Reviews with content warning for Colonisation - Mexican Gothic

Interesting concept, however, the execution was lacking. I get that it’s supposed to be mysterious and weird but a lot of things are just told and not shown or explained—the irony being that I find a lot of details to be over explained.

It’s just the way it is.

Boring. At times, awkward. It feels like the narrator is trying to be deeper than they actually are.

The book is set in the 50s, but the dialogue isn’t very characteristic of this time period, ruining the immersion for me.

Now, I’m a sucker for romance, so Francis and Noemí was mostly the only thing that kept me turning the page.

Also lots of grossness, very much horror ! But as I said, the over-explaining annoys me to no end.

I don’t get how Great Uncle Howard had so much influence on everyone else? I suppose they were deeply infected by the spores and whatnot, but the portrayal of him as a godly figure is lacking. To me, he’s just some creepy old guy. And I get that I’m an “outsider,” so I can’t completely understand. But I’m sure there was a much better way of showing his power and control.

I’m sure I have more to say (and a better way of wording my review) because I cannot shut up for the life of me, but that’s all for now. :)

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sammybee's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

2.0

I thought this book was going to be more scary than it precieved.

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saffic's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I really enjoyed this book and I don't have too much to say. I feel it's pretty solidly 4 stars, I might drop it to 3.5 if I think overthink everything. Only have 2 real complaints.

1. In a lot of author interviews, Silvia Moreno-Garcia states that one of the core gothic horror tropes is an 'alluring but dangerous man'. And I am assuming that Virgil is supposed to fill that role in this story. However, whatever 'allure' he may have had, quickly faded for me when

he started echoing all the things his father said. Would he probably hold those views? Yes, absolutely. But the fact that Noemi really started thirsting for him after he told her he believes in inferior races, girl. I cope by thinking the shrooms had infested her brain at that point.

2. This point is all spoilers so-

The ending. I am a huge fan of bittersweet/gut-wrenching endings so this complaint is for me and me alone. All of the good guys survived. I won't say they lived happily-ever-after as the author has flirted with the idea of a sequel, but yeah. I get why the author chose to have Francis and Catalina survive, but part of me wished one of them got messed up in the end. They are both the 'princess in the tower' that Noemi saves, a play on her earlier wish. I wish Catalina had more scenes because I wanted her inevitable killing of Virgil to have more weight, but it just didn't. They barely interact. Was he a shitty husband? Probably, but do we ever see it directly? No. If there had been a scene earlier in the book where Noemi sees Catalina seem perfectly fine with Virgil, but she moves away from him every time he gets closer or something to that extent would have even been enough. Justice for Catalina she deserved more development.

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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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katemarie99's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

4.0

It's giving Saltburn. It's giving Wuthering Heights. It's giving Beloved. It's giving The Yellow Wallpaper. It's giving Get Out. It's giving Alice in Wonderland.

I'm spooked down to my very bones, but this is a good book. Do yourself a favor and check out TWs first, tho.

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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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bucketsjen's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

4.5

Likeable and dislikable main characters, in appropriate ways. Well done. Very engaging. There's inspiration from classic horror woven in, which I enjoyed a lot.

Without saying whether the ending was good or bad, it was satisfying.

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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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