3.75 stars
The first half of this book was absolutely fantastic. Completely a 5 star book. Then I think it got a bit flat and kind of peaked again at the end.
This is my first V Castro book and I was so excited to read it having heard so much love for her novellas. And I think this could have been an amazing novella.
The urban legend of Milagros was truly the best part of the book. For her then to become a tale that grandmothers told their grandchildren to teach them the evils of man - brilliant. To find out it actually happened and the back story, also good. I didn't enjoy all the (what I'm calling) "filler" about IVF and relationships. It really didn't need it in my opinion. Maybe it was because I didn't particularly like Belinda?
Castro's writing is phenomenal. She really brings the hot sticky heat of Mexico and Texas to life to someone who has never been there. The use of Mexican slang and translations really made me feel like I was listening to someone tell me the tale of this murdered woman and the urban legend of her coming back for revenge and showing up and killing teenagers at parties. I will definitely be seeking out V Castro's previous and future work.

I’m not going to tell you what this is about, because there’s already a synopsis for that.

This had me feeling all of the emotions. I was heartbroken for Milagros, beyond angry about what happened, I adored the friendship and love between Belinda and Hector, and felt that Belinda was pretty relatable. She was just kind of going through the motions of life, not exactly living. I was glad to see how things changed for her.

I really enjoyed reading about the mythos/urban legends, the history (as awful as it was), and the changes that happened. This was not a slow burn, you’re almost immediately thrown into the action and it keeps going from there. I really enjoyed the authors writing. I will definitely be reading more from her!

Thank you NetGalley and Flame Tree Press for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review.

One can "be woken" by reading nonfiction accounts, whether contemporary or historical. One can also achieve that [albeit painfully] through well-tuned and gifted fictional narratives. Although not a Person of Color, I've been awakened to the lives and despair and plights of Latina women and girls through QUEEN OF THE CICADAS by V. Castro, and MEXICAN GOTHIC by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Maybe it is accurate that one cannot really comprehend until one lives it; but certainly we can see at least the glimmering, and sometimes see deeper, when gifted authors tell stories and we listen and learn. Then we can change ourselves to improve, to "stay awake" to our sisters (and brothers), and to try to share and inspire others to change. Certainly I am not the same individual as I was before I undertook to read and learn.

QUEEN OF THE CICADAS gathers such an immensity of threads of theme and character, of history and contemporary "society," of Culture and Manifest Destiny, conquest and hatred, fear of "the other," greed, psychological emptiness and the yearning for Love and compassion, Myth and Multiverses. I am speechless to express it all. Just read it, devour, digest (as the example of Belinda and the Cicada), then let this novel Wake you and Change you.

Having read a summary and some of the reviews for this book, I was really looking forward to reading it. Unfortunately, I just don't think it's for me.
I found the writing really annoying: there were a few beautiful lines but they just seemed awkward when contrasted to the bland, overly chatty tone of narrator. What might have been lovely instead somehow came across as faux "deep". It may be that this particular style simply doesn't work for me as I seem to be in a minority for thinking badly of it!
I probably should have left it after the first few chapters, but I liked the promise of Aztec mythology so pushed on. Mictecacíhuatl was done fairly well, but that alone was not enough to overcome my dislike.
I've given the book two stars rather than one as I think the majority of my dislike comes from a personal aversion to the style rather than any objective judgement of the quality.

If you haven’t read any of her work, what are you even doing with your life?

V writes the most badass female characters. And I fall in love a little bit every time I read one of her books. There’s just something magnetic about her writing, and 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗮𝘀 is no different.

At its core this story is about vengeance. But, it’s also about racism and sexuality with Aztec folklore woven throughout it.

As kids we were told if you stand in front of the mirror and say “Bloody Mary” three times, she will appear. And so it is with La Reina de Las Chicharras.

We meet Milagros, a migrant worker on a farm who catches the unwanted attention of a man. His wife notices her husbands lingering gazes and extracts her own revenge on Milagros.

We also meet Belinda, a woman who is lost in life and overall just unsure of what she should be doing. But she’s been running from her pain for so long, that when she stumbles upon La Reina De Las Chicharras, it seems like fate. After all, it’s not coincidence that Belinda was told the urban legend of La Reina as a girl.

I was mesmerized by how their lives slowly intertwine and I LOVED the folklore in this.

I will be adding a physical copy to my collection soon. And I can’t wait to see what V Castro comes up with in the future!

Thank you to @netgalley and @flametreepress for my copy of this e-ARC!

