Reviews with content warning for Gaslighting - Mexican Gothic

It started out very strong but the big reveal and final confrontation was very lackluster and disappointing. The body horror and hose descriptions, however, did creep me out so some parts of the novel were successful. I also hated the actual ending. Definition of trite.

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immovabletype's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

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milooo's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-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? No

5.0

this is Rebecca for mushroom girlies send tweet.
no but seriously this was a deliciously gothic book with every detail perfectly balanced. it allows you to follow along with the mysteries without giving you too many clues at once and manages to avoid the pitfalls of predictability. the author plays around with a bunch of gothic tropes in the beginning to keep the reveal just at arm’s length the whole time (i thought this might turn into a vampire book at one point), and as a lover of the gothic genre, this was at once refreshingly unique and faithful to the genre. the writing is fantastic, the setting is amazing, and this is the perfect read for spooky season. it’s these kinds of books that make me understand why people like horror movies. was i really grossed out at some points? absolutely, Moreno-Garcia does body horror VERY well, but i was also morbidly entranced. amazing use of tension that makes the ending SO satisfying. this is one for the creepy cryptic mycelium lovers out there

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carefulfearanddeaddevotion's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

What a reprehensible little family. Noemi Toboada <3 i luv u <3 I wish you'd never met them.

Very interesting concept, surprisingly thoughtfully feminist and intersectional. Underneath the

mind-controlling, life-extending, consciousness-transferring mushrooms

is a story about the use and abuse of female, non-white, and poor bodies at the hands of a colonial power and men who never hear or internalize the word "no." Is it ground-breaking or particularly deep? No. But I was glad that

the people who mattered (Catalina and Noemi) made it out alive and triumphant and that Agnes was freed. I also appreciated that, at the end of the day, Catalina and Noemi saved themselves/each other, instead of being saved by a man.

Also, learned a new word: lugubrious = adj. looking or sounding sad and dismal. It played in my head on a loop for three days after I read it. Very fun word to say, one might even say too fun to mean "sad".

Weakest part of the book for me was the romance between Francis and Noemi

, wish they just ended as friends. Though I guess the novel itself tells us that we never know what the future has in store for them, so they may very well breakup

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