I‘m starting to understand why this book is marketed as “The Crucible” meets “The Virgin Suicides”. Both of those storied have isolated girls, whom have their whole lives placed on display for the town–much like the Mansfield sisters in The Hounding.
We never hear directly from the Mansfield sisters themselves, only from those who love them, observe them and hate them.

The book is told by the two main characters, Alba and Elias. We follow the star-crossed lovers as they traverse towards Mina San Gabriel and its doom. Cañas does a fantastic job of intersecting the line of control, who‘s control? The control of a woman‘s body, the control of the Inquisitors and the church, or the control of the mercury and money flowing through the veins deep within the mine.

“When you descended into the dark, you never went alone.“

I loved this story! I really felt as if we truly got to see the characters mature not only in their art but in their lives. Could not put it down!

A poignant story about a man and a woman, relationships and cancer. This is kind of a quintessential love and loss story.
I was at times confused and upset by the characters, as if their emotions weren‘t truly a big deal. I wanted to feel a bit more emotion from our narrator, I mean she‘s going through two of life‘s toughest situations: divorce and cancer at the same time. The book was well written and a quick read for a more light-hearted story.