This book is so beautiful. It's my first by this author, and I've already purchased her second (and this one in hardback too!); I adore her narrative voice so much.

From descriptions of places to heartfelt feelings, The Hacienda is a journey. Following an isolated woman and a somewhat unorthodox priest, we find two clever individuals encountering strange circumstances that they still know to be true. It's not in the slightest bit contrived, with no forced romance or haunted house shenanigans - this is a deeply human tale of connection, history and learning what is true about oneself, in a world where the craziest attitudes are those displayed by the 'normal' folk.

This made me want to learn Spanish, to visit the world the author draws so beautifully with her words, and to feel those relationships. Yes, the undercurrent of darkness was a delightful shiver that kept me turning the pages, but it was added spice to what is a truly gorgeous and memorable book.

An author who is now firmly on my Must Buy list.

This is everything I want a haunted house story to be. I loved to get to know the characters, to learn more about the social classes and issues, the magic, … It’s spooky and beautifully written. The descriptions of what was going on were amazing and I could picture this brilliantly as a film or tv series. “The Hacienda” is everything I wanted “Mexican Gothic” to be. (I nevertheless liked “Mexican Gothic”, but I wanted something else and “The Hacienda” delivered.) Thank you for the eARC!

I really enjoyed this gothic novel , the Mexican gothic vibes were on point and the atmosphere was brilliant! I adored the forbidden romance in this one too! Fab read!

disclaimer: I received this free from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

rating: 3.5 stars

content warnings: blood, gore, violence, rape, murder

'When a man makes a promise, he makes it on his honour. When a witch makes a promise, they feel it in their bones.'

The Hacienda is described as Mexican Gothic meets Rebecca & takes place in a remote & sinister house after the Mexican war of independence. It is a gothic novel and while the tense atmosphere was done well - the feeling of dread could have been better & I would have loved more depth into the generational trauma, wickedness, & impact it can have on a home. Our two protagonists were likeable & easy to root for and I adored their 'forbidden romance' - a priest and a newlywed - and one thing Cañas does well is yearning. What I would have loved to have seen done better were the complex relationship between all these women & that it was really explored in more depth. A solid gothic horror read.

An interesting read! I started the audio to read alongside and hated it. So glad I stuck with the e-arc as it was an amazing story. One that will stay with me for a long time I’m sure!

The Hacienda was a book that I had been eagerly anticipating and it took me far too long to getting around to reading it. That said, my expectations for this book were exceeded. The Hacienda was easily one of my favourite reads of 2023. It brought to life the time period and location so vividly that I genuinely felt immersed in the setting. The characters were fully fleshed out and multi-faceted which was done very well. The romance was flawless and the horror elements were terrifying with the perfect level of scare for me. I really appreciated the build up of tension and escalation of the horror as well as the choices that Beatriz ultimately makes as a character who has grown throughout the novel. I thoroughly enjoyed every page and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

This 2022 debut novel has already garnered a lot of praise, with comparisons to Mexican Gothic and Rebecca. And, I have to agree, if you liked those books, you will probably love The Hacienda.

Set in 1800s Mexico, the book follows Beatriz as she enters a new marriage in a bid to save her family from poverty and humiliation after her father was executed by the government. She wants a home to call her own, and her new husband, Rudolfo, offers her that in the form of Hacienda San Isidro.

But as soon as she moves into the grand country estate, she realises she may have got more than she bargained for. Her husband’s sister, Juana, also resides there – someone who he hadn’t mentioned at all previously – and she’s an abrasive, prickly character. The villagers make vague references to Rudolfo’s first wife, who seems to have died under mysterious circumstances. And then there’s the house itself.

The novel’s namesake, the Hacienda, is its own character at the heart of this novel. Grand but dilapidated, the old manor does not accept its newcomer easily. The author’s prose is haunting and evocative, and there’s some truly scary moments as Beatriz tries to build a home there when that home itself is against her.

As Rudolfo leaves Beatriz alone for long periods away on business, she enlists the help of a young local priest, Andres, to help her cleanse the house of its evil. Andres has his own connections to the house, the land, and the powers which might just be enough to save Beatriz, and perhaps win a place in her heart too.

The haunted house and forbidden romance are hardly original, but in this debut they are brought to life in a vivid, compelling story. The writer skilfully brings to life the imposing old house with evocative prose, depicts a slice of Mexican history and throws in a little gore and horror along the way.

