The House of Gardenias

by Isabel Cañas

A debut gothic YA from the USA Today bestselling author of The Hacienda and The Possession of Alba Díaz

Sixteen-year-old Minerva has spent her whole life in the slums of the capital city of an unnamed country that resembles colonial Mexico. Though she lives in the shadow of constant government turmoil, her empty belly and her father’s brutality don’t leave time for politics—especially since her older brothers ran away. Minerva can’t take another beating or miss another meal, so she flees to a wealthy loyalist neighborhood to win a job as a lady’s maid to an elderly widow.

Minerva and Encarnación del Valle—the proud and acerbic widow—form an unlikely duo. They are both survivors in their own ways, stubborn and used to being underestimated. For a time, Minerva is happy. She has food and safety in a house lit and warmed by magical chispa. Why should she care who runs the country or how her employer affords the magic?

But when the viceroy sweeps back into power on a wave of horrific bloodshed that sweeps away any hope Minerva had of seeing her brothers again, Encarnación retreats to the del Valle’s mountainside estate, the Casa de la Gardenias. Minerva finds herself surrounded by dozens of more experienced servants and the cruel, scheming younger del Valles, but the living are the least of anyone’s worries at the Casa de las Gardenias, and soon Minerva discovers that this ancient estate is home to forces far older and more bloodthirsty than the fascist del Valles or the liberal guerrillas amassing in the surrounding wilderness.

Genres: Horror, Young Adult, Gothic, Historical Fiction, Historical, Fiction, Paranormal

288 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication September 29, 2026

About the author

Isabel Cañas is a Mexican American speculative fiction writer. After having lived in Mexico, Scotland, Egypt, Turkey, and New York City, among other places, she has settled in the Pacific Northwest. She holds a doctorate in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations and writes fiction inspired by her research and her heritage.

Reviews

[Nilufer Ozmekik]

I have a confession to make: if Isabel Cañas announced she was rewriting the phone book as a gothic horror, I'd probably request it before finishing the sentence.

She has become one of those rare authors for me—the kind whose name alone is enough. No synopsis needed. No reviews checked. Just me aggressively clicking the "Request" button and trusting the literary gods.

So when I realized she was venturing into YA territory, I had mixed feelings. Could the queen of atmospheric nightmares, haunted houses, and morally questionable people tone herself down?

The answer is yes.

And thankfully, also no.

The House of Gardenias still carries Isabel Cañas's unmistakable fingerprints: lush prose, unsettling imagery, complicated families, and the kind of atmosphere that practically crawls off the page and sits beside you while you're reading. It just happens to center around a sixteen-year-old girl who deserves approximately one million hugs and an unlimited dessert budget.

Minerva is not your typical fearless heroine. She survives by keeping her head down, staying quiet, and making herself as invisible as possible. Considering she lives in a world full of violence and an abusive father who mistakes cruelty for parenting, you can't exactly blame her. Survival has been her full-time job for sixteen years.

And honestly? I loved that.

There is something so refreshing about a protagonist whose greatest strength isn't bravery—at least not at first. It's endurance. Watching Minerva slowly realize that surviving and living are two entirely different things became one of my favorite parts of the book.

Then she arrives at La Casa de las Gardenias.

Friends, if someone invites you to a remote mansion in the mountains where the family smiles too much, the servants whisper, and the shadows seem to breathe...

RUN.

Leave your luggage. Leave your dignity. Leave your favorite cardigan if you must.

Just. Run.

The house itself completely stole the show for me. Isabel Cañas could probably write 400 pages about wallpaper, and I'd still be invested. Every hallway, every creaking floorboard, every dark corner felt alive. There is an oppressive, almost suffocating quality to the setting that had me reading "just one more chapter" at midnight, knowing full well I was going to regret it when I inevitably had to walk to the bathroom in the dark.

What I continue to admire about Cañas's writing is how effortlessly she weaves larger themes into her stories. This isn't simply a haunted house novel. It's about class, power, colonialism, survival, and the impossible choices people make when they're given only terrible options.

Because let's be honest: politics are a luxury when you're starving.

Minerva doesn't care who's in charge of the country. She cares about having food in her stomach and a roof over her head, and that perspective made the story feel incredibly human.

The first half is admittedly slower and more atmospheric than terrifying. If you're expecting nonstop jump scares and blood splattering across the walls every twenty pages, this may not be your book. Isabel Cañas prefers to sharpen the knife slowly while smiling politely at you.

And when things finally begin to unravel?

OH, THEY UNRAVEL.

By the final third, I was completely invested. The tension skyrockets, the mysteries begin to click into place, and suddenly I remembered why Isabel Cañas has become one of my favorite voices in gothic fiction.

Also—and I say this with affection—I would like to formally invoice this author for the emotional damages inflicted upon me by the ending.

