V. Castro

2018 - Belinda Alvarez has returned to Texas for the wedding of her best friend Veronica. The farm is the site of the urban legend, La Reina de Las Chicharras - The Queen of The Cicadas. In 1950s south Texas a farmworke r- Milagros from San Luis Potosi, Mexico, is murdered. Her death is ignored by the town, but not the Aztec goddess of death, Mictecacíhuatl. The goddess hears the dying cries of Milagros and creates a plan for both to be physically reborn by feeding on vengeance and worship. Belinda and the new owner of the farmhouse - Hector, find themselves immersed in the legend and realize it is part of their fate as well. FLAME TREE PRESS is the new fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing. Launched in 2018 the list brings together brilliant new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices.

The Queen of the Cicadas

Jasmine

The Queen of the Cicadas is a tale of love, sex, revenge, murder, and great power. We start with our main character, Belinda, as she returns to a Texas farm for a friends wedding. The farm is the site of the urban legend, La Reina de Las Chicharras - The Queen of The Cicadas. The legend states that a young farm worker, Milagros, was brutally murdered and the town had no intention of doing anything about it (aside from turning the other cheek). This attracts the attention of the Aztec goddess of death, Mictecacíhuatl. Mictecacíhuatl offers a plan for both to be physically reborn by acts of feeding on vengeance and by worship. Belinda becomes more and more drawn in to this legend as fate continues on. 


V. Castro writes with a passion that most cannot summon and seems to do it effortlessly. I found this book to be one of the more interesting supernatural horror reads so far this year. I absolutely loved how Cicadas focused quite a bit on how powerful women truly are. This is a 4 star read for me. 

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Flame Tree Press, and V. Castro for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Becca Futrell

Thank you to Flame Tree Press & Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC of The Queen of Cicadas in exchange for an honest review! 



I have finally read a V. Castro book & I am so pleased & cannot wait to pick up more from this author! 

When I started The Queen of Cicadas, I was beyond into it. I was flipping digital pages like it was nobody's business. I absolutely loved everything about it, but I guess I'm going to do something out of character & that is to get the negative out of the way first: at a certain point, I kind of fell off. It felt like the book reached its conclusion & it was a good one!! But then it just.. kept going. & I just stopped vibing.

So, that was what kinda dampened the read for me but now let's talk about the good! 

I love books with the urban legend aspect & that is definitely found in The Queen of Cicadas. While we're learning about what's going on, so is our main character Belinda. I also love that V. Castro included so much of her culture within the pages! The Queen of Cicadas is definitely an intriguing read.

& Castro's writing is so good. We flash between past and present -- I loved seeing the story of Milagros play out during her time, while also reading how Milagros plays a part in the present with Belinda. These scenes were seamlessly put together.

& the DETAIL. Wow. I was beyond creeped out while reading The Queen of Cicadas which gives V. Castro a million bonus points from me.

Although I had my issues as mentioned above, I do think this is a book that a lot of readers will enjoy!

The Queen of the Cicadas

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