As far as horror books goes, I'd say this was quite basic. I liked the setting of the book but the mystery was quite easy to predict. Characters too were predictable in their actions and didn't have anything new to offer.

What works in favour of the book is its readability. It reads fast and is a real page turner. Considering this is a debut, I'd say, it wasn't bad but definitely not worth the hype this book has been getting.

Thanks to Netgalley and Solaris for a free e-arc, in exchange of an honest review!

I had high expectations of liking this and it certainly delivered!
I love a good haunted house story and this one was atmospheric from the get go
It had beautiful writing which was easy to visualise and follow.
Quick to get through when having a reading stint, as i didn't want to put it down unless i was just too tired to read
I liked the romantical element too which you don't often see in horror

I have already purchased the next book by Isabel and i am really looking forward to it!

4 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher Solaris for the digital ARC, it has not affected my honest review.

TW: violence, racism, grief, murder, implied rape, horror, death, religious trauma

“The Hacienda” is a gorgeously written horror set shortly after Mexico’s independence in the 1820s, combining Gothic elements with religion and a terrible house to create a thrilling, engrossing story. Beatriz, the daughter of a general executed by the new regime, has finally found a way to support herself and her mother now that she’s married. Her new husband, Don Rodolfo Solórzano, offers everything she might need but Beatriz dreams only of his countryside estate Hacienda San Isidro and the safety she’ll find there amongst the agave plantation. Beatriz arrives at the estate expecting things to be simple, but after meeting Rodolfo’s independent and strange sister Juana, she soon discovers something is lurking in the old house- and it’s somehow connected to Rodolfo’s dead first wife. Tormented by terrible visions, the feeling of being watched and shrieking voices that everyone else doesn’t hear, Beatriz begins to think that her new sanctuary is deliberately driving her mad. Only the return of Padre Andrés, a priest banished long ago and returning to deal with the issues the parish priests consider below them, brings her hope; he believes her, and most importantly, he knows how to deal with it. Growing closer to Andrés, Beatriz discovers more about the kind of man her husband is and how his first wife lived, while also helping to maintain a secret to ensure Andrés stays a free man. As romance blooms between them, the horrors of Hacienda San Isidro rise to the surface and it becomes clear that what happens in the house won’t stay gone.

I raced through this book, finding myself entirely caught up in the story of Beatriz as she tried to survive. I loved the way Isabel Cañas writes and I couldn’t believe this was a debut novel because it moves so smoothly, combining scenes from Andrés’ past with Beatriz’s present as they battle to find the truth and free the Hacienda from the horrors inside. One aspect I enjoyed was Andrés’ gifts stemming from his indigenous grandmother, even as he tries to repress them with Christianity to avoid the eyes of the Inquisition; the fusion of Mexican history with the horror of the era works so beautifully, creating a setting that’s incredibly vivid and disturbing the further you read. The romance between Andrés and Beatriz is very much a slow burn, and more in the background, which I found worked well for this book because they both have much bigger concerns. “The Hacienda” focuses on so much in its pages- the role of women in 1820s Mexico, the caste system and the way indigenous people are viewed by Christian religious figures- but it never felt like it lost its way. Each moment I spent with Beatriz and Andrés was a gorgeous one, they’re both such strong characters with gorgeous individual arcs outside of their romance, even as things worsened in the setting. This is how you write historical-inspired horror, I’ve never read anything like it and I doubt I will again. “The Hacienda” is such an amazing book, it surprised me at every turn and I’ll definitely come back to it.

After Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia the idea of the Mexican Gothic novel seems like a no brainer. Lots of dilapidated ex-colonial buildings, a storied history of war and battles across the land not to mention the Roman Catholic faith butting against a rich and vibrant set of conflicting indigenous mythologies and magic. It doesn't so much write itself, as make it difficult to identify which strand to pick at initially. The Hacienda takes a historical bent, set after the Mexican War(s) of Independence in 1823. Our heroine Beartriz is a newly married woman, being sent to her husband's family Hacienda for the first time, to become the lady of the house before he arrives (stop if you have heard this before). When she arrives she is treated by the staff and her sister-in-law who is dismissive, troublesome and seems to occasionally refer to her husband's previous wife (please stop if you have heard this before). As she tries to gain dominion over the home, she finds the house is stubborn and resistant to change, haunted by the past. Oh, and haunted by a ghost too.