Overall, The House of Gardenias gave me strong Isabel Allende and Laura Esquivel vibes—the kind of stories where history, folklore, family legacies, politics, and the supernatural sit together at the same dinner table and somehow make perfect sense. There is a dreamy, almost magical quality beneath all the darkness that reminded me why Latin American gothic fiction feels so unique. Isabel Cañas continues to prove she belongs in that literary conversation, creating stories that are not only haunting but deeply rooted in culture, memory, and resilience. Add a terrifying mansion, bloodthirsty secrets, and one unforgettable coming-of-age journey, and you have a book that will linger in your mind long after you turn the final page.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers Group | Dutton Books for Young Readers for sharing this very intriguing YA horror's digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

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[₊ ˚ ale ࿓ ♡ ⋆｡˚]

‎ ‎ ‎ ⌗‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ──🍋‍🟩🐈‍⬛ᝰ .ᐟ pre-read.
I GOT THE ARC, OMGGGG. YASSSS. now that i'm back at working from home, i'll be able to read more and finish all the arcs that i have pending, lmaooo. starting with this one.


thanks to netgalley and Dutton Books for Young Readers for an arc in exchange of an honest review!

[megs_bookrack]

ARC received. Thank you, Dutton Books for Young Readers!!

I always look forward to Isabel Cañas's latest releases, and I'm so happy to see she's going to be entering the YA-space. I can't wait!

[Erin Dunn]

✨✨A new fave author for me!!!✨✨

What a fantastic YA gothic novel!! The Possession of Alba Díaz was one of my favorite reads last year, so I knew I had to get my hands on The House of Gardenias. I’m so happy that I got to read it!

The House of Gardenias is a gothic atmospheric dream! I really felt for Minerva. Also, I liked her relationship with Señora Encarnación and Ygnacio. This book was more emotional than I was expecting. It really had me in my feels. The ending!!!🥺 I highly recommend this one!

I need to read more from Isabel Cañas!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free ebook copy in exchange for an honest review. This book is expected to be released September 29, 2026 .

[Ember]

Isabel Cañas YA debut stands proudly amongst her other works. I could hardly stand to put this down - the audacity of work when I had this book waiting for me at home?! I couldn’t wait to get home and read!

Minerva’s character was complex, and Cañas did such a good job capturing her. I felt frustrated with her at times early on for ‘not caring’ about colonial rule over her country. But I think that is the quiet genius of what Cañas is teaching us, what she’s showing through this story.
When your basic fundamental needs aren’t met - food, water, a safe place to sleep, a safe place to live…it becomes much harder to care. Of course that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t, but what she so perfectly illustrates is the reason why capitalism is so cruel, so ethically and morally bankrupt; why this system of power and oppression needs us to be tired, to be hungry, to not be able to reliably care for ourselves. They count on it, so that we’ll be unwilling or even physically unable to do anything about their oppression. Too worn down to fight back in any way. Too tired and jaded to dream of a better future, a better world.
But our dreams and our work for a better future will ultimately succeed, and reading stories helps us dream up better futures and worlds we can make together✨

I think the above lesson is especially powerful in a YA book, when teens are learning about the systems that keep us downtrodden, hungry, and burnt out - so that they learn that we always have a choice. That even the smallest act of resistance can be the sparks to something greater.

Cañas also did a good job exploring the colonizing elites, and showing how complex a character like Señora Encarnación can be. I wanted to hate her for being racist and supporting the brutal colonization of modern day México. But I couldn’t fully hate her because she truly seemed to love Minerva, and cared for her as a person in a way Minerva so desperately needed. When she protected Minerva from her father, my heart softened towards her, and I have wrestled with her complex moral ambiguity ever since.
Señora Encarnación’s family was AWFUL, damn. There wasn’t a single one of them I pitied, and it was darkly satisfying to see them be confronted by their own karma in the end.

I desperately wanted Minerva and Filomena to make it (the sacrifices she made for the rebellion - pretending to be interested in Leoncio? Ack, girl was STRONG af), and I was devastated that neither Minerva or Filomena (and Minerva’s other brother, Armando) didn’t survive to see what they had helped fight for. But just that Minerva, a 17 year old of such a difficult life, found the grit and courage to stand and fight anyways, to help Arnulfo escape to do what he was meant to do, was powerful.
Together they fought colonial rule and freed their homeland.
Ygnacio was a great character, and even though he was trying to be scary in the beginning, I always liked him. I really did want to know the lore behind who Ygnacio’s ‘kin’ were in the sarcophaguses upstairs👀🫣 I’ll be casually wondering about that forever. 😅

I was glad the ghosts had the peaceful garden and library after the remainder of the people fled the house. I wish Arnulfo and Minerva could’ve spoken one more time. 🥺
That’s my only real criticism of this book - I truly wish it had been 15-20 pages longer. A proper epilogue, a little moment of unrushed goodbye between brother and sister, and perhaps a little glimpse into the hereafter our brave ghosts finally found themselves in.

Even though the end was sad, I did like how Cañas reminded us that death, while parting may be bitter indeed, is not a defeat. In death our heroes continued to fight for those they loved, and root out and defeat the colonizers that remained in la Casa de las Gardenias. As dear Gandalf says in LOTR ‘End? No, death is not the end. Death is merely another path, one that we all must take.’

