Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

178 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

emzinator's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual harassment, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Gore

Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Colonisation, Death, Drug use, Incest, Gaslighting, Blood, Confinement, Child death, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Murder

amyiris's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Physical abuse, Vomit, Incest, Racism, Body horror, Sexual harassment, Violence, Gore, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Child death, Mental illness, Colonisation, and Gaslighting

trying_ceratops's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

My main problem with the book was the pacing. It was hard to get into but once it did, the mystery was great to unravel! It definitely felt like the gothic novels I’ve read before, so it is aptly titled. There is some character development, but it’s more about the story. I loved the reason for the mystery at the end and it was very new. 

Id recommend this book to people who enjoy a slow build and a touch of spookiness. I wouldn’t consider this horror by any means, but it can be creepy. I can understand the hype this book created and am glad I read it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Misogyny, and Colonisation

Moderate: Mental illness, Bullying, Body horror, Confinement, Gaslighting, and Racism

Minor: Cannibalism, Body horror, Incest, Blood, Child abuse, and Rape

mathenam's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Confinement, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Murder, and Suicide

thede5tiny's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

2.5

Honestly took a while for the story to get going but the last 30% is pretty good

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest

Moderate: Gun violence, Kidnapping, Domestic abuse, Cannibalism, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Child death, and Death

Minor: Suicide, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, and Pregnancy

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

celery's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Cannibalism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Miscarriage, Child death, Confinement, Drug abuse, Racism, Rape, Body horror, Classism, Cursing, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Infertility, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Violence, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Incest, Pregnancy, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual content, Vomit, Terminal illness, Infidelity, Medical content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

alexbrown's review against another edition

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death

Moderate: Sexism and Sexual assault

Minor: Mental illness, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Child death, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Murder, Death, and Violence

slavic_bookworm's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Miscarriage, Violence, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Murder, Gun violence, Body horror, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Sexism, Mental illness, Gore, Torture, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Stalking, Death, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Suicide attempt, Incest, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Cannibalism and Rape