Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro

41 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

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

Moderate: Infidelity and Abortion

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,

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy

ashleyluvsyellow's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful medium-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? Yes

4.0

This was such a great read about generational trauma and healing.

I would've given it 5 stars but I sometimes got pulled out of the book by the dialougue. 

I felt like the characters sometimes re-told something that just happened a few pages beforehand and didn't feel like it needed to be said again. 

It's still a great book and I would recommend for anyone who likes horror and demon stories. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, and Suicide attempt

_readerfromtheblacklagoon_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Miscarriage, Self harm, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Colonisation

Moderate: Drug use, Infertility, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Alcohol, and War

crisscrossedshelves's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage and Blood

Moderate: Body horror

Minor: Emotional abuse

archaicrobin's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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? Yes

3.0

Castro’s writing is very blunt and it’s always hard for me to get into at first which affects my overall enjoyment of her books, but it’s very much a personal taste. If you’re looking for flowery, descriptive prose or a complex horror novel I wouldn’t recommend this one, as it’s very point blank and you have to accept a lot and just move on.

If you can do that though, this novel tells and eerie tale of a woman stuck in her depression hating her life, her children, her husband, and herself, all while being haunted by an entity she assumes is La Llorona. Alejandra at first is insufferable because she is so miserable but once she starts seeing a therapist and valuing herself, she begins to find the power within her self to not only change her life but defeat the curse of La Llorona for good.

While Castro’s writing style isn’t my favorite I always love her strong female characters, her ability to create terrifying imagery, and the strong cultural elements she weaves into her story. If you’re looking for a well crafted supernatural tale about strong women, generational trauma, and identity this one is worth trying!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

zombiezami's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Moderate: Biphobia, Cursing, Genocide, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Colonisation, and War

Minor: Drug use, Gun violence, and Infertility

perdita's review against another edition

hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

2.75

The book's synopsis was what brought me to read it - yet I was disappointed. There are many things that The Haunting of Alejandra gets right: for example, the portrayal of intergenerational trauma, and the toll that motherhood takes on women (and it emphasises how important it is for women to have some sort of identity besides being mothers!). Nevertheless, many of the characters felt one-dimensional. Some of the twists were forced and the explanation for them was weak, to say the least. The writing style felt off, and disjointed at times. Overall, I believe that this book would have benefitted from further editing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Blood, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Child abuse and Death of parent

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