Overall, this is another triumph from Isabel Cañas - a haunting tale about courage, human nature, finding your role in the stories unfolding around you, and helping each other make a better world.

📖The House Of Gardenias releases September 29th, 2026!
✨Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Young Reader’s Group, Dutton Books For Young Readers, and Isabel Cañas for the opportunity to read this book early in exchange for my honest review!💜

[Gaby]

As I was reading this, I had to keep adjusting my expectations from Cañas' horrormance, which is what has largely drawn me into her writing. This book centers multiple relationships, including mentorship and a sibling dynamic, and while there is a relationship that could be construed as romantic, it's more about the sense of kinship at the heart of it.

Set in the lush, historical Mexico I've come to know and love, The House of Gardenias follows our protagonist's quest for independence from her abusive father as she finds employment with the politically unfavorable del Valle family. During Minerva's tenure at La Casa de las Gardenias, she also finds that she and her only remaining family have wound up on opposite sides of what eventually evolves into a civil war.

Even though there were a few different plot lines to follow, I found this an engaging entry in Cañas' catalogue of ghost stories. Minerva and Arnulfo's struggle to protect each other from opposite sides of a conflict was compelling, and I liked the perspective that Ygnacio's character added. The resolution at the end felt a little rushed, but I really enjoyed how Cañas brought several storylines to a satisfying close.

And while this may in some ways have reduced my own enjoyment, I can appreciate that this felt like a book written for a younger audience who will hopefully learn from Minerva's courage and loyalty while getting to experience the historical setting that this author so deftly brings to life every time.

[From The Reader’s Nest]

First book I’ve read by her and OBSESSED!!! Such an excellent book!

[She’s Stranger Than Fiction]

I love this book. Isabel Cañas is gothic royalty. This novel is her best yet. As political unrest surges through Colonial Mexico, Minerva, an impoverished maid, is brought to the stronghold of the viceroy’s family. There is something very wrong with the house and its occupants. The atmosphere is incredible as is the growing tension. Cañas shows full mastery of the slow burn, ratcheting things up while keeping the reader on tenterhooks. She keeps to the gothic spirit, relying on the claustrophobia produced by both the house and the events swirling within and outside it. There is very little gore, and the book is the better for it. This book is definitely a must read for gothic fiction fans.

This is my honest opinion of an uncorrected ARC. I would like to thank Isabel Cañas, Dutton Books, and NetGalley for allowing me this amazing opportunity.

[Cassie G.]

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton Books for Young Readers for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

———

4.5 ★

———

This is the first book I’ve read by Isabel Cañas and consider me immensely impressed! The depth with which our characters are fleshed out is astounding, the setting atmospheric, and the story itself is thematically jarring. It poses great questions about the lengths we go for those we are loyal to, and how our loyalties shift when self-preservation takes priority.

For a book I read mostly at nighttime, the horror elements do not disappoint. The suspense builds, the uncertainty and unrest seep into every shadowed place. Though I enjoyed the pacing throughout most of this book, I do think the ending felt rushed. That selfish part of me wishes for just a little more. Still, a really well-done work, especially as a debut into the YA genre.

[Faiza]

3.5 rounded up! I’m a huge fan of all of Isabel Cañas’ books and thought this was a great addition to her work. I will say it was probably my least favourite of her works though!

Vengeful spirits, political unrest, class struggles - there was a lot this story had working for it. I enjoyed a lot of elements but I think some aspects felt a bit abrupt. Namely some character dynamics and personalities (trying not to be too spoilery) felt kind they changed too quickly, maybe if this had been a tad longer the changes would have felt more natural. I also sorta saw the ending coming so was really hoping I’d be surprised by a twist, but alas it did end how I expected lol.

That said, the atmospheric descriptions were amazingly immersive as always. The horror aspects were spookily well done! Pacing was good and this was a quick read IMO. Had fun despite some of the shortcomings.

thank you penguin teen for the eARC!!

[Nelly]

neeeeeedd September comw fasterrrr !!!!

[Sally]

3.5 ⭐️ I love Isabel Cañas books so when I saw this was a short YA I wasn’t sure what to expect but it definitely it exactly as it says. It still has her same beautiful writing style with that gothic dark atmospheric vibes with supernatural elements. However, I think she THRIVES in a romantic subplot and since this didn’t really have that I was a little starved of her usual writing. It’s like when you eat and it doesn’t fill you up but leaves you content for now. 😅 that’s how I feel

[Rachel]

📖 Thank you Dutton Books and NetGalley for my eARC

16-year-old Minerva flees an abusive home to become a lady’s maid to a wealthy widow. But when political violence forces them to retreat to Casa de la Gardenias, Minerva quickly learns that the haughty, 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 residents are actually the least of her worries.

There is just something about Isabel Cañas’ writing that makes it so incredibly easy to picture everything in your head. I could see the dark corridors, the shape forming in the shadows.

There’s a constant feeling of being trapped, in more ways than one. I was so on edge more than a few times, holding my breath and hoping that Minerva wouldn’t get caught. I absolutely adored Minerva as a character, and I found myself rooting for her throughout the story.

I was completely immersed in this story, and Isabel Cañas once again proves why her writing is so easy to get lost in.

