June Read: The Enchanted Hacienda by J. C. Cervantes

 

I'm a sucker for a novel that involves gardens, flowers, and magic. 

Harlow Estrada is fresh off a break up with her loser boyfriend on the same day she loses her job.  She leaves New York City for the family farm and business in Mexico. Run by her mother and aunt, the Hacienda Estrada is a magical place. And I mean magical in every sense of the word. Acres of flowers, a fantastic hacienda, and yes, a bond with the land courtesy of a goddess. 

Harlow is the only woman in her family that has no apparent magic. Everyone else has a way with flowers that amplifies their gift. Now Harlow is back to stay for a few weeks while her mother and aunt take a vacation to Italy. It's just the break Harlow needs to find her creative spark and maybe, just maybe, her magical gift. 

There's also a gorgeous man she meets in the local village--Ben. He's drop dead hot, and seems to be interested in Harlow. But wow, their relationship is a bit of a hot mess, and it's the main romance of the novel. Harlow's emotions get in the way of her heart and cause a lot of trust issues with Ben.

This was a cute read; I was mostly interested in the farm and the magic used with the flowers. I found that all fascinating and dang if I wouldn't like to live on a magical flower farm. I thought the story dragged a bit and Harlow's questioning herself and Ben over and over was a bit annoying. 

I hope there are more stories involving Harlow's sisters and cousins--they each have magical gifts and none of them are in relationships--so many possible sequels to this novel. 

I don't have a deep introspective review of this novel. It was enjoyable; I'll be honest I went outside to my lavender pot and swept my hand over the buds to inhale the scent. Too bad I don't have a magical bone in my body! But this was a great reminder for me to see the magic in the flowers I have in my backyard. 

Themes about starting over; ending something can mean the beginning of a great new life; embracing being creative, trust yourself and your feelings. 

Fans of Sarah Addison Allen and Heather Webber will enjoy this magical novel.

Rating: 3/6 for a novel that will take you away from everyday life for just a bit, to a place where the flowers bloom and magic is all around. 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

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June Read: The Enchanted Hacienda by J. C. Cervantes

October Read: The Vicious Circle by Katherine St. John

 

Katherine St. John's The Siren  was a favorite read of mine last year, so I was excited to pick up her latest novel, The Vicious Circle. It definitely had a lot of pulse pounding moments, along with  scary cult vibes.

Sveta is a model who lives in NYC and is engaged to a wealthy young man. She struggles to fit into his family's ideal and their New Year's Eve ends with an argument and a decision by Sveta to take some time to rethink their life together.

Soon after this, Sveta learns her Uncle Paul has died, and left her his entire estate. This isn't just some small estate; it's worth $180 MILLION dollars. Paul was a well-known self-help guru who built a fortune on classes, retreats, books, and speaking tours. He also has a villa called Xanadu in the Mexican jungle, and that's where his funeral will take place. Sveta feels like she needs to travel to Xanadu to say her final farewell to her Uncle, but hoo boy, it's one weird place.

Sveta is joined on her trip by Lucas, a man she once had a memorable encounter with years before, but never heard from since. He's in charge of Paul's estate, and he's worried Paul's spiritual wife Kali is up to something. 

Once they're at Xanadu, it's pretty clear this is a cult and Kali is in charge. Not only that, she produces a will that leaves everything to her, not Sveta, and wants Sveta to sign off on a deal that gives Sveta a percent of the estate, but leaves the bulk to Kali. Conveniently, the helicopter that is supposed to pick up Sveta and Lucas the next day is mysteriously damaged and can't fly. All technology is locked up in a room where Kali has the only key; no privacy anywhere. As Sveta and Lucas start to dig around, they discover some unsettling practices and realize Kali is dangerous, and their lives are at stake. 

There's more to this, of course. It's a typical cult in that sex is always a big part of it, and giving up everything you have to join and ascend to a higher vibration. Sveta is torn between believing Kali (she's very persuasive) and believing Lucas, who has lied to her before. 

