Isabel CañasBesprekingen

Hacienda by Isabel Canos.
BIBLIOGRAPHIC DETAILS:
Available Print: COPYRIGHT:) 5/3/2022; PUBLISHER: Doubleday, First edition; ISBN 978-0593436691; PAGES 352; Unabridged

Available Digital: Yes

The version I listened to: *Audio: COPYRIGHT: 11/3/2009; ISBN: 9780593552681; PUBLISHER: Books on Tape; DURATION: 11:13:44; PARTS: 10; File Size: 320590 KB; Unabridged; (Overdrive: LAPL)

Feature Film or tv: No

SERIES: No

SUMMARY/ EVALUATION:
How I picked it: It was close to Halloween when a friend, Susan, recommended it.
What it was about: A young lady marries for convenience, thinking she has no other choice and knowing a nice home comes with the marriage that she imagines she can bring her mother to, to live. The family and servants of the man she has married are not welcoming, and then she finds that the house isn’t either. When she requests that the church assist her with blessing the house, trouble begins.
What I thought: Actually, this is the kind of story, that, were I to accidentally begin watching it on TV, I would instantly turn off. I am no longer the teenager that enjoyed ghost stories complete with gore and evil beings. (In fact, this one actually gave me nightmares.) But, because I didn’t have to endure the visuals, it had been recommended by a friend, and there was a strong enough plot, I completed it. For its genre it was great, for me it wasn’t. These are the times I struggle with ratings.

AUTHOR:
Isabel Canos
From Goodreads__ “Isabel Cañas is a Mexican-American speculative fiction writer. After having lived in Mexico, Scotland, Egypt, and Turkey, among other places, she has settled (for now) in New York City. She holds a doctorate in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations and writes fiction inspired by her research and her heritage.”

NARRATOR(S):
Victoria Villarreal:
Sorry, I didn’t find any biographies online.

Lee Osorio
From AudioFile_ “Lee is an actor, audiobook narrator, and playwright based in Atlanta. He identifies as a queer, Latinx, Democratic Socialist, Christian with Buddhist leanings. Fall of 2021, Lee was one of 1600 applicants to be selected to participate in the first cohort of Penguin Random House Audio Narrator Mentorship Program. He has since recorded multiple titles with PRH.”

GENRE:
Fiction; Horror; Romance; Thriller

SUBJECTS:
Ghosts, witchcraft; Priests; haunted houses
RATING:.
3
STARTED READING – FINISHED READING
12-18-2022 to 12-24-2022

I was looking forward to this book quite a bit, based on the setting (1823 Mexico) and the description of Rebecca + spooky horror. Thus my disappointment that it just doesn't work for me is huge.

To start, the additional marketing line that The Hacienda is at all similar to Mexican Gothic is just that - and laughable, too. They're both haunted house stories set in Mexico, but that's about it. I found Mexican Gothic much more sinister, and thrilling, and more pointed in its treatment of colonialism, religion, and the other usual Gothic themes.


The Hacienda has some very good, evocative sections but mostly falls flat for me. I quit when on page 110, we get this paragraph:

“I will be safe, Doña Beatriz.”

But I wouldn’t be. If I knew anything about how the house felt—and lately I was beginning to worry I knew altogether too much—I knew that it resented people like him and me. People with plans and ideas. Dread drummed a militant beat in my chest at the thought of going back to my room and sitting in the dark, all the while aware he was poking and prodding around the house’s entrails. He didn’t understand what this house was. He couldn’t.

Up to this point, there has been no indication that the house resents Beatriz because of her plans for it. In fact, we know that the housekeeper and Beatriz's husband's sister do as much as they can to avoid being in the house, but not that they have any plans for it. Though it's not stated outright, it's suggested that they are also harmed by the house - in fact, the housekeeper doesn't spend time in the kitchen without spells of protection.

So where is this coming from, that the house resents people with plans for it? Does Beatriz completely ignore everyone else in San Isidro who says the house is bad news? She certainly seems to have a lot of disdain for absolutely everyone she meets, without much textual reason why. The paragraph above isn't much different from chapter 2, which I had to read three times before I could spot in the text indications that Beatriz was hungry to be in charge, and assumed she was hated by the residents of San Isidro for being the new patróness. (It was just so... mild, I didn't pick up on the grasping greed at all!)

Most of the writing style is the same breathless short sentences for emotional emphasis, but it generally feels flat for me, without any real stakes behind them, thus far. Beatriz doesn't need to be a likable character, but I do want to care about what happens to her. Unfortunately, I don't. Juana, the patrón's older sister now displaced from her position in charge, is far more interesting to me than the bland new wife who doesn't seem to care about anything but shoving her new position into her aunt's face.

