Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

61 reviews

aardwyrm's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious sad slow-paced

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

3.5

There's a good novella in this book if you chopped out a lot of nothing. The premise is intriguing, the prose is good, and Carlota isn't a bad viewpoint character. But 2/3 of the pages are taken up by tedious romantic drama that goes nowhere and could have been set up in a chapter. Montgomery also sucks a lot of life out of the story. Silvia Moreno-Garcia has many strengths, but writing a compelling protagonist man is not one of them. The human-animal hybrids who should be the stars of the story are barely there, but in them there's the bones of something great.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Gore, Grief, Animal death, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Violence, Ableism, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body horror, Chronic illness, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

kylieqrada's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-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

4.0

My first Silvia Moreno-Garcia and I loved it!! I got sick in the second half and I am so bummed cuz I would have liked to marathon it, but overall I really enjoyed it. Plus my copy is signed my SMG and I got some background at the event. 😍

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Racism, and Blood

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, and Gun violence

Minor: Sexual violence

sofipitch's review against another edition

• 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

3.0

This book is entertaining but that's about it. The first 2/3rds of the book is basically just a historical drama with the sci fi setting as an extra fancy backdrop, and while it does become more relevant compared to the actual book by H G Wells I feel like this falls short. Wells' book had a greater emphasis on horror which I feel this book really lacked. The romance was only okay. I feel like the characters weren't very well defined so the few characteristics given to them, like Montgomery's alcoholism, were harped on again and again to the point of boredom.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Alcoholism, and Body horror

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Racism and Classism

goatsrsexy's review against another edition

adventurous reflective medium-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? Yes

3.75

This was a pretty good read. Based on the Island of Dr Moreau but seems more inspired by the Island of lost souls (movie) I'm surprised it didn't get a mention in the afterward.

This book had absolutely beautiful prose especially the descriptions of scenery and emotions. It was set in the Yucatan Peninsula in the 1800s and adding true Mexican and Mayan history added a lot to the story. I think it worked well. Carlota and Montgomery were both beautiful and deep characters. This book really makes you think about a lot of different types of morality.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia and Racism

Moderate: Violence, War, and Child abuse

cozyteareads's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death of parent, Body horror, Colonisation, Death, Alcoholism, and Alcohol

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Cursing, Racism, Blood, Gore, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Infertility, Mental illness, War, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexism, and Medical content

ijustreallyliketrees's review against another edition

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

4.5

Really enjoyed this book. Loved the writing especially. I read it in three sittings, which is rare for me, couldn't put it down.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Blood

Moderate: Body horror, Gun violence, and Racism

bethlynch's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Medical content, and Racism

Moderate: Blood

Minor: Grief, Death of parent, and Animal death

mooshake's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

2.75

whoever decided that those accents in the audiobook were a good idea, your moms a hoe

i've forgotten most of the plot 2 days after reading this lmao

will i ever like a silvia moreno-garcia book as much as mexican gothic? stay tuned to find out!

also montgomery u knew carlotta since she was 14 stop being a nonce and take a shower

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Body horror

Minor: Colonisation

melliedm's review against another edition

emotional 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? Yes

3.75

A thrilling exploration of humanity and identity set on a hybrid background of H.G. Wells’ Moreau and  The Caste War of Yucatan 1847. Moreno-Garcia has an excellent way of merging a classic gothic style and an accessible/modern prose that almost always works well for me. I had a bit of an expectation of a darker book along the lines of Mexican Gothic, but I still enjoyed this one! 

My only dislike for this book is how the alternating perspective works in the first half. Too frequently the Carlota and Montgomery swaps spent too much time retreading the same moments before getting into something fresh. This lessened in the second half, which is when the novel began to really shine.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Blood, Medical trauma, Racism, Violence, Gun violence, Misogyny, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Sexual content, Body horror, Gaslighting, Animal cruelty, Classism, and Colonisation

mandkips's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Racism, and Blood

Moderate: Sexual content, Alcoholism, Body horror, and Gun violence

Minor: Sexual violence and Suicidal thoughts