[Ellie]

Thank you so incredibly much to NetGalley and the publisher of this book for the eARC.

I adore Isabel Cañas, and I have ever since I read Vampires of El Norte, so seeing there was an eARC for her first YA gothic horror novel had me requesting it immediately. The House of Gardenias had me sucked into Minerva's difficult and challenging life from the start, following her as she tries to make her life easier during the Civil War, which in turn leads her to the House of Gardenias and horrors ensue. If went in blind I would have never known this book was a YA gothic horror, which is NOT a bad thing. This is an excellent first YA novel from this author.

[unstable.books]

The House of Gardenias is a beautiful and atmospheric YA debut about a house built on secrets. When Minerva escapes an abusive home to work as a lady's maid, she finds herself immersed into the world of this wealthy widow and the titular house. Soon it is clear, everyone in the home has something to hide. What makes the novel compelling is the way Canas allows the supernatural elements to unfold alongside Minerva's struggles. The horror elements are unsettling, but do not feel like simple adornments to the story. They deepen the sense of danger surrounding a young woman who has already learned that safety is merely an illusion. There is something especially notable about the contrast between the home's grandeur and the unease that permeates it, creating a setting where the most beautiful place turns hostile. Canas gives the novel a strong center in Minerva, whose vulnerability never diminishes her determination. Her journey is about finding her place while also surviving the things that haunt her. That balance gives the story a sense of purpose beneath the eerie atmosphere. For readers who enjoy historical horror dripping with dread, The House of Gardenias offers an intimate look at a haunting. Thank you Dutton Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for the ARC. You can pick this up September 29th, 2026 wherever you buy your books!

[Stephanie]

I had the chance to read The House of Gardenias and I was SCAREEEED. Some scenes in this book are absolutely not for the faint of heart. The descriptions of the house, the ghostly encounters Minerva has, the way everything slowly becomes more unsettling... GODDDD. I had chills.

Thankfully, I was reading this in the middle of the day because there is absolutely no way I would have been able to sleep if I had read some of those scenes at night.

The writing is definitely one of my favourite things about this book. There’s something so atmospheric about the way the house and its ghosts are described, and the author really knows how to build that sense of dread without relying solely on jump scares.

I also really enjoyed how much depth there is beneath the horror. The book explores politics, colonialism, reclaiming power, and what it means to take back control of your own history. It’s surprisingly layered for a YA book, and I appreciated that these themes weren’t just sitting in the background.

And I really liked Minerva as a protagonist. The author captures that particular stage of youth so well, where you’re growing into yourself while simultaneously feeling like you have absolutely no idea what you’re doing. Everything is changing, everything is confusing, and you’re trying to figure out who you are in the middle of it all.

[Amanda Rose]

I was immediately drawn into The House of Gardenias by two things: the beautiful cover and the phenomenal author that wrote it. Isabel Cañas delivers her readers another gorgeously written gothic tale, debuting Gardenias as her first YA gothic horror! It’s haunting while also being thought provoking and fraught with turmoil in its portrayal of a city resembling colonial Mexico that’s fallen to political violence. Leaving those living in the slums suffering the most for it, which is where we meet Minerva.

After her older brothers leave without a word, 16 year old Minerva is left with 8 younger step-siblings. Not having time for political concerns, she looks for an escape from her abusive father and step-mother. Minerva soon finds herself filling her belly for the first time after being miraculously hired as a maid to a well-off widow whose loyalty lies with the very people who would view her as scum. With the city falling into deeper unrest, Minerva is forced to escape the only place she’s felt safe for a temporary stay at la Casa de las Gardenias, an ancient estate where she will wait out the danger and care for Encarnación dell Valle.

But they aren’t the only ones staying there. Between more family of dell Valle’s and the staff of the house, we start to peel back the horrors hiding behind everyone’s walls… including the house that’s watching them.

Isabel wrote very compelling characters into this story as well as chilling descriptions of the more sinister things happening within the estate. I found myself looking over my shoulders a few times at night while reading 👀 This was thrilling and sad and overall an extremely well done story! I can feel the ending sticking with me and definitely suggest reading if you want a spooky gothic with bloodthirsty haunts and a brave FMC.

~Thank you Dutton Books for Young Readers for the eARC! All opinions within this review are my own~

[Wren Lee]

How do we escape the throes of poverty and food insecurity during times of political unrest? We charm the rich and powerful, of course.

Our story takes place during a time that is only called ‘something similar to’ colonial Mexico. Minerva is a 16 year old girl who has up to this point, lived a life of cruelty and suffering at the hands of her alcoholic father, and her stereotypically horrible stepmother.

She lives in essentially one room shack with her other siblings and the aforementioned father and stepmother. Food is scarce to a point where Minerva’s monthly cycle has stopped completely.

It gets to a point where she, albeit a little bit selfishly, leaves behind this terrible excuse for a living situation to find a job as a lady’s maid, where she could at least exist in a place with more dignity and comforts than she is now. It’s just been so unbearable.

