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A review by hexentart
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
An interesting premise, intriguing plot, and a deplorable cast of characters.
I have mixed feelings about this book. It obviously held my interest, but it's rare to not positively engage with any character.
Catalina and Ruth get a pass, but the rest of the characters were either sick, twisted, and thoroughly evil, shallow, self-centered, and pompous, or just woefully pathetic.
Noemi, the FMC/protagonist, is nothing more than a wilful, spoiled, rich girl with delusions of grandeur. She's flaky as hell, uppity, shallow, manipulative, and pig-headed. Not to mention her naivety. She's quite obnoxious and annoying.
I honestly didn't care if any of them made it out alive, but the writing held my interest until the very end. I needed to see how this all resolved; good, bad, or ugly.
Now that's not to say I didn't enjoy the book, it just wasn't quite what I expected. The world building, lore, and horror was top-notch. The characters were well fleshed out and felt quite real; they were all just awful people.
If you're a sensitive reader I implore you to mind your squicks. There's a lot of abuse, gaslighting, and body horror within this book.
I enjoyed it, but YMMV of course.
I have mixed feelings about this book. It obviously held my interest, but it's rare to not positively engage with any character.
Catalina and Ruth get a pass, but the rest of the characters were either sick, twisted, and thoroughly evil, shallow, self-centered, and pompous, or just woefully pathetic.
Noemi, the FMC/protagonist, is nothing more than a wilful, spoiled, rich girl with delusions of grandeur. She's flaky as hell, uppity, shallow, manipulative, and pig-headed. Not to mention her naivety. She's quite obnoxious and annoying.
I honestly didn't care if any of them made it out alive, but the writing held my interest until the very end. I needed to see how this all resolved; good, bad, or ugly.
Now that's not to say I didn't enjoy the book, it just wasn't quite what I expected. The world building, lore, and horror was top-notch. The characters were well fleshed out and felt quite real; they were all just awful people.
If you're a sensitive reader I implore you to mind your squicks. There's a lot of abuse, gaslighting, and body horror within this book.
I enjoyed it, but YMMV of course.
Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, Cannibalism, Gaslighting, and Classism