Queen of the Cicadas
By V. Castro

Wow, wow, wow! This is my second full book by V. Castro, and I just can't get over how powerful her stories are. This was told in a longer format than the previous book I read, but both reads honestly flew by for me. Powerful women characters are always focal points in the author's books, and I absolutely LOVE that - I went into this with high expectations!

TQOTC is split into two timelines and told from two main perspectives - the present day with Belinda, and the past (50s era) setting with Milagros. I loved both of these sides and didn't feel that either one outweighed the other in terms of holding my interest; the voices from each character were completely distinct and each action and situation propelled the story forward, no matter which timeline it was coming from. The blend of both perspectives was done seamlessly & very well executed.

I think if I *had* to compare this to some other horror-y classics, Candyman and the Bloody Mary legend would be top contenders - but honestly, TQOTC is something wholly its own. There's a lot of painful, difficult stuff to read here -- racism and oppression are always tough topics to cover, but it's definitely worth the discomfort in the end. You can tell that Castro cares a lot about what she's writing & these stories are ones that we don't see told very often - the Mexican influences are felt with nearly every word and page, and I love how authentically her writing shines and stands out among so many other people writing horror today.

Highly recommend this and will definitely be looking for more in the future!

Review by Cassie Daley

Website: letsgetgalactic.com

Etsy: Lets Get Galactic

Twitter: @CtrlAltCassie