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Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

839 reviews

thebuttler's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

First, I cannot stress how important it is to skip the author approved content warnings and check the ones posted by other readers. The approved ones do not scratch the surface of what goes on in this book. Do yourself a favor and check before reading.

As for the rest: if you're looking for a book to puzzle over, this is not it. The author is incredibly heavy-handed at the start, dropping clues with all the subtlety of a neon sign for the first fifty pages, but apart from that, I found Mexican Gothic to be pretty good. It's a creepy house tale in the grand tradition of the Haunting of Hill House, with a heavy dash of colonialism and a generous helping of men are trash. It's definitely a story I'm going to sit with for a while now that I've finished, and could easily see myself rereading in a year or two. That said, it's not exactly worth the hype surrounding it, but still, as I said, it's pretty good.
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carolyn_baird_'s review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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amandahector490's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

There are characters that are lovable and interesting and specifically 4 of them that are horrible for good reason. Not because the author wrote them wrong but because of what they’ve done in the plot. But overall, the story was absolutely amazing, was a little slow in the beginning but it picks up the pace in the middle and has a well-done ending that makes anyone want to read for hours and hours on end. Because this is an adult book, it has some triggers to how women are treated so if that’s something that bothers you than I suggest you find a much less triggering book. But seriously, it’s one of the best books I’ve read in such a long time. Definitely worth recommending!
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sah's review against another edition

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dark slow-paced
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

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nathaliedgarcia's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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dianacn's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I tend to steer away from horror as a whole bit I'm SO GLAD that I picked Mexican Gothic too challenge my fear! 
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shamaramill's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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teresaelj's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I thought this book would play out one way and it totally spun me an other. Needless to say, very interested in mushrooms now. It is sexy, it is tense, it is lovely, it is mysterious, creepy, and truly- At times- horrific. You meet Noemi at the beginning and immediately fall in love with this voracious socialite who just wants to truly live. She has an appetite for flirting and learning and when her cousin suddenly sends a strange letter to her father Noemi’s father offers her a deal she can’t refuse. Off she goes to see what is the matter with her cousin Catalina and there she begins to experience the strange dealings of the Doyle family; who seem to want to consume both women with the same appetite Noemi wants to consume the world. It is a fantastic book that touches topics of grief, eugenics, colonization, and the difficulties of escaping one’s own bloodline. Near the end of the book, the constant ideation of a snake eating its own tail comes - literally- full circle. We are left wondering how to live life with the horrors we have seen and how to move on from the grief of our own bloodline. Overall a trippy dream of confusion; you never really know if what has been experienced is a dream or a hallucination . Great for fans of the new nosferatu.  
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liesthemoontells's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I adored Gods of Jade and Shadow and was excited to read this, especially considering the level of buzz it received. I also love Gothic literature and was curious to see how Moreno-Garcia approached the genre and adapted it into a Mexican context.

Overall I think this is an accomplished entry into the Gothic literary canon. It takes many of the tropes of the genre (e.g. young female protagonist who wonders if she's going mad, scary house, mean old lady who hates protagonist) and weaves them into a new story.

I was surprised at first at how much the setting is literally a transplanted English Gothic setting into the Mexican countryside, however as I kept reading I was very impressed at how this was used to explore themes of colonisation, misogyny, and the subjugation of poor and female bodies.

The atmosphere in the book begins with low level, constant dread which slowly ratchets up the tension into full panic, and the body horror is incredibly visceral and stomach-turning.

I did however find it dragged in some moments, and the plot became a bit convoluted towards the end. I felt like the book was trying to fence sit on whether or not the cause was supernatural, and having it end up being
semi-sentient, consciousness-trapping mushrooms pushed my suspension of disbelief by not leaning hard enough into either.


I also found
the romance plot weak and the ending very unearned, however I also found it funny how often she took care to mention how uggo the love interest was.


Overall I think this is is a more polished book than Gods of Jade and Shadow, but I found that to be a more enjoyable and emotionally engaging read, hence it receiving a higher rating.

I also think this is a book that would benefit from a second reading once all of the plot twists are revealed.
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pointerpup's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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