Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Like Water for Chocolate

Sometimes, you read a book that really make you stop and say "wow," and to this book's credit, I did that several times.
Unfortunately, this was mainly because I was astounded at how ridiculous this book was.

I don't really think it's a bad book, but, it's definitely not a book for me, I suppose? I just, like... GAH, I've never been so frustrated with a book before (outside of maybe Good Omens).

The magical realism? Like. Wow. Just. I don't see how it added anything to the story, which is weird because a lot of events happened because of the magical realism fueled things, but like...
...
there wasn't.. really.... a point to it? To any of it?
Like, the cooking and the recipes and stuff did nothing for the story itself, in my opinion, and then suddenly people would have some great emotional effect from eating the food, but to what end? Idk, I can't even coherently phrase why I disliked this book so much without massive spoilers for everything in the book, but I guess I can sum it up as:
This book markets itself as "A novel in Monthly Installments with Recipes, Romances, and Home Remedies". If this book were just a novel, that could have been interesting. If it were just a set of 12 recipes, one for each month, with descriptions and home remedies thrown in, it would be a culturally unique cookbook of sorts. Instead we got a disappointing mix of these alongside one of the most infuriating romances I've ever read. That said, there's a review on the back of the book likening it to a "soap-opera romance", and I guess if that's your jam, then this might be an okay read for you.

Maybe my mom would like this book, but, I just.. couldn't recommend it for any reason.
Still an easier read than Good Omens though.

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jodzy's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated

2.75

It was an interesting read, entertaining. However, I didn't particularly love the book. I liked the part with recipes and Gertrudis the most. And the writing was honestly amazing.

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tokki_reads's review against another edition

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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

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booksanna's review against another edition

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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 all

Girl 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.

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mangopassion555's review against another edition

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hopeful informative reflective sad fast-paced

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

3.0

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phantomgecko's review against another edition

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emotional informative lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This was a quick read, and I enjoyed it.

I am disappointed that Tita didn't choose John, tbh. Lusty passion and jealousy should always lose out to serenity and compassionate devotion. But whatevs fine.

I just really love magical realism. Here are some things that are impossible, but this is a true story so they happened. Great stuff.

I'll admit I mostly skimmed the cooking bits. But honestly, they were a fantastic device for storytelling.

Also, while this book is labeled as lighthearted, it had some heavy stuff. Like gut punches in one sentence and moving on with the next. Kinda disconcerting but still a likeable read.

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asolis's review against another edition

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emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.0

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