You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.

Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

124 reviews

thenoboshow's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark funny hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.75

I enjoyed getting wrapped in this dark (moist?) world. The diolgue really helped with the time and place. I could easily imagine the scenes playing out in a black & white film with romantic actors. Definatly one of my fastest reads this year and one I could recommend to most my friends. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

ggcd1981's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious 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

3.5


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

sebyreads304's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark tense medium-paced

3.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

gge's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

5.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

shamaramill's review against another edition

Go to review page

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


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

liesthemoontells's review against another edition

Go to review page

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.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

forest_at_the_sea's review against another edition

Go to review page

Bis zur Hälfte wirklich spannend und interessant geschrieben. Danach einfach unnötig sexualisiert und unlogisch. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

starkj80's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

3.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

kamixiii's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

4.0

L'action commence très tard dans le livre, mais une fois qu'elle est commencer, c'est difficile de décrocher. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

bookscatcoffee's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Loved this novel!  It’s creepy and challenging and deliciously frightening!  The writing is excellent, and I loved the main character.  She was complex and imperfect but so brave.  I won’t be eating mushrooms for a while, though.  Definitely worth reading!  5 stars

Historical horror featuring Mexican main characters set in Mexico

Expand filter menu Content Warnings