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.

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!

It clearly reminds me of 'Rebecca', which is a problem - 'The Hacienda' simply can't compete.
I did not enjoy the prose, it was too overwritten for me, full of meaningless metaphors just for the sake of a flowery prose.

I love a good haunted house and this book had an amazing haunting!

Beatriz's move into "The Hacienda", learning of its darkness and secrets was amazing to read. The first 1/3 of the book actually had me quite spooked and I'll always have a mental picture of San Idris when I think of a creepy house thanks to this book.

But other elements such as random insertions of supernatural beings without much explanation and the romance made the story drag out. I would have loved to learn about more the people who lived in the house, what happened there, and Beatriz herself.

Andres seemed like a two dimensional character who had nothing but a hero complex and a some likeness towards Edward Cullen, unfortunately, I didn't feel any emotion towards him but all the women were well written.

I'd like to read Isabel Cañas's next book "Vampires of El Norte" too.

3./5

Agh, gothic romance revival! This one combines all my favourite microtropes: anti-colonialism, identity crises, vague folk horror, and romancing the Catholic priest while facing unspeakable horrors. I had been looking forward to this read since long before its release, as I found not only the premise but the author herself during her (then) pursuit of a PhD very relatable.

I kept postponing the actual reading as a treat until after I handed in my own dissertation, and then was miraculously granted an eARC of the UK edition almost immediately. That's called fate. I'm glad to say that it was not only an extremely rewarding novel for me personally, but also the perfect spooky mood enhancer during my late October vacation!

Cañas occasionally writes some truly horrifying imagery into her otherwise not too scary book - the true horror, as always, are the people. I'm convinced this could have gone further into dark territory, and you can tell The Hacienda is a debut with tiny holes in the plot tapestry yet to be filled. But judging from the short fiction Cañas has previously published (and which I all compulsively read and saved into PDFs during a Sunday afternoon), there is much more quality writing to come.

The historical vibes were impeccable, and padre Andrés is worth all the stars. I'm not usually a fan of dual POV romance, but the yearning... yes. No, honestly, what a man. Makes me want to convert to catholicism.

This atmospheric novel transported me to the haunted halls of Beatriz’ unfortunate new home. It was more spooky than scary but no less engaging. The gothic tale was utterly compelling, in large part due to the author’s penchant for leaving the reader on a tantalising cliffhanger at the end of each chapter. Therefore, the novel became addictive to read.

I really liked both Beatriz and Andrés. Beatriz was such a strong, courageous and compassionate heroine. I sympathised with her plight, both before and during her stay at Hacienda San Isidro. I was relieved when her path crossed with Andrés. He himself was characterised by his kindness and bravery. They both deserved to have each other in their lives. Beatriz saw and valued the goodness in Andrés even when he doubted himself, while Andrés became Beatriz’ supporter and protector through all of the paranormal madness. Their chemistry was undeniable so I was deeply invested in their romance, as well as their fight to rid the Hacienda from its evil spirit.

Granted, I wasn’t always entirely sure what was going on but I was still interested in uncovering the truth behind the Hacienda’s resident demon. The ending was bittersweet but luckily managed to leave me on a hopeful note.

Overall, this gothic tale wove a thrilling mystery with shocks, surprises and a dash of romance. I was deeply invested in the characters’ courageous mission, making the story addictive to read.

This was a lovely slow paced horro/thriller it wasn’t exactly for me as I prefer faster paced books but the atmosphere was wonderful

Wow! Historical fiction meets a paranormal mystery.

The story is set in the time after the Mexican War of Independence. Beatriz is the daughter of a military general, who has been killed by the insurgents. Her mother and she lose everything, and have no choice except to go and live with some relatives, but they are treated no better than servants.

She decides that the only option she has to improve their lives is to marry a man called Don Rodolfo and be his second wife. Rumors are that his first wife died under suspicious circumstances, but she doesn't heed them. All she cares about is that she will be free from a life of drudgery, and she will be the mistress of her husband's hacienda, called San Isidro.

However, when she arrives there, she realizes that she will be living with her husband's weird sister Juana, hostile servants, and most importantly, the house itself, that seems to have a life of its own, that is dark and evil and some malicious entity permeates every wall of the house.

The only hope she has is the priest is Andreas, who is the only one who believes her, because he knows that there's something wrong with the house. This is because he has a big and dangerous secret of his own, but he knows he can help her to exorcise the house. The book is told from the alternating POVs of these two characters.

The author manages to create a foreboding, dark and heavy atmosphere for the house. One can almost feel the dread and claustrophobia that she must feel, walking through those dark and oppressive hallways and rooms. There are some pretty spooky scenes in it as well, and if you have a vivid imagination to convert the words into visions, these will definitely give you the chills!

It is evenly-paced, and there is no unnecessary use of language, lengthy descriptions or rambling of any kind. Eminently readable and interesting with well-etched characters, and a subtle touch of forbidden romance. Something about this book reminded me of one of my other favourite books, 'Like Water for Chocolate'.

Would definitely recommend.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Solaris for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest review.

I really enjoyed this but it was a little slow and also a little predictable as well. The writing was beautiful so I will read from this author again! 3.75

4/5

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this arc for an honest review

i never thought i'd like this book but i LOVED IT. the writing was well executed and the characters were written as well. i felt like some parts were very confusing and messy, and that ending was sick... i liked the ending but I must admit it made my heart HURT so bad it was a bit abrupt. overall, this book was amazing and spooky and i would highly recommend it for sure

I loved this book! A deeply engrossing story set in 19th century Mexico with a very unsettling, Gothic feel. There are some absolutely wonderful characters in this story, the malevolent haunted hacienda taking centre stage throughout. An absolutely fantastic ghost story filled with chilling dread and forbidden romance. A great read.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 REVIEW!!!!

The Hacienda - Isabel Cañas

I actually had this on 4 stars until I started writing this review and realised that I’m actually obsessed with it. This piece of gothic historical fiction is, at its centre, a story of a haunted house.

Looking deeper, it is packed with social commentary and tragedy that drew me into the horror of the expectations of being a woman in the 1800s. This is the story of a woman, scared to death of not having a safe space in the world she’s grown into; and a priest, scared to death of his dark secrets coming to light for a second time; yet giving his all to keep Beatriz safe from harm when her husband refuses.

As a lover of a happily ever after, I must admit the ending of this book made my heart HURT - but the ending was perfect, tying everything together in a way that felt like Cañas did right by the characters. Other writers may have tried to shape the ending in a way that would make shippers happy but I’m so happy Cañas didn’t do that - she stayed loyal to Beatriz and Andrés to the very last page.

(Also this is soooo rogue but if you like the ship in fleabag you’ll probably love this book because although it’s not comedy in the slightest - the morally grey priest and sexual tension is 10000000% there.)

Highlyyyyyy recommend reading this one - it’s a perfect scary-but-not-terrifying read ahead of Halloween!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing this ARC 💫

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