What I'm Reading: The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro With a Giveaway

Today, I am cross-posting the #HorrorForLibraries giveaway from the Horror blog because I also want to make sure all of my readers know about V. Castro's Big 5 debut. It comes out 4/18/23 so now is the time to make sure you got your pre-order in. Also, consider using the link toward the end to make sure you have all of her books because readers who discover this remarkable book will 100% want to read more.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2023

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway 114: The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro

Today I am offering a bound manuscript copy of V. Castro's first Big 5 novel. I gave this book a STAR win the January 2023 issue of Library Journal. Details below, but first, here are the details on how to enter:

1. You need to be affiliated with an American public library. My rationale behind that is that I will be encouraging you to read these books and share them with patrons. While many of them are advanced reader copies that you cannot add to your collections, if you get the chance to read them, my hope is that you will consider ordering a copy for your library and give away the ARC away as a prize or pass it on to a fellow staff member.
2. If you are interested in being included in any giveaway at any time, you must email me at zombiegrl75 [at] gmail [dot] com with the subject line "#HorrorForLibraries." In the body of the email all you have to say is that you want to be entered and the name of your library.
3. Each entry will be considered for EVERY giveaway. Meaning you enter once, and you are entered until you win. I will randomly draw a winner on Fridays sometime after 5pm central. But only entries received by 5pm each week will be considered for that week. I use Random.org and have a member of my family witness the "draw"based off your number in the Google Sheet.
4. If you win, you are ineligible to win again for 4 weeks; you will have to re-enter after that time to be considered [I have a list of who has won, when, and what title]. However, if you do not win, you carry over into the next week. There is NO NEED to reenter.

Click here to see giveaway #113. Our winner was Lauren from Rutherford [NY] Public Library. Now to this week's giveaway.

The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro is terrifying, both as a Horror novel, but also because all of the "haunting" is written to feel so real. Yes some of that is because it is based on misogyny and colonialism which are very real horror. Yes because Alexandra's pain is not just from generations of haunting and trauma, it is grounded in reality as well. But there is more than that. The way Castro describes Alejandra's life and then seamlessly incorporates her ancestors issue  immersive and terrifying that I felt the terror as I was reading. That is remarkable.

Here is the link to my LJ Star review draft language via Goodreads:

Three Words That Describe This Book: utterly terrifying, generational trauma, engrossing 

Draft review: Alejandra has just moved with her husband and three children from Texas to Philadelphia only months after finally connecting with her birth mother, Cathy. Overwhelmed, lonely, and paralyzed by suicidal thoughts which are manifesting as violent and disquieting visions that seems too real to be only in her head, Alejandra is barely getting through each day. Told mostly from Alejandra’s point of view in the novel’s “present,” and enhanced by well placed and clearly marked flashbacks beginning in 1522 and moving forward in time, readers follow Alejandra and her ancestors,watching helpless as a demon stalks the women of this family for centuries, actively feeding off of and infecting each generation of women. Using the Mexican horror folklore of La Llorona as a frame and expertly updating it for a modern audience, this is a story of generational trauma, colonization, systemic oppression, and the horror at the heart of motherhood. Utterly terrifying and wholly immersive, readers will be wowed by this confident, unflinching, and powerful tale of a woman reclaiming her power, actively fighting to save both herself and the countless women who will come after her. 

Verdict: Castro’s Big 5 debut will bring her critically acclaimed, unflinchingly honest, sensual, and raw horror to a larger audience. Suggest far and wide to fans of unapologetically feminist, thought-provoking, and engrossing horror that gives voice to the voiceless such as works by Carmen Maria Machado or Gwendloyn Kiste.

The Haunting of Alejandra is out April 18th. It is from Del Rey, the same imprint with PRH who published Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Josh Malerman, and more. This book will introduce more readers to Castro and you should go back and make sure you have her other titles which are spread out across the publishing landscape.

Thanks to Del Rey who shared a bound manuscript (this is pre-ARC) with me for the review process and so that I could host this giveaway.

Enter now and you are entered going forward and forward includes 2 winners of Eric LaRocca's debut novel (coming in April) and more! Good luck.