Book review of You've Awoken Her by Ann Dávila Cardinal

About the Book

Title: You’ve Awoken Her

Author: 
• Ann Dávila Cardinal

Published: 2025

Genre: 
• Horror

Voices: 
• Cis Boy
• Puerto Rican

Cover Story: Grossly Beautiful
Drinking Buddy: May I See the Whine List?
MPAA Rating: R (gore, horror, violence, alcohol)
Talky Talk: You, the Reader, is a Terrible Person
Bonus Factors: Cthulhu Mythos, Cool Librarian
Bromance Status: I’m Going to Stare into the Void

Cover Story: Grossly Beautiful

Absolutely gorgeous image of Gabi being enveloped by Cthulhu’s tentacles. As soon as I saw this cover, I wanted to read more.

The Deal:

Gabi is less-than-thrilled at the invitation to spend the summer with his best friend Ruth. When they were both neighbors back in Queens, things were great. They couldn’t have been closer. But now Ruth’s family has moved on up to the Hamptons, completely forgetting her roots. What’s worse, she’s dating a music producer named ‘Frost’, who’s obviously some kind of douche. Gabi would rather spend the summer holed up in his room (or barring that, with his abuela in Puerto Rico). But unfortunately, he’s going to be hanging out with the 1%.

And then things get weird. People begin vanishing. Gabi has a vision of a huge tentacle rising from the ocean. He’s plagued by nightmares and visions. A little research shows that the disappearances have been going on for years. And somehow Frost is involved. Gabi is torn between high-tailing it to San Juan or staying to protect Ruth.

Drinking Buddy: May I See the Whine List?

You know what makes a good horror book? If you said ‘the POV character constantly talking about how much better they are than everyone else’, then you’d be wrong. Gabi’s a working-class Puerto Rican kid from Queens, who likes horror movies and has little patience for the uber wealthy. I should have really liked him. Unfortunately, this kid cannot go two minutes without talking about how terrible everyone else is. If you go to a party with rich people and they’re rude to you, then let ‘er rip! But when you start referring to them as ‘colonizers’ before you even get through the door, then maybe it’s not just them. And Gabi takes a stand by marching into the kitchen and asking for a glass of water. Not a bottle, but a glass. That’ll show ’em!

When Ruth mentions there’s a Target store nearby, Gabi’s reply is

“Ah, you hide that on the outskirts of town and send the help there I see.”

I’m all for pointing out social injustice, but when you and your friends are about to be sacrificed to an Elder God, maybe you shouldn’t be worried about whether the ritual will include cultural appropriation.

Of course, when Frost arranges a private screening of an unreleased horror movie for Gabi’s enjoyment, he’s all of a sudden on board.

MPAA Rating: R (gore, horror, violence, alcohol)

This is a creepy, gory book. Gabi finds severed limbs washed up on shore. Thugs beat him up, warning him to leave town. A fisherman shows up at the police station with a human head in a net. And yet…everything is fine. Everything is fine. Only Gabi and a few allies try to make waves.

As for the romantic side of things, I had kind of pegged Gabi as gay. He doesn’t seem to have any sexual tension with Ruth, just friendship. When he meets Lars, the violet-eyed bookworm, I assumed this was the romantic interest, but nothing ever came of it (it was Lars’s head in the fishing net, so maybe just as well). I guess Gabi’s sexuality is ambiguous, or I missed something.

Talky Talk: You, the Reader, is a Terrible Person

I get it Gabi. I’m an awful person. The entire history of the world is one big story of misery, oppression, and hate. We have no hope.

Hey, this is a Cthulhu mythos story!

Bonus Factor: Cthulhu Mythos

Did you know that H.P. Lovecraft was racist and sexist?

Did you know that H.P. Lovecraft was racist and sexist?

Did you know that H.P. Lovecraft was racist and sexist?

Did you know that H.P. Lovecraft was racist and sexist?

Did you know that H.P. Lovecraft was racist and sexist?

Yes, Lovecraft, the man, was a nasty person. He likely never had a conversation with a POC in his whole life. But if you’re going to write an entire book based on his works, maybe you don’t need to mention his personal failings on every other page.

H.P. Lovecraft was a horrible, bigoted, misogynistic antisemite who probably made up Cthulhu because he wished a monster would rise up and eat all the non-white, non-Christian people.

But not so horrible that you won’t base your book on his works, eh, Ann Dávila Cardinal?

At any rate, something horrible is rising from the ocean, feeding on the poor and easily-forgotten. And maybe Frost has something to do with that. If only Gabi could make Ruth realize it.

Bonus Factor: Cool Librarian

Gabi meets Georgina when she’s tending bar at Frost’s party, and they hit it off. Later, he realizes that she also works at the local library and that her brother was one of the ones who vanished. She and Gabi begin to research the history of the area. And I do mean research. Not Google, but old newspapers, books, and obscure articles. Just like in a Lovecraft story.

Bromance Status: I’m Going to Stare into the Void

Because that would be less depressing than this book.

FTC Full Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher, but no money or secrets of the universe.