Weep, Woman, Weep by Maria DeBlassie
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
In this tale, we are told the story of the women of Sueno through the eyes of Mercy. The women live sad lives because of the ricer witch La Llorona. Mercy is determined to live her life without the interference from La Llorona.
Weep, Woman, Weep by Maria DeBlassie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book took me a bit to get into. At first I was a little confused on what was going on, but as the story progressed, the more I couldn’t put it down. It’s a beautiful book of overcoming the past, and letting old wounds heal and to stop letting the past mistakes rule your life. I absolutely loved this book, it’s a perfect gothic horror with a gorgeous ending. I can’t recommend this book enough!
Weep, Woman, Weep by Maria DeBlassie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Powerful. Deep. Creative. These are a few of the words that come to my mind after reading this book! It was a compelling story that was artfully crafted by Maria DeBlassie. I fell in love with her writing style, and I felt so many emotions throughout Mercy’s journey.
Weep, Woman, Weep by Maria DeBlassie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
~Gothic, Dark, Fairy Tale Rendition~
In a lot of ways this didn’t feel like a fairy tale. The writer does an amazing job of taking a fantastical idea and making the metaphor come to life. This felt honestly more like a biography of the women in Seuno, NM and what they have to deal with in order to stay alive. In a lot of ways, just being alive really isn’t enough.
This is such an empowering novel as well. It’s not just fluff and all of the happy endings we expect to see as readers in order to feel empowered. Maria DeBlassie includes the hardship, heartaches, and very real scenes of a young woman growing up in hardship, and what that looks like. Any young woman would do well to read this, because no matter what backgrounds we come from, we all have our own La Llorona’s we have to face in order to enter womanhood.
I will be purchasing a hardcopy of this for sure, and I am so excited to share with other female readers this haunting tale. Mercy’s journey to rebirth includes the grit we all honestly need to chase after our dreams, to never stop looking our demons in the eye and going ahead to live the lives we want to, in spite of them.
Reviewed by @taylorkstephenson
Weep, Woman, Weep by Maria DeBlassie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Mexico is rich is folklore and legends not just monsters and cartels 🙈😉
How the story came about the weeping woman is rather heart wrenching and frightful .
Growing up Mercy and Sherry were more like siblings than friends and neither really had it easy growing up and tensions are high with the “baptism” looming …
Mercy and Sherry have a run with La Llorona and life as they know it is about to change . Things happen to Mercy that she blame on La Llorona , she’s labelled as a witch and folks seem a little fearful but respectful of her farming skills , Sherry’s caught in an uphappy marriage and those mason jars filled with tears is just too much for me ….
Other than Sherry and Mercy I like Santos and the interest he shows and he’s not bothered by the rumour mill and Jesse James you’re a sweetheart .
P.S. Thise tears in the mason jars were put to good use 😉
Weep, Woman, Weep by Maria DeBlassie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I LOVED Weep,Woman,Weep! The storytelling is phenomenal, the vibe is magical, the writing is lovely. Though I do wish for more of this story, I’m still happy with the ending. The whole story is poetic & thought provoking & endearing . Spooky around the edges & intriguing with touches of surprise sprinkled here & there . Mercy is inspiring & her character development is fantastic. This book is definitely in my favorites now & I can’t wait to share it with my children when they’re ready.
Reviewed by @lalilovely
Weep, Woman, Weep by Maria DeBlassie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is my second DeBlassie story and I enjoyed this one as well! This story centers around the story of La Llorona, a story of a woman who went mad, drowned her own children in the water, and continues to haunt women to the same fate. Unfortunately for the women in a small town in New Mexico, the danger of enduring the same fate and the life struggles of sacrifice or willingness to stand up for what’s right is a constant plaguing factor. After losing her best friend, Mercy fights her way to break the mold and cycle of this horrible fate and she does whatever is in her ability to not become a victim herself. DeBlassie does such a great job in connecting elements of racism and domestic violence in aspects in which it is familiar and emerges as a source of the story to make those connections.