The supernatural elements of The Hacienda emerge pretty quickly which also brings in a local priest who is both a man of the cloth and gifted with traditional magic. The story follows a relatively predictable route, with mistakes being made that unleash even worse powers, but Cañas has a real flair for writing this stuff, her pacing is excellent and the reveals of tidbits of backstory come at just the right time. It might be a historical Mexican melange of Rebecca, The Haunting Of Hill House and Mexican Gothic, but the pick'n'mix has been perfectly curated and in Beatriz she has created a very sympathetic historical heroine. Refueling my interest in gothic is no rare feat after a few (admitted British) duds, and as I said above with this collection of ingredients it does feel at the end almost inevitable - The Hacienda Must Be Written.

I had heard wonderful things about The Hacienda from friends who had read it earlier in 2023 and as someone who has always been a bit of a coward when it comes to horror I decided to put on my bravest face and give it a go - and what a wonderful book this is.
The atmosphere is utterly fantastic. Cañas manages to perfectly create the sinister atmosphere of this Hacienda and the world in which Beatriz finds herself. I thought the earlier parts of the book where things are still in the 'is this in my mind' portion of the story were truly sinister while the later parts of the book were deeply scary in a completely different way.
I'd recommend this to both fans of horror books and those who, like me, are perhaps more familiar with the science fiction and fantasy shelves than the horror. I'd recommend it to fans of Rebecca, Mexican Gothic and The Last Tale of the Flower Bride - all of which I have loved.
This is one of those increasingly rare instances where the book actually lives up to, and actually exceeds, the hype. Whether you've heard of this and you've been waiting to pick it up or this is the first time you're hearing about it I have to say don't sleep on it a moment longer you need to grab a copy!
I received a free digital review copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley - all opinions are my own.

3 of 5 stars
https://lynns-books.com/2023/12/07/the-hacienda-by-isabel-canas/
My Five Word TL:DR Review : An Author I will watch

The Hacienda was an entertaining read, it kept me reading and there was never a point at which I wanted to put the book down, but, I wouldn’t say it totally wowed me. Which is a shame because I love all the gothic and had such high expectations for this one – to be fair, my high expectations might be part of the issue here. You compare a book to Rebecca and Mexican Gothic and you better believe you have my attention – but those are some damned big boots to step into. So, to be fair to the author, yes, this is good, lots of good ideas and I liked the writing so I will definitely be keeping an eye on what Cañas comes up with next.

When Beatriz’s father is executed her world is thrown into chaos. She loses her security and she and her mother become dependent on family who barely hide their resentment at having to take on relatives with such a stain on their reputation. You can only imagine then why Beatriz leaps so eagerly at the chance to be married to Don Rodolfo Solórzano, a handsome man, his star is on the rise and he has a successful country estate. Unfortunately Beatriz’s mother is unhappy with the match and the two have words which means Beatriz travels to the estate without the company of her mother. On arrival, she meets a frostier greeting than she anticipated. Her husband’s sister, plus the hired help, are less than pleased at her arrival and on top of that the house, which feels very run down and neglected, also seems to reject her presence.

On the face of it this book has so many things that I absolutely adore. Gothic. Ghosts. Mystery. A young wife, coming to a country estate where her presence seems to be deeply resented by everyone. A house that is positively alive, in fact positively seething with hate and malice. Things that go bump in the night. Hallucinations. Nightmares. It’s gripping. But. Okay, its a mixed bag for me. On the one hand, I read this very easily, it was entertaining and I had no problem turning the pages,and yet, it didn’t wow me in the way I expected. I liked it, yes I did. But, somehow, it felt a little predictable, there were things that just came across as a little outrageous, and, I just didn’t feel any fear. And, yet, this wasn’t a bad read – I think my expectations were simply just too high.

I think another issue I had was I failed to connect with Beatriz. On the face of it, I could totally understand her desire to remove herself from the life she had – but, if you read into the politics of this one you will understand why her mother struggled to accept her choices – and to be honest I also struggled a little.

Anyway, I’m going to keep this review short because I don’t want to give away too much. I enjoyed this read. This is an author that I will definitely be keeping an eye on and I certainly wouldn’t discourage anyone from reading this. It’s a good read and it kept me reading into the early hours. It just didn’t quite give me that tingle or buzz that I wanted. My high expectations just got in the way with this one.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

A spooky tale full of multiple characters with a dark side this was an intriguing read - less horror and more gothic chiller.

