Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

46 reviews

emmalouisereads's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I wanted a spooky read for Halloween and I wasn’t disappointed. Incredibly atmospheric… and genuinely revolting at times. 

It’s a really strange story (that I enjoyed mostly for reasons that would be spoilers and I can’t mention). It certainly won’t be everyone’s cup of tea.

I’d love to see this made into a gothic film. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Gore, Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Cannibalism, Death, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Murder, Sexual assault, Vomit, Rape, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Incest, Self harm, Xenophobia, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, and Miscarriage

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

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Gore, Murder, Sexual assault, Violence, Body horror, Death, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Classism, Incest, Child abuse, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Racism, Animal death, Cannibalism, Child death, Pregnancy, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Terminal illness, Vomit, Medical content, and Sexism

Minor: Alcohol, Drug use, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, and Forced institutionalization

Smoking. Eugenics, dated language. Illness, epidemic. Seizure (non-POV character). Paranoia, surveillance. Sexual coercion, overriding of will.

katsmeowbrown's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Murder, Cannibalism, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Incest, Rape, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Addiction, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Torture, Sexual assault, Mental illness, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Racism

aribook's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Infidelity, and Murder

Moderate: Drug use, Infertility, Incest, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Death of parent, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, and Gun violence

slvt4b00ks's review against another edition

dark inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

If I could give this book more stars I would. I honestly don’t understand why this book has such low ratings. Maybe some just aren’t cut out for gothic tales. I was weary about this being set in the 50s but the time period didn’t seem it was as much of a contributing factor to most parts of the story. Of course there is racism and some bat shit crazy people who believe in eugenics and of course the misogyny but that seems to really be all that indicates a less modern setting. This book was incredibly atmospheric and creepy, though I wasn’t quite stuck sitting up all night like I thought I would be. I fell in love with Francis. He must be protected at all costs. Noemi felt incredibly relatable, her flightiness and inability to settle down is portrayed as a flaw but I found it endearing. I don’t think anyone should settle.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Chronic illness, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Incest, Infertility, Medical content, Terminal illness, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Xenophobia, Cancer, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Vomit, Violence, Sexism, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, Gaslighting, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Classism, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts

hannibanani29's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Racism, Murder, Violence, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Incest, Miscarriage, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Classism, Infertility, Mass/school shootings, Rape, Alcohol, Blood, Cannibalism, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, and Mental illness

betttyy8's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gun violence, Incest, Child death, Death, Sexism, Cannibalism, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Racism, Blood, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Violence, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Gaslighting, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt

the_sapphic_witch's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Pregnancy, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, Cannibalism, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Gore, Grief, Incest, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Death, Kidnapping, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Genocide, Infidelity, Medical content, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Rape, Violence, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, and Torture

Moderate: Abortion and Medical trauma

lovelybibliomanic's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Incest, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, and Death

Moderate: Cannibalism and Child death