Thank you to Flame Tree Press & Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC of The Queen of Cicadas in exchange for an honest review!

I have finally read a V. Castro book & I am so pleased & cannot wait to pick up more from this author!

When I started The Queen of Cicadas, I was beyond into it. I was flipping digital pages like it was nobody’s business. I absolutely loved everything about it, but I guess I’m going to do something out of character & that is to get the negative out of the way first: at a certain point, I kind of fell off. It felt like the book reached its conclusion & it was a good one!! But then it just.. kept going. & I just stopped vibing.

So, that was what kinda dampened the read for me but now let’s talk about the good!

I love books with the urban legend aspect & that is definitely found in The Queen of Cicadas. While we’re learning about what’s going on, so is our main character Belinda. I also love that V. Castro included so much of her culture within the pages! The Queen of Cicadas is definitely an intriguing read.

& Castro’s writing is so good. We flash between past and present — I loved seeing the story of Milagros play out during her time, while also reading how Milagros plays a part in the present with Belinda. These scenes were seamlessly put together.

& the DETAIL. Wow. I was beyond creeped out while reading The Queen of Cicadas which gives V. Castro a million bonus points from me.

Although I had my issues as mentioned above, I do think this is a book that a lot of readers will enjoy!

I was approved to receive an e-Galley ARC of The Queen of Cicadas, authored by V. Castro, cover created by Flame Tree Studio, from publisher Flame Tree Press and NetGalley, for review consideration. What follows below is my honest review, freely given.

I rated this novel 5 stars. This book slaps. It may be the playlist my husband has playing atm (it totally is), but that sums it up best. It slaps hard.

One of my favorite uses for nonlinear storytelling is drawing out the known horror of a terrible event, when it is done right. And it is done to perfection here, the reader’s heart strings a simple instrument in the hands of an artist, Castro leaves no emotional stone unearthed and then shattered. There is the Legend of La Rena de Las Chicharras and we will be privy to how it came to be. But legends are not made from gentle happenings, and I was right there with Belinda; gripped with alternating, sometimes simultaneous feelings of sorrow and rage while learning of Milagros cruel fate. One of my favorite chapters is seven, told from the perspective of Mictecacihautl. From my pitiful reference tool of Le Google, there isn’t as much information on the Queen of the Dead as there is for her husband, Miclantecuhtl. But from what little I was able to find online, I think the author captured the essence of the deity and brought her to life on the page.

Part of Hector’s story arc, whether to finally claim his family’s strength and power, had me thinking about how so much of the novel was a celebration to read even while being a horror novel, and a good chunk of it being of painful events. Grief or grieving horror is a relatively new term applied to a subset of the horror genre, even though we can all agree that grief has been strongly threaded through horror from the beginning. Cozy horror is maybe becoming a thing, a term for horror without violence, more atmosphere and location to set the stage, a sub-set of Gothic. This novel and other titles have felt like they were of their own term too, which I think of as reclamation horror. In different parts on the novel, Mictecacihautl speaks on being forgotten and how the Christian god is a jealous one. It made me think on the lack of diversity in publishing, authors having their books picked apart for being too ethnic, or queer. It doesn’t make sense to me, because we are made up of all these different people, so why can’t we read about them? I like to think we are getting better, and reading this book, like a said was such a joy. I loved it. And I hope we get to see more books written by great diverse authors keep getting published.

"I’m a woman of a certain age. I know that shit isn’t always right."
Chapter 9

This struck me as a Latinx, female-led version of Candyman, only, over time, La Reina de las Chicharras comes to protect the downtrodden who call her.

Milagros’s life story that leads to her becoming La Reina is told in parallel with Belinda’s discovering her story and coming into her own realizations about Mictecacíhuatl. I really resonated with the Milagros chapters but struggled to relate to Belinda. She needed more depth and roundness to seem as real as Milagros. Some additional chapter breaks could also help with the jumping perspectives. In general, though, the dual perspectives worked and the uniqueness of the storyline kept me quite engaged to find out what would happen.

In addition to the strong Latinx content, the Indigenous history of Mexico is present. Milagros’s relationship especially to the Indigenous people who were brutally colonized is drawn clearly. There is also relatively significant queer content here. Milagros is a woman who loves women. There are two important gay male characters, and Belinda exhibits fluid sexuality, although she never gives a label to this.