This book could have been so interesting and compelling, but it has no real stakes and treats the more interesting secondary characters as not interesting, actually. (At least, as of page 110.)

Such a pity.

Set in Mexico after the War for Independence, the main characters clash in their attempt to regain an ordinary existence. ..oh, and the Hacienda is haunted! (Think Rebecca meets Mexican Gothic).
Well written, fast-paced and an interesting, creepy story.

Beyond words. This was just so good from start to finish and I was blown away by the sheer brilliance of every aspect of this novel.

I do not even like horror stories. I tend to shun them as I am easily frightened. But this had me turning page after page in sheer awe.

The beauty of the writing made this a story about vampires that I WILL recommend to friends and family alike. The love story intertwined alternatingly had me yelling at the characters and crying when things went awry.

Desperately awaiting a third book from Isabel Cañas. Any wait is much too long...

Historical fiction, romance, vampires! Vampires of El Norte is a captivating blend of genres, two of which I don't regularly read. This novel was fantastic! Beautifully written, with evocative imagery, gorgeous descriptions of twilight and skies, food and plant life. Peppered with Mexican words and phrases that sent me to my dictionary, Vampires of El Norte enhanced my vocabulary as well.

I enjoyed the alternating third-person viewpoints of protagonists Nena and Néstor. Their history, their relationships, their inner states were enthrallingly rendered. The scenes of closeness and intimacy between them were filled with longing and desire and were sweaty, steamy, delicious.

In her author's note, Isabel Cañas talks about all of the challenges and hard work that went into the writing of Vampires of El Norte. Kind of makes me feel bad that I devoured the novel in only six days. But I couldn't help myself: it's just that good.

4.75/5

This book exceeded my expectations. Going in, I had not even read the book description, but the title caught my eye. Needless to say, a wonderful story. Nena drove me nuts, quite a bit of the time, as she just needed to get over herself and go back to Nestor, but their finale was worth the wait. A Horror Romance is exactly what this was and I loved it.½

I'm not usually big on romances but I do like horror and have a soft spot for Mexican history so I was willing to make an exception. This is my second book by this author and she is very good at describing life in the nineteenth century haciendas and in injecting suspense into her stories. She can be a bit florid at times and her characters tend to spend a lot of time soul searching, but that's the nature of the paranormal romance genre that hit its heyday in the 1970s with lots of books like the Dark Shadows series. I did enjoy this book more than her first book and will probably keep an eye out for her future publications.

Well, well, well. This superb novel is one that is difficult to describe for sure. The Vampires of El Norte is about 60% beautiful love story mixed with about 40% horror. An unusual blend for sure, but one the author deftly pulls off with finesse. When I cracked open the book I was not familiar with the author Isabel Canas but I can assure you I will be looking now for her 1st book and everything that comes in the future. Her writing style is just beautiful, her character development excellent, and as for the plot she gets high praise from me for ingenuity and creativity. The horror aspects had edge-of-your seat chilling scenes, the love story was romantic in and old-fashioned chivalrous way.

In addition, this is a historical novel. The place is Mexico, the time is 1842 at the onset of the Mexican American War. I found this interesting because it is a time period I didn't know much about.

I have only one negative to express. The author used a LOT of Spanish words and phrases in the book. I think a glossary of terms at the end of the book would have been very helpful. I noticed that other Amazon reviewers had the same thought.

If you are up for something extremely original, give The Vampires of El Norte a try. I don't like to give spoilers but will say that the "vampires" in this story are not the kind of vampires we normally see in films or read about in other horror fiction.

4 stars from this new Isabal Canas fan!

TW/CW: Language, violence, death, mild sexuality

RATING: 4.5/5

REVIEW: Vampires of El Norte is the story of a vaquero named Nestor and the eldest daughter of a rancher named Nena. Taking place in the mid-1840’s during the war between Mexico and Texas, the two are faced with war and the appearance of vampires in the area.

This is a beautifully written book, and I really enjoyed it. It was scary in points, but very sweet at points too, and I loved the relationship between Nestor and Nena. While for the most part it was realistic historical fiction, the author worked in the vampires so that it didn’t seem absurd or out of place. It was an exciting book and very engaging – I read the whole thing in two days.

I definitely recommend this book, and this author – I love everything she’s written!½

Beautiful writing. I don’t know that the story held many twists and turns that were unexpected or that the vampires were very terrifying but the writing is captivating.

Beautifully written gothic story. Those who love Rebecca and Mexican Gothic will love this story. Also involves forbidden love.

I had heard this wasn't heavy on horror going in, so I wasn't surprised to find this lacking in scary. However, I didn't realize instead this was basically historical romance, which is not always my favorite. This is set in 1840s Mexico/Texas which was a fantastic backdrop for the story, and I did love the characters. I just wish the war conflict/vampires had played a larger role. I did love the type of actual monster vampires here, no one is falling in love with them any time soon.

