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4.22 AVERAGE
4.22 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
the only critiques i have are
1. we should've done more withnoah and/or conrad i think?? conrad just felt like a very obvious red herring that we never did anything with
2. the reveals thatarturo and carolyn are the witches was so expected 😠i didnt think they were actually the witches bc it was too obvious and yet...
1. we should've done more with
2. the reveals that
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
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
This was an amazing horror book. I was full of worry and dread for so many of the characters. In the beginning it was a bit slow because three timelines had to be introduced. But the way she interconnected those storylines was so well done. It was obvious who the witches were but that didn’t diminish the book at all. I did have to pause the book for a while to grapple with the incest. I never understood why it was necessary to the story. Arturo could have been a more distant relative or close to the family another way. And it was never addressed as wrong. I could be missing context from over 100 years ago but my 2025 mind was very upset . But once I decided to finish the book I was so satisfied. Thank God Hideo is ok. I was worried every time he did anything alone lol
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is the first Silvia Moreno-Garcia book I've ever read, so I had no idea what I was getting into, besides a horror story covering three generations that was about witches. What that means is, I went into it just expecting a spooky story heavy on the atmosphere with multiple points of view and witches. And I got exactly what was on the tin - an atmospheric horror story about how three different women, across three different eras, dealt with malevolent witchcraft trying to impact their lives. The three stories didn't all fit together; the two older tales branched off from the central story of Minerva. One explained how she knows how to save herself in the end. The other is the mystery she has to solve that puts her directly in danger.
And I loved it.
I love horror stories. I love witches. I love a story that spends as much time building the mood it wants you wrapped in as it does building the plot. And a good horror story does that. If you're not dreading what's waiting on the next page as much as you're desperate to know, then the author isn't doing their job. Silvia Moreno-Garcia does her job brilliantly.
Did I ID who the witches were before they were revealed in the book? Yeah, but I also figure out who did it in mystery novels, too. Doesn't ruin the experience for me.
Was it a more slow-build as far as plot? Sure. Did that bother me at all? Not in the least.
I enthusiastically recommend this to anyone who enjoys horror, especially witchy horror.
And I loved it.
I love horror stories. I love witches. I love a story that spends as much time building the mood it wants you wrapped in as it does building the plot. And a good horror story does that. If you're not dreading what's waiting on the next page as much as you're desperate to know, then the author isn't doing their job. Silvia Moreno-Garcia does her job brilliantly.
Did I ID who the witches were before they were revealed in the book? Yeah, but I also figure out who did it in mystery novels, too. Doesn't ruin the experience for me.
Was it a more slow-build as far as plot? Sure. Did that bother me at all? Not in the least.
I enthusiastically recommend this to anyone who enjoys horror, especially witchy horror.
dark
mysterious
tense
This was very predictable. The evil in all time periods was exactly who I thought it would be. The incest was exactly what I expected.
That’s not to say it wasn’t good, but it wasn’t surprising.
That’s not to say it wasn’t good, but it wasn’t surprising.
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Another solid book from Silvia Moreno Garcia! This one isn't going down in history as my favorite of her works, but it made for an interesting enough read.
As other readers have pointed out, the pacing is fairly slow—kind of a byproduct of alternating three POVs, each with their own story to set up. Personally, I found this fine—the book is less interested in plot than in constructing its atmosphere of slowly building dread. The pervasive mood was the best part, with all its unnatural sounds in the night, abandoned buildings, and malevolent invisible presences.
Of the three POVs, I found the two older narratives, Alba's and Betty's stories, more compelling than Minerva's tale of 90s scholarly isolation and depression. All three had fairly predictable endings, but I didn't hate that about them. Sometimes it's fun to be able to recognize an author's particular narrative stamp—their recurring themes, motifs, and character archetypes—and in SMG's case, her love for her genre and her inspirations.
Anyway. The tl;dr here is if you read this one, read it for the vibes.
As other readers have pointed out, the pacing is fairly slow—kind of a byproduct of alternating three POVs, each with their own story to set up. Personally, I found this fine—the book is less interested in plot than in constructing its atmosphere of slowly building dread. The pervasive mood was the best part, with all its unnatural sounds in the night, abandoned buildings, and malevolent invisible presences.
Of the three POVs, I found the two older narratives, Alba's and Betty's stories, more compelling than Minerva's tale of 90s scholarly isolation and depression. All three had fairly predictable endings, but I didn't hate that about them. Sometimes it's fun to be able to recognize an author's particular narrative stamp—their recurring themes, motifs, and character archetypes—and in SMG's case, her love for her genre and her inspirations.
Anyway. The tl;dr here is if you read this one, read it for the vibes.