Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - Мексиканская готика

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Мексиканская готика by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

65 reviews

xlcior's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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binches's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

3.75

rating: good ⭐⭐⭐
personal enjoyment rating: very good ⭐⭐⭐⭐

loved the buildup from uncomfortable vibes over scary nightmares to an absolutely terrifying conclusion

the dialogue felt very artificial at times and the pacing was a bit too slow and dry at times (though the overall slow pacing was perfect), otherwise, it was amazing and weaves together real horrors of the past and present with an allegorical paranormal element to create a horrifying and unsettling story

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cobryan's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

I don't normally like horror - I'm the type that's still scared of the dark sometimes, but this wasn't that bad. It wasn't nearly as scary as I anticipated. Most of it didn't bother me at all. I don't think I'd classify it as horror. It's more like a dark mystery. Overall, I think it was just okay. The concept was really good, but most of the book was slow and didn't explore the mystery as much as I would have liked. In the end it was very fast paced, but a bit too fast paced. The main event, mystery reveal, and resolution all together was about fifteen pages, maybe twenty. I think it would have benefited from being longer.

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faeriequeenlauren's review against another edition

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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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blewballoon's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This book seemed super popular when I bought it, and I generally like gothic horror so it seemed like a safe bet, and ultimately I don't regret reading it. I like that while the story does have a lot of traditional gothic horror elements, the setting and main character felt fresh. The heroine is bold, confident, and smart. I read What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher around the same time and they both have similar plot elements based on the Fall of the House of Usher. I think they are each unique enough to stand on their own. Mexican Gothic deals more with the horrors of misogyny and colonialism blended with the actual horror elements. This won't be a top favorite for me because there were some scenes that felt too gross and disquieting for me to want to re-read, but it's nothing too gratuitous or horrific.

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