This was was one of the most unique short story collections I’ve read in a long time. Each story throws you straight into the middle of something strange, scary, or seductive—and it doesn’t hang around long. These aren’t long tales with pages of backstory. Instead, they’re bold, fast, and thrilling. Think of it like channel surfing, or walking into a room, taking a brief glimpse and then entering another room. That kind of feeling.

The stories don’t always explain everything, and that’s what I loved most. I’ve always believed that the scariest kind of fear is the one we create in our own heads. V. Castro sets the stage, hands you the knife—or the kiss—and lets your imagination run wild from there. It’s a fresh and powerful way to keep readers on edge.

There’s horror here, yes. But also sex, longing, anger, power, and hunger—both literal and emotional. You’ll find creatures, heartbreak, folklore, murder, and transformation all wrapped in a neon-lit, desert-drenched atmosphere. The stories are weird in the best way. Some are sexy, some are disturbing, and most are both.

If you’re someone who needs every answer tied up with a bow, this may not be your favorite. But if you like being dropped into the deep end and feeling your heart pound while your mind tries to keep up, you’ll enjoy this.

This is perfect for readers who want bite-sized stories that are sharp, unhinged, and wildly creative. It’s horror with heat, myth with menace—and it’s not afraid to leave a mark. I finished this collection feeling a little shaken and totally satisfied.

DNF at the short story The Pink Agave Motel.

Unfortunately, the writing style just wasn't working for me, and rather than keep pushing through, I decided it was time to call it a day. The short story plots, and the creatures were interesting.

Gotta love a short story anthology! As always with short story anthologies, there's some stories that I thought were better than others. A few of them were a bit too gory for me, but generally, I reckon this is worth picking up. It maybe could've done with another round of editing.

A bold, provocative blend of erotic horror, filled with monstrous women, sensuality, and rage. While not every story lands, its vivid atmosphere and standout tales like Shrouded and Corpus Christi Nights make it a haunting and unforgettable read

The Pink Agave Motel is a fever dream of erotic horror and its so feral.

Of the short stories, Shrouded, Corpus Christi Nights, and Mako were standouts for me. The collection leans heavily into eroticism from page one, and that repetition did make some stories feel like they blurred together. Also, for me, the constant naming of songs pulled me out of the story a few times and i didnt like that as it took me a while to get back into it again.

I unfortunately can’t say that I enjoyed reading this book. It took me months to finish, I normally enjoy reading horror and not particularly against erotica, but I found it really annoying that somebody starts parting their legs on the first page of every story. The stories somehow didn’t feel completed and as if they just flow into each other.
My favorite story was probably “Shrouded” and I really enjoyed “Dirty Deck”, but I wish it was a bit longer. The titular story was interesting but too slow paced for my liking and the culmination felt really rushed. Also, I personally find the constant song naming very annoying... I don’t need to know which song is playing in every scene, but I know people who like it, so I guess its just a personal preference.

Did not finish book. Stopped at 40%.
I started this book 2 months ago and I finally admitted to myself that I’m not enjoying it.

I read through the short stories rather quickly and there were a few I liked (unfortunately I don’t remember which ones those are at this point)

Once I got to the Pink Agave Motel portion of the book I decided to take a break to read some other books. I picked it up again last night after 6 weeks and I continue to not love it.

I guess erotic-horror isn’t really my jam.

I’m giving this 3 stars because I read half of the book and did enjoy parts of it.

A pretty good book with some questionable stories! Erotica horror at its finest. The first story definitely was the best one though.

This unfortunately was a DNF for me.

I didn't really love the first few stories, after putting it down i just didn't have any interest in picking it up again and reading the remaining stories. I struggled with getting into the stories because the ones I read seemed kind of flat, and I thought to myself "what was the point of this story?" one too many times.

I think others would enjoy these more than me.

Many thanks to CLASH Books and Netgalley for sharing a digital copy. As always, opinions are my own.

I didn’t particularly love these stories, the first one had me hooked and I wish it was a full novel length because I was addicted to all the fast and loose behaviour that is my version of vampires!
However the rest of the short stories fell flat for me - but that may just be that I’ve discovered short stories aren’t really for me.
Easy reads !

Provocative collection blending horror and erotica, featuring a series of short stories and a titular novella. Drawing inspiration from Mexican folklore and a feminist perspective, Castro explores themes of desire, violence, and the supernatural. Not every story lands, but what's here is memorable.

Castro references Hellraiser at one point and I think it’s a great indication of the experimental style of the titular novella and its accompanying short stories. The monstrous characters in this book are where pain meets pleasure, they are hungry, vengeful, and erotic.

There were so many aspects of this collection that I was enamoured with, monstrous immortal figures taking what they want because they want it, it is bloody, gory, full of camp, and ultimately about women taking well-deserved power.

The stories I particularly enjoyed were Shrouded, Corpus Christi Nights, and Mako. They were definitely my favourites and I could have easily read full-length novellas or more based on these characters and settings. But there was something missing in the collection as a whole. At one point, I thought that perhaps the short stories were set in the same world as the novella but there are a few that don’t quite fit into the larger puzzle and the only connecting thread seemed to be monstrous love. There were times where the excessive gore and spice felt like we were trying to mix oil and water. In the end, I really liked the concept and I could see the vision but it felt half-baked.

