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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
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
baearles's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Violence, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Cursing, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Vomit, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and War
ktv's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Cursing, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Death of parent, and War
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Abortion, and Pregnancy
karmapen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Racism, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Sexual assault, Torture, Pregnancy, and War
hannah_and_her_stories'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Racism, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Cursing, Gore, Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual assault, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and War
Minor: Abortion
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
5.0
“When a man makes a promise, he makes it on his honor. When a witch makes a promise, they feel it in their bones.”
Ever come across a book that you just know you are going to love, but somehow it takes you ages to pick it up anyway? This is exactly what happened with The Hacienda for me. The blurb gave me Mexican Gothic vibes, which had me immediately intrigued. It is being compared to the classic Rebecca as well, which I confess I still have to read myself... But I'm definitely going to remedy that after finishing The Hacienda. Why? Let's just say that this debut blew me away completely, and I loved every single minute with this historical fiction/gothic horror/paranormal read. The pace in The Hacienda is actually quite a lot slower than I would usually like, but somehow it really worked for this story. This probably has a lot to do with the fact that the writing itself is fantastic; I fell in love with the way this story was written from the very beginning, and the gothic vibe is done is a sublime way. The building up of the tension, the uncertainty about what is really going on, the doubts about if the main character is just imagining things or something a lot more sinister (and supernatural) is going on... It was just all done in such a natural way, and the result was glorious. Add the historical fiction aspect with the 19th century Mexican setting, the religious aspect and the political/cultural issues, even the slowburn romance, and I couldn't give this debut anything less than the full 5 stars it deserved. Guess who will be reading a vampire book in the future even though she is usually allergic to any stories about vampires?
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
lorriss's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Abortion, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Gun violence, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, and Pregnancy
fifteenthjessica's review against another edition
- 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
It's a horror and historic fiction hybrid, and while I don't read the former much and can't say how well it holds up to others (it's the best of the few I've read), but the historic fiction aspects are excellent. Isabel Canas shows an expertise of the era of history she has set this in, and I think she gets around the issue of delivering exposition about the setting to readers less familiar with life in the era by making its presence related to some of the emotional wounds of her primary characters and really most of the cast. Canas demonstrates an excellent knowledge of how social issues like sexism, racism, colorism, and classism impact people/characters, and I find it hard to completely hate most of the antagonists.
The prose is gorgeous and at times macabre. I (and a few members of the book club I read this for) quickly learned that reading it at night is not a good idea as we were quite jumpy afterwards.
It's not a flawless debut. While the book focuses heavily on the casta class system in Mexico, the few members of the servant class that get development is almost entirely Andres and his family, which I think slightly undercuts the theme. Rodolfo also feels more like a plot device than a character, which I'm not sure how I feel about it. His decision to leave the hacienda in Beatriz and Juana's hands while he rubs elbows with politicians in the capital is necessary for character motivation, it leaves him underdeveloped, and readers are left on their own to reconcile the Rodolfo who his first wife adores and the one who (sexual abuse mention and a spoiler)
There is also something about the ending that left a bad taste in my mouth.
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Blood, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Rape, Sexual content, Vomit, Abortion, Alcohol, and War