Castle of the cursed by Romina Garber

Estela Bralaga survives a mysterious attack that kills both her parents and the passengers of a subway train, and is forced to accept an invitation to live with her estranged (and basically unknown) aunt at their ancestral Spanish castle, la Sombra. Aside from not speaking Spanish, Estela also doesn't speak after the tragedy, making her transition to Spain somewhat difficult. After arriving at la Sombra, Estela learns the castle harbours a trove of family secrets and she begins to suspect that the answer to her parents' deaths may be found in the twisting corridors of the castle - half of which is forbidden to venture into. Add into all of this, Estela has been dreaming of a silver-eyed shadow beast, who she begins to fear is after her - when she crosses paths with the shadow beast, they realise they are bound by unknown forces as well as an intense attraction, and they must work together to discover the truth that lies at the dark heart of la Sombra.

Very interestingly written, Castle of the Cursed begins with a flashback, and has numerous timeline jumps throughout the book, providing depth to the characters and story. The pacing is even and while some of the story is potentially predictable, much will leave the reader guessing and thinking after the book is finished. The novel has a disclaimer at the beginning warning readers that it is a dark story, about grief and lists that it addresses suicide, mental health issues, death of a parent, sex and violence. Fans of vampire or gothic novels would enjoy this novel.

Themes: YA, Gothic, Mystery, Dark, Mental Health Issues, Death, Violence.

Melanie Pages