kiwi_00's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.5


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zoe_archambault's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

all i wanted was something like 'the hauting of the hill house' by sherley jackson but all i got was the author's gross sexual assault fantasy and a half assed mystery thrown in the background. The mystery was at least a decent backdrop that made the (MANY) assaults make sense??? but also stockholm syndrome? or mental fuckery as everything descends into madness but it was honestly done so badly and in such poor taste i hated every second of it

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elizas's review against another edition

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

4.0

Highly unusual, and I really liked the way that 1950s Gothic tropes were transferred to Mexico. I felt the first half of the book was very slow, though, and the second half often grim. I would highly recommend checking content warnings if you have any triggers.

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clairebartholomew549's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I do not know how to feel about this book lmao. Moreno-Garcia does a good job of creating this sort of creeping sense of horror and realizations, and Noémi is a compelling character with a ton of backbone. But somehow, despite this book not being very long, it feels like it really dragged on: there are a ton of reveals around 2/3 of the way through the book, and I felt like the next 100 pages both moved very slowly, and went a million different places that made no sense. I appreciated the author's critique of colonialism and cultural sexism, but this one just didn't work for me.

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emilemilemily5's review against another edition

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

4.0


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emzinator's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? No

4.75

This book has a sleepy lull in the first half - but don't worry, it picks up SO much. I think this book reads almost like a screenplay, and I hope the Hulu limited series gets back on track! 

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melanishka's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

4.5, rounded up 

This was.... not at all what I was expecting. Beautiful writing, absolutely terrifying setting and premise, and progressively spookier with every chapter. I loved the ending leaving a bit of uneasiness with you. I'd love to see this adapted into a film or Netflix series!

(.5 stars removed for the unnecessary baby cannibalism thing?)

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garbage_mcsmutly's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

The first big reveal was kind of an obvious one, but they took it in an unexpected direction. It was interesting and well written.

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ecster's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Really enjoyed this dark gothic horror set in 1950s Mexico, a great allegory of intergenerational trauma and memory and colonization

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deetabz's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0


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