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sophee_568's review against another edition
2.5
I didn't enjoy this. I think the magical realism elements and the recipes for Mexican meals are cool, but everything else sucks. Tita and Pedro's "love story" is one of the worst I've ever read. It's not love but pure lust. They barely talked through the whole book. I feel bad for Tita's sister who was married to Pedro.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Rape, and War
tashtasher's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Rape, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Medical content, Murder, War, Child death, Racism, Grief, and Gun violence
Minor: Alcohol, Eating disorder, Colonisation, Abortion, Animal death, and Classism
j3mm4's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book is so beautifully written, simultaneously frank and evocative, and its structural and stylistic play is so engaging and works so well. Tita as a protagonist is so accessible and compelling, and I really felt for her struggle to overcome her mother's cruelty and eldest sister's callousness and find a way to live her life for herself. This book is fabulous. I need to not only rewatch the adaptation but also seek out Esquivel's screenwriting oeuvre.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Physical abuse
motherofpearly's review against another edition
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? Yes
3.0
Mixed emotions about this book. Loved how the rich imagery made me feel like I was in the kitchen with Tita. The author took care in describing each flavor, aroma, and cooking technique. I loved how Tita’s emotions infused with each dish and magically affected those who ate it.
However I felt that the meals were more developed than the characters, and many large plot points were skimmed over. A few times I had to re-read sections to make sure I didn’t miss a page or two. Ultimately I had little emotion about the romance, heartbreaks, or traumas that any of them experienced.
Also I found the spicy scenes to be boring and sometimes creepy. Especially the first time betweenTita and Pedro which I expected to be more passionate since the sexual tension had been building up to a boing point. One night, he decided to hide in a dark room, and pop out unexpectedly when she came in. Startled, she asked what he was doing, and he answered by “throwing himself upon her, caused her to lose her virginity and learn of true love”. Super creepy and made me feel uneasy. Don’t even get me started on Gertrudis losing her virginity on horseback after being found naked in a field by a man who literally tracked her down by her magical scent. Probably could have done without reading this book, but it was definitely memorable
However I felt that the meals were more developed than the characters, and many large plot points were skimmed over. A few times I had to re-read sections to make sure I didn’t miss a page or two. Ultimately I had little emotion about the romance, heartbreaks, or traumas that any of them experienced.
Also I found the spicy scenes to be boring and sometimes creepy. Especially the first time between
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Rape and Animal death
Minor: Racism, Death, Suicide, and War
kirstym25's review against another edition
emotional
sad
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Animal death, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Sexual assault and Rape
Minor: Fatphobia
tokki_reads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Death, Incest, Mental illness, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Murder, Sexual assault, Body shaming, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Sexism, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
booksanna's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book was WILD, and not in the exciting way. If you like dramatic Spanish Soap Opera with an overbearing mother, personal conflicts, lustful relations, and yummy food recipes, you will love this story. The main characters journey spans many years and follows her through all of her life’s struggles. It seems like every possible and impossible thing that could happen to a human happened in this book. Pregnancy scare, LITERAL rivers of tears, rape, assault, death(A LOT OF DEATH), murder, racism, brothels apparently, going insane, yummy beef broth soup, cheating, dark humor, a love polygon that I can’t comprehend the logistics of, kidnapping, forced marriage, babies (lots of babies), CHICKEN TORNADO, drunk serenades, arson, persistent ghosts, a quilt with dimensions of a hectare, a magical abortion, matches that light if you chew them, and so much more I can’t remember The plot was full of twists and turns constantly keeping you on the edge of your seat. However, the plot was so wild, it was concerning.
Interestingly, this book likes to blend long descriptive chains of paragraphs with the plot of the story. For example, at one point you have a character describing how they meticulously cut onions to minimize crying, and the next the same character is getting slapped by their mother. The author really mastered mixing the 2 elements so skillfully that I was unable to tell how the plot was going to develop at all. I loved all the descriptive chains of text about food as they added a lot more uniqueness and depth to the story. The writing style was beautiful and eloquent with a lot of figurative elements.
