Castle of the Cursed

Castle of the Cursed - Romina Garber. This book was so weird! The story was gothic and fabulous and had such a unique storyline. After Estela's parents are killed, she thinks she is alone until she finds out about an aunt she didn't know existed and who lives in a house that needs something unusual to keep it alive.

Pulling back the layers on Estela's life was fascinating to unfold. I wasn't a massive fan of the romance in it. I think it would have been soooo much better without it but that's a personal choice. I think the author could have gone darker and more in depth on the house and the magic and it would have been one heck of a read. 4 stars

Overall, I didn't find it “gothic horror” like it was marketed - it definitely fit the gothic part, but not the horror part. And despite being a “gothic romance” I don't think we needed the romance - I think it would have worked without the two vague scenes and the wishywashy shadow love interest.

I read fiction for a reason, but I would like my fiction to make sense. I understand plot wise WHY the author did what she did; just because it makes sense plot wise doesn't mean it's always the best idea.

The book hooked me at first, and I was super involved with wanting to know more; as the story hit about 50% of the way through, I think there was too much of... everything and it diluted the story. I think the author put a little too much supernatural aspects in this book. If it was straight family legacy, haunted/cursed castle and magic, I believe the story would have flown better, but once you threw in additional supernatural beings that really don't make sense in the setting, I lost me.

I personally didn't care for the twist at the end, or the ending per say; just wasn't my cup of tea. Despite it's flaws it was an easy read and I did really like the fact we did learn Spanish with the character!

I loved the setting and the family secrets. The creepy dark gothic castle was a great setting for a family that is unwilling to share their knowledge with each other. I like Estela's determination to solve the mystery even if her family is lying to her. I didn't really like the romance and the epilogue made it worse. Maybe this kind of supernatural romance isn't for me.
So if you like a dark gothic everyone is lying type book with some steamy romance, you might like this one. I would definitely recommend this for older YA readers only.