It’s then that she meets Señora Encarnación. A seemingly joyless, stern, but somehow also extravagant and endearing old rich woman, who currently lives alone and has no one to help her or keep her company.

Minerva, focused only on her own comfort, takes the job as Señora Encarnación’s maid. Through her time there, she discovers that her Employer is actually the cousin of the current Viceroy, and part of the richest and most powerful family around right now.

Minerva’s two older brothers both left home long before she did to pursue placements within the shaky democratic politics of the time, so when the Viceroy’s forces and the Valbuenista (a sort of guerrilla rebel group) face off in the area where Señora’s manor is located, the del Valles family retrieves the two of them to get them to safety at La Casa de las Gardenias.

Minerva falls in line with the other servants, cooks, and staff fairly quickly, but she can feel a darkness about this place. There is something about the House of Gardenias that just feels… wrong. And she is about to find out exactly why that is.

As someone that didn’t know very much at all about the history of Spanish occupation in colonial Mexico, this book gave me a few things.

The first thing I got was a whole lot of confusion regarding who is a good or a bad guy. The second was a nice little history lesson. The third was more confusion surrounding my feelings for who deserved what they got and why. Señora Encarnación is a bit of an enigma in that regard.

This story has a very unique kind of take on the supernatural. The rich people of the time had access to a type of magic called Chispa, which provided them with common comforts like heated bath water, and lamps that never really ran out of fuel.

But when you find out where the main source of Chispa comes from, the allegory for the rich people’s use of it is like a punch to the guts. And all too real. I’d go so far as to say it almost feels very…. Current and relatable.

I did end up enjoying this book through all the confusion I experienced, and I was supremely glad that I took the time to look into the history of colonial Mexico to gain a better understanding of it all. What a great way to start Hispanic Heritage month!

[Denise Ruttan]

This is the fourth book I've read by Isabel Cañas and I think it's safe to say I'm a fan by now. All her books have fairly similar themes, like a star-crossed love affair and haunted house, but she does Mexican gothic horror so well, I would read the phone book if she wanted to take a stab at that, if people under 35 know what a phone book is.

My only criticism of this book is that for a YA debut, I thought it was rather dark for YA. The only thing YA about it really was Minerva's age, she starts the book as a sixteen-year-old and it follows her into 20 as she claws her way into coming of age.

In a Mexico-inspired land ripped apart by civil war, Minerva's brothers run away to join the insurgents and she escapes her abusive father to join the household of an elderly woman from the old regime. She is a bitter old woman but she is kind to Minerva and teaches her to play a game called Mice and Hounds. Minerva stays loyal to her even when she discovers the true source of the family's wealth, chispa, which is "mined" to provide electricity. The old regime seizes power and the old woman lives with her scheming family again in an ornate house full of secrets and ghosts.

There Minerva becomes acquainted with a terrifying specter in the house, Ygnacio, and she soon learns that the ghosts are preferable to the living. When her patron dies, she must learn how to become a Hound.

I loved Minerva's determination and female rage, though I wish I had gotten to know her backstory better. At first she seems like a mousy, timid thing but she has a will to survive and becomes an instrument of revenge. Her sweet slow-burn romance with the ghost wasn't a big part of the story, they never even kissed, but I found their friendship very tender.

This author excels at setting a spooky Gothic atmosphere and then ramping up the telenovela melodrama to keep you at the edge of your seat.

Some minor quiggles I questioned, like it seemed like still hanging on to ancient sarcophogi was this family's Achilles heel, but I didn't mind it because I liked that they were stupid and evil and had what was coming to them. It also showed the complexity of people by making the old lady the good person of that bunch.

What an ending, too.

I eagerly await Ms. Cañas's next book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Alesha Erbter]

The House of Gardenias is the second book I’ve read by this author, after The Possession of Alba Díaz, and I continue to enjoy the worlds and ideas she creates even when her storytelling doesn’t completely pull me in.

Like Alba Díaz, I found this surprisingly easy to put down at times, and for much of the book I wasn’t sure where the story was ultimately going to land. The cast of characters is interesting, though some—including Minerva—felt somewhat predictable. I never quite found myself rooting for Minerva any more at the end than I had at the beginning. Perhaps because this is a relatively short book, I wanted a little more time with her to become fully invested in her story.

There were, however, aspects I really enjoyed. I loved Ygnacio’s POV. I also appreciated Señora Encarnación taking Minerva in, and the various ways Señora stands up for Minerva throughout.

For me, one of the more interesting ideas running beneath the story is family—not exactly found family, but the family we sometimes acquire through circumstance. For both Minerva and Señora Encarnación, the people life places around them can prove safer and more loyal than those connected to them by blood. The story also plays nicely with class: wealth doesn’t inherently make its characters better or worse than poverty does.

Some of the household and servants’ banter felt more familiar to me from British upstairs/downstairs stories than rooted in this particular setting, and I occasionally struggled to get a strong sense of exactly where I was. I’m also not a regular horror reader and am less familiar with the cultural and folkloric traditions informing the novel, so readers who come to it with more knowledge of either may experience those elements differently than I did.