Will Sveta make the right choices and escape? Who is she going to trust? The last bit of the novel takes off and the action escalates; there are revelations all around about Paul, Sveta, Lucas, Kali, and the cult. 

I enjoyed the novel but wasn't blow away by it, as I was with The Siren. I guess the cult part felt like an old trope with nothing new to make it any different than other novels featuring cults--or heck, even the real ones we see on TV. Otherwise it was a good weekend read with no surprises I didn't see coming.

Rating: 3/6 for a novel that centered around a cult-what it was, how people got sucked into it, and how dangerous it was to break free. It's all about absolute power corrupting absolutely--and no one is safe from it. 

Available in hardcover, ebook and audio. 

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October Read: The Vicious Circle by Katherine St. John

Summer Reading 2022: The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas

 

I took a few days of vacation to make a long weekend and was determined to finish a few books in my summer TBR list. This novel has been in my pile for a few months. I started it in May, got distracted, and put it down. Yesterday I picked it back up and got swept away pretty immediately. 

Beatriz needs to get married to escape the awful life her and her mother are in after her father is taken away in the night and murdered for plotting against the Mexican government. It's 1823 and women have limited choices. She married Rodolfo Solórzano, a wealthy man who takes her to his home, the Hacienda San Isidro. 

Beatriz isn't greeted with much enthusiasm by the servants at San Isidro, nor Rodolfo's sister Juana. She's the second Doña Solórzano, and yikes it's not the welcome she was hoping for. The first wife of Rodolfo was a horrible woman who treated the servants terribly and made everyone's life miserable. She died from typhoid a few years before. 

However, the moment Beatriz steps into the hacienda, she feels something is terribly, terribly wrong. The house seethes with bad energy; cold air sweeps through in waves; doors slam, and there are those terrible red eyes peeking through the darkness. Rodolfo leaves for business in the capitol, and Beatriz is terrified to live in the house alone. She hears voices, sees terrible visions, and is afraid to sleep. 

She attends church, and asks for a blessing. Snubbed by the older, crabby Padre, she meets Padre Andrés, a young priest who grew up at San Isidro and has returned to take care of the village outside of the hacienda. He agrees to bless the hacienda, and oh boy, what he feels and sees when he visits is exactly what Beatriz experiences: an unholy, terrible, evil force. 

Who's that force? Why, the first Doña, of course. Beatriz is frantic to fight the evil-she just isn't strong enough to do it herself. Andrés has a few surprises of his own that may just be enough to fight the evil that inhabits the hacienda. It may kill them first, though. 

There's a lot going on here with back story and the aftermath of the Mexican War of Independence. Generations of people working on the same land; generations of the same land owners treating those people poorly and taking advantage of them. People who can't get away because of the class system that keeps them down. A priest who is also a witch, and must be careful to not be exposed. A woman who thought she was marrying a man who would give her a home, only to realize the home, and her husband, are awful. Cut off from any help, she only had Andrés to turn to. The folks around the hacienda know something dark is there, but are too afraid to do anything about it. 

This was a spooky story--I could feel that numbing cold rolling down the hallways. Author Isabel Cañas does an excellent job building tension and terror and ramping it up. This is evil that is vicious and nasty. Can you imagine what this woman was like when she was alive?! I raced through this horror novel, and was tense every time Beatriz had to be in the hacienda alone. 

A horror novel of a different kind, set in 1823 Mexico. The setting was well drawn and I could picture it all in my mind. Beatriz was smart, tough, and stalwart in her belief that there was something very wrong in the hacienda. Padre Andrés was a complex character torn by guilt as a priest and the power he was born to use for good. 

Rating: 5/6 for a tense, atmospheric horror novel with a historical setting. Once I got into it, I was hooked. 

A big thanks to Berkley for an ARC of the novel. 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

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Summer Reading 2022: The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Well, I tried unsuccessfully to put my facebook video on this here blog, but it wouldn't play nice. So, I'm writing my review. If you're interested in my video review of Mexican Gothic, head on over to @Bookaliciousbabe on Facebook to watch it. 