Two things in this book were at ethical odds with me. First, Belinda is written as a woman in addiction who then never overcomes it (or even tries to) in spite of her character arc seeming to indicate that she has been transformed in a positive way. I’m ok with a realistic depiction that not everyone finds recovery, but it bothered me that it comes across as a positive transformation when she remains in addiction. It’s relatively clear that this is a bit of a vengeance fantasy. I understand the importance and role of having a place for anger at injustice to go. But my own spiritual beliefs uphold forgiveness over vengeance, so my world view differs.

If you like urban legend style horror and want to see women in the lead, then you will likely enjoy this read. Those offended or disturbed by the idea of the universe holding multiple gods and religions simultaneously should likely look elsewhere.

Belinda has returned home to Texas to celebrate her childhood friend's wedding when she realizes that the wedding venue is the setting for a spooky ghost story they heard as children—the urban legend of la Reina de las Chicharras, a Mexican farm worker who was brutally murdered in the 1950s. Belinda finds herself obsessed with uncovering the story, and finds herself inextricably linked to la Reina.

*The Queen of the Cicadas* by V. Castro is a blend of urban legend, haunted house, and multi-generational saga, and it packs a punch. Castro hits the ground running, weaving together the stories of Belinda and Milagros, the murdered farm worker. Although both women are flawed and morally gray, they each connect to the reader in their own way. Belinda's story is told in first person, but the narration head-hops a bit not only between her narrative and Milagros's, but also several other points of view. Most only last for a few pages, but it may be disorienting for some readers.

I was really moving through this book for the first half, and Milagros's story was what really made it for me. However, the plot structure and pacing is less than traditional; I really felt like we hit the height of the action quite early, and the denouement takes a significant amount of time. I found my attention lagging in the latter half, but I really think it was the right ending for the story. Perhaps it was not the right choice stylistically, but for the characters, it was the ending they deserved.

One thing about the pacing is that the characters bounced all over the place. At one point, they fly down to Mexico to meet what's left of Milagros's family, and at another point, a whole year passes and their living situations change. It was jarring at times, but again, I think it was necessary for the story that was being told.

At the start of the book, I didn't really expect to connect strongly to Belinda. As I said, she has her flaws; she's been divorced twice, she drinks a lot, she doesn't have the greatest relationship with her son. She's painfully aware of her shortcomings and failures. But I really grew to like her by the end of the book, and that's something I think Castro did a great job with. It really made the ending hit hard.

Ultimately, I did really enjoy this book. It has its flaws, primarily the pacing and some unrealistic dialogue, but I really enjoyed the ride. I can *feel* how close this is to the author's heart, and I love seeing that passion hit the page. I'd recommend this to anyone, but especially fans of Tananarive Due's *The Good House*.

**Review will be posted at link provided on 22 June, 7am EST

You stand in front of the mirror and say their names, palms sweating, skin prickling. Forcing your eyes to stay open. Pretending the shadow flickering behind you is nothing.

The incantation is in triplicate, whether you whisper it or shout, Bloody Mary, Betelgeuse, Candyman, La Reina de las Chicharras. The Queen of the Cicadas has arrived.

V Castro builds her own heritage into the mirror mythos, creating a raging revenge novel seeping with vengeance.

It's a story of rebirth from the seeds of hate, and how despite that there is still the potential for hope. Oh and it's obviously a horror novel so it's brutal and bloody and buzzing.

I know I'll be thinking of this one for awhile. Can't wait to read more from Castro.

“Sometimes the dead come back to take what was stolen from them. Blood justice.”

Milagros was a migrant farm worker from Mexico. She was ruthlessly killed by a white woman because her husband couldn’t keep his hands to himself. She caught the eye of Mictēcacihuātl, or Queen of the Underworld. Milagros soon became La Reina de las Chicharras. The Queen of the Cicadas.

The Queen of the Cicadas soon became an urban legend, a myth. But there is so much more to Milagros, now that she’s become La Reina.

As always with V. Castro, I absolutely loved the writing! This book was fast-paced and full of a wonderful world of lore to keep the reader invested. Castro’s use of Aztec mythology in her writing has made me interested in it myself, and I plan on reading some nonfiction books soon. I’d love to know the origins of her backgrounds.

I’m giving The Queen of the Cicadas 4 stars because, while I enjoyed the story, I kind of got lost in the end. I did enjoy the ending, but it felt drawn out compared to the rest of the book, and Castro’s usual style.

Thank you to Net Galley, Flame Tree Press, and V. Castro for this advanced review copy!

The Queen of the Cicadas releases on Tuesday, June 22nd.

