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lauramcc7's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Violence, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
boba_nbooks's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
In her debut supernatural suspense novel, The Hacienda, Isabel Cañas takes imagined horrors and twists them with the cruel reality of history.
The Mexican government has been overthrown, and Beatriz's father was executed in the process. Now, she and her mother are left alone searching for a place where they belong. After years of emotional abuse at the hands of her aunt, Beatriz has finally found a way out--through marrying the rich and handsome Don Rodolfo Solórzano. Beatriz now finally has a home in Rodolfo's estate, Hacienda San Isidro. But San Isidro is not the paradise Beatriz was hoping it would be. In the hacienda, she finds both real and supernatural horrors she could never have imagined. It will take all the strength Beatriz has along with the help of a mysterious young priest to overcome the power of San Isidro.
This novel does a great job juxtaposing the supernatural with the real horrors people faced in the aftermath of the Mexican War of Independence. Beatriz's plight was not an uncommon one--women were, and still are, searching for a path to freedom. And Beatriz believed she had found that freedom in being the Doña Solórzano, but even then she had limitations of others' opinions of her.
The Hacienda made me think about which how frightening real-life horrors can be. It made me reflect on the past and realize how much progress we've made but also how much progress we still have ahead of us. As Cañas points out in her author's note at the end of the novel, it's great to read books like these and ponder the past, but it's what we do going forward that really matters.
I highly recommend this novel to those who love horror and thrillers novels and are looking for a little more depth to their reading.
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Racism, Rape, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
Minor: Sexual assault, Abortion, and War
tamara_joy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Racism, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Confinement, Death, and Colonisation
Minor: Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Vomit, Abortion, Death of parent, Alcohol, and War
fkshg8465's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
yarisbooksandbevs's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Death, Gore, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Classism
Moderate: Cursing, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Rape, Sexual content, Abortion, Pregnancy, and War
ixris's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
There is a romance, but it's not hot and heavy, much more muted compared to many other novels I've read this year!
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Rape, Sexual content, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Abortion, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic
nancydrew023's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Rape, Vomit, and Abortion
scorpi07's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.5
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Alcoholism, Infidelity, Rape, Abortion, and War
radtj's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Death, Sexism, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Classism
a1exander's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Abortion and War