Review By: Stephanie Kenific
Published: 2025
Genres: YA Fiction, Horror, Supernatural Thriller, Fantasy
Audience: Grades 9-12
Goodreads Link: These Vengeful Wishes
Content Warnings: Suspense, mentions of violence
Publisher’s Summary
A teen girl moves to a small town and discovers a mysterious wishing well possessed by La Cegua, a vengeful female spirit with the face of a horse skull, in Vanessa Montalban’s new YA fantasy standalone.
When her stepfather is arrested, aspiring artist Ceci moves back to her mother’s hometown of Santa Aguas, an eccentric small town steeped in the legend of La Cegua, the specter of a wronged witch who appears on lonely roads at night, luring untrustworthy men to their deaths.
Ceci and her mother take up residence in the abandoned manor of the Sevilla family, rumored to have been cursed by La Cegua, where she begins to uncover a past that seems to be connected to her mother. The more she learns of the Sevillas, the more Ceci finds herself forming a strange affinity with the feared Cegua, who she suspects is the one inspiring her paintings of a mysterious door in the forest.
When the very door Ceci has been painting appears in the woods, she decides to venture through it with her new friend, Jamie. Together, they discover a well, guarded by the statue of a veiled woman. A well for granting wishes. The well of La Cegua.
What starts off as harmless fun quickly escalates into something sinister when Ceci realizes that the wishes are putting the people she loves in danger and testing her own penchant for vengeance. After learning others are also searching for the well, Ceci must confront the truth of her mother’s past and prevent La Cegua’s wishes from being used for the wrong reasons. Ceci knows too well how much people will sacrifice for power. Every wish has its price, and La Cegua never forgets the ones who have wronged her.
Review
These Vengeful Wishes is a clever, tame supernatural thriller. Ceci’s life is upended when her stepfather is arrested for financial fraud, leaving her and her mother homeless. They move to a dilapidated mansion in Santa Aguas—a property Ceci never knew her mother owned. While Ceci just wants to finish her senior year and get into art school, the town has other plans.
Upon arriving, they are bombarded with warnings about La Cegua, a ghostly woman who allegedly kidnaps and murders men. The mansion they inhabit is known as La Cegua’s original home, where she was trapped in a marriage with a domineering man. Legend says she cursed him and all his descendants, a curse that seems to hold weight as the Sevilla line has died out under mysterious circumstances.
With the help of her new friend Jaime, Ceci discovers a hidden well and a statue of La Cegua that seems to ask, “What do you desire?” When Ceci makes a wish, it comes true—but the consequences are increasingly bizarre and sinister. I really enjoyed this book; it features the perfect amount of plot that wraps up nicely by the end. Most importantly, the characters, especially Ceci and Jaime, are compelling with interesting motivations. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a thriller with complex family dynamics.
🔍 Cultural Connection: The Legend of La Cegua
The “La Cegua” mentioned in the novel is a well-known figure in Central American folklore (particularly in Costa Rica and Nicaragua).
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The Appearance: She typically appears as a beautiful woman with long hair to unfaithful men or late-night travelers. When they get close, she reveals her true face—a fleshless horse’s skull with fiery eyes.
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The Lesson: Like many folkloric “monsters” (such as La Llorona), La Cegua stories were traditionally used as cautionary tales to discourage infidelity and bad behavior among men.
