Reviews

Cenote City by Monique Quintana

moj8668's review against another edition

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3.0

From the description of the book, I was aware that the story was meant to contain both realistic elements and magical. It was just incredibly confusing figuring out which was which. There was incredibly beautiful imagery and the interactions between the characters were well done. Parts of the book almost seemed to be more metaphorical than actually telling a story.

I'm still not sure what the overall plot was but that may be connected more to my very limited knowledge of Mexican culture than it is to the author's ability to tell the story she set out to tell. While I can't honestly say that I enjoyed the story very much, Quintana created such vivid images in her writing and expressed such intense emotions in her characters that I would definitely read more by her.

tattooedhorrorreader's review against another edition

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5.0

Cenote City by Monique Quintana, a place where the everyday intermingles with magic and death is a constant, almost comforting presence. This slim book could easily have been a rushed through page-turner, but the beauty of the writing called for slowing down & submerging into the prose. Highly recommend for lovers of magical realism, of death as part of life, and the many ways love can manifest. @clashbooks
#booksofinstagram #bookstagram #magicalrealism #moniquequintana #cenotecity #clashbooks #nightworms #reader #readersofinstagram #bookrecommendation

exorcismofemilyreed's review against another edition

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4.0

"She began to cry and cry and cry tears that felt like needles and blades."

3.5⭐

Cenote City is Monique Quintana's gorgeous debut novella. Her writing is vivid and poetic, and this book was a great introduction to Quintana's style. I would say this book is speculative fiction / bizarro with some magical realism, horror, and fantasy vibes. It's a really unique story.

I really enjoyed this story, but I struggled with the format. It's not told chronologically, and I had a hard time keeping track of characters. There is a lot of jumping around, and I think it will be totally fine for other readers, but I had a difficult time with it. It was just a little too disjointed for my brain, and I was confused at times.

Although I had a hard time with the format, this was an entertaining and creative read. It takes you through all the emotions, and you feel for the characters and their situations. I would definitely read another book from this author.

margaretadelle's review

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3.0

This book reads less like a single story and more like a collection of surreal short stories told with recurring characters. It's non-liner and poetic to the point where I wasn't sure what's a metaphor and what's literal.

Rating this is difficult, as it set out with a specific artistic vision and definitely achieved that technically. But I found myself confused and rereading often. A large part of that is my own ignorance of the Mexican culture, so take that with a grain of salt.

My favorite part was the interactions between characters, especially Lupe and her group of friends. I also enjoyed Nico's devotion to his grandmother. But the ending seemed strangely unfinished. Like there was something else that needed to be added.

In short, the book achieved exactly what it meant to. It just turns out that it's not my particular cup of tea.

sunwatersalt's review

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challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad slow-paced
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Gorgeous writing. I need to re-read this now that I've read it through once to uncover the next layer. Imagery and symbolism grounded in real people.  Definitely not an easy read, but a worthy one.

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tattooedhorrorreader's review

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5.0

Cenote City by Monique Quintana, a place where the everyday intermingles with magic and death is a constant, almost comforting presence. This slim book could easily have been a rushed through page-turner, but the beauty of the writing called for slowing down & submerging into the prose. Highly recommend for lovers of magical realism, of death as part of life, and the many ways love can manifest. @clashbooks
#booksofinstagram #bookstagram #magicalrealism #moniquequintana #cenotecity #clashbooks #nightworms #reader #readersofinstagram #bookrecommendation
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