Weep, Woman, Weep by Maria DeBlassie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Weep, Woman, Weep was the second book I have read by this author, and I am not disappointed in any way. Maria DeBlassie knows how to grab you in the beginning and take you on a whirlwind adventure throughout her short stories, and I love it!
La Llorona is a spirit that is said to pull women to their deaths in the river, and no one knows how to stop her. The only line of defense they have is to ignore their sorrows and stay away from the river at night. Mercy and her best friend Sherry decide they will break their generational trauma once and for all, but after Sherry becomes inconsolable, the Weeping Woman comes for them. Mercy somehow makes it out alive, alone, but La Llorona is deeply unsettled and wants Mercy’s soul for no one should escape her deadly grasp. Will Mercy be able to break the trauma that holds over their community, or will the river woman finally get what she wants?
I love that Mercy finds her way through plant medicine, as I love anything with witchy vibes and this sure had a ton! I can’t wait to see what the author has in store next. Weep, Woman, Weep is a shorter read but it will still take you on a rollercoaster ride of emotions. I highly recommend picking this one up!
Reviewed by @shannlynn
Weep, Woman, Weep by Maria DeBlassie
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Mercy lives in a town where most of the women are filled with sorrow. This is all thanks to the ‘weeping woman’ at the bottom of the river. After watching woman after woman fall victim to the river, Mercy and her friend Sherry make a pact to protect each other from being the next. One night Sherry is inconsolable, which attracts the weeping woman, Mercy tried with all her might to calm down her best friend. Unfortunately, she was too late. The weeping woman got Sherry. Mercy was able to escape but not without a giant target on her back. She was the one that got away and the weeping woman will not stand for it.
As years go by, Mercy is still marked but is starting to get tired of living in fear. She starts to better her life regardless of being targeted. The weeping woman will stop at nothing to get this woman who bested her.
It was hard for me to get into the story if I am being honest. There was some Spanish terminology which I had to stop and look up which took me right out of the story. Not only that but it was very slow paced and seemed to drag on. I enjoyed the story, but it took too long to get there. The book was more written like a day in the life kind of style which I am not a fan of in general.
Weep, Woman, Weep by Maria DeBlassie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is not the first book that I read by this author and will not be the last! The first thing that drew me into this story was the cover art, it was immaculate! The writing and the story line is then what kept me entertained! The story was one that was super unique and was one that I had not encountered before. It gave me lots of information that I had not previously known about Mexican culture. This book was super informative and was super entertaining. I cannot wait to read more amazing books by this amazing author! This book needs to be read by everyone so that they can enjoy the wonderful story just like I did.
Weep, Woman, Weep by Maria DeBlassie
Mercy is a young girl living in Sueno, New Mexico that is doing her best to break free from the generational traumas that have befallen the women there. La Llorana is always looking for the next generation of young girls to baptize and fill with so many tears and so much sorrow that it overwhelms them. Each generation of girls does their best to avoid the banks of the river and the Weeping Woman, but few can escape the curse as she drags them into her watery depths.
A moving and unforgettable story of a young girl who fights to escape the curse of generations of women who are overtaken by pain and darkness. Mercy is strong, smart, and determined to find the light through the darkness against all odds. You cannot help but root for Mercy as she so valiantly tries to make her way in the world and overcome a curse that has taken the lives of so many women through the generations. A beautifully written story of rebirth through healing and magic.
Weep, Woman, Weep by Maria DeBlassie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is my first book that I read from this author and it was really good. I like that it took me out of my normal comfort zone in my reading and the cover is beautiful.
Magic and folklore….the legend, La Llorona is haunting for sure, sadness surrounds the legend and we meet Mercy whom is trying to be careful about this legend due to her best friend was lost because of
La Llorona. Will the legend come for Mercy and never let go?
This story is very unique, surrounded by sadness and a bit of heartbreak for me as well.
