Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Gótico Mexicano by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

91 reviews

lillysbooks's review against another edition

dark slow-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

2.25

i wanted to love this book, but it was indeed difficult to love. the pacing was very slow and the plot did not really begin until 200 pages in. and it was so predictable!!! all the big reveals? well i'm sorry but it was not as crazy as it was made out to be. :/

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Body horror, Death, Drug use, Child death, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting

itsheyfay's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Body horror, Gaslighting, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault, Misogyny, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Murder, Racism, and Sexism

Minor: Abandonment, Classism, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, and Ableism

vulpiix's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cannibalism, Death, Death of parent, Child death, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Confinement, Incest, Sexual assault, Drug use, and Gaslighting

cnricochet's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Child death, Cannibalism, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Gaslighting, Incest, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Cursing

lauralouise93's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use and Murder

Moderate: Sexual assault

jlaz_13's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Violence, Death of parent, Drug use, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Blood, Classism, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Pregnancy, Self harm, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Body horror, Murder, and Suicide

Minor: Child death, Sexism, Trafficking, Infertility, Rape, Sexual violence, and Cursing

santinasimile's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, Murder, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Torture, Terminal illness, Slavery, Death, Chronic illness, Drug use, Suicide, and Mental illness

faeriequeenlauren's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

5.0

Upon first read, I gave this 4.75 stars simply because I felt the initial set up went on for too long. Looking back on it now, I think the choice to have such a slow start really pays off when things pick up in the end. I enjoyed how slow the first 100 pages were, because in contrast, the last 200 pages felt much more wild and disorienting with so much going on plot-wise.

I loved the development of the relationship between Francis and Noemí and even though I’m not obsessed with Francis as a character, I liked where the story went. It was never too heavy on the romance side of things, which I felt was appropriate for the subject matter. 

The whole ending and the big reveal of what’s actual going on was a bit predictable imo, but the execution was well done, so I can forgive the predictability. The mushrooms being mentioned in the beginning was pretty obvious to me, as well as the mold in the house, etc. And the eugenics stuff in the beginning kind of revealed the incest bit that came later, but again, I’m not super upset by it being predictable to a certain extent, as the execution of the end reveals was so well done that it made up for the twists being a bit predictable.

 

Moreno-Garcia’s writing style is beautiful. I loved the words she used to describe things and I felt like her vocabulary choices really emphasized the haunting, disturbing nature of what was happening. 

I also loved Noemí as a protagonist. She was smart, headstrong, self-assured, etc. She never let the chaos around her completely consume her, which I loved. In addition, she was an active player in the narrative of the story, and lead many events, rather than just letting them happen to her. 

Overall, if you like Crimson Peak, Jane Eyre, The Invitation, We Are What We Are, or anything with a strange family with secrets living in a creepy gothic manor, you’d probably love this. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Addiction, Incest, Racism, Cannibalism, Child death, Kidnapping, Sexual harassment, Body horror, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Confinement, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Classism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, Blood, Gun violence, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

blewballoon's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This book seemed super popular when I bought it, and I generally like gothic horror so it seemed like a safe bet, and ultimately I don't regret reading it. I like that while the story does have a lot of traditional gothic horror elements, the setting and main character felt fresh. The heroine is bold, confident, and smart. I read What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher around the same time and they both have similar plot elements based on the Fall of the House of Usher. I think they are each unique enough to stand on their own. Mexican Gothic deals more with the horrors of misogyny and colonialism blended with the actual horror elements. This won't be a top favorite for me because there were some scenes that felt too gross and disquieting for me to want to re-read, but it's nothing too gratuitous or horrific.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gaslighting, Gun violence, Incest, Sexual assault, Blood, Body horror, Racism, Sexism, Medical content, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Vomit, Child abuse, Drug use, Incest, Suicide, Alcohol, Cannibalism, and Pregnancy

jessthanthree's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Mental illness, Murder, Medical trauma, Classism, Body horror, Sexism, Gun violence, and Racism

Moderate: Incest, Drug use, Child death, Cannibalism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, and Confinement

Minor: Miscarriage and Child abuse