DNF at 30%

This one wasn't quite for me, but that doesn't mean it's a bad book! I love V. Castro's writing style and she creates fantastic tales, but this one was a bit too spicy for my taste (I'm not sure how the whole 'erotic horror' thing passed me by).

I am working my way through V. Castro’s catalog:Goddess of Filth, The Queen of Cicadas, The Haunting of Alejandra, Immortal Pleasures, and now, The Pink Agave Motel: & Other Stories. Her curt prose, rejecting the boundary between the morally perverse and hedonism, fearlessly pleasures itself, before devouring itself whole. Each short story preceding The Pink Agave Hotel seems to satisfy themselves on their brevity, while leaving the reader wanting more. These stories, where the female carries her agency and expresses her power through her sexuality, provide compelling insight into feminine rage and yearning through a highly sensual lens. While I would enjoy reading scribbles from this author on a wet napkin, I can say possibly the short story genre isn’t as well suited to V. Castro’s storytelling style. Or maybe I am just greedy? I received an eARC from NetGalley and Clash Books.

I wanted to like this book, and I thought the first short story set a good scene. Unfortunately, most of the short stories ended up being just that - a scene barely set up and abandoned before anything actually happens. We don't get much plot or intrigue, but the rage and spice are plentiful in all of the stories and the novella. I am ok with both, but it should be supporting the plot, not taking over the story completely.
Why would we care about what happens to any of these monsters and adjacent characters if we barely get a sketch of them? There is a way to squeeze an impactful story in the short form, and I did not see it here. The novella has a bit more of the character building, but it is still pretty incoherent. The last chapters could be easily cut out or included in shorter form earlier on.
I think Castro had such an opportunity for world-building here, the stories and themes being connected in a way, but instead, we get a confusing jumble of horny self-important horror about endless creatures that wanted "all of the fluids" of the unsuspecting (or willing and eager) victim/partner. Yes, we get it. You want to F your cake and eat it, too.
The endless typos and grammatical and punctuation errors further distract from the potential quality of the writing - hopefully, some of it is fixed in final edits, but it is still jarring to see so many in an ARC.

Thank you, NetGalley and CLASH books, for sharing an advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest review.

Graphic: Death, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and Colonisation
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Gore, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

A Transgressive Horror collection
This book gives Eric La Rocco vibes.
What I loved💕
💕the twist on popular tales
💕The Four Horsemen Inn
💕 LGBTQIA+ rep

Not my cuppa tea ☕️
☕️The Cannabilism
☕️ Spicy horror was less butcher and black bird than I’d like

Ideal reader:
⭐️ Fan of spicy horror
⭐️ Fans of Eric Larrocco

I enjoy V. Castro's writing, so when I heard she was coming out with an anthology, I was instantly interested. Overall, I enjoyed this collection overall and am looking forward to read whatever she publishes next.

The Pink Agave Motel and other stories was my first time reading a full book written by V. Castro.

“ Welcome to The Pink Agave Motel. Some considered it a dangerous place, others a sanctuary. The darkness in each of us always finds a home somewhere, or with someone.”


Previously I had only read her short story in ‘The End of The World as We Know It” and it actually was one of my favourite shorts in the book. So I figured I’d give this book a try. In general horror erotica is a bit outside of my comfort zone and I’ve actually read one other book like this one before. So I doubt that I am a great judge of the quality of the writing for that particular subgenre as I have little to compare it to. That being said I absolutely loved the novella ‘The Pink Agave Motel’ and the short stories’ The Carnival of Gore’, ‘Corpus Christi Nights’ and ‘Burning Beds’. I felt like this was a great way to analyze the effects of colonialism and its lasting legacy, as well as the experiences of the marginalized others.

“ There is a whole other world that lived beyond history and human understanding of evolution.”

How to describe this book can only be done by using Castro’s own words:
“Yeah, her books feed the masses delicious morsels of sex and cheap scares.”

I would 100% recommend reading this book if horror erotica is your thing. It’s a bit sexually explicit so I obviously can only recommend it as a good read for adults. I really did enjoy reading it and it came out at the perfect time of the year, just before Valentine’s Day. Thank you class and netgalley for my arc copy. I will definitely be reading more of V. castro’s work in the future.

I am so thankful to Clash Books, V.Castro, and Netgalley for granting me access to this one before publication day. I really enjoyed this piece and look forward to more from this creator.

I love V. Castros work and couldn’t wait to start The Pink Agave Motel, but sadly it fell a little short for me. As I normally anticipate with short story collections, I did find that I liked more than others, but for the most part the majority of the stories just weren’t working for me. The longest story of the book was drug out unnecessarily too much and didn’t really have the impactful ending I have hoped for. I don’t mind sex (as long as it isn’t cringy, over-the-top-make-me-gag, romance) and I don’t mind blood and gore, which this has both of and done in a way that you can expect from V. Castros. If horror erotica is your thing and you don’t mind an incoherent plot, I do think you could still find enjoyment in The Pink Agave Motel. Thanks to Clash Books for my eARC.