Reviews tagging 'Vomit'

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

272 reviews

kiractivity's review against another edition

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

4.75

This book's writing style is absolutely amazing, it drove me through the book. 
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faeriequeenlauren's review against another edition

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

5.0

Upon first read, I gave this 4.75 stars simply because I felt the initial set up went on for too long. Looking back on it now, I think the choice to have such a slow start really pays off when things pick up in the end. I enjoyed how slow the first 100 pages were, because in contrast, the last 200 pages felt much more wild and disorienting with so much going on plot-wise.

I loved the development of the relationship between Francis and Noemí and even though I’m not obsessed with Francis as a character, I liked where the story went. It was never too heavy on the romance side of things, which I felt was appropriate for the subject matter. 

The whole ending and the big reveal of what’s actual going on was a bit predictable imo, but the execution was well done, so I can forgive the predictability. The mushrooms being mentioned in the beginning was pretty obvious to me, as well as the mold in the house, etc. And the eugenics stuff in the beginning kind of revealed the incest bit that came later, but again, I’m not super upset by it being predictable to a certain extent, as the execution of the end reveals was so well done that it made up for the twists being a bit predictable.
 

Moreno-Garcia’s writing style is beautiful. I loved the words she used to describe things and I felt like her vocabulary choices really emphasized the haunting, disturbing nature of what was happening. 

I also loved Noemí as a protagonist. She was smart, headstrong, self-assured, etc. She never let the chaos around her completely consume her, which I loved. In addition, she was an active player in the narrative of the story, and lead many events, rather than just letting them happen to her. 

Overall, if you like Crimson Peak, Jane Eyre, The Invitation, We Are What We Are, or anything with a strange family with secrets living in a creepy gothic manor, you’d probably love this. 
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blewballoon's review against another edition

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

4.0

This book seemed super popular when I bought it, and I generally like gothic horror so it seemed like a safe bet, and ultimately I don't regret reading it. I like that while the story does have a lot of traditional gothic horror elements, the setting and main character felt fresh. The heroine is bold, confident, and smart. I read What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher around the same time and they both have similar plot elements based on the Fall of the House of Usher. I think they are each unique enough to stand on their own. Mexican Gothic deals more with the horrors of misogyny and colonialism blended with the actual horror elements. This won't be a top favorite for me because there were some scenes that felt too gross and disquieting for me to want to re-read, but it's nothing too gratuitous or horrific.
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lynxpardinus's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense

4.5

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juhlig's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I found this book intriguing but also quite disturbing. There were significant components of eugenics, male aggression and power, and racism. Despite an intriguing plot and twists & turns that kept me turning pages, I generally found the book uncomfortable and distressing.
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wonderofthepage's review against another edition

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

5.0

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deenmachine's review against another edition

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

4.25

I usually never go for horror or anything scary but I'm glad I made this exception. Dark and engrossing, it's an escapist read that I couldn't put down. The main character is exceptionally well-done and nuanced, but some of the supporting characters (Catalina in particular) could have used more personality and more fleshing out. 
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talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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

2.25

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bex77'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? It's complicated

4.0

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I’m generally not a huge fan of horror, but the gothic setting and story concept drew me in. Silvia Moreno-Garcia writes beautifully. The book was fast-paced and engaging, but at times I had to stop to appreciate the rich, descriptive language. I found the themes woven through the story fascinating, and would be interested to read a physical copy in order to do some annotations to chart their development. The characters were, for the most part, interesting and varied. 


As far as content, I personally felt that it was descriptive enough to illicit suspense and dread but not so descriptive as to be disturbingly graphic. The profanity was minimal, but strong. 

Overall, this was a fun, fast-paced read that really fit the criteria for both my Summer and Fall booklists, which I found perfect for the in-between feeling of back-to-school season
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janjabooks's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

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