Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

72 reviews

nat_montego's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

Moderate: Toxic relationship and Incest

Minor: Torture, Suicidal thoughts, and Cannibalism

kaymay29's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

This book starts a little slow but once you get into the mystery/plot it becomes a page turner. Also the main character is great. She is funny, relatable, and resilient.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Body horror, Suicide, Violence, Bullying, Murder, Racism, Blood, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexual harassment, and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Vomit, Child death, Cannibalism, Cursing, Incest, Mental illness, Pregnancy, and Torture

jacquielantern's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Cannibalism, Incest, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Rape, Torture, Death, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual assault, and Child death

rewrigh's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Amazing read, but definitely mind the content warnings on this one. True to the Gothic and horror genres it gets quite dark and graphic. That said, it was unlike anything else I've read, with more of the intrigue that keeps pulling back to Silvia Moreno-Garcia's work. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Body horror, Rape, Incest, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Cannibalism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Violence, Sexual violence, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, and Misogyny

Minor: Confinement, Blood, Alcohol, Child abuse, and Child death

hiddeninfantasy's review against another edition

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? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Genocide, Death of parent, Gore, Slavery, Kidnapping, Murder, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Cannibalism, Alcohol, Body horror, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Blood, Cursing, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Death, Incest, Torture, Toxic relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Vomit

squash789's review against another edition

This is an objectively good book I think, but it was very unpleasant for me to read. I felt myself getting so doomy and Im really glad its over haha. I hated the creepy men controlling women themes and the eugenics and imperialism stuff was so creepy. It was supposed to be though, so a very successful book in terms of doing what it set out to do!

I of course liked the mushroom stuff and thought that was a really cool way to combine haunting ghost vibes with something that seems vaguely   feasible in another world. But also so so creepy how fungi was used!!

Overall i do recommend this book if you like horror and dont mind the themes i mentioned. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual violence, Violence, Xenophobia, and Rape

Minor: Torture

santinasimile's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, Murder, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Torture, Terminal illness, Slavery, Death, Chronic illness, Drug use, Suicide, and Mental illness

katsmeowbrown's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Murder, Cannibalism, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Incest, Rape, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Addiction, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Torture, Sexual assault, Mental illness, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Racism

bex77's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I’m generally not a huge fan of horror, but the gothic setting and story concept drew me in. Silvia Moreno-Garcia writes beautifully. The book was fast-paced and engaging, but at times I had to stop to appreciate the rich, descriptive language. I found the themes woven through the story fascinating, and would be interested to read a physical copy in order to do some annotations to chart their development. The characters were, for the most part, interesting and varied. 


As far as content, I personally felt that it was descriptive enough to illicit suspense and dread but not so descriptive as to be disturbingly graphic. The profanity was minimal, but strong. 

Overall, this was a fun, fast-paced read that really fit the criteria for both my Summer and Fall booklists, which I found perfect for the in-between feeling of back-to-school season

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Cannibalism, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, and Violence

Minor: Vomit, War, Terminal illness, Infertility, Grief, and Forced institutionalization

lindsaydrue's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I don’t usually read fantasy or horror, and this one is squarely both. After seeing it on many a must-read books list, I wanted to give it a go. I must say it was a spectacular tale! It took just a bit for it to get going, but once it did there was no pausing. I read the last 100 pages in one sitting. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Violence, Torture, and Injury/Injury detail