Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro

18 reviews

kayle39's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I loved this book from the first page. I was really excited when i saw that we would get to a glimpse into the lives of other family members. Idk if you call it body horror, but the author did a great job describing the gore. The book is a great balance between supernatural horror and the horrors of reality. 

initially i was a bit displeased with how they said they would get rid of the creature. Because often the fake suicide route is boring and doesnt make sense. I like how this book did it. It upped the stakes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Genocide, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Colonisation, and War

Minor: Dementia and Car accident

Be warned of graphic descriptions of body horror, injuries, and gore

rubberrosebooks's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

chavonnwshen's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual violence and Colonisation

allyem_reads's review against another edition

4.0

7.14 CAWPILE 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Gore, Miscarriage, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Infidelity, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Colonisation

shaun_dh's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I found this to be slow and boring. The husband is insufferable. I kept reading for Alejandra’s arc (which I was very happy with) and I was hoping it’d get scarier (which it never really did)

As a mom who battled postpartum rage myself, some parts of this were hard to read. The gorgeous cover hooked me and the writing was beautiful and descriptive, but it just never took off for me

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent

Moderate: Mental illness and Gaslighting

Minor: Self harm, Grief, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

leila_reads_too_much's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Abortion, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Dementia, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Colonisation

abbie_'s review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

3.0

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my free digital ARC in exchange for a review!

If you’re looking for some creepy horror fiction to add as a late addition to your October TBR, consider The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro! I had a few stylistic issues with it, but in terms of creepiness and content, I can’t fault that - I had to hold off reading it for a night when my girlfriend wasn’t here as I couldn’t deal with the idea of seeing La Llorona at the end of my hallway when I went for a nighttime wee 😂😂

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Alejandra finds herself struggling with her sense of self and purpose being a stay-at-home mother to her three children, with her husband expecting her to be the perfect Stepford wife. Her suicidal thoughts begin to get overwhelming, and she’s suddenly confronted by a figure in white encouraging her to end it all. I found the merging of motherhood, postpartum depression, Mexican folklore and actual hauntings to be super compelling - and super creepy! Castro’s writing shines the most when she’s delving into the nitty gritty of body horror, demonic apparitions and tension.

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Unfortunately I did think her style falters elsewhere. The dialogue sometimes felt stilted and unnatural, and I often felt like I was being spoon-fed certain aspects of the plot. I don’t like it when things are over explained and the reader isn’t able to infer. I also get that Matthew, Alejandra’s husband, was intended to be a villain, but his sexism came off as cartoonish at times. There are definitely men out there who act like this, but I would have appreciated a little more nuance.

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Concerns aside, I do still think this book stands strong as a piece of horror fiction that’ll have you running up your stairs as fast as you can on a night, while also tackling the pressures of motherhood and the idea of reconnecting to an identity previously denied to you!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

ecn's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Generational trauma, healing, La Llorna, queer rep. This book is AMAZING and feels made for me. I was apprehensive at first since motherhood was a main theme but I am sooo glad I stuck with it

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

caseythereader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Rape

edevoe8891's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Medical trauma, and Colonisation