Even though this book is titled Vampires of El Norte, it's really about the love between the daughter of a rich land owner and a lowly worker on the ranch that she grew up with. There are vampires in the story, but they really are not the main focus of the story. But I was really ok with that because I loved the story of Nena and Nesto. Well worth checking out.

Beatriz marries to escape after her father is killed during the Mexican Revolution. She believes that marrying Rodolfo and moving into Hacienda San Isidro is the solution to all her problems. However upon arrival at the hacienda, things are not all that they seem. A domineering and skeptical sister, Juana disregards Beatriz’s fears - leading Beatriz to question her sanity. But she ultimately enlists the help of Padre Andres to exorcize the house. What follows is a classic tale of haunting, with twists and turns to keep you on the edge of your seat.

Canas has done well here - reminiscent of Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier with a terrible haunting and an isolated heroine. Complete with era specific details, Canas evokes the fear and longing within Beatriz and her desires while also highlighting her strength. The character development was on point - the emotions felt for the characters ranged from deep hatred and disgust to respect and love. Excellent debut.

I'm a sucker for gorgeously written gothic fiction and haunted houses. On both fronts, The Hacienda delivers.

I can't overstate how much I love Cañas's prose. She manages to thread the balance of luscious (and terrifying) description and propulsive readability; it allows me to savor what's on the page while also exciting me to turn it and see what will happen next.

Highly recommended. I'm excited to see what else she has in store.

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.½

I loved The Hacienda. It reminded me of my grandmother's stories which were full of magic and faith tied together with a bit of darkness and creepiness. The story involves a traitor, a priest, a ghost, family and life in Mexico during a turbulent time in it's history. There was even a Mrs Danvers - with a Latina twist of course. I flew through the story and know that it will be one that i reread in the near future. Can't wait to read more by this author.

I didn't get very far into this before I gave up. The characters and the story just didn't grab my attention.

This book reminded me in a lot of ways of ‘Mexican Gothic’ but in a lot of ways was a lot better. ‘The Hacienda’ is the story of a young woman who marries and hopefully moves into her husband’s home, only to find out that the house is haunted by evil. Unlike ‘Mexican Gothic’, this book does not go totally crazy at the end. It’s got a good ending that doesn’t totally jump the shark. I really enjoyed this book and I recommend to fans of gothic literature

I really enjoyed the setting of this otherwise fairly pedestrian gothic novel. If you like Mexico and enjoy gothic novels, you may enjoy this.

Engrossing, well-written story of a cursed house

Set in Mexico just after the war Beatriz marries for stability and moves into her husbands home. It's not long before things start going bump in the night.

I wanted to read this book as it was described as Mexican Gothic which I have read and thought was ok, and Rebecca which is my favourite book. I have to say I did enjoy the book more than I did with Meican Gothic.

This story certainly has gothic undertones and tries very hard to come across as a haunted house mystery. I enjoyed the storyline but again struggled to find the book scary, that is just me however. The story has got its creepy descriptions and at times I did think of The Haunting of Hill House.

The book was very easy to read, I felt it dragged on in places even though the story isn't overlong. I did enjoy reading the book overall.

I'm not really a fan of gothic horror so I was really surprised that I liked this book so much. I am glad that I decided to give gothic horror another chance, and that I chose this book to do so.

I rate this book 4.5 stars and the only reason that I did not give it a 5-star rating is because the ending felt a bit unfinished.½

Couldn’t get into this audiobook — very hard to understand some of the narrator’s words. I stopped partway through but may try again with a print edition.½

Much as I looked forward to this book, I can't say I enjoyed it. Based on plot/description, it should have been just up my alley, but the overwrought style and odd pacing more often left me alternating between being frustrated and bored. In general, it seemed as if the author slowed down to focus on overdoing description when it just wasn't needed--for instance, giving us a paragraph of telling us how nervous a character was when we could already tell from her actions--and then speeding through actual action and/or creepiness that would have sucked me in. Particularly when the two main characters were together, the focus on building up and following through on the romantic element of the text felt incredibly awkward, whereas I would have loved more focus on the more haunting/horror-related aspects of the plot.

Perhaps it's just the style of the book that wasn't for me, but it felt so uneven, I simply couldn't enjoy it. I even sometimes found myself wishing that we had the same story told from a different character's POV, I found the main characters so unsympathetic, and their overwrought emotions so tiresome (probably because we were told so much about them, even when they were already shown). But then, a different character's POV would have made for a different book.

I'm not sure if I'd try another work by the author. I suspect I'd be more inclined to try any publication of short fiction since there were lovely moments in terms of language and I do think I could have loved the story, but the characters and the drawn-out nature of the emotions/telling just killed it for me.