Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

401 reviews

dirt_enthusiast's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

1.0

Considering the hype around this book I was excited to read it and it fell so flat for me, and actually I walked away hating it. The writing felt redundant and uninteresting until it became gruesome, gory, and disgusting. The characters bored me, besides it being set in Mexico with one Mexican main character, it was almost entirely devoid of any other Mexican cultural aspects, which was disappointing and focused instead around a creepy English family in Mexico. All around extremely disappointing writing, characters, and what could’ve been an interesting plot felt slow and stunted by a half baked romance that really took away from the book.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Body horror, Incest, Violence, Sexual violence, Gore, Rape, and Sexual assault

What was most disappointing was the romance that the author tried to slip in that was not only out of place but also

a ‘men can do horrible things and still get the girl because he’s quirky and pathetic’

type story. This was not a story that needed half baked romance and it really brought it down to a 1/5 starts for me

celery's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Cannibalism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Miscarriage, Child death, Confinement, Drug abuse, Racism, Rape, Body horror, Classism, Cursing, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Infertility, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Violence, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Incest, Pregnancy, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual content, Vomit, Terminal illness, Infidelity, Medical content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

shay_books's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.5

This book fucked me up.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Gore, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Incest

perifairy's review against another edition

dark funny 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Racism, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Body horror, and Gore

Minor: Incest

violentte'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? Yes

4.0

"Mexican Gothic" presents a compelling narrative reminiscent of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher" (although I have not seen many make this connection) albeit set in Mexico and intertwined with underlying race issues. Throughout the story, the gripping plot held my attention, although it received a rating of 4 stars due to certain areas that left me wishing for further exploration.

Firstly, I longed for more depth into the character of Catalina, the cousin at the center of the tale. While glimpses of her backstory and personality were provided through flashbacks and Noemí's commentary, they proved insufficient. Strengthening the narrative could have been achieved through dual perspectives, offering insights from both Catalina and Noemí or by dedicating several chapters—perhaps 5 to 10— to Catalina's experiences post-marriage, leading up to her pivotal letter to Noemí.

Additionally, greater insight into Francis would have enhanced comprehension surrounding his motivations, particularly concerning his

betrayal of his mother

. While Noemí's burgeoning feelings for him were evident, his own sentiments remained unclear. Did he reciprocate her affection, or was there another driving force behind his actions?

Overall, "Mexican Gothic" delivers a captivating narrative with echoes of classic literature, but the potential for deeper character exploration leaves room for improvement. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Violence, Sexism, Sexual violence, Fire/Fire injury, Stalking, Racism, Death, Suicide, Sexual assault, Murder, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Physical abuse, Incest, Gore, Gaslighting, Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Body horror

slavic_bookworm's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Miscarriage, Violence, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Murder, Gun violence, Body horror, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Sexism, Mental illness, Gore, Torture, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Stalking, Death, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Suicide attempt, Incest, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Cannibalism and Rape

kaelyng130's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, and Body horror

Moderate: Sexual violence

katieandkiri's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

I FLEW through this book in about a day and I honestly still can’t believe that. The people next in line for this Livby hold will probably appreciate that. Clearly I couldn’t put this down. Now I’m going to go and probably have nightmares but it was worth it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Gore, Excrement, Incest, Adult/minor relationship, Torture, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Child death, Murder, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Violence, Gore, Suicide, Medical trauma, Racism, and Fire/Fire injury

bravelass85's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

A tense horror book with sexual and misogynistic overtones.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Murder, and Sexual violence

star_sword's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.25

it's a pretty decent book, but unfortunately i read a similar book with a similar twist earlier this month, and i liked the other book better so now i'm a bit biased against this one

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Murder, Body horror, Death, Incest, Sexual violence, and Classism