This was described as Rebecca meets Mexican Gothic and I can see the parallels but for me this was a little slow and drawn out with multiple POV, then rushed at the end. Overall I enjoyed it, so 3 stars.

I loved this novel which allowed me to start my fall reading in the best conditions. Even if I can't say that this story scared me - I rarely experience this kind of feeling when reading - I let myself be carried away by the atmosphere created by the author which is heavy and uncomfortable to wish. As I said above, this story takes up many codes of the gothic genre, we cannot therefore qualify it as original, but it allows us to fill the horizon of expectations of a reader who is an amateur of this type of story. novel. I found what I liked there, especially since I liked the place given to witchcraft via the character of Andrès. The heroine, who may seem unsympathetic at first because she is only interested in her social advancement, ultimately turns out to be touching.

Thanks to the character of the priest who immediately allies himself with our heroine, we are not in a scenario which leaves doubt as to the madness of the young girl. Thus, we are certain that abnormal things are happening in this house and our questions will therefore focus on the origins of this phenomenon. It's a bias that I really appreciated because it highlights the relationship that develops between Beatriz and Andrès. This little romantic touch in the middle of stories of murder and ghosts is a glimmer of hope which allows certain aspects of the story to be softened.

I have heard so many good things about "The Hacienda" before picking it up that I went into it with pretty high expectations. This sounds like just my thing for dark autumn evenings: gothic vibes, a maybe haunted house, a story likened to 'Rebecca' and 'Mexican Gothic' which I both loved. Turns out I can barely go wrong with books like this, because "The Hacienda" was highly enjoyable.

It's a beautiful written gothic tale about a woman trying to find a way out of her difficult situation by marrying a rich, powerful man and moving to his gorgeous hacienda, only to find seemingly certain doom. I quite liked our protagonist, Beatriz. She's a complex character and her motivations are relatable, and I really enjoyed learning more about Mexican history through her story. In her new home, she also meets a mysterious and handsome young priest, Andres, who becomes her partner in trying to figure out what horrors lie within the hacienda. He added a bit of magic into the mix which was intriguing, and I didn't expect to actually be rooting for the romance between them. Guess Hot Priests have their special place in my heart after Fleabag.

The pacing is rather slow and Cañas definitely takes her sweet time to get to the reveals and bigger story beats, but I still got through the book rather quickly. I did feel like the last 25% or so were a bit of a letdown, with everything suddenly happening really fast, almost in a rushed way. As someone who loves good antagonists and villains, I was a bit disappointed because we really didn't learn that much about them, which is why certain reveals didn't quite work for me. I was more 'meh' than anything about them. I also didn't like how Beatriz' main motivation to marry her rich man even though she doesn't care much about him, even though he belongs to the faction that killed her father, was to save her mother and make sure she has a good life. A great motivation with actual stakes that are, let's say, rendered moot by the ending. It felt a bit of a cheap cop-out.

All in all, I had fun with this one. I really liked the vibes, I liked the focus on the characters, and the house was properly scary. It's not perfect, but it's an atmospheric read and easily worth 3,5 stars, rounding up.

Spooky gothic horror with a romantic added bonus layer. The Hacienda takes place in the countryside of a newly independent Mexico mending its wounds. The land the homes and the people are all haunted in their own ways. A gripping read!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'The Hacienda' by Isabel Cañas.

'The Hacienda' was such a beautifully written book and I flew through it rather quickly. The story was interesting and I was immersed and although this isn't a genre I usually go for, I loved this book. Isabel Cañas' writing is just an absolute delight and I recommend this book.

DNF at 10%

Unfortunately this book just didn’t grip me and I found myself not wanting to pick it up because of that.
I’m so sorry, I feel awful because I loved Mexican gothic

I had such a great time reading this one! It's the perfect read if you're looking for gothic, haunted house vibes and all the eerie, creepy feelings that come with it. Throughout the whole book you have this sense of uneasiness and dread as to what will happen next and I really loved being at the edge of my seat for it. I also really enjoyed the historical element to it, the setting and the atmosphere made for such an interesting and captivating read.

I highly recommend this one especially around the Autumn/Halloween time!