"Hell whispers her name. Beneath the veneer of Elena Vera's everyday life lurks a vile darkness that is both ancient and terrifying. Plagued by harrowing visions and an unseen force that knows her deepest fears, Elena is propelled on a desperate quest for salvation that blurs the lines between the psychological and the supernatural. As she confronts the chilling legacy of a demonic possession that spans generations, her journey becomes a testament to the human spirit's resilience against the encroaching darkness, defying the boundaries of faith and fear. Elena stands on the precipice of pure evil, her sanity and soul in the balance. Venture into a narrative rich with suspense and veiled horrors, where every turn may lead to enlightenment or ensnarement in the darkness. This chilling tale will leave you questioning what lies beneath the surface of your own memories, and if you're truly alone in the dark."
This was a fast paced, harrowing possession story. Elena is living her best life as a high school teacher when she is suddenly plagued with recurring nightmares of a demonic old lady. If this isn't terrifying enough, she starts hallucinating the evil woman in her waking life!
She has one such hallucination during class, and the students are traumatized. The principal puts Elena off on stress leave until she can prove she is right of mind. Her best friend, Carrie, and a concerned student of theirs, Maria, are determined to figure out what is really going on with Elena.
The story is solid albeit somewhat predictable. I knew what was going to happen well before it did, which was ok because the pacing was quick. One thing that I thought might have been a little too quick, though, was the relationship that formed between Maria and her teachers. I know that a demonic possession screams of extraordinary circumstances but the transition from student to friend seemed a bit inorganic to me.
I loved the characters and wanted to know more about Elena and Lucia's past in Ecuador and I loved that we get some more insight into that history near the end. When they went to see Rocio things started to get really interesting and then when Tomas was introduced it felt like the story was complete. I was rooting for Tomas to prevail at the end and... well, no spoilers, sorry!
I thoroughly enjoy how Steven really portrays a sense of urgency and fear throughout. I stumbled over some of the word choices and sentences but I feel like that is a me thing. Although I felt like I knew what was going to happen I absolutely needed to know if my predictions were correct and I just had to find out how it all would end. I was not disapointed. The ending was one of my favourite parts!
3.75/5 from me!
Where to find The Haunting of Elena Vera: Amazon https://a.co/d/7xM6Kgk
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