Hell Hath No Fury Like A Woman Scorned and Once Upon A Time's Rumplestiltskin had a baby. Or maybe only in my mind. Granted the betrayal wasn't infidelity, but still Dearie, all magic comes with a price. Ceci is a product of her upbringing and my heart broke for her because a part of me understands all too well. Feeling too much, but hardening ones heart to protect oneself. La Cegua isn't exaclty rhe true villain of the story, more so like Ceci a product of surroundings. Which is probably one of the reasons why they are connected aside from fate and circumstance. Jamie was one of my favorite characters, probably because of his positivity even though he had his own stuff to deal with but also because he was a true friend. The author did an amazing job with the suspense, false leads, and the many lessons throughout.
Would you make a wish even knowing there are consequences?

Thank you to Hear Our Voices Book Tours and the Author for copies of the book to review.

Horror, Family Secrets, Town Lore, Creepy Manor, Friendship, Betrayal, Magical Amnesia? (not sure else how to explain that part of the book)

Going back to your hometown after you leave is always hard as an adult, but when you don't remember anything about it, that is harder. This book follows our FMC who's mother is leaving her most recent husband after he gets in trouble with the authorities.

Moving to a small town during your last part of high school is hard, but when your old friends ghost you and the new town welcomes you, maybe it will be okay. I loved Jamie, he was adorable, and the rest of the friend group were fantastic.

I loved the role that art played in this story, and the creepy wishing well. The problem is sometimes you need to be careful what you wish for because you don't know what consequences will come with what you asked for. The entire town being involved with the lore, and her mom being involved (unknowingly) was very interesting.

Liked that there was a HEA

I really enjoyed this book. It was a very well done and atmospheric YA suspense/horror title. The concept of a vengeful spirit was really interesting, and I thought that it made the story very compelling. The characters were well-done and I found myself really relating to Ceci. Overall, I enjoyed this and I definitely think this is going to be a hit with our YA readers who also love a bit of spook.

Thank you to the publisher and Hear Our Voices Tours for both the physical and digital arcs!

WOW! I absolutely adored this book. I don't nornally gravitate toward horrror and fantasy, but Montalban's novel quickly drew me in. I finished this book in about two days; I couldn't put it down! The story follows Ceci, a high school senior whose life is uprooted when her stepfather is arrested. Her and her mother must move back to the town her mom grew up in, and slowly secrets that she thought were long buried begin to reveal themselves.
I really enjoyed Montalban's writing style. She does a fantastic job of building tension and creating an eerie atmosphere. I have to admit to reading a huge chunk of this book at 1am, and I swear I creeped myself out more by doing so. But, I felt really immersed in this world and with the lore within it. The reader learns more about La Cegua in time with our main characters, so we really feel invested in the mystery. Another aspect I really enjoyed was the strong characterization of our main group. Ceci is discovering who she is and learning to let people in after many years feeling like she doesn't belong anywhere. Her relationship with Jaime is so sweet, and I really enjoyed the arc of her relationship with her mother.
Overall, I very much enjoyed this novel. This was my first book by this author and I'm excited to read more from her. I definitely recommend this to anyone who is looking for a novel that features themes of generational curses, found family, and Latin-American folklore.

A unique take on the moving into a haunted family home trope. Cultural lore, granted wishes, and some generational family mystery/curses round out this ya thriller.

While some mysteries were easy to figure out pretty early on, the ending held some much needed answers, action, and twists.

This was a very enjoyable read. Not too heavy, but enough real substance to keep me interested and wanting to know what happened next.
4⭐️

As always, I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to have an advanced ebook copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is an extra suspenseful YA horror with a unique plot surrounding a vengeful spirit—La Cegua. The main character, a teen named Ceci, doesn't know who her father is, but she's had a bunch of stepfathers as her mother moves her from one rich husband to the next. Currently, her mother is in the divorce phase, and she'd moved Ceci to an old creepy mansion with a ton of history in a small town. The story takes a dark turn as it spirals, and I found it immersive and entertaining. Fans of YA paranormal or horror will enjoy this one.

This standalone book is such an intriguing reading that I can't simply put it in the "fantasy" category. It certainly is a fantasy story, but it also has a lot of other "ingredients": mystery, legends, culture, young-adult vibes, friendship, horror, love, family. It's a very good mix. I liked it a lot.

First of all, both the title and the cover are gorgeous and really made me curious about the story I was about to read.

