A review by brookiebridge
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

This was an intense, fascinating book with incredibly vivid and beautiful description and imagery. The author did an amazing job fleshing out the characters, and I absolutely adore Naomi, the main character and I was rooting for her the whole time. Themes of the impact of abuse and colonialism are woven throughout this tense story. I couldn’t put the book down and was listening to it at all opportunities. It’s wonderful and creepy from the beginning to the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Incest, Colonisation, Sexual harassment, and Racism

Moderate: Sexual violence, Cannibalism, Classism, Death, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Pandemic/Epidemic, Alcohol, Gun violence, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual content, Vomit, Infertility, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy

Although there is no explicit rape in the book, there is a consistent fear and threat of rape, and a nightmares in which the main character is raped by being unnaturally coerced into wanting to have sex. Some characters have an unnatural ability to make others feel uncontrollable lust for them, which they use to threaten or attempt rape. There is also a forced kiss, and people viewing the main character naked against her will, and appearing to her naked against her will.