Weep, Woman, Weep by Maria DeBlassie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Mercy is a young native woman who has been taught to not show her tears and never walk the riverside at night otherwise La Llorona will get you. She does everything in her power with her best friend Sherry to break the cycle that has plagued the women of their tiny town. Unfortunately, her Sherry does not escape the fate and we soon follow the story of Mercy and her growth. This a powerful story of a young woman who doesn’t give up, despite the hardships that are consistently thrown at her. I really enjoyed this book. It was quick and short, but so much was packed into this story and I didn’t feel like anything was lost or rushed. I truly enjoyed Mercy’s growth.
Weep, Woman, Weep: A Gothic Fairytale about Ancestral Hauntings by Maria DeBlassie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was an intriguing and engaging read, with a gothic fairytale feeling to the writing, which had me hooked from start to finish. Based on the story of La Llorona, and set in Sueño, New Mexico the storyline flows well and kept me gripped. The women of Sueño, don’t know how to live a life without sorrows, and that’s because La Llorona roams the waterways. She’s looking for the next generation of girls to baptise, by filling them with more tears than any woman should have to hold. The only way to avoid the Weeping Woman is to not walk along the riverbank at night and try to keep their sadness in check, as it’s the the pain and heartache passed down through the generations that attracts her.
Mercy lost her best friend to La Llorona, but she survived, however, she didn’t come back quite right and knows that La Llorona won’t be satisfied until she gets the one soul that got away to the bottom of the river. As Mercy enters into a battle for her life, she goes on a journey into magic, healing and rebirth, as she fights to break the chains of generational trauma. Mercy needs to reclaim her soul from ancestral hauntings and so turns to things that she knows can save her, plant medicine, pulp books, and the promise of a strong love, that not even La Llorona can stop from happening. Although a fairly short read it’s an emotional story, and I really felt for Mercy. Both her character and the New Mexico setting came to life through the descriptive narrative, making me feel immersed in the story.
Weep, Woman, Weep by Maria DeBlassie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and seeing where life would take Mercy and Sherry. The author has a way of telling the story of La Llorona in a magical and mystical manner that makes it intriguing and not as frightening as some other stories about La Llorona have been depicted. This is the second work of Marie DeBlassie I’ve read but the first longer workof hers and should definitely be categorized as magical realism. If you enjoy that genre or reading about young women explore life and themselves despite what they are told then you will definitely enjoy this book.
Weep, Woman, Weep by Maria DeBlassie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
From the first sentence I was pulled into this fabulous story. This is a story of survival, healing, and rebirth. Mercy, the main character, is our narrator and tells us the story in a down-to-earth way with spunk. Finding happiness in a world designed to do otherwise gives the story some light in the heaviness of the plot. The focus on brujeria via plant medicine was an interesting slant for me; it’s not something I normally read. The story has vivid imagery about New Mexico and life the women have to survive though in Sueno. I enjoyed this story so much, that I wish it was longer!
Review by @bilberrysweet
Brandy Vaughn,NNovember 2022
See all my reviews
Wow! I absolutely loved this book. The author did a wonderful job writing it as if Mercy was directly speaking to the reader. Mercy goes from being scared and sure she is going to live with La Llorona always after her. And it’s only after many years does she see recognize her own strength.
Weep, Woman, Weep by Maria DeBlassie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
You’ve heard of generational poverty, right? Meet an entire community trapped within generational despair. The narrator is determined to escape the chains that bind those around her. Despite never moving from her tiny town, the heroine learns to harness her sadness. Eventually, it is the physical manifestation of her sadness which strengthens her and saves her.
~ ~ ~ ~ BOOK SPOTLIGHT SHOWCASE ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
A compelling gothic fairytale by bruja and award-winning writer Maria DeBlassie.
The women of Sueño, New Mexico don’t know how to live a life without sorrows. That’s La Llorona’s doing. She roams the waterways looking for the next generation of girls to baptize, filling them with more tears than any woman should have to hold. And there’s not much they can do about the Weeping Woman except to avoid walking along the riverbank at night and to try to keep their sadness in check. That’s what attracts her to them: the pain and heartache that gets passed down from one generation of women to the next.
Mercy knows this, probably better than anyone. She lost her best friend to La Llorona and almost found a watery grave herself. But she survived. Only she didn’t come back quite right and she knows La Llorona won’t be satisfied until she drags the one soul that got away back to the bottom of the river.