I didn't know who "la Cegua" was and never happened to hear about her legend. Not before this book, at least. I learned that this spirit is a mistreated and betrayed (also abused) witch who wants revenge and punishes bad men. She appears as a woman with a veiled horse's skull for a head and her legend is well-known in all Central America, especially in Nicaragua. I love to learn about other cultures and so I always find myself intrigued by books about these topics.

The story was full of surprises, plot twists and good characters. I liked Ceci (aka Cecilia), the protagonist, but I have to say the one I loved the most was Jamie: he's handsome, cute, kind, gentle and caring. Also, he's brave and sincere. Ceci hit the jackpot with him. I also found myself very curious about Adel: the girl was suspitious and kinda evil, and I wanted so bad to uncover her mysteryes. I hated Roman Sevilla, and I have to say the author did a really good job in making him horribly greedy (I think he was meant to be hated). On the other hand, Myra & Di were hilarious and cute at the same time and added a little of comedy and light moments into this deep and dark story.

The ending was just as I hoped and as I was expecting it to be.

Family curses. A foreboding entity. A house that holds secrets of the past.

These Vengeful Wishes is an ode to the deepest darkest parts of oneself - the secrets that are buried, and the light that cracks the darkness. At the center its a novel about the love between daughters and mothers and breaking generational curses with a feminine rage that does not hold back. I adored Ceci and found that this story healed a little bit of my soul.

I can't wait to read more from Montalban!

Thank you to my tour group for this book in exchange for my honest review!

4.5 rating

This cover is one of my favorites. It’s beautiful and really captured the themes of the book. There was a lot of great mystery/suspense and I really liked the themes of family and forgiveness.


Ceci has always been at arms length with others because of her distrust in her mother. Knowing that she’s going to move away soon, she puts up shields in hope that doesn’t get too attached. Her mom has had a list of failed marriages and can never seem to settle and leaves her daughter behind. All Ceci has wants is a family.

Jamie is a super sweet character and I really liked seeing him break down Ceci’s shields. Her friends were super cute too. They all just embraced her right away. The horror wasn’t super strong here but I did appreciate the creepy elements sprinkled throughout. This was a really interesting and fun story and I’ll have to go back and read this author’s debut!

A great YA horror-fantasy with lots of creativity. I’ve been on a lucky streak lately with great character development and Montalban added another to the streak. I really liked Ceci and Jamie - they were great characters with lots of vulnerability and strength. Ceci’s mom, despite being kind of awful, was also a well executed character.

After life as she knows it goes up in flames, Ceci and her mom arrive in a small town and an abandoned manor once owned by the prominent Sevilla family. As Ceci settles in, she starts hearing whispers of the curse of La Cegua - but then she realizes, it may not be whispers about the curse, but from La Cegua herself.


Friendship, romance, secrets, hauntings - this novel has it going on. Looking forward to bringing this into my library and selling some of my kiddos on it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a digital ARC of this title!

4.5 stars and my thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the eARC!

Ceci, my love. I wanted to be BFFs even when you were angry at everyone and everything.

Ceci and her mother are running away from her mother's most recent ex-husband who swindled them out of their entire life savings. They find refuge in the hometown her mother escaped from almost two decades ago, in the decrepit manor house of what used to be the richest family in town. Weird things start to happen almost immediately revolving around the local legend of La Cegua.

I haven't read a lot of YA lately, but These Vengeful Wishes was a terrifying and mysterious ride right from the jump. I was hooked almost immediately. Some of the story was a little predictable, but all in all, it didn't detract from the entertainment.

Can't wait for more from this author!

I had such a good time reading this and I basically flew through the book. The story was very well written and at the right pace too. I loved the mystery, the lore and the horror elements and I think wanting to solve the mystery myself made me read faster.

Ceci is also a bit of a complicated character and I loved that she had her flaws and wasn't too perfect. It made her feel more real. Her relationship between her and her mom was interesting as well. It was complicated at times, but they still had a lot of love for each other even though they both didn't show it. It all became more clear towards the end.

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

4.25 This is a book that grabs us because of two big plots hand in hand: a teenager whose relationship with her mom isn't the best and she doesn't know her father. She's forced to move with her mom to a small town and embrace an art college rejection that helps her understand who her true friends are. In the beginning, we also don't like the characters much because both mom and teen need to complete a journey to become better people leading to a better end.

The second plot is a curse filled with Nicaraguan lore and legends. The scenes related to this are always dark and macabre but beautiful. The author balances both plotlines but focuses more on the teen issues in the middle, but I am glad the third part of the book towards the end is more about the curse, uncovering the past, explaining the loopholes making these plot twists (that may or not satisfy you it's more of a personal taste) a page-turning read. My personal taste: I felt that the author, sometimes trying to be clear and in control of the characters, ends up overexplaining. Although it confuses a bit it doesn't damage the understanding of the story, it just makes it feel very full.
I loved Jamie and his binder.

