Reviews tagging 'Sexual harassment'

Gótico by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

392 reviews

thissagreads's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

This book is a SLOW horror novel, with a lot of dreams and allegories. I liked that the main character Noemí, is incredibly determined to save and rescue her cousins Catalina, from her horrendous in-laws.

Pros:
-Familia protecting familia!
-Noemí was a well written superhero of sorts, and a true rebel of her time.

Cons:
-Noemí needed more backstory! And more settings besides the weird house and the tiny town, would've been a nice break.
-Francis is so weak willed that I wanted him to be removed from the story.
-Catalina is nearly just as frustrating, but she's dealing with a lot more, so she gets a pass.
-The amount of SA in this book was unsettling, and I'm aware of the time period of this story, but it was still a lot to stomach.
-Colonialism and the lack of respect women had, and all the BS they had to endure from these gross men, had me on edge and irritable during the ENTIRE read.
-Virgil and Howard's egos and actions were atrocious!

While I tried to stretch outside of my comfort zone with period literature, this wasn't my cup of tea. I think the concept was different, and I appreciate the
toxic fungus that was embedded in the house, thus leeching power to Howard and his descendants...Even though they did not deserve it.
But reading about women who were constantly subjected to men's BS, sexism, and the racism, was super aggravating. For the concept, I give this story a 2.0, but everything else, stops the rating from increasing.
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

thebuttler's review against another edition

Go to review page

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.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

sherigan's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

3.75

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

amandahector490's review against another edition

Go to review page

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!
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

lovingcritic's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

3.25

I didn't like the writing style at all; some parts were over-descriptive while others lacked description. The author's use of the characters' names as well as detailing which hand/finger was used to hold things, tap, touch, etc. was unnecessary and overused. The same goes for the flashbacks - most were unnecessary and out of place and the constant mention of reading fairy tales as kids was kind of annoying.
Also, it's really ironic that she fell in love with Francis
because half the book is basically her explaining how beautiful Virgil is and carved out of marble and how absolutely hideous Francis looks. Because of this, it took me longer to finish it. But maybe it's just me and I'm too harsh a critic.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

tealeavesandroses's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-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? No

4.25

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

ghostsversion's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful sad 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? No

5.0

What a wonderful book to start the new year with. Not only did this book make me appreciate Gothic novels a tad more, the inclusion of fungi horror was something I didn’t realise I was craving for. And how gross and disgusting it was. But I do love
women killing bitches.
I also like it in a way that
there is still uncertainty on whether the gloom is really gone, leaving it to the beliefs of the reader. I personally like to think they did it, if only for my own peace of mind.
I also find it funny how I misconstrued the Doyles‘ plan before the reveal, as I thought
they were merely planning to slowly kill Catalina and have Virgil marry Noemí for whatever reason. I was kind of right I guess but still.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings