Welcome to Litsy!

There‘s a lot of layers to this book: history, family, religion, love. But Cañas‘s tone is spooky as all get out and - like in most horror stories - humanity is scarier than any spirit or witch. I highly recommend this novel.

For #HauntedShelf let me recommend two of my favorite recent spooky reads:

The Hacienda by Isabel Canas
What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher

#FrightClub @Jadams89 @PuddleJumper

📚📚📚 This was s-l-o-w. I put this down for nearly 1.5 week because I was bored with it. Combo of Rebecca (which I didn‘t like) and Northanger Abbey (which I love) and a touch of every paranormal haunted house movie ever. I‘m being generous because while beautifully written, it‘s gagging in its pretentiousness; I said what I said. Some will love and others will loathe.

#StorySettings #May2024
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs

#HauntedHouse

I love a good haunted house story, unfortunately they are so hard to find. This one is good. It has hints of The Haunting of Hill House and Rebecca.

This was an excellent haunted house story taking place during the Mexican Revolution. This definitely has Rebecca and Mexican Gothic vibes with a priest bringing me back to an all time favorite, The Thorn Birds, though a witch. What can I say, I was addicted.

I will always be biased when it comes to reading any gothic tale. Loved this novel! Full of evil/vengeful spirits, a horrible man, history, witches, and a creepy estate. The only sad part was when it came to an end. I appreciated the headstrong heroine. I would hand this book to anyone who enjoys stories that have the potential to keep you up at night with a bit of history thrown in.

#Gothic #history #creepy #ebook #Mexico #chilling

What do you do when you're ill and have taken the day off from work? You read and get all of the cat cuddles!

#catsoflitsy #sickday #cuddles

When you go to the library to pick up *a* book...this is the result. And, of course, it's in addition to the existing TBR pile on the other corner of my desk. 😂📚🙄

Historical gothic horror set in Mexico? Yes please! I thought Andres (the hot priest character) was more interesting than the Beatriz - but I enjoyed reading about them both. It was creepy and exorcisty

Loved it! Started a little slow, but ended up really good. A haunting, a bad hacendado/husband, a crazy sister, and a (hot) priest/witch! This book has it all, and it‘s a really good debut by the author. â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�â­�ï¸�

I don‘t know what worse, the number of older BOTM books I have, or the dust on my bookshelves 🤷ðŸ�»â€�♀ï¸� @currentlyreadinginCO @BeckyWithTheGoodBooks any preferences?

Didn't quite manage a bingo, but a pretty good October #ISpyBingo

@clwojick @thearomaofbooks

It was a hard choice between The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas and Bookshops and Bonedust by Travis Baldree, but for Halloween, I had to go with my 5 star horror read for the favorite of the month.

@chasjjlee

This was a reread for me for my IRL book club. I still really enjoyed this one, and again, I couldn't help but compare it to Rebecca while reading.

I love a book where the house becomes a character all on its own. This one is a slow build, but that's typical with gothic literature. This author has some truly beautiful writing, which makes this book really come alive on the page.

#Scarathlon #SpookyGhostClub @Clwojick

5/5

I love a good gothic horror, especially one with a haunted house. In the aftermath of the Mexican War of Independence, Beatriz is looking for the kind of security her new husband provides: a home of her own. But Hacienda San Isidro is not a welcoming place, and as more and more strange things occur, Beatriz must figure out who or what she should be protecting herself from.

This book was an enigma. It was creepy and thrilling, yet lyrical and romantic. I had to take my time to read this, savoring the word/phrase choices and really digesting what was being told by the author. This is within a genre that I typically would pass along immediately after reading, but may keep to read again in order to experience it a different way. 🤔
#Deweys24HrReadathon #OutstandingOctober
@Andrew65

Tita believed words are power: they may lay your destiny in stone or shatter a legacy altogether. Words can damn or bless in equal measure, and are never to be used lightly.

I started this before the readathon, so hoping to finish this one today!

I have been gone for months! I had a big move in July and had to forego tracking of my reading since May in order to pack up my library of over 900 books. 😬
Finally feeling settled in and ready to get back on track. This is my TBR for #Deweys24HrReadathon and #OutstandingOctober
@Andrew65

Enjoyed this one. Also these apple cider donuts from a local donut shop are awesome. Another #halloweenbucketlist item complete.🎃👻ðŸ�ˆâ€�⬛ #scarathlon #teamBOOks @Bookwormjillk

Ok, I‘m not a gothic horror person. This book scared the shit out of me.
But… I also loved it?
Beatriz married Don Solorzano, ensuring she got something she hasn‘t had since the government killed her father: a home. The problem is, the house is not welcoming to a new woman in the don‘s life.
Finding an ally in servant Paloma and her priest/witch cousin Andres, Beatriz fights for survival against forces unknown.

4â­�
I'm just gonna say it....this is Encanto meets the Exorcist. Lol
Weird...I know..but fitting.

On top of the haunted house story, I enjoyed learning about Mexican life shortly after its war of independence from Spain, the caste system of the time, and how strong women carved out their own power in times of expected submission. Also, the forbidden romance subplot.
Overall, a creepy and wonderful debut.
#botm

It's dark and stormy and perfect reading weather for this book! 💀🌩�

It‘s the 1800s right after the Mexican War for Independence. Beatriz, with few options for women at the time, decides to marry Rodolfo Solorzano and live with him in his hacienda in San Ysidro. He leaves her there and while he is away at the capital, she discovers all the horrors of the hacienda. Her only hope comes in from Andres, a witch/curandero/priest. This was great, the writing smooth, and I felt for Beatriz and Andres. Pick!

I‘m a sucker for gorgeously written gothic horror and haunted house stories. This delivers on both fronts.

If you are from or spent a good amount of time in the American Southwest or Texas, Mexico, Central America, or northern South America, you will understand the depth and atmosphere of this story when I say this one thing: La Llorona.

I loved the story but I did thing it was a bit slow in parts. It was definitely a creepy book with a lot of history and excellent descriptions, but it felt like it took a long time to get into it and then certain parts dragged for me. Overall, I thought this was a solid book with a great premise!

This is a fun one! Kind of Mexican Gothic meets Cinderella, with a dash of Jane Eyre, The Exorcist, and The Amityville Horror, which isn't to say it's derivative... it's its own thing, just with echoes of those other stories. I don't love everything about it (some things seem inconsistent with the time period), but overall I had a very fun time reading it. #gettbr

I enjoyed this Mexican gothic story inspired by (?) Rebecca.
If you enjoy any kind of "Rebecca-esque" stories I would highly suggest this. The narration was great too. The only part I probably found unnecessary was the extra romance line. But for a debut novel, I think this is impressive.
Oh, if you aren't a fan of the supernatural kind of story line, maybe give it a pass.
(The look you get when you cuddle for 2min and then go back to work.)

Creepy!

This was a slow, creepy, gothic horror with a touch of a love story - not a romance. It has a setting of post revolutionary Mexico, and the added in historical and cultural elements were excellent. It definitely was slow moving the first half, which built a proper sense of doom yet also lost my interest at times. Our heroine Beatriz starts as a bit of a weak character, but toughens up and becomes more interesting as the story continues.⬇�

Great!!!

Congratulations & Happy Birthday @wanderinglynn A brilliant achievement lovely! I‘d love to receive the tagged book, I‘ve heard great things about itðŸ‘�

#300kBirthdayGiveaway

Christmas haul. Some of them were to my boyfriend and me from his brother since we read so many together 🖤

Taking place a few years after the Mexico War of Independence, a young woman marries a wealthy politician and moves with him into the family hacienda. A hybrid of "Rebecca", "The Thorn Birds" and "The Haunting of Hill House", Isabel Canas brings us this thrilgothic horror story about family, greed, revenge and the extent one will go to retain power.

�������� / great read.

I tried, but I couldn‘t do it. I‘m making it a thing in 2023 for me where I stop reading books I‘m not enjoying. I usually force myself to finish, but I‘m realizing life is too short to read books I don‘t enjoy…and this is one of them. Oh well, onto the next one!

Starting tonight 😬
I hate to admit, I have high expectations because I still have a book hangover from my previous read 🤷��♀�

Finally finished this which I started in October. I was enjoying it but had library books to prioritise so it was put on the back burner for a while. I loved the setting and atmosphere of this gothic novel but wished it had a bit more creepiness. The narration was great and loved the overall vibes

I rejoined #gettbr after a year's hiatus. I was craving the surprise of curated titles and decided to treat myself. I made a video, too, which I'll post to YouTube if I ever get it edited. I have to do a voiceover because my family didn't seem to get the memo that I wanted it quiet on the set (or that the dining room table was the set).

This was an incredibly gripping thriller! I couldn't put it down and finished about 90% of it in one night! There were a few aspects that were a little predictable but the storytelling was so good, I didn't mind.

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier is one of my favorite books, so I was intrigued by the comparisons to The Hacienda. While both novels begin with a young bride arriving at an ancestral mansion with a husband she hasn‘t known for long, the comparisons end there. The Hacienda is a horror novel, not a gothic suspense. The characters, setting, and descriptions are very well done and kept me turning the pages.

Bailing out at 40% - maybe I‘ll pick it up as a hard copy vs audiobook

I absolutely loved this book! It was terrifying, touching, and filled with historical detail that really immersed me in the story. I honestly got chills a few times - I love a haunted house with strange noises and whispers going on! The ending was just ok but didn‘t ruin the story for me. I still loved it overall! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