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crothe77's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
5.0
I received an ARC by the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Castle of the Cursed by Romina Garber is a contemporary YA fantasy with Gothic and horror elements. When Estela’s family and twenty-three others are killed on a subway in NewYork and she is the lone survivor, she’s sent to live with her aunt in Spain in their family castle, la Sombra. Estela struggles to adjust to her new life without her parents and in a new country where she doesn't speak the language, but the castle isn’t going to wait for her to adjust.
There’s a lot of Spanish used throughout the novel, which is great practice if you’re studying the language. Estela learns Spanish under her aunt’s instructions to become reacquainted with her ancestral hometown, Oscuro, and her own past, something that really resonated with me and my family’s experiences with language loss.
The Gothic and horror elements mostly take shape in the vampire who haunts Estela and the castle itself. I thought they were woven in in a really interesting way, particularly in how la Sombra is tied to the residents of Oscuro.
I would recommend this to readers of YA looking for a Gothic fantasy, fans of vampire romance subplots, and readers who enjoy rediscovery plotlines in their fantasy novels.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault
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