The ending worked for me and ultimately felt inevitable, although interestingly, not because I’d been following an obvious trail of breadcrumbs toward it.

This wasn’t quite as immersive for me as The Possession of Alba Díaz, but there is plenty here to appreciate—particularly for readers who enjoy gothic stories about family, class, power, and the complicated ways people create home.

ARC provided by my daughter through her work at Barnes & Noble. All opinions are my own.

[Natalie Benkowski]

3.75/5

to start off with, this book had the perfect amount of dread inducing atmosphere. true to her other works, isabel cañas perfectly set the “something is not right here” mood associated with gothic novels, and in the beginning, it certainly delivered. i loved the descriptions of our fmc being followed by an “entity”, some surmountable presence always lingering in the shadows, her seeing and hearing things others didn’t care enough to comment on. i didn’t, however, like how our “antagonist” was introduced, and i think the story would have been stronger had ygnacio continued on as an aloof frightening force rather than an on page character, and especially so as a POV character. most of the actual scary aspects of the book were lost as soon as they decide to team up to take down the family, and i feel like a lot of the anticipation/build up i was excited for in the beginning of the book dissipated as i read on.

not only that, but i didn’t like how the focus of ygnacio shifted from determined revenge on the del valle family to this weird one sided obsession over minerva and her safety. he (at first) selfishly wanted to wield her as a tool, which is something that resonated with me after hearing his backstory, but after minimal interaction between the two of them (and quite surface level at that) his main priority became protecting her. i don’t think a malevolent spirit who had this goal for all of his ghostly life would switch up that fast, and it read as super forced to me. i could have dealt with a certain level of camaraderie between the two of them in reaching their common goal, but it just bridged a boundary i was not interested in exploring any further. that may just be my personal preference though.

i am always drawn to isabel’s work because of the strong historical backbones of her books, and you could tell reading along that this time period was expertly researched, making me feel super immersed in the story. i always love the way deep rooted social/political problems are discussed in a way that eases you along to draw your own conclusion, and the payoff is always rewarding and significant. similarly to in her other book “the hacienda”, it showed the real horror hails from the actions of living breathing people, not just supernatural forces.

while i definitely appreciated this book and thought it was a compelling story, i just don’t know if YA books are able to hold my attention much anymore. i still plan on reading many more of her works in the future though, cause i’ve liked everything adult that i’ve read by her!

[Jewel]

3.5 stars

I really enjoyed reading this moody, atmospheric historical fiction novel. I'd say The House of Gardenias also falls under the horror genre, but while the story is initially unsettling, the "monsters" in The House of Gardenias are not really monsters and I wasn't very frightened of them. Instead, they are supernatural creatures who have been cursed to their fate by those who have exploited them, and now they want revenge.

I love that Isabel Canas uses the structure of a horror story to tell a tale of those who have been victimized and forgotten by an unjust society. It flips the narrative and you end up sympathizing with the at first terrifying beings that our main character Minerva encounters within the old mansion she takes up residence in as a maid. In the last novel I reviewed by this author, The Possession of Alba Diaz, there was that same connection between the social issues being analyzed and the horror story threaded throughout. In that novel, patriarchal abuse and loss of anatomy were represented through a demonic possession metaphor, and in The House of Gardenias the abuse of the working class leads to a kind of haunting in death. Very brilliantly handled but also a great accessible introduction to these complex themes. I would have loved this book as a teen.

My main criticism is that this book was a bit of a slow burn, maybe too slow. Once Ygnacio showed up the plot picked up its pace, but it took a while to get there. The final chapter was brilliant. I love a bittersweet ending. Also, the banter in this novel was fantastic. It's not the kind of book I would expect to be funny, but it definitely made me laugh out loud a couple times.

* Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review

[Weronika]

Welcome to La Casa de las Gardenias, haunted and cursed not only by the family living there, but ghosts buried within.

Starting from the slums with no food or familial love, Minerva Treviño takes a chance on becoming the maid for Encarnación del Valle, from the wealthy and infamous del Valle family known for its political power. Señora Encarnación teaches Minerva how to steel herself and shows her more love and care than her own father. When the president is overthrown and fighting shows on their doorstep, Minerva and Señora del Valle travel to the House of Gardenias, the family’s secluded mountain escape. Something lurks in the shadows of the house, tension heats and soldiers clash, armed with Señora’s teachings, Minerva will try to save her brother and ghosts long trapped inside.

Isabel Cañas’ writing is so rich in culture, this hardly feels like a YA novel, I loved everything from the setting to the characters. The atmosphere is gothic, old world Mexico on the brink of civil war and fight for control, danger and violence make the third act of the book powerful and bittersweet.

I enjoyed the pacing and the length of the book. However, the ending felt a little bit rushed. The overall mood of the story is gritty and dark, I liked the many brighter moments like sparks of the chisma magic mentioned throughout. I loved Minerva. The book has strong girl power vibes, even with all the obstacles in her way, she never backed down from doing what was right. The romance angle between her and Ygnacio was so reminiscent of earlier 2000s novels and it worked so well. There was tension and beauty in their connection, dark meeting light, it felt wonderful.