Belinda returns to Texas for the wedding of her best a friend. She's surprised to realize that the farm was the site of the urban legend La Reina de Las Chicharras, which she first heard told at a childhood sleepover. In the 1950s, undocumented farm worker Milagros Santos was murdered by a group of white women. She was tied to a tree so tightly that she was strangled, with fire ants dumped over her and cicadas stuffed down her throat. Her legend says that she can be called by anyone who speaks her name 3 times into a mirror, Bloody-Mary style. The murder was swept under the rug by the town and never solved. Belinda and Hector, the new owner of the farm, seek to uncover the mystery of her death and are pulled into the legend themselves. They find that the story is deeper than it appears, Milagros and her twin sister Concepcion, practiced Indigenous Mexican religious beliefs and worshipped Mictecacíhuatl- the Queen of the Dead. Mictecacíhuatl heard Milagro's dying cries and offered her a way to live forever through her and the urban legend.

Layered and complex, this story takes a creepy urban legend, adds some supernatural horror and a healthy portion of feminist rage and serves it up as a satisfying dish of dark horror and vengeance. The story alternates between Belinda and Hector's experiences in the present and Milagro's life in the past to create a compelling narrative and move the plot forward at a quick pace. I also want to note that V. Castro has a real flair for some very creatively spicy scenes. The MC Belinda is unapologetic about owning her sexuality. She knows what she wants and she takes it - I loved that about her. The supernatural elements are creepy and scary but the real horror is in the treatment of the migrant workers who were brought to the US to fill the labor shortage. This book shines a light on the discriminatory and sometimes viciously abusive treatment they received. As is so often the case, the real monsters are the people. My favorite quote from the book. As the cult of the Queen of the Cicadas was gaining power and displacing traditional religions, Belinda noted: "…there is nothing they can do about it. They no longer control the narrative. A cult of nasty women, as some have called it." I loved it! I'd like to offer up a toast to all the nasty women out there - may we know them, may be them, may we read them.

Thank you to Flame Tree Press for providing me with an ARC of tis book, and for Netgalley for providing me with an e-galley.

It took a little bit for me to get into the story, but once I did… I was all in. What an incredible mash up of Mexican folklore and body horror that gives a voice to characters and perspectives that are under explored in modern literature. Without spoiling anything, the ending also provides a satisfying amount of catharsis without spiralling into a cheap revenge fantasy. I loved it.

A dark and twisting tale of horror and power and hope. An intricate story where past meets present births future. Wonderfully macabre, with threads of noir, gothic, and sensuality, all based in a familiar and far from perfect reality. A book of wrongs, merciless revenge and feminine power. I won't forget this one in a hurry!

I enjoyed this book! Because of the title, I expected it to be more similar to GODDESS OF FILTH than it ended up being. It read like a darker, much more complicated, and more mature companion to that book. I appreciated the level of depth here and wholeheartedly recommend the book.

This really intrigued me because of the urban legend theme the synopsis mentioned. This has dual timelines, one taking place in 2019 and one in 1952 (which would make some of the characters in this 90+ and still bopping around, but I digress). The 2019 timeline follows Belinda who is visiting a farm house turned wedding venue (who would have guessed) where in 1952 the terrible murder of a field worker, Milagros, occurred. The second timeline follows Milagros both before, at the time of, and after her death.

I loved Milagros' narrative so much. She was the star character in my eyes. Belinda I couldn't care for. She just didn't have the depth I desired. The plot itself was okay, but it kept coming to what seemed like the conclusion of the story only to ramp back up again. It felt very disjointed. The last 50 pages I could have done without entirely.

This is the second of Castro's books I've read and I think something about her writing just doesn't agree with me. She has these dreamy scenes and these beautifully grotesque feminist monsters that I admire though. I guess I'm just gonna contradict myself because I can't put how I feel into words.

Try this if you need a good dose of visceral, gory, feminist horror.

I absolutely loved this! It had the same flavor to me as the excellent horror movie La Llorona, with the past connecting beautifully to the present.

I love reading/watching horror from other cultural perspectives, and this definitely fit the bill. Queer, Mexican folk horror. The horror itself comes from both the supernatural and what humans are capable of. I've noticed an uptick in horror that explores racism in various ways over the past ten years, and this definitely falls into that category, weaving it in with the more traditional elements.

And the horror itself- while not excessively gory, it's really gnarly. I haven't squirmed like that in awhile!

I think my only criticism would be that the tension didn't feel like it kept up at the same velocity all the way through to the end. However, the book in its entirety was extremely readable and hard to put down.

