Scan barcode
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
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 goremelreadsandrecs's review against another edition
1.0
I'm sorry, but this was subjectively, to me, a really bad book. I found out not only poorly written but problematic. This review will be fairly brief but will contain spoilers.
Firstly, the characterization was very weak. Every character sounded and acted the exact same. The POV would change and I wouldn't even notice, since threw characters were just copied and pasted.
More importantly, the plot was extremely weak. Alejandra faces challenges, kind of. But every obstacle is unrealistically easy to solve. She finds her birth parents with ease, despite having been in a closed adoption. She finds and can afford a therapist within a matter of minutes, and of course the therapist has no wait list or screening needs. Of course her husband magically agrees to a very easy divorce despite everything we've been told about him being competitive and callous. Of course her therapist knows a soil analyst (which didn't even really make sense) Of course she gets released from the hospital after a suicide attempt with no issue, even though in real life a hospitalization like that costs thousands and usually ruins your life.
Which brings me to what I thought was problematic about the book: it absolutely failed at depicting the tenacity required to actually overcome post partum depression and the difficulties of motherhood. If everybody could just get into therapy within an hour, we wouldn't be losing mothers and children to suicide and infanticide the way we are. If therapists could do random house calls at the drop of a hat, we might not have police killings of people in mental health crises. And it is irresponsible to write a plot a suicide attempt be the solution to any problem.
Yeah the more I write, the less sorry I am for the low rating. Truly what the hell did I just read.
Firstly, the characterization was very weak. Every character sounded and acted the exact same. The POV would change and I wouldn't even notice, since threw characters were just copied and pasted.
More importantly, the plot was extremely weak. Alejandra faces challenges, kind of. But every obstacle is unrealistically easy to solve. She finds her birth parents with ease, despite having been in a closed adoption. She finds and can afford a therapist within a matter of minutes, and of course the therapist has no wait list or screening needs. Of course her husband magically agrees to a very easy divorce despite everything we've been told about him being competitive and callous. Of course her therapist knows a soil analyst (which didn't even really make sense) Of course she gets released from the hospital after a suicide attempt with no issue, even though in real life a hospitalization like that costs thousands and usually ruins your life.
Which brings me to what I thought was problematic about the book: it absolutely failed at depicting the tenacity required to actually overcome post partum depression and the difficulties of motherhood. If everybody could just get into therapy within an hour, we wouldn't be losing mothers and children to suicide and infanticide the way we are. If therapists could do random house calls at the drop of a hat, we might not have police killings of people in mental health crises. And it is irresponsible to write a plot a suicide attempt be the solution to any problem.
Yeah the more I write, the less sorry I am for the low rating. Truly what the hell did I just read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Miscarriage, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Abortion, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy
bookiesncreme's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
Moderate: Infidelity and Abortion
gotbookcitement's review against another edition
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This took me so long to read for being such a short book. I didn't really like it. It was a very depressing story about a woman who feels trapped in her marriage and by her children. Her maternal bloodline has a generational curse that makes them want to harm themselves and their children. There are triggers for suicide, depression, and postpartum depression.
The majority of this book was just inner monologue, which became boring pretty quickly.
Then it became a little self-helpy with her going to therapy.
The horror angle was interesting, but there wasn't enough of it. The encounters were so brief. I do think this author can write good horror, because the way the demon was described was disturbing!
Alejandra bored me as a character. She did have growth, but I just wasn't interested.
I also feel a little misled by the La Llorona angle.
I struggled with this. It was just very dull. I wanted more action instead of talking through everything.
Getting other characters in history POV's was interesting, but they were all miserable and depressed too.
It just wasn't for me.
The majority of this book was just inner monologue, which became boring pretty quickly.
Then it became a little self-helpy with her going to therapy.
The horror angle was interesting, but there wasn't enough of it. The encounters were so brief. I do think this author can write good horror, because the way the demon was described was disturbing!
Alejandra bored me as a character. She did have growth, but I just wasn't interested.
I also feel a little misled by the La Llorona angle.
I struggled with this. It was just very dull. I wanted more action instead of talking through everything.
Getting other characters in history POV's was interesting, but they were all miserable and depressed too.
It just wasn't for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Murder
pinkie_pug23's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
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
4.0
Gore,
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy
lady_valhella's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Blood, and Pregnancy
Trigger warnering: The first few paragraphs is of a mom in a shower wishing she was no longer a mom and considering ending her life to escape motherhood. The story eventually changes gears but I think then over all theme of this book is that women historically are forced into motherhood whether we want it or not. And should we decide one child is enough or motherhood is actually not for us after all we can’t simply change our minds and walk away. That when forced into motherhood or choosing motherhood it is never as simple as just being a parent to children but that your identity as a woman is no longer you being a woman who happens to be a mom. This book is a wonderful read and there are some deep dark themes but I think they are important if you can manage past the introduction of when we meet Alejandra.stellenelcielo's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This one was creepy as hell and perfect to kick off spooky season. The plot twist of la Llorona being a primordial being that existed and survived centuries subsisting on a single bloodline was *chefs kiss*
Loved it—especially the more graphic descriptions of La Llorona. Excellent stuff.
Loved it—especially the more graphic descriptions of La Llorona. Excellent stuff.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt
intzmchn's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-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
4.25
Like the other book of V. Castro I’ve read this book is allegory for women’s issues and how we deal with them as Latina women. It’s enjoyable and mysterious to read about Alejandra discovering who she is and building her self worth.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt
spookymartinireads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
rosie_valadez's review against another edition
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Child death, Abandonment, and Colonisation
Minor: Infidelity, Miscarriage, and War