I think Cañas’ fans will like this book just as much as her adult ones.

Thank you to Penguin Teen / Dutton Books for Young Readers for the advance review copy.

[Kayda Noelle]

3.5⭐️

This was such an atmospheric read! I could picture everything so vividly. It’s been a while since I read a YA horror, so I wanted to give it a try after hearing such wonderful things about this author. The writing style was right up my alley, and the setting was what I gravitate towards in my horror selections. I even really enjoyed the supernatural elements brought to the plot with the “chispa”. Minerva was a very likable main character, and I felt for her troubles and her determination to make a better life for herself. There was a great deal of political unrest that has deep ties to how this story unravels, and it felt heavy at times…especially at the end there. Overall, I enjoyed it, but would have preferred some more development. It was a short book, so details that felt important were not expanded on.

Big thanks to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for the advanced read!

[Liz’s Library]

Thank you Dutton books for an e-arc.

This was a fantastic YA Horror that was equal parts scary and emotional. Minerva wants to escape her poor and abusive household. When her two older brothers leave her behind, she decides she must make her own way out of her home. When she finds an ad for a house helper position, she decides to take it. She disregards that she is to help an older woman with an infamous political last name and one that carries dark secrets. Minerva takes a liking to the older woman and for once feels like she is wanted and safe. Sadly, political war ensues and they are forced to move in with other family members into The House of Gardenias. Minerva begins to sense darkness in the home and feels something lurking in the shadows.

Pacing of this book was fantastic and we really get a sense of Minerva's journey and survival in the house. The book also touches of classicism not just within the main family but within the rankings of the help of the house. I did end up crying at the end as there was so much emotion between Minerva and all she discovers and tries to save.

Isabel Cañas is truly a fantastic author and this has made me a reader of anything she writes! Highly recommend.

[BookishKB]

🌺🏚️ The House of Gardenias 🏚️🌺

📖 Bookish Thoughts

My full review will be shared closer to the publication date.

✨ What to Expect
• Gothic Horror
• Haunted House
• Creepy Estate
• Historical Fantasy
• Political Upheaval
• Ancient Evil
_ _ __

📅 Pub Date: September 29, 2026
Thank you to Penguin Young Readers Group, and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

[Morgan Wheeler]

I realize that almost everything Isabel Cañas writes is somewhat similar—1700s–1800s Mexico, war, ghosts, vampires, and demons—and yet I eat it up every single time. 😂

*House of Gardenias* was no exception. 10s across the board. The characters were fully formed and compelling, the atmosphere was spooky without ever being truly scary, and the scenes were so beautifully painted that I could see everything in my head.

If Isabel Cañas writes it, I want to read it. No notes. ❤️

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers Group and Dutton Books for the advance copy. I loved it!

[Michael Parisi Mercado]

Appreciated the ARC! Really enjoyed Isabel Cañas’ new book where I felt attached to Minerva and Ygnacio’s relationship. She did a nice job at drawing you into the story. This is the second book I have by this author and excited to read more of hers!

[KC]

Book Review: The House of Gardenias by Isabel Cañas

The House of Gardenias was always going to be a highly anticipated read for me because Isabel Cañas is an auto-read author at this point. Her ability to combine historical fiction, Gothic horror, and the violence of history into something genuinely atmospheric is one of the things I love most about her books, and that is absolutely present here. Minerva is a young girl trying to survive an abusive home and a country descending into political violence when she takes a position as a lady’s maid to the wealthy Encarnación del Valle. When they retreat to the del Valle family estate, Casa de las Gardenias, Minerva discovers that the political monsters outside the house may not be nearly as frightening as the ones inside it. The house is full of ghosts, secrets, and a family whose wealth is inseparable from the systems of power and violence that have made everyone else suffer. Cañas does atmosphere exceptionally well. The house feels claustrophobic and alive, and I loved the slow realization that the haunting is not just there to scare Minerva, but is intimately connected to the history of the people who built and inhabited the house.

What I liked most was the way the book approaches courage as something more complicated than simply being brave. Minerva has spent her entire life believing that her supposed cowardice is what keeps her alive. She stays quiet, avoids politics, obeys the people who have power over her, and focuses on getting through one day at a time. And honestly, I understood her. When you are poor, abused, and completely dependent on other people for your survival, political ideals can feel like a luxury. But as Minerva becomes increasingly aware of what the del Valle family represents and what is happening outside the house, she can no longer convince herself that staying uninvolved means staying safe. Her eventual decision to help Arnulfo escape and participate in the rebellion becomes a really satisfying evolution because she doesn’t suddenly stop being afraid. She simply decides that there are things more important than her own survival. I also appreciated how Cañas connects the supernatural to colonialism, class, and violence. Ygnacio initially appears to be another terrifying presence in the house, but learning his history transforms him from monster into someone who was himself brutalized by the same systems the novel is criticizing. The ghosts aren’t simply there to punish the living. They are the past refusing to disappear.