I'd definitely recommend this to others, and am planning on picking up the author's other novel. I'll be looking out for more from her in the future!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

Don’t sleep on this author.
V. Castro’s second book was difficult to read at times. Her books may be quick reads, but there are so many layers to her words that I’m thinking about the stories long after I’ve finished. Her words invoke a strong emotional response in me.

The scariest horror is the historical aspect of the labor camps. The folklore legend of the Queen of the Cicadas was well written and I was disturbed by how Milagros was murdered. It got together perfectly in an unexpected way. It is a book that I won’t forget any time soon.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a free copy of this ebook in exchange for an unbiased review.

Absolutely freaking fantastic!

Belinda returns home to Texas for a friends wedding at a beautiful restored farmhouse. While there, she remembers the ghost story told to them years before about La Reina de las Chicarras, the Queen of the Cicadas. From there the story takes off full force. I couldn’t put this down and read it in a day.

This is a horror novel but also much much more than that. It’s a book about Mexican lore, Aztec mythology, women’s anger, religion, and how one act of hatred and racism can change many lives. It’s also a story of revenge and rebirth. Be warned, there is a lot of violence in this book, definitely not for those who only read lighthearted romance novels.

I find Aztec mythology to be fascinating, and with the exception of Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, it is not a topic I’ve seen used in fiction much but I wish it was. I received this book for free from NetGalley but I loved it so much I’m buying a copy. I’m also going to look for more works written by V. Castro and add them to my TBR list ASAP. And you should too.

**Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-ARC I received**

4 Stars!

Flame Tree Press has been putting out great books so I always go into a new novel from them with very high hopes. I held the same for The Queen of the Cicadas by V. Castro even though I really did not know much about the book or the author. The summary of the book caught my attention, though, and behind the Flame Tree banner I was hopeful that I would find another entertaining and frightening read.



Belinda Alvarez thought that her trip to Texas for her best friend Veronica’s wedding was going to be a celebration. It was a chance for the two to reconnect and move forward into a new and brighter part of their life. Then, one night, Belinda learned of the legend of La Reina de Las Chicharras, the Queen of the Cicadas, and the bright future suddenly became much murkier.



Milagros was a poor migrant worker illegally in Southern Texas in the early 1950’s. She had fled from Mexico to escape a shadow that hung over her family with whispers of witchcraft. She dreamed of earning passage to America for her family and leading them to a better life. When she is murdered by a jealous wife convinced she was trying to seduce the owner of the farm, no one noticed. No one, that is, except for Mictecacihuatl, the goddess of death, who hears Milagros’ dying cries and hatches a plan for them both to be born again in search of revenge. Now that Belinda has learned the secred of La Reina de Las Chicharras, her and Hector, the new owner of the farmhouse, find that the old legend is far from dead and that their own lives may hang in the balance as it becomes tied to their lives and maybe even their souls.



The Queen of the Cicadas did take a little bit to settle in as it starts with Belinda going to Texas is what is almost an idyllic opening chapter as she settles in with her friend and family in a peaceful scene. But then the grandmother tells a scary tale of La Reina de Las Chicharras and all hell breaks loose. The novel shifts back to the 1950’s and the story of Milagros and this is when the story begins to shine. The story leading up to Milagros murder is an all too human story of lust and extreme poverty that breeds contempt and envy and ultimately death. I found this backstory of Milagros to be the most compelling part of the book as I could almost feel her struggles as she fought for survival not only for herself but for her family as well. There is a strong element of compassion in this segment that sunk its hooks into me and took residence in a dark corner of my mind. This was very good stuff.





I did feel as if the story lost a little steam as it moved back into the present by Castro was able to amp up the creepy factor so that it did not falter too much. There was even a touch of comedy when the ghost hunters come into play that was a nice counter to the growing dread in the story. The Queen of the Cicadas is a very creepy story that is steeped in Mexican folklore and mythology. Casual readers will notice many of the same themes that are present in the legends of La Llorona but there is much more to the story for that. The Queen of the Cicadas is a supremely creepy story that feels like it is creeping into the real world as it is being read. The reader is kept uneasy throughout and will be tempted to check the dark corners of the room to see if there are any bugs lurking there. It is the first book I have read from V. Castro but I hope it is not the last and is another great addition to the Flame Tree library.



I would like to thank Flame Tree Press and NetGalley for this review copy. The Queen of the Cicadas is scheduled to be released on June 22, 2021.