So, Silvia Moreno-Garcia's previous novel, Gods of Jade and Shadow, was one of my top reads of 2019. I'm always up for a tale of mythology; I loved mythology as a child, and that love has never faded! Now I'm enjoying the plethora of new novels about so many different cultures and their mythology.

Moreno-Garcia takes gothic and puts one heck of a spin on it; I tell people this is gothic horror. And not slasher movie horror, but that horror that seeps into your bones and makes it a little hard to sleep at night. 

So, onto a brief plot summary: Noemi is a smart, beautiful, upper class Mexican living the good life in 1950 Mexico City. She's finishing college and having fun attending parties. Her cousin Catalina sends a letter to Noemi's father that causes some concern: she claims her husband and his family are keeping her locked up, she's seeing things in their home, and she's afraid. So Noemi's father makes a deal with her-if she'll travel to High Place (Catalina's home) and check on her cousin, her father will pay for her to go to school for a Master's degree. Noemi packs her bags and heads to the mountains and High Place. 

High Place is one weird place. Catalina's new family are English, and own silver mines in the region. Those mines are closed down due to the revolution, and the family is hurting financially. Their home--High Place is one dank, damp, moldy and dark place. Definitely gothic. And the family; well, Virgil is coldly handsome (Catalina's husband), Francis is Virgil's cousin and a nice young man; Florence is Francis' mother and the daughter of Howard, the head of the family. Howard is also dying, and quite frankly a hot mess physically. Repulsive would be an understatement. Noemi settles in for a visit, and immediately knows there's something just not right about the place or the people. She also is shocked by Catalina's appearance and behavior. 

Noemi starts having nightmares--they feel completely real, and she wakes up wandering around the house. As she digs into the family history, everything becomes more unsettling and weird--but you have no idea just how unsettling and weird until the last 50 pages or so. 

I can't tell you more, because this is definitely a novel you have to read and discover for yourself. It's also one that you should discuss with others. This is an author to watch--she's on my list of authors I'll immediately read without hesitation. 

Rating: 5/6 for a truly out of bounds novel that combines the best of gothic with a twisty horror story that truly is imaginative. And yes, there is a little bit of ick, so be prepared. 

Available in hardcover ebook, and audio. 

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Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Light Changes Everything by Nancy E. Turner

To say I was a little excited to read this book would be an understatement. I read Nancy Turner's first novel, These is My Words, waaaay back in the late 1990's, and absolutely fell in love with it. To this day, it remains one of my favorite novels. 

Most people re-read favorite novels over and over, but I don't. I like to preserve that experience of discovering a story that sticks with me the first time I read it, and I think that if I read it again, it will somehow change for me, and I don't want that. So I will continue to tell people about These is My Words, all based on my first and only read. 

However, Nancy Turner kept writing, and wrote Sarah's Quilt and The Star Garden, and My Name is Resolute, which continue the story of Sarah Prine, and then jump back to Sarah's ancestor, Resolute. Light Changes Everything tells the story of Mary Pearl Prine, Sarah's niece.  It's 1907, and Arizona is still a territory of the United States, and still a dangerous place to live. Mary Pearl is seventeen and wants to go to college. She's been accepted into Wheaton College in Illinois to study art and is excited to go. However, just as she's making preparations, in walks Aubrey Hanna, a rising lawyer who sees Mary Pearl and decides he must marry her. 

Mary Pearl is torn between marriage to an up and coming young man, and following her dream to attend college. She decides to leave for college quickly, sending Aubrey a letter stating that she does want to marry him, just not quite yet. 

Mary Pearl's life changes at Wheaton College. She's the young lady from the Wild West, and is at odds with the sophisticated students who attend her school. But, she finds the one thing that will change her life: photography. Slowly making friends and finding her way through school, she begins to settle into life away from Arizona and her parent's ranch. 

Alright. I'm not going to tell you any more. I'll give too much away. 

