Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Mexican Gothic, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

31 reviews

staarcharmed's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Grief, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Incest, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Classism, Colonisation, Gaslighting, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Hate crime, and Vomit

ender24's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Gore, Confinement, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Death, Xenophobia, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Miscarriage, Infertility, Misogyny, Racism, Injury/injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, and Pedophilia

purplepickle's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Rape, Racism, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Sexism, Gore, Gaslighting, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Injury/injury detail, Incest, Emotional abuse, Death, Confinement, and Classism

Minor: Child death, Miscarriage, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Excrement

bex77's review against another edition

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? It's complicated

4.0

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I’m generally not a huge fan of horror, but the gothic setting and story concept drew me in. Silvia Moreno-Garcia writes beautifully. The book was fast-paced and engaging, but at times I had to stop to appreciate the rich, descriptive language. I found the themes woven through the story fascinating, and would be interested to read a physical copy in order to do some annotations to chart their development. The characters were, for the most part, interesting and varied. 


As far as content, I personally felt that it was descriptive enough to illicit suspense and dread but not so descriptive as to be disturbingly graphic. The profanity was minimal, but strong. 

Overall, this was a fun, fast-paced read that really fit the criteria for both my Summer and Fall booklists, which I found perfect for the in-between feeling of back-to-school season

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Cannibalism, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, and Violence

Minor: Vomit, War, Terminal illness, Infertility, Grief, and Forced institutionalization

ria_aaa's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Infertility, Injury/injury detail, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Racism, Vomit, Abortion, Blood, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Incest, Chronic illness, Medical content, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Cannibalism, Child death, Rape, and Self harm

sarah984's review against another edition

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? No

5.0

Wow! This is a play on classic gothic revival novels combined with a modern horror sensibility and Mexican history. This book has atmosphere in spades, and Noemí is a great character. Her voice is snappy and fun, and I love seeing a character doing her best to take charge even in the situation she's in. 

Once the twist hits this book swings for the fences, and while I did think the last couple of chapters dragged on a bit too long overall I really liked this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Gaslighting, Incest, Injury/injury detail, Racism, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Cannibalism, Child death, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gore, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Xenophobia, Misogyny, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, and Violence

Minor: Ableism, Grief, Gun violence, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Child abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Infertility, Miscarriage, Suicide, Vomit, and Terminal illness

slvt4b00ks's review against another edition

dark inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

If I could give this book more stars I would. I honestly don’t understand why this book has such low ratings. Maybe some just aren’t cut out for gothic tales. I was weary about this being set in the 50s but the time period didn’t seem it was as much of a contributing factor to most parts of the story. Of course there is racism and some bat shit crazy people who believe in eugenics and of course the misogyny but that seems to really be all that indicates a less modern setting. This book was incredibly atmospheric and creepy, though I wasn’t quite stuck sitting up all night like I thought I would be. I fell in love with Francis. He must be protected at all costs. Noemi felt incredibly relatable, her flightiness and inability to settle down is portrayed as a flaw but I found it endearing. I don’t think anyone should settle.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Chronic illness, Gun violence, Injury/injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Incest, Infertility, Medical content, Terminal illness, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Xenophobia, Cancer, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Vomit, Violence, Sexism, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Gaslighting, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Classism, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts

kels24's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Violence

Moderate: Racial slurs, Death, Misogyny, Sexual content, Injury/injury detail, Gun violence, War, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexism, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Grief, and Gore

hannahbailey's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

It lost me in parts with the 3rd person narration. I didn't feel connected enough to the characters, although this could have been intentional. With the nature of the plot I feel like 1st person would have been a great opportunity for the readers to access Noemi's fear and horror.

Creepy enough that I couldn't read it before bed (two days in a row I had related nightmares), but overall a bit anticlimactic. The themes of colonialism and eugenics were done well and added much-needed depth to the narrative. Definitely worth a read for something different, and I'm glad I went out of my comfort zone to read this one.

TW: body horror, gore, sexual violence, death

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Confinement, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, Misogyny, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Injury/injury detail, Sexism, Violence, and Xenophobia

brokebitchreads's review against another edition

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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Gore, Grief, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, Rape, Colonisation, Incest, Medical content, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, and Gaslighting