Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

84 reviews

bohowitch's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

An interesting premise, intriguing plot, and a deplorable cast of characters.

I have mixed feelings about this book. It obviously held my interest, but it's rare to not positively engage with any character. 

Catalina and Ruth get a pass, but the rest of the characters were either sick, twisted, and thoroughly evil, shallow, self-centered, and pompous, or just woefully pathetic.

Noemi, the FMC/protagonist, is nothing more than a wilful, spoiled, rich girl with delusions of grandeur. She's flaky as hell, uppity, shallow, manipulative, and pig-headed. Not to mention her naivety. She's quite obnoxious and annoying. 

I honestly didn't care if any of them made it out alive, but the writing held my interest until the very end. I needed to see how this all resolved; good, bad, or ugly. 

Now that's not to say I didn't enjoy the book, it just wasn't quite what I expected. The world building, lore, and horror was top-notch. The characters were well fleshed out and felt quite real; they were all just awful people. 

If you're a sensitive reader I implore you to mind your squicks. There's a lot of abuse, gaslighting, and body horror within this book. 

I enjoyed it, but YMMV of course. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Emotional abuse, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, Chronic illness, Misogyny, Body horror, Classism, Drug use, Gaslighting, Gore, Incest, and Mental illness

rachblank's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness and Death

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Blood, Confinement, and Murder

Minor: Rape

angelfireeast24's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Gore, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Body horror, Cannibalism, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexism, Classism, Colonisation, Drug use, Grief, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Bullying, Child death, Violence, Slavery, and Murder

Moderate: Terminal illness, Abandonment, Pedophilia, Vomit, Alcohol, and Miscarriage

Had me on the edge of my seat. I both wanted to throw the book across the room due to the unsettling nature of the subject matter and read another page to know what will happen.

I like that in the end, there was no one person being the grand hero. Everyone had their moment. All I'm thinking at the end of the story is they better not have kids together. Cause I know that it will come again down the bloodline. Also, all three of their bodies better be burnt when they die

luna_lovelace's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? No

5.0

Mexican Gothic is such an incredible thriller book that had me on the edge of my seat! 

The way Noemi's character was written was simply amazing. She had a sassy attitude and wasn't afraid to speak her mind, which made her stand out from other characters in the book. Noemi's personality was the key to solving the mystery and I loved how the author portrayed her. 

Francis, on the other hand, was timid at first, but his character development was admirable. He grew stronger as the story progressed, and I was pleasantly surprised by his actions towards the end. The author did a fantastic job of making his character come to life. 

It took a little while for the story to truly turn into a horror story, but I was alarmed from the start by Howard's character.

His twisted personality gave me the chills and it didn't help that he was racist. I was more disturbed by the scene where he's on his deathbed, made me gag.

The ending was unexpected,

but it was a happy ending for Noemi, so you won't hear any complaining from me. Although the ending was left open to interpretation by the reader on what happens next, I think it was the perfect way to end the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Racial slurs, Terminal illness, Violence, Death, Gaslighting, and Gore

Minor: Gun violence

sophieamreacher's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

Dark and disturbing fantasy that grossed me out. Interesting setting, plot and characters but a little slow at times. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Torture, Suicide, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Chronic illness, Rape, Violence, Incest, Confinement, Classism, Child death, Vomit, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Stalking, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Alcohol, Slavery, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Domestic abuse, Body horror, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Gun violence, Death, Cannibalism, Blood, Medical content, Infertility, Gore, Emotional abuse, Drug use, and Death of parent

fkshg8465's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

4.0

I really enjoyed this book. I'm starting to understand the appeal of the horror genre. When it's done well, it has a way of creeping into the tiniest recesses of my mind and poke around in each one. That's what it felt like to read this one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Racism, Confinement, Kidnapping, Slavery, Pandemic/Epidemic, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Incest, and Sexual assault

sourkiwi's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Murder, Gaslighting, Death, Emotional abuse, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Body horror, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexism

litoreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Pandemic/Epidemic, Confinement, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, Classism, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, and Sexual harassment

acrosstheskyinstars's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense

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

4.25

I read this one for a book club. Overall, this was a griping, fast-paced story. I absolutely loved the gothic horror elements. It was a perfect atmospheric horror read. The plot really drags you along for the ride to the point that I couldn't put this book down and finished it in one day, which is unusual for me. This book is definitely for the person who loves a spooky, atmospheric read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Child abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Body horror, Incest, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Pandemic/Epidemic, Chronic illness, Grief, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Murder, Gaslighting, Child death, Racism, Genocide, Death, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Classism, Colonisation, Gun violence, and Suicide

acraig9's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Blood, Colonisation, Gore, Violence, Cannibalism, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Death, and Incest