For a book that heavily relies on magical realism elements, I felt that the characters and their personalities were very realistic and representative of all the ranges of human emotions. I loved Gertrudis, she had the best character development of allGirl went from a brothel employee to a general of the revolution and its military, best woman role model. I also felt that the villain characters were very realistic (and nasty by the way). I could definitely picture them living in the real world. However, I felt like most conflicts could be easily solved if the characters just made thoughts for themselves instead of letting other people control their decisions. I am very glad that Tita soon adopted this self-sufficient mindset instead of obeying every order. Although, I wish she could have done that before Mama Elena died
Just when I thought the book was becoming predictable/normal, I was horrifically surprised with the next plot twist. At some point the book became so outlandish and chaotic that the heavy topics in the book became the norm. No emotion or build up happened when any of the characters died or got hurt. The story moved right along like nothing happened. like when the baby died, or when Mama Elena died, or when any other of the numerous deaths happened. Also, Chencha was raped, yet we didn’t even hear about any effects it had on her or TIta. It just something that occurred, and was immediately overshadowed by the next plot twist
The magical realism aspect was a very heavy presence adding more confusion and drama to the story. Although I am not a fan of magical realism, I will say that it was a lot better than the plot of the book. The magic elements really elevated the story and added a physical manifestations of our main character’s emotions. There was so much drama from the magic. Like that one time where everyone became lustful after eating a rose cake and people were making love anywhere they could find. exact quote “Any place was good: in the river, on the stairs, in the tub, in the fireplace, in the oven of a stove, at the pharmacy counter, in the wardrobe, in the treetops. Necessity is the mother of all inventions and all postures. That day there was more creativity than ever in the history of humanity.”
Speaking of emotions, this book was full of lust.Bruh they emphasized Tita’s body and sexuality in this book so much. Like that one time where there was a paragraph describing his lust when he saw under her skirt her ankles. It was a lot. Or any other time these characters were interacting there was a very high sexual emphasis. The love interest was so lustful that he DIED while making love with the main character. If that is not dramatic, I don’t know what id
The ending was even more wild.I feel so bad for John. He was such a good guy, and he deserved so much better.
Overall, if you love drama, I recommend.
Interestingly, this book likes to blend long descriptive chains of paragraphs with the plot of the story. For example, at one point you have a character describing how they meticulously cut onions to minimize crying, and the next the same character is getting slapped by their mother. The author really mastered mixing the 2 elements so skillfully that I was unable to tell how the plot was going to develop at all. I loved all the descriptive chains of text about food as they added a lot more uniqueness and depth to the story. The writing style was beautiful and eloquent with a lot of figurative elements.
For a book that heavily relies on magical realism elements, I felt that the characters and their personalities were very realistic and representative of all the ranges of human emotions. I loved Gertrudis, she had the best character development of all
Just when I thought the book was becoming predictable/normal, I was horrifically surprised with the next plot twist. At some point the book became so outlandish and chaotic that the heavy topics in the book became the norm. No emotion or build up happened when any of the characters died or got hurt. The story moved right along like nothing happened.
The magical realism aspect was a very heavy presence adding more confusion and drama to the story. Although I am not a fan of magical realism, I will say that it was a lot better than the plot of the book. The magic elements really elevated the story and added a physical manifestations of our main character’s emotions. There was so much drama from the magic.
Speaking of emotions, this book was full of lust.
The ending was even more wild.
Overall, if you love drama, I recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual content
Moderate: Fatphobia, Body shaming, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Terminal illness, Rape, Suicide, and Violence
cooeeaus's review against another edition
Unlikeable characters, miserable story, unrealistic plot, cooking description detracted the story and was just boring.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, and Bullying
kaiaconstantinides's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- 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? It's complicated
2.5
I was confused by the decision to make each chapter a month since years sometimes separate chapters and the months don't seem to correspond to the chapter, unless perhaps each recipe corresponds to a month and I just missed that? I really wish there was better character development: the characters felt almost cartoonishly two-dimensional to me, and any development seemed to happen like the switch of a lightbulb.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Child abuse
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Rape
ubereads11's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and War
Minor: Rape