Reviews with content warning for Sexism - Gótico

For my first gothic horror novel, this one was a good pick, but being my first gothic horror, I simply was not ready for the amount of body horror and overall creepiness. Noemí is a protagonist to rally behind, as she is confident, smart, fierce, and loyal, yet is also aware of her faults. Moreno-Garcia writes about High Place in such a way that it becomes a character itself (iykyk): spooky, creepy, and mysterious. And so are many of the mansion’s residents, particularly Virgil, her cousin’s husband, and Howard, his father and the family patriarch. The only glimmer of hope in this awful place filled with mold, fungus, and disgusting men is sweet, shy Francis. My biggest gripe with this novel is that it leans more “gothic” than “Mexican,” despite mention of Mexican history and culture throughout. I think that with the primary setting being the residence of an English family, it steers the story in a less Mexican direction. There’s discussion of eugenics, colonialism, and racism that I’d like to have seen talked about in more detail, yet even as I say that, I’m aware that the middle of this story kind of drags. Overall, it’s an intriguing story that’s been sitting on my bookshelf for a while, and one that I’m glad I finally read.

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desiderium_incarnate's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

What a weird(?) little story. This is absolutely a book for fall, where all the leaves are dying and you're sitting inside reading dark mystery novels, eating mushroom risotto. "Welcome to the Church of the Holy Incestuous Mycelium" (or something along those lines)

Personally, I've had issues with the more historical genre so this wasn't off to a great start with me. The dark ambiance and the masterium that doesn't get revealed at all until you're in over your head was well crafted, but it just didn't get me, so I'm sorry about that. Gods of jade and shadow, which I've already read before just felt so much more vibrant (and of course, everything here is foggy and gloomy and muted). Anyways, interesting work ; you kind of leave this story with a still uncertain feeling.

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rsb12's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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cmckayo's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Deeply disturbing, but i appreciated the themes and messaging

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ally1994's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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? Yes

5.0

It's sooo good. It's creepy and entertaining.

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honeybeewitched87's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

3.5

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tkhz's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.0

I enjoy horror and have liked gothic literature, but this book wasn't for me.

The beginning of the book was intriguing and I enjoyed the atmosphere being created, but it began to drag about halfway through. I was becoming frustrated with

Noemi's spinelessness despite being characterized as a strong female lead, and how she tried but never really tried to help Catalina escape. I thought it would end up going a different way.

I also felt some Get Out vibes when the Doyles would talk about genetics and ancestry, but the reveal of their reasoning for being interested in this topic was more odd and stomach-churning than anything else.

The ancestral memory scenes and scenes with Howard made me feel physically ill.

I would also not recommend this to anyone who is not comfortable with reading scenes of sexual assault. It was listed as a moderate content warning but the topic is brought up relatively frequently and is described graphically a few times. I did not expect it to play such a large role in the plot. I would also add that body horror is described very vividly.

Overall, I wanted to like this as it seemed up my alley, but the plot and characters really fell short.

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bookscatcoffee's review against another edition

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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

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