Horror Aficionados discussion

Our second-place group read for December is The Hacienda by Isabel Canas. Please use spoiler tags to prevent ruining the mystery for other readers. Enjoy!

amazon-
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/059...

Author's website-
https://www.isabelcanas.com/

I'm #21 on 8 copies and I placed my hold on Oct. 8 so we'll see if i get it in time.

-_-

will definitely be joining in on this one! the library has a copy on hold for me rn so i can pick it up this week, yay! :)

I'm pretty stoked about this one. I'll def be joining in!

Yay! I have this one in my TBR cart!

I have the audiobook that I hear is really good, so will be listening to that next week :)

Got this one on cloud library! So excited for it!

Sally wrote: "Got this one on cloud library! So excited for it!"

wahooo!

Premise seems really cool, excited to read this one!

Kasia wrote: "I have the audiobook that I hear is really good, so will be listening to that next week :)"

I plan on starting towards the end of the week.

Just bought a copy, can't wait to start.

Yes! This one had my vote so I am excited to read it. My library miraculously has plenty of copies, so I'll be picking it up this weekend after I finish my other two current books.

Hope you guys all enjoy it as much as I did. Gothic is my happy place!!

picked my copy up yesterday so i'm going to start it tonight. :D

Just by a stroke of luck, this was on the new release shelf as I was returning a book to the local library. I'll be joining in soon. Have to finish my current book first.

i started reading it yesterday. It's got a really strong beginning.

I just got this book, but I'll be reading THE ROOT WITCH, first. (Better late than never!!)

I just finished this one! It’s so good!

Kimberly wrote: "I just got this book, but I'll be reading THE ROOT WITCH, first. (Better late than never!!)"

Ha, no worries :)

Kasia wrote: "Kimberly wrote: "I just got this book, but I'll be reading THE ROOT WITCH, first. (Better late than never!!)"

Ha, no worries :)"

At least I'm participating in both months (in one!) LOL!

Kimberly wrote: "Kasia wrote: "Kimberly wrote: "I just got this book, but I'll be reading THE ROOT WITCH, first. (Better late than never!!)"

Ha, no worries :)"

At least I'm participating in both months (in one!) ..."

I like your ambition. Why not challenge yourself? You inspired me to go for it. I'm attempting to read 4 books in group reads this month. No pressure. I may have to read them together in order to participate.
I used to read 3 books a week, and hold the plots in my head. I'm definitely going to find out if I still got it or not. (I know, improper grammar but it rhymes!)

You got this Michael!!

Michael wrote: "Kimberly wrote: "Kasia wrote: "Kimberly wrote: "I just got this book, but I'll be reading THE ROOT WITCH, first. (Better late than never!!)"

Ha, no worries :)"

At least I'm participating in both ..."
I'm usually doing one or two buddy reads, plus an arc or BETA a week.... but these books were too enticing to pass up, and I love the group discussions!

I didn't expect to finish this book so soon - it was absolutely a masterpiece in storytelling and suspense. A perfect gothic novel. I loved the characters and how they leaped off the page, the whole family history of Hacienda and how the story ties into the historical background of its time. The pacing is perfect too, not too heavy on the detail with a brilliant structure that switches between Beatriz and Padre Andrés for maximum tension.

Loved it, loved it, love it.

5 stars for me ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Full review (without spoilers) here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Kimberly wrote: "Michael wrote: "Kimberly wrote: "Kasia wrote: "Kimberly wrote: "I just got this book, but I'll be reading THE ROOT WITCH, first. (Better late than never!!)"

Ha, no worries :)"

At least I'm partic..."
Ha! I knew there had to be more multi-taskers in our group.

Started yesterday. I'm on Chapter 9, page 79. An impressive debut novel. Canas writes an engaging and eerie story. The short first chapter gives a good indication of what lies ahead, and leaves me guessing as to how this might end. That's not a bad way to begin. Also the atmosphere is established early with some great imagery in the paragraphs. Some examples of my favorite lines:
Page 1: "Behind me, high white stucco walls rose like the bones of a long-dead beast jutting from dark cracked earth."
Page 44: "Long grasses whispered against one another, gossiping like aunts as I crossed to the back wall of the garden."

Michael wrote: "Kimberly wrote: "Michael wrote: "Kimberly wrote: "Kasia wrote: "Kimberly wrote: "I just got this book, but I'll be reading THE ROOT WITCH, first. (Better late than never!!)"

Ha, no worries :)"

At..."
I can't wait to start this one! I'm on Chapter 7 on The Root Witch, and not feeling much yet...

At Page 127, Chapter 13. This is building up in tension and getting creepy. The priest is another character I like.
Page 87: "He knew. Intuition was a cool hand on my fevered brow."
Page 93: "But the thought of facing another night alone tightened my throat like a slipknot yanked taut."

i've just reached chapter 21! i'm really enjoying the writing; the author's descriptions are just haunting. (view spoiler)[at this point, it feels like things are playing out a little too straight forward so i'm waiting for a twist or some kind of reveal. i don't really have any predictions at the moment except that i think rodolfo murdered maria catalina because she found out he had been raping women and was maybe blackmailing him or something? maybe her intention isn't to hurt beatriz, but to scare her away as a way of protecting her? i guess we'll see! (hide spoiler)]

in response to my spoiler above... (view spoiler)[oh yeah, i forgot that the spirit of catalina had tried to push beatriz up the stairs at one point so she's probably not just trying to scare her away... i'mma just send that bad prediction to my mental garbage can, lol. (hide spoiler)]

