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mostlyliterate's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence
Moderate: Child death, Incest, Medical content, Medical trauma, Racial slurs, and Suicide
Minor: Cannibalism and Grief
amandaclaire's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Body horror and Incest
Moderate: Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Medical trauma, and Child death
eclareb's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Incest, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Trafficking
bookishpaige's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
1.0
Graphic: Chronic illness and Medical trauma
water_violin'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
5.0
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Incest
theengineerisreading's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Diving into this book without any clue is my first mistake. I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN better because this book creeped me out. (side note: I finished this at around 2AM)
I am not sure if I remember it right but I think this is the first time I read a gothic novel that delivered. Horror? Hell yeah! Fictional element with a sprinkle of mysterious deaths? Yas! A dash of romance? Of fucking course! But before that, here's what this book is all about.
When outgoing Noemi Taboada received a letter from her newlywed cousin, Catalina, asking for rescue, her father tasked her to visit the latter in El Triunfo.
But her cousin's family in-law is not the ones Noemi expected. The way the house and the Doyles appear, they are mysterious and secretive.
Eager to find out why Catalina sent her a letter with a haunting message, Naomi is set to unveil everything - from her cousin's mysteriously charming husband and to the hearsays about the Doyle's history.
Noemi is a likable character. I adore the way she sees every situation and how she does not easily back down. Noemi is cheery, fierce, playful, and knows how to flirt. It is also notable how adaptable she is bouncing from her merriment in Mexico City to the gloomy life in El Triunfo, Naomi showcased that she is definitely in the story to play.
The Doyles, on the other hand, are well-crafted in terms of being annoying. I acknowledge the fact that the Doyle are horrible creatures, not people, with the way they handled everything in and out of their family but reading their characters, especially libidinous Virgil and ingracious Florence, is just enjoyable. It's like reading fictional DDS but their loyalty is to their secret family power and not of you-know-who.
The pacing of the book is divided since the first half has a slow narration showing how Naomi adapts in her cousin's in-laws while the second half keeps on giving the answers to all my questions in a fast-paced manner.
I love the way how Silvia Moreno-Garcia engaged the reader by picking the right word to visualize the horrendous situation the character is in. The author's writing style is super convincing I keep on glancing on the walls to check if it's also beating.
Seriously, if you're looking for a read that will creep the fuck out of yourself and make you ask yourself, 'What the hell did I just read?' then this book is surely up your galley.
RATING: 4stars
P.S. This book changed the way I see mushrooms and it will be a long time before I eat them again.
Graphic: Blood, Cannibalism, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit
Minor: Incest
vvoman_of_darkness's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Cannibalism, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Medical trauma, Racial slurs, and Violence
scripturient's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
The first 150 pages or so the book read mostly like a classic Gothic novel - very slow pace, eerie setting, weird stuff but nothing outright scary, think Castle of Otranto - and then it just went batshit crazy.
In the end I did like it although it was too heavy on the sexual violence for me, especially since it did nothing for the plot other than paint certain characters as evil, which, duh, but that's a personal preference, I guess.
It was an interesting twist on Gothic tales but the first half was too slow to pick up with way too many repetitions and unnecessary details and in comparison, the ending then felt a bit rushed. I liked the writing style, though, and the story definitely kept me hooked for the most part.
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, and Death
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Racism, Incest, Medical trauma, Suicide, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Rape and Cannibalism
bambooboy's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Incest, Infertility, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, Medical content, and Vomit
Minor: Infidelity, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
aasplund's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Racism, and Medical trauma