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chloesnotscared's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Moderate: Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Grief, and Car accident
Minor: Biphobia, Cancer, Death, Drug use, Racism, and Violence
bookcheshirecat's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.0
“Montserrat had three loves. One was horror movies. The other was her car. The third was Tristán.”
➽ This book sounded so compelling, but it was a huge letdown for me. The story follows Montserrat, a talented sound editor who struggles in a male-dominated field. I loved the setting of 90s Mexico and the premise was interesting. Montserrat and Tristán find Abel Urueta, a cult horror director and occultist who knows about a legendary, lost film that's steeped in legend. I found this Thriller painfully boring despite the obscure topic. The author had Montserrat do a ton of infodumps about her love for movies and Horror. They were a chore to get through and didn't make me any more interested to find out more about the topic. Nothing much happens in the book until the very end, so it becomes very repetitive quickly. The occultism and Montserrat's emerging powers weren't explained at all and a lot of the 'worldbuilding' made no sense at all. So many things flew over my head as they came out of nowhere. There wasn't really much to keep my interest, so maybe this author isn't for me!
Graphic: Death, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
heather667's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Ableism, Biphobia, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Genocide, Suicide, Vomit, Suicide attempt, and War
caidyn's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Grief, Car accident, and Alcohol
chelsearm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
WOW, this was a great read to start just as the weather turns. From page 1 I was in love with Montserrat, and fell into her world. Between her and Tristán, I loved that you never felt like they just “bought it” with no hesitations - a true friendship, one of them is always calling bullshit!
If you’re a fan of horror movies, old cinema, or are aware of Nazi Occultism, this is a great thriller to sink your teeth into.
Graphic: Cursing, Murder, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Misogyny and Car accident
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Drug abuse, and Grief
r_o_s_e's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Death, Car accident, Murder, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Racism, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Cancer, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, and Medical trauma
ecn's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.25
The writing was spectacular and the fantasy elements kept me entertained. I just wish it was edited a bit better and a whole lot spookier (then maybe I could feel fine with not dive too deep into the characters?).
However I will say the biggest win is having two messy/annoying bisexuals obsessed with horror (kinda) as the MCs. Huge representation win lol
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Cancer, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Antisemitism, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, and Colonisation
sofipitch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I really did love this as a love letter to stories, and more specifically movies. The choice to make Monserrat a sound editor was also 👌 my mother is a video editor so her descriptions of the work environment were spot on, and editing is such an undervalued part of television/cinema but really can be what makes or breaks a film. It was really cool to have that highlighted and acknowledged in a book about movies.
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Grief
Minor: Addiction and Alcoholism
amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cancer and Alcohol
sarah984's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Racism, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism, Animal death, Cancer, Infidelity, Suicide, and Vomit