I zipped through this novel faster than I expected to; the story of Mary Pearl and her family is so skillfully written that I gulped it all down like a good cup of coffee. Sarah, one of my top female characters EVER, is featured here as wise counsel to her niece, still tough as nails and running her own ranch. The Prine family come to life, and through all their trials and troubles, you keep rooting for them. Life is still harsh and unforgiving in Arizona Territory. The matter of fact attitude of early settlers may seem cold sometimes, but only the tough survive and thrive. 

You don't have to read the previous novels by Nancy Turner to enjoy this one, however, if you haven't read These is My Words, I would suggest you do so because it is such a wonderful story. I did read Sarah's Quilt and The Star Garden, and while I did want to know more of Sarah's journey, I would have been happy to just stick with These is My Words. You decide. They are all wonderful books about a strong family, and the incredibly tough women who kept it all together and persevered no matter what. 

Rating: 5/6 for a much anticipated return to the Prine family. Mary Pearl follows in the footsteps of her courageous aunt Sarah as she navigates college, family expectations, and her own heart. 

Available in hardcover ebook, and audio. 

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Light Changes Everything by Nancy E. Turner

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

In my desire to read so many books this month, I soon found myself in a book glut. I think I had six books going all at once, and I wasn't making headway on any of them. Argh! 

But, I'm seeing a bit of light, and I sat down and finished this novel yesterday after mowing, yard work, and putting up a video on my Bookalicious Babe Facebook page. Now I'm still a bit in the weeds, with less than a week to go before September hits, but I'm going to do my best to power through my remaining August books. If only I could get by on 4 hours of sleep each night, I'd be caught up and reaching for more books. 

So. Back to this novel, which I first saw a few months ago and became intrigued because it was so very different than my usual reads. I don't expand my reading universe nearly enough to include more diverse unique authors, cultures, and settings, and shame on me. But this novel, oh, it had me at first glance. Mayan mythology and 1920's Mexico? A heroine who is one tough cookie, even though she's had a lousy life? I couldn't wait to read it. So I began it along with all of my other books, and it took me a few weeks to finish it. But that wasn't because I didn't like it--I loved it. 

Casiopea Tun lives in her grandfather's large house, along with her jackass of a cousin Martin, her mother, and other family members. Her mother returned to her father's house after her husband died, and she had no where else to go. Casiopea's father was of a lower class, and that's reason for treating her mother poorly, and Casiopea as a lowly servant. She's eighteen, and dreams of someday leaving the small town of Uukumil and exploring the world. A conservative town run by the Catholic church, women are expected to cover their hair and faces, be modest in everything, and obey the men. Grandfather spends most of his time in his bedroom, being demanding, cruel, and just an all around jerk. 

Casiopea is punished and had to stay home while the rest of the family goes away to the hot springs for a few days, and she's not happy about it. She's in her grandfather's bedroom when she notices the box he has sitting at the end of his bed. He forbids anyone to touch it, and he wears the key around his neck at all times. Except when he goes to the hot springs. Curiosity gets the best of her, and she finds the key and unlocks the box. 

Inside are bones, which kapow! soon form a grown man-a really good looking man. He is Hun-Kame, the God of the Dead, and he's been locked in the box for centuries by his brother, Vucub-Kame, who has taken over the underworld, known as Xibalba. **By the way, I've completely made up pronunciations in my head for all of these Mayan names, and I'm pretty sure they're nothing like the actual, correct pronunciations** Hun-Kame is missing a few body parts: an eye, an ear, a finger, and a very important jade necklace. Casiopea is now his partner as they travel across Mexico to recover all of the parts of his body, helping him restore himself to his rightful place as the Supreme Ruler of Xibalba. Casiopea has little choice in the matter, because she carries a shard of Hun-Kame's bone embedded in her hand, and he literally draws life from her in order to function in the Middleworld (Earth). She's dying, slowly, and he's becoming more human the longer he stays in the Middleworld and relies on her to sustain him. If he completes his quest and takes back his kingdom, Casiopea gets whatever her heart desires, and her life back. 

I loved learning about Mayan mythology, and a similar theme I've seen in other mythology based stories also popped up here: the old Gods are losing their power as people move farther away from old beliefs and closer to modern technology. If no one believes in you, how do you continue to exist?

