Absolutely my favorite book of the 2022!
In her debut novel, “The Hacienda”, Isabel Cañas writes a beautiful and thrilling story with historic details and witchiness that are just amazing!
The story takes place in Mexico, after the Mexican War for Independence during the 1820’s. It is due to the shift in power within the government that Beatriz loses her father and her home. Her unfortunate circumstances make the proposal from a handsome and rich hacendado to be all too tempting; so she accepts, despite the mysterious death of his previous wife.
At this point of my review I would like to warn my fellow readers that there is mention of rape, murder, as well as racism and minimal notes of sexism. Often Beatriz is talked about as being below others because she takes after her father whose skin tone was brown.
In “The Hacienda”…
Beatriz has lost her home and father, leaving her and her mother to ask for refuge from their extended family who hide Beatriz and the identity of her father. By extension they have her by do a lot of the house work. Also within this household the family ridicule Beatriz for having darker skin. Thus, when she catches the eye of the rich Don Solórzano she accepts without hesitation. Her mother disapproves, but she claims that she is giving up finding love to take care of herself and her mother.
“ I knew the taste of that craving as keenly as a toothache, and I had learned to recognize it in other women: it was a flash of hot yearning in their eye when they thought no one was looking. The determined curl of a hand into a fist beneath a table. With so many brothers and husbands, fathers and patrones slain in the war, more and more women in the capital could unsheathe their knives and take what was now theirs”
(Cañas 46).
The whole set up is very much like a Cinderella story, but instead of happily ever after poor Beatriz has to fight off a haunted house as well as a bitter sister in law.
“ ‘ I lied about the house,’ she said into my ear. Her breath was warm and sweet with drink against my skin. ‘ I lied twice, actually. The truth is I’m… afraid of it. I cannot go in, not in the dark. Neither will Ana Luisa. But you? Ah, you—’ She released me, the rudeness of the movement pushing me into the dark. I swayed as I caught my balance. ‘ It’s time for you to go to sleep, Doña Beatriz.’
(Cañas 61).
Isabel Cañas does a beautiful job of weaving a story that is spooky, mysterious, as well as romantic; just a blissful gothic novel! She interchanges perspectives from Beatriz: our woman in distress, to Andrés: the young priest who is secretly a witch and set to be our hero.
Beatriz is
loyal, smart and determined. I loved her dedication to her mother and sympathized with her as she mourned her father and I resented her family for demeaning her. From the moment she enters the house she knows something is wrong and is smart to start piecing things together as well as to take action.
“ She had dark hair, was small but proud shouldered. Her maguey green eyes were a shock of color against the black lace of her mantilla. These met my gaze and held it fast: she measured me with a frankness that snatched my spirit from my body and set it on the scales of justice”
(Cañas 143). From Padre Andres pov- *swoon*
Andrés is
a very mysterious character, we know that he is a priest, but it isn’t until towards the end that we understand why he became one as well as why he cannot fully control his witch powers. There are several flashbacks that talk about his past and expand his character and I loved them so much! He isn’t this all powerful warlock but he is caring and awkward, so I was definitely rooting for Andrés as he worked toward becoming a better witch to save Beatriz.
“ Andrés the priest. Andrés the witch. He was a fractured creature, stretched between darkness and light” (Cañas 331).
Together Beatriz and Andrés fight the evil that is buried within the walls of the hacienda. There is tension to figure out why the hacienda wants Beatriz dead as well as growing tension between Beatriz and Andrés as they try to resist their fondness for one another. It is absolutely adorable, from having to hide from senior priests in dusty corridors to sweet connections within a pentagon mid exorcism.
“Perhaps I was frightened of him. But one could fear and trust at the same time: whether because of that curl of intuition that drew me to him when he first came to San Isidro or because of the way he look at me as if I were the sunrise at the end of a long, harrowing night. I believed he would not harm me”
(Cañas 203).
The whole journey of learning about these characters was fun and I loved that atmosphere as well as the authors writing. There were passages of depiction that just sent me chills as I loved how she explained a characters expression or how she connected all of the chapters together; it was all just brilliant.
Needless to say, The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas is a 5 star read and I cannot wait for what Cañas writes next!
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