Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

Mexická gotika by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Silvia Moreno-Garcia

84 reviews

judassilver's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Colonisation, Blood, Gaslighting, Classism, Body horror, Gun violence, Confinement, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Child death, Incest, Cannibalism, Sexual harassment, Violence, Sexual assault, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Death, and Misogyny

Moderate: Alcohol, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Forced institutionalization

warlockdorian's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Chronic illness, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, Murder, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Body horror, Incest, Physical abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Cannibalism, Sexual assault, Racism, and Genocide

leanne_miron's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Xenophobia, Racism, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, and Body horror

Moderate: Murder, Chronic illness, Misogyny, Suicide, and Incest

jessy4550's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Slavery, Death, Blood, Child death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Violence, Pregnancy, Suicide, Chronic illness, Genocide, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Bullying, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Gun violence, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Colonisation, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Vomit, Alcohol, Grief, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

courtofsmutandstuff's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

5.0

It takes me so long to read physical books, but I was able to spend a few hours and read the second half of the book in one sitting and it was absolutely lovely. I like the suspense pacing, and I feel like there is enough foreshadowing where you can guess/anticipate things, but there were also enough surprises that also kept it very exciting. The climax and ending were very satisfying. This - especially the second half - are very bingeable, and would be a good airplane read. 
Also - Virgil (

I absolutely hated the rapey parts but it is very much in the genre/trope. It was so satisfying when he died though

). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Sexual assault

Moderate: Incest and Chronic illness

kcarney86's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cannibalism, Gore, Violence, Blood, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Grief, Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, Confinement, Rape, Classism, Death, Incest, Murder, Sexism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Torture, Misogyny, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual content

Minor: Infertility, Suicide, Xenophobia, Miscarriage, and Cannibalism

ravenpuff's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I was really looking forward to an immersive gothic atmosphere but I never really got that. The main character was so smart throughout the book but made some frustrating choices towards the end. 

There wasn't a ton of character development but I understand why. Most of the characters feel empty, but I feel like they're supposed to given the plot development in the second half of the book.

The book did a good job of reflecting the time period, especially the racism, sexism, misogyny, and the really gross way Howard views "purity". 

The mushrooms themselves felt like a metaphor for colonization and toxic family hierarchy. To support the patriarchal figure of the family, women, children, and indigenous people are literally sacrificed so an old man from the UK can preserve himself and his gross views that only benefit him. Historic events have shown that colonization is a selfish and horrific thing, Mexican Gothic depicts it as such.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Racism, Sexism, Misogyny, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Slavery, and Violence

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Suicide

mari1532's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

I have had the copy of this book for way longer than I care to admit and the fact that I did not read this book sooner frankly makes me want to ask my past self what I was even thinking for not reading this book immediately. Although I have this book on my Kindle I decided to check the audiobook out of my local library and did not want to stop listening. 

Marino-Garcia paints a vivid and dark world full of intrigue. Noemí leaves her life of studying anthropology by day and attending high society parties by night when a strange letter from her cousin arrives. Having recently married an Englishman, Catalina now lives in an isolated mansion and appears very ill when Noemí arrives. However, as Noemí attempts to figure out what exactly may be the cause of her always-healthy cousin's illness, Noemí begins to experience strange things in the house. Little does she know it is only a matter of time before she will have the answers she's looking for, but they might lead to even bigger problems. 

This book will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end. Marino-Garcia's writing was fantastic! Not only is her writing beautiful it is vivid and you almost feel as if you are watching a movie rather than reading/hearing words from the page. There were so many instances throughout the book when I felt exactly as Noemí must have at that moment. 

Highly recommend this book! It's one of my new favourite books. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Murder, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Rape, Sexual violence, and Body horror

Moderate: Alcohol

The patriarch of Catalina's new family is a eugenicist.

aparker89's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.25

Read this for book club not knowing what to expect. 
There is definitely a great atmosphere to this book. I had dreams specifically about the dread and mystery in this book while reading it. Overall, it's got a decent plot. Is Noemi's cousin insane? Is the house really haunted? Is there more to the story of High Place?
We get all the answers. I personally didn't like the answer to the great mystery but it isn't my book lol. I had two theories as to what it was straight away and one of them was relatively close to the author's chosen path. This is a medium paced book with a SLOW BURN! This book is primarily atmosphere with just a tiny bit of action. The action is ALL at the end. The main character is VERY shallow and not loveable at all but she does want to help her cousin and at least she has a relatable desire to help someone she loves. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Chronic illness, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Bullying, Sexism, and Incest

Moderate: Child death, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Ableism, Incest, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Cannibalism, Death, Miscarriage, and Misogyny

chiiibolaa's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Mental illness, Suicide, Sexual violence, Cannibalism, Gaslighting, Gore, Incest, Medical content, Child death, Chronic illness, Violence, Classism, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, and Kidnapping