In a battle for her life, Mercy fights to break the chains of generational trauma and reclaim her soul free from ancestral hauntings by turning to the only things that she knows can save her: plant medicine, pulp books, and the promise of a love so strong not even La Llorona can stop it from happening. What unfolds is a stunning tale of one woman’s journey into magic, healing, and rebirth.
CW: assault, domestic violence, racism, colorism
Dr. Maria DeBlassie is a native New Mexican mestiza and award-winning writer and educator living in the Land of Enchantment. She writes about everyday magic, ordinary gothic, and all things witchy. When she is not practicing Brujeria, she’s teaching classes about bodice rippers, modern mystics, and things that go bump in the night. She is forever looking for magic in her life and somehow always finding more than she thought was there. Find out more about Maria and conjuring everyday magic at www.mariadeblassie.com.
Weep, Woman, Weep by Maria DeBlassie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
We are given a touching novella about fighting to find the light and happiness even when you are dealt a hand that is dark and full of sorrow. This is my second read by this Author and I really enjoy their righting style, again they deliver in originality and touch on cultural history.
The Author will have you feeling every bit of anguish and hope as we are told Mercy’s story from her POV. We follow Mercy throughout her life and through her difficult journey of breaking free from her generational curse.
This Author amazes me with their attention to detail and descriptions, as well as their talent of writing about sensitive topics with care and relatability.
Short novel, with big impact!
Weep, Woman, Weep by Maria DeBlassie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I generally enjoy feminist gothic horror and this book is no different. It’s more or less a novella given its short length. I really just wanted more pages so that there would be more depth to the story, as some parts of the story felt a bit rushed. Still, the writing was beautiful, and I enjoyed the magical realism as well as the themes of intergenerational trauma and grief. A haunting but moving story.
Weep, Woman, Weep by Maria DeBlassie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Weep, Woman, Weep: A Gothic Fairytale about Ancestral Hauntings by Maria DeBlassie – Review by YellowTulips11
I was very intrigued by the premise of the story of a woman fighting and resisting the constant haunting of La Llorna. As a child, I too, grew up hearing the tales of the woman in white weeping for her lost children by the river. I couldn’t wait to see where this story would lead.
The story takes place in the town of Sueño, New Mexico. I was immediately drawn to the friendship and solidarity between the two characters, Mercy and Sherry. It made me think of my own childhood best friend and I related to the characters’ growth together. I wish the story delved a little deeper into the personal journeys of the girls as they faced the many challenges in their lives. I clearly understood the many emotions Mercy had throughout her life during her times of strife and grief and found myself rooting for her success as the story progressed. Sherry’s story wasn’t as detailed and I found myself wanting to know much more about her life and everything going on inside of her.
Due to the short length of the book, parts of the story felt rushed. I had a hard time following the story at certain points, as the storyline digressed multiple times in the same paragraph. Mercy bounced around a lot as she described things and events. It was then I realized the story is written as if you are having a conversation with Mercy and she is telling you the tale herself. Just as the stories of La Llorna are passed down verbally, generation after generation, Mercy was passing her story down in the same verbal context. I felt the connection to “Weep, Woman, Weep” just as I felt to my own ancestral stories from generations before me. It definitely left me wishing the story was longer with more details of the characters’ lives and a glimpse into the future and how it turned out.
Weep, Woman, Weep by Maria DeBlassie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I really enjoyed this book! It was short, and I honestly would have given it 5 stars if it could’ve been longer so that more detail could have been given for some of the events, but I still recommend it. I was looking for something different than other books I have been reading lately and this did not disappoint.
One of the things that I enjoyed about this book the most was the magical language used in the descriptions. I could see the vivid images in my head and some of them made me laugh or smile. One of my favorite lines in the book was “the mountains just behind the Rio Grande that turned pink and red like a schoolgirl thinking dirty thoughts when the sun rose and set each day”. As a person who has lived in the southwestern part of the United States, I absolutely loved this description!