A good YA horror family returning to a small town and dealing with a curse, there are elements and events that the author knows the reader wants, and the author doesn't disappoint.

Vanessa's books are incredibly crafted, from idea to execution, and I need more people to read them so we can talk about them!!

Ceci and her mother move a small town filled with secrets, ghost stories and curses. Loosely based on Nicaraguan folklore of La Cegua -a vengeful female spirit with the face of a horse skull, the story unfolds with Ceci exploring woods behind her house and the stories (or curses!) that tie the house she is living in with the myth. As she investigates the woods, a missing boy from two decades ago and a eerie connection with her mother, Ceci comes to sympathize with the spirit and her own sadness during the process.

Quite an engaging read, almost predictable how it would end but the process was enjoyable nonetheless.

<i>Thank you to Netgalley and Zando Young Readers for providing me with a free copy of this e-book in exchange for an honest review.</i>

I love the spiritual and folklore elements of this story. However, around three quarters of the way into the story, I started to lose interest in the plot. Nothing against the book, but it wasn’t fully for me.

💥💥 Book Review 💥💥

These Vengeful Wishes
By Vanessa Montalban
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Stars

This is the second book I have gotten to read by Vanessa. I got to read, A Tall Dark Trouble, which is good read as well. So when I saw that she wrote a horror book. I was like, let’s go! 👻
These Vengeful Wishes is so much fun. It is brimming with dark atmospheric, mystery/apprehension, found family, elements of horror, a vindictive apparition, and a dash of romance. I love the characters because they are really relatable. This is young adult horror at its best. I absolutely LOVED this book! This book enter-twins folklore with life that leads for a horrific fast paced novel.

I want to thank NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.

Wow. I saw the book and felt I will like it not knowing anything about it. I love when I'm right, but I admit the plot was unexpected.

This vengeance triggered drama/mystery/magic realism/the hauting of Sevilla men story is beautifully written. I enjoyed every aspect: the curse, the scary moments, human emotions and not always smart decisions people make, realistic characters, characters development, the need to find a place to call home, and the moral of the story. There is a fairy tale quality to it and I want my kids to read it when they are a bit older. I also wish I had this book as a teen. I would've loved it even more than I do now.

Cecilia and Marina kind of remind me of Ginny and Georgia. I was so ready to slap some sense into Ginny, and Cecilia also made some really dumb decisions, but this was worse because my nickname is Cecilia! 😁😁 Now really, I actually loved how much she grew until the very end and how realistic the character felt at all times. What I think I loved the most is that although we know that men can be horrible (so horrible that they doom everyone with their behaviour) and there are constant reminders of it, there are good men as well.

And of course, anyone can find their poison while drinking from the wishing well. So be careful what you wish for.

I find every twist well done and I don't know what else to say to convince everyone to read this. I thought this will make me angry and vengeful which is how I usually feel when I read about revenge. But it is not like that at all. "These Vengeful Wishes" is a relaxing modern fairy tale that will purify your heart and calm your soul. ❤️

"Her head lifts in my direction. I watch slowly as she lifts her mantilla and shows me her true face . And in it, I see horror, I see beauty, but most of all, I see truth."



☠️ La Cegua is an old Nicaraguan folktale about a beautiful woman who lures men into the woods. She petrified them by showing her true face - which some claim is a horse skeleton. A vengeful spirit in the woods. La Cegua is a creature born of tragedy and abuse, fueled by revenge.

Some weird town superstition? myth? Rumours?

We follow MC Cici who describes herself as an out-of-town weirdo who moved to a haunted mansion in the middle of the forest. She finds herself having vivid dreams or nightmares about La Cegua and ultimately discovers the painful truth about her family.
Despite it not being scary at all imo, it is still well-written and doesn't read like typical YA. It is more of a cosy mystery/suspense/thriller for me with just a few horror elements sprinkled and with gothic atmosphere. The characters especially the MC is so relatable. Ma pa Sana all Ka na Lang dayon na tani may Ara kaman Jamie irl.
Generational curses and ghosts, vengeful spirit, magical realism, complex mother-daughter relationship and more. 🖤✨


Big thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the arc. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. 🖤

I really wanted to like this! But in the end, it just bored me. It wasn't atmospheric or even eerie, as promised.