Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro

3 reviews

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

catwhisperer's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

laurenbookwitchbitch's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I’ve been a big fan of V. Castro since reading “Goddess of Filth,” so I was very excited for this new, even longer horror novel. First off I mean look at this gorgeous cover! I adore a grotesque book filled with ghosts and blood that has bright pastel flowers on the cover, five stars for the illustration! Alejandra is a mother, wife and home-maker plagued by depression, anxiety and recurring nightmares of a woman in white whispering encouraging her to kill her children. As Alejandra’s terror increases, she begins to delve into her ancestry to discover a long lineage of women, who have had similar encounters w/ this demon masquerading as La Llrona.  This book does that thing where it switches POV and goes back and forth in time between the different ancestral women who also encounter this demon in a way that is hard to pull off seamlessly but Castro nails it! “The Haunting of Alejandra is dark, emotional, fraught, frightening and will threaten to devour your own soul. But like, in a way that makes it a fantastic horror reading experience! 

My only criticism of this book is that it very much equates womanhood with motherhood. 🙁😐

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail