Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

183 reviews

judassilver's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Colonisation, Blood, Gaslighting, Classism, Body horror, Gun violence, Confinement, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Child death, Incest, Cannibalism, Sexual harassment, Violence, Sexual assault, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Death, and Misogyny

Moderate: Alcohol, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Forced institutionalization

cielosiluminado's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

4.0

this is the first non-romance book i've read in a while. and it's the first horror book i've ever read. truly not what i was expecting, and i didn't expect to like it so much.

what made me want to read it in the first place was the setting: 1950s mexico. it's unique, one i haven't really read about.

The world might indeed be a cursed circle; the snake swallowed its tail and there could be no end, only an eternal ruination and endless devouring.

the story itself is bizarre, fascinating, bone-chilling, and dark. reading this gave me the heebie-jeebies. and made me really dislike mushrooms more than i already do.

although a good story, not rated higher because of its predictability.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Sexual content and Sexual assault

jessy4550's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Slavery, Death, Blood, Child death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Violence, Pregnancy, Suicide, Chronic illness, Genocide, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Bullying, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Gun violence, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Colonisation, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Vomit, Alcohol, Grief, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced

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

2.5

hmm. i think this had the potential to be good, but it just fell short. for a book titled mexican gothic, there was little to none about mexican culture, and even the characters were mainly white. the gothic parts i think were executed better. i love spore-horror so that was great, but other parts were not so good. and like many others said in the reviews, it was incredibly slow. also some of the characters are underdeveloped or just gross. so approach this at your own risk.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Gore, Sexual content, Rape, Blood, Classism, Infidelity, Alcohol, Incest, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Sexism, Body horror, Colonisation, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Toxic friendship

kcarney86's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cannibalism, Gore, Violence, Blood, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Grief, Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, Confinement, Rape, Classism, Death, Incest, Murder, Sexism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Torture, Misogyny, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual content

Minor: Infertility, Suicide, Xenophobia, Miscarriage, and Cannibalism

mondovertigo's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Colonisation, and Murder

Moderate: Incest

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

ninahuynh's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-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? No

4.5

What a story! I liked the character development within Noemí. She was already a tough person, and in the face of the Doyle's manipulation, she stayed true to her values and protection of Catalina. This would be a great film or show. All the imagery.

I was suspicious of Francis for most of the book, but pleasantly glad that he was not Virgil or Howard Jr.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Gore, Cannibalism, Classism, Drug use, Kidnapping, Blood, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual harassment, Miscarriage, Murder, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Body horror, and Incest

yarisbooksandbevs's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-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? No

3.0

This book was wild. I’m still not sure what to think of it. It wasn’t bad by any means

The beginning was a little slow then there was a lot happening. After the twist was revealed I wasn’t as interested in how they solve the issue. I liked Francis as a character with some complexity. The rest of the Doyle family gave me the Ick and I think that was the point. The author did a good job characterizing the Doyle family

as vile and disgusting. You have eating babies, multiple incestuous relationships, attempted rape, fungi that increase life span, using bodies as fertilizer, hallucinations. It was a wild ride

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I don’t think the book was bad I just think it was mysterious, then the mystery was revealed and shocking and everything else was just fine.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Death of parent, Classism, Gore, Violence, Blood, Child death, Death, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Incest, Murder, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Misogyny, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Miscarriage, and Sexism

Minor: Infertility, Alcohol, and Infidelity

mari1532's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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

5.0

I have had the copy of this book for way longer than I care to admit and the fact that I did not read this book sooner frankly makes me want to ask my past self what I was even thinking for not reading this book immediately. Although I have this book on my Kindle I decided to check the audiobook out of my local library and did not want to stop listening. 

Marino-Garcia paints a vivid and dark world full of intrigue. Noemí leaves her life of studying anthropology by day and attending high society parties by night when a strange letter from her cousin arrives. Having recently married an Englishman, Catalina now lives in an isolated mansion and appears very ill when Noemí arrives. However, as Noemí attempts to figure out what exactly may be the cause of her always-healthy cousin's illness, Noemí begins to experience strange things in the house. Little does she know it is only a matter of time before she will have the answers she's looking for, but they might lead to even bigger problems. 

This book will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end. Marino-Garcia's writing was fantastic! Not only is her writing beautiful it is vivid and you almost feel as if you are watching a movie rather than reading/hearing words from the page. There were so many instances throughout the book when I felt exactly as Noemí must have at that moment. 

Highly recommend this book! It's one of my new favourite books. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Murder, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Rape, Sexual violence, and Body horror

Moderate: Alcohol

The patriarch of Catalina's new family is a eugenicist.

atalea's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Confinement, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Suicide, Infidelity, Death, Sexual assault, Violence, and Murder

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Miscarriage, Vomit, Child death, and Cannibalism