There's a deadly game between the two brothers, and Casiopea is stuck in the middle. I enjoyed watching her become a stronger woman as she traveled with Hun-Kame and gee, fell hard for the handsome god. Who wouldn't? And Hun-Kame...he is awesomely God-like, but as he travels with Casiopea, he becomes more human. The quest makes up most of the plot, and I settled in for a fantastic tale, getting slightly anxious as they neared the final showdown with Vucub-Kame. Who would come out the winner, and what would that mean for humanity? 

Ah, this was a great story. A magical tale, full of demons, witches, fantastical creatures, powerful Gods, and an underworld that is straight up kind of crazy/stuff of nightmares. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who loves mythology. 

Rating: 5/6 for a tale of magic, mischief, quests, and what it means to be human. I had a hard time putting it down and was immediately engrossed in Casiopea's journey through Mexico and beyond. Ah! good stuff. Mexican folklore brought to life. 

Available in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

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Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

The Secret Book of Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo.  Well known Mexican painter.  Colorful character.  Married to Diego Rivera.  Mono-brow.
This is what I knew about Frida before I read this novel.  What I've learned has made me a Frida fan and wanting to read more about her amazing and tragically short life.

The Secret Book of Frida Kahlo by F.G. Haghenbeck is a whirlwind of color, imagination, recipes, and a life that seems like it couldn't possibly be true.  Yes, this is a work of fiction, but the outline of Frida's life written here is based on fact.  

What the author delves into is Frida's inner thoughts and imaginings.  Frida's life changes when she's in a horrible accident in her early 20's--her spine is fractured, leg broken, and she's impaled by a rod while riding a bus on her way to her boyfriend's home.  While she's lying in the wreckage, Frida has an encounter with her Godmother.  The Godmother is a mysterious veiled woman who makes a deal with Frida--she can survive her injuries, but it will mean a life filled with pain and heartbreak.  Frida isn't ready to die, so she accepts the offer.  For the rest of her life, she receives visits from her Godmother, who reminds Frida that she must honor her on the Mexican Day of the Dead, or she will not live to see another day.  Faithfully, Frida cooks up Mexican dishes and makes an altar to her Godmother every year, thus ensuring her life will continue.  Is this a figment of Frida's imagination, or did she cross over to a different realm and come back during her accident?  

Frida's life was filled with drama.  Married to the artist Diego Rivera, she follows him to the US as he paints murals in San Francisco, Detroit, and New York.  She's pretty miserable in the US and longs to be back in Mexico surrounded by the sights, smells, and comforts of home.  Her painting is sporadic, her health issues plague her all the time.  Diego is a notorious womanizer and cheats on a weekly basis with so many women it boggles my mind!  And Frida herself falls in and out of love with many men and women--her encounters with Georgia O'Keefe are fascinating.  Her devastation at not being able to carry a child is one of the most painful parts of her life, and one of the many things in which she never finds peace.

And there's also The Messenger.  A man on a white horse who Frida sees whenever someone is going to die.  She knows he's going to come for her when her time is up.  Is he another figment of an incredibly gifted imagination, or does she really see this harbinger of death that no one else sees?

Get it here

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  Frida's world was such a colorful, epic place.  Just looking at some of her paintings, I can see all the pain she endured, and all the magic she saw in everything around her.  She was color, spice, pain, heartache, and mystical all rolled up into one tiny body.  And she was truly beautiful.  The author weaves a tale that is hard to put down, and leaves you wanting to read more about Frida and her life.  This is a great book for reading groups, anyone who likes strong female personalities, or those who love art.  Or someone like me--who wants to read a good story.  

Thanks to Atria Books for an advanced reader's copy.  This book was one of the highlights of my reading year!  

Rating:  4/5.  Frida's life as imagined through a private journal, recipes, and all the flavors our senses can bring us--she is brought to life in a blaze.  

This book is available in paperback at the end of September, and also as an e-book.

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The Secret Book of Frida Kahlo