For a quick, magical read, I highly recommend this book!
reviewed by @puffprincess
Weep, Woman, Weep by Maria DeBlassie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This story was simply amazing! Reading the first page, I was immediately drawn in. I love Mercy’s voice and the storytelling she does. I adore the reality in the relationships, and the way the story touches on all the ways that things were different then. I loved reading about Mercy’s dreams and her fighting spirit even as her dreams changed because reality struck. I just really truly love everything about it, I was absolutely enthralled from beginning to end.
Weep, Woman, Weep by Maria DeBlassie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was slightly out of my comfort zone. I was hesitant about choosing to read this book, but am so glad I went with it! Definitely not what I expected, but in a good way. I felt all kinds of emotion while reading this book. I read it in an afternoon! I just couldn’t put it down! So I you’re trying to decide if you really want to read it, just do it! You’ll be glad you did.
Weep, Woman, Weep by Maria DeBlassie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Sadness and madness, the curse of La Llorona, also known as the weeping woman, is the plague of a small New Mexican town. Mercy is a young woman who is determined not to fall as the women before her have. Will she succeed? Will she stumble?
Weep, Woman, Weep was a quick enjoyable read. It did take me a moment to really get into the story, at first, I found it a little difficult to follow. I did quickly adjust to the writing style and found myself sucked into it the story and unable to put the book down. The struggles Mercy talks about as well as experiences are relatable, as well as thought provoking. The struggle to be happy and succeed, not let the bad moments keep you down is something anyone is something anyone can at the very least understand, many having experiences it in there own lives. While I think this story could be even better if it was expanded into a longer novel and had the time to go into more depth, I did feel it was worth the time it took to read.
Weep, Woman, Weep by Maria DeBlassie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book is set around two young women in a small town haunted by La Llorna. Mercy and Sherry were the best of friends. Until they weren’t. Until her.
I truly loved this book and how it showed you can overcome anything that is in your way. Regardless of what past or being that is trying to stop you.
“All you can do is make your own miracles and let people live out their lives however they plan to.” That quote hit home with me. I recommend this book to anyone who feels stuck because not even La Llorna can stop you.
Review by @michellerenee6590
Weep, Woman, Weep by Maria DeBlassie
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
3.5/4 stars
Reading the description of this book, I had very high hopes for the story. The beginning of the book took me a little bit to get into. But once I did, I felt the story was rushed. There was so much character development missed due to the length of the book. I would’ve liked to see more details not only about the culture where the book takes place, but the people in the book as well.
Weep, Woman, Weep by Maria DeBlassie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
5/5
This is an amazing read, that one can finish fairly quickly. The writing style is well done, and once I got into the story, I could not put it down till I was finished. It’s a thought provoking read that makes the reader consider generational trauma, and what it means to take charge of one’s own happiness. The main protagonist is Mercy, and we fallow her narrative about her time as a young girl and into adulthood. She explains to the reader who La Llorona is, why it’s dangerous for the women in town to get to close to the river, and why she collects her own tears in jars. This book is a great read all through out the year, but I imagine this is the type of book is an even better read while on vacation or on a nice summer or spring day. Overall, I recommend this book to those that would like a light read and gets them thinking.
Weep, Woman, Weep by Maria DeBlassie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
La Llorona haunts the riverbanks of Sueño, New Mexico, a town where women are constantly counteracting the good things with something of sadness. She’s the reason that the girls are told not to walk down to river, just in case La Llorona is looking for someone to take down to the bottom of the river.
Mercy loses her best friend to La Llorona, and barely survived herself. Now, struggling for her life and attempting to get past the sorrows of Sueño, Mercy must delve into a world of magic, healing, and maybe just maybe, she’ll make it out alive.
Overall, I really enjoyed this read! Weep, Woman, Weep is heartbreaking and beautiful. It has a lot of potential to give the reader more, but I feel reads more like a story/legend you tell around a campfire or such than a full length story. It reads much like one would think about something that happens to them, jumping from one place to another and retracing it’s steps. I know it’s not for everyone, but it definitely felt like it was made for this story. I’d love to read more from this author.