeks- 13 days to be exact- and she’s saying she loves him? Calm down, sweetie, this could very well be a trauma response.

I wish that the focus had been more on her solving the case as in the beginning. Not so much her making doe eyes at Sebastian. More mystery, less “Sure he’s a bloodthirsty murderer, but it’s in his nature and he can’t help it.”