At Page 163, Chapter 16. This became intense. I'm enjoying it.
Page 139: "The house watched me leave, its stare baldly appraising."
Page 140: "The earth at the house's foundation was saturated with sickness, a blight, its black veins leading up the hill to the gate and tangling under it like the roots of a cursed tree."
Page146: "Should is an oddly powerful word. Shame and anger have a way of flying to it like coins to lodestone."

i just finished today! (view spoiler)[overall, i really, really enjoyed reading this. i thought the sort of mystery aspect was very weak and played out pretty predictably, but i liked the characters a lot and thought the setting was fascinating. also, the writing was soooo beautiful and haunting. would've been a 5 star for me if there were more/better twists/reveals. i'm definitely interested in checking out the author's future works tho! :) (hide spoiler)]

Just finished last night and it was pretty good!

Just got ebook from my library! Will start today!!

Hoping to start next week!

At Page 223. I am fully engaged in the story at this point. Supernatural elements on steroids. And a bit of a mystery to be solved, which is like putting whipped cream on top of that great dessert.
Page 166: "Andres nodded slowly, carefully, as if his head were made of blown glass and shaking it too hard would cause it to shatter."
Page 167: "Paloma's voice snapped through the air with the finality of a book being shut."
Page 170: "The house sat differently on its foundations. Whereas before it had been slumped and rambling, the limbs of a hibernating beast curled around a central wing, now . . . Now it was awake.
Page 209: (view spoiler)[ "The closing of the circle was but a slap of plaster on a crack in a swollen dam. Water surged behind it, ready to burst forth; the crack grew wider and wider with each passing hour." (hide spoiler)]

I'm excited for this one! I'll likely start this one in a few days. I started NOS4A2 a couple of days ago and hope to make a reasonable dent in that one before starting another one :)

Starting today!

Now at Page 295, Chapter 29: I'd finish this today if I didn't already have too much on the menu.
(view spoiler)[I had a bad feeling about midway through the book that Juana could be behind some of the bad things, and started to worry for Beatriz. Hate to be right. Juana is evil, a wicked schemer. (hide spoiler)]

Update: I managed to finish this today! Great book. Glad that Horror Aficionados chose this for a group read.
Here's my review . . . . . . .

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I started last night and read to chapter 6 before bed. I admit, I don't know much about Mexican history, but, this author makes it really easy to be immersed in the story regardless. It's a time period I don't think I've read before, but it's very well crafted without being totally spoon-fed.

I read this one a few months ago. I liked it, but didn’t love it. I did enjoy the setting.

The author has another book coming out next year, about vampires. It sounds intriguing.

The author has another book coming out next year, about vampires. It sounds intriguing."

Thanks for this info - I usually don't read vampire stuff (apart from Dracula) but I loved this author's writing so will definitely look her up.

Hi, just joined your group today. I read this book as a group read in October. Enjoying looking at your discussion. A book about vampires coming out? I will look for it. This was a good debut novel.

I'm at 40% now. (view spoiler)[ Wondering how this priest/witch is going to play into all of this... (hide spoiler)]

I just finished the book and I am so pleased with it which is such a pleasant surprise. I am part of the small percentage of people who really didn't like Mexican Gothic which really upset me since I'm Mexican-American and was so excited for it. Reading the reviews comparing this book to Mexican Gothic made me so nervous going in as I didn't want to deal with long-winded, detailed imagery or feel bored. But this was so much better in my opinion.

I loved the characters and the imagery was creepy without being overly detailed. I appreciated the representation of Catholicism and witchcraft because that is such a conflict in my family due to the Church's disapproval of witchcraft (though not disbelief) but our family's indigenous roots teach us that not all witchcraft is evil and so many Mexicans vary across the spectrum in what they are willing to partake in. For example, if the Church can't help someone a Catholic may seek aid from a witch but a Catholic who fully agrees with the church won't even try. So seeing that clash here represented in the book and done well made me ecstatic.

3.75 stars for me though I'll give it a 4 on Goodreads. The plot was pretty predictable and I felt there wasn't enough buildup in the beginning to the creepiness and we just rush right into all of it. The writing itself flows beautifully and I really liked the characters, including the side characters.

Tiffany wrote: "I just finished the book and I am so pleased with it which is such a pleasant surprise. I am part of the small percentage of people who really didn't like Mexican Gothic which really upset m..."

I'm about halfway through, but I have to say that I agree with you about the way the story/writing just flows so well. I love the Catholic/witch connection as well. Although I did like Mexican Gothic, I have to say I'm enjoying this one even more. I believe it has a lot to do with the characterization, as more than just the main character is fully fleshed out, in my opinion.

So glad this book was chosen, or I might have missed this gem!

I didn't read Mexican Gothic but read this one in the early fall with another group. Are they very much different? Those of you have read both? I wanted read MG but my group voted on The Hacienda. I didn't love this book. It was just ok. I wonder if I should try to give MG a go???

debbicat *made of stardust* wrote: "I didn't read Mexican Gothic but read this one in the early fall with another group. Are they very much different? Those of you have read both? I wanted read MG but my group voted on The Hacienda. ..."

I haven't finished this one yet; however, I think it's quite different from MG, personally.

Kimberly wrote: "debbicat *made of stardust* wrote: "I didn't read Mexican Gothic but read this one in the early fall with another group. Are they very much different? Those of you have read both? I wanted read MG ..."

ok, good to know! I still have MG on my TBR. Thanks!