My biggest criticism is that I wanted this book to be longer. There are so many interesting pieces here that I kept wishing Cañas would slow down and let them develop. Minerva’s relationship with her brothers, Ygnacio’s history, Filomena’s connection to Arnulfo, and especially the mysterious creatures Ygnacio calls his “kin” all felt like they could have supported a much larger story. The Filomena reveal particularly bothered me because her sacrifice should have been devastating, but we only learn afterward that she and Arnulfo were romantically involved. It felt like the book was asking me to feel an emotional connection that it hadn’t actually given me enough time to build. I also found the chispa mythology interesting but not completely satisfying, and once Ygnacio becomes more sympathetic, some of the horror loses its teeth. I still loved the Gothic elements, but I don’t think this was quite as psychologically unsettling as The Hacienda or The Possession of Alba Díaz. That may partly be the YA structure. The ideas are there, but sometimes the execution feels compressed.

And then that ending. I actually liked where Cañas took it, even though I desperately wanted more time with it. Minerva, Filomena, and Armando don’t survive the revolution, and Minerva never gets the final goodbye with Arnulfo that I wanted for them. But I think there is something really powerful in refusing to frame their deaths as a defeat. They fought for a future they ultimately don’t get to experience, and the ghosts who remain behind at Casa de las Gardenias continue to exist in the garden and library after the living flee. The dead aren’t erased. They become the ones who remain, watching over the place and continuing to resist the people who brought so much violence there. Death becomes another form of resistance. I wish we had gotten another 20 or 30 pages to actually sit with that ending because it moves so quickly, but thematically I thought it worked. Overall, this is probably my least favorite of Cañas’s books, which says more about how much I love her other work than it does about this one. The atmosphere, historical horror, and underlying ideas are still exactly why I will continue to pick up anything she writes. I just wanted The House of Gardenias to give those ideas a little more room to haunt me.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest and voluntary opinion.

[Ariela Strombeck]

First of all, thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC!

The House of Gardenias is a historical gothic novel set during the Mexican War of Independence. As someone who loves historical fantasy and gothic fiction, this premise immediately caught my attention: a haunted manor, political upheaval, and a supernatural mystery unfolding against the backdrop of a nation in transition. Unfortunately, while I loved the premise, the execution left me wanting more. In some ways, I felt that the YA aspect of the novel held the story back from reaching its full potential. The novel frequently returned to character dynamics and tropes that are common in YA fantasy, but those choices often undercut the tension and horror. Overall, I feel like this will 100% work for some readers but it just felt a bit flat for me.

Minerva
Growing up in poverty and in an abusive household, Minerva feels that she does not have the luxury of engaging with politics; her focus is survival. In theory, I found this compelling. However, in practice, her characterization often felt reactive rather than proactive. Many of her decisions seemed driven by the needs of the plot rather than by a clearly defined worldview. This stood out even more because so many of the characters around her hold strong political beliefs and allegiances. By the end of the novel, I still wasn't entirely sure where Minerva stood ideologically.

Arnulfo
A similar issue affected Minerva's relationship with her brother, Arnulfo. Much of her motivation revolves around protecting him, yet their relationship never felt fully developed. It's not that Arnulfo is a weak character (I actually wish we got a 3rd POV from his perspective) the problem is simply that we spend so little time with him that the emotional stakes of their relationship never landed as strongly as I wanted it to.

Ygnacio
I understood what the novel was attempting to do with Ygnacio. As we learn more about his history, he becomes less a monster and more a victim of colonial violence. I appreciated the novel's effort to humanize someone who was brutalized by the systems around him. However, for me, that shift also diminished much of the horror. Ygnacio begins the novel as an unsettling presence haunting the house, but as his backstory unfolds he increasingly occupies the role of a lonely, sympathetic boy. While I can see the intention behind that choice, it left me feeling less frightened than I expected from a gothic horror novel. The novel attempts to transfer that sense of dread to the other creatures Ygnacio refers to as his "kin," but they never felt like a fully realized threat. They appear throughout the story, yet I rarely felt the looming sense of danger that their presence seemed intended to create. As a result Ygnacio became too sympathetic to remain frightening, while the creatures that were meant to replace him as the primary source of fear never quite filled that role. I also found myself wishing the novel spent more time exploring the everyday realities of colonialism that created Ygnacio's suffering in the first place. The historical backdrop is fascinating, and the novel gestures toward the violence and inequities of the period, but I often felt those ideas remained at the edges of the story.

Plot
Throughout the novel, I often had the sense that more interesting things were happening elsewhere and that I was only hearing about them secondhand through newspaper reports or brief conversations. Certain story elements also felt underdeveloped by the end. For example, I kept expecting the chispa to play a much larger role. The novel hints at a darker origin for it and suggests that there is something deeply unsettling beneath the surface, but those threads never fully come together. Another good example of this issue is the character of Filomena. For much of the novel, she exists primarily as a servant who belittles Minerva for her lower status. Later, she helps Minerva escape and is killed in the process. Only afterward do we learn that Filomena and Arnulfo were romantically involved. In theory this revelation should add emotional weight to her death, but because the relationship received no development beforehand, the moment never had the impact it seemed intended to carry . We just find it out in retrospect and it’s like… oh. That sucks.