I loved the author's previous work so I was excited to dig into this project. Moreno-Garcia's writing style always amazes me with the patience she allots as she builds her story. I felt like this genre suited her style well–she masters fleshing out her characters and the was imagery like splashes of paint that juxtaposed the chilling horror that unfolds.

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got a copy of this book to review through NetGalley.

Story (4/5): This was a really good gothic horror story set in Mexico in the 1950's. It was a fun and easy read and very creepy at points. I whipped through it pretty quickly and enjoyed it. The premise is that Noemi finds out that her cousin is ailing after her recent marriage. Noemi’s father asks Noemi to journey to the remote house her cousin is now living in and see how Noemi can assist her. When Noemi gets there she finds herself in an incredibly strange situation where the house itself seems set against her.

Characters (4/5): I enjoyed Noemi a lot, as a character she comes across as very carefree and a bit snobbish at first but as the story continues you find out she is also very tough and stubborn as well. She’s capable and does an excellent job maneuvering her way through a very strange situation. Her only ally in the house is a strange pale young man and I enjoyed him as well. The creepy characters are also very well done.

Setting (5/5): I thoroughly enjoyed the setting in this creepy old house; this was incredibly well done. I also loved that this was set in Mexico in the 1950’s, it was an interesting look into the history of that region.

Writing Style (4/5): The book was well written and easy to read. It got a bit too creepy for my tastes at times. However, the story was very entertaining and engaging and I ended up really enjoying it. The pacing was quick and the mystery very well put together.

My Summary (4/5): Overall I really enjoyed this book. I would recommend it to those who enjoy creepy haunted house type of mysteries with some supernatural elements to them. This story was especially unique because of the time period and setting it takes place in. I plan on checking out other books by Moreno-Garcia.

I was drawn in from the start with this book. The cover of the actual book is gorgeous.. The book starts out with a sense of foreboding. The main character going to check on her cousin after receiving a disturbing letter from her cousin. She has to stay in this creepy house and figure out what is wrong with her cousin. It reminded me little bit of Stranger Things the show. The unimaginable takes place and she has to fight her way of that house. Thank you for the chance to read this book.

After the magical realism of “Gods of Jade and Shadow,” Moreno-Garcia has returned to her horror roots with this is a slow building story of a spooky house with creepy inhabitants. Her main character starts off as a woman who seems to care about great clothes and parties with equal fervor, but her spine of steel and other underlying characteristics shine through the novel. Vividly chilling.

After receiving a distressing letter from her newlywed cousin Catalina in which Catalina rambles about creepy visions and alleges that her husband is poisoning her, socialite Noemí Taboada visits her cousin in order to evaluate her cousin's mental and physical health and persuade Catalina's husband to permit her to be moved to Mexico City for treatment if necessary. Upon arriving at High Place, a crumbling Victorian-style manor set high in the mountains in the old mining town of El Triunfo, Noemí quickly realizes that Catalina's strange new in-laws are hiding dark secrets.

I adore Moreno-Garcia's atmospheric style, with her vivid imagery and characters and the way the novel slowly builds suspense as the odd and unsettling gives way to horror. High Place is a truly spooky house, and from the beginning, its inhabitants throw Noemí off balance, from hot and manipulative Virgil to the imperious and provocative elderly patriarch Howard.

I also enjoyed the way Moreno-Garcia tackled themes of colonialism and eugenics with this novel. The patriarch of the family, Howard Doyle, is an English immigrant who brought his family to Mexico to make their fortune in the silver mining business. He is smitten with eugenics and believes strongly in the superiority of his family's breeding, and he frequently uses these beliefs to provoke Noemí, belittling or exoticizing her. It's a fascinating tack to take, given Mexico's history with colonization and race.

Early marketing framed this novel as gothic suspense, which makes sense: there's a handsome, brooding husband, a decaying mansion, and dark family secrets. It's definitely on the horror side of suspense, though.

I'm not usually a fan of horror, but I truly enjoyed this book. The pacing and atmosphere is fabulous, and it reminds me a bit of the movie Crimson Peak. (I now desperately want to see this book made into a movie by Guillermo del Toro.) I liked seeing how Noemí used people's perceptions of her and expectations of 1950s-era women to manipulate others around her so that she could figure out what was going on and how to escape with her cousin. She's a strong female protagonist whose strength and ability to survive often lies in character traits typically associated with weakness, and I loved that the book didn't condemn her for deliberately wielding her femininity in that way.

I strongly recommend this book to fans of horror and dark fantasy. It's beautifully creepy and terrifying, and strongly feminist in its approach to gothic horror.

Set in 1950's Mexico Noemi is enjoying a life of comfort, attending parties and working on her degree. After her cousin marries a virtual stranger and moves to his home next to an abandoned mine, Noemi receives a disturbing telegram that makes her worry about her sanity. Noemi's father sends her to the home to check on her cousin and investigae what is going on. When she arrives she finds a home in disrepair, a cold family, silent staff, and that her cousin's health is more worrisome than she thought. Despite wanting to leave, she feels she must stay and get help. But when she does try to leave, she finds she can't.

From the cover of the book, I thought I might be getting a historical fiction and that is how the book begins. However, this is a horror book and is really quite creepy. I don't want to give any spoilers away as that is the fun of the book but it has a ghost story/haunted house vibe. There are some serious topics in this book so it wouldn't be for sensitive readers. If you enjoy both historical fiction and horror then pick this up! "Mexican Gothic" is available June 30, 2020.

"Don't build a wall around your own sufferings or it may devour you from the inside." (Frida Kahlo)

Noemi Taboada doesn't know much about suffering. She's a young 22 year old socialite whose only exercise is pushing fancy evening dresses back and forth in her closet. Decisions fall into categories of which parties to attend or not. It's 1951 in Mexico City and as the daughter of a very successful chemical dye businessman all her needs are met. Her father indulges her in piano lessons and patiently awaits her decisions on constantly changing career choices and perspective suitors.

But now Senor Taboada will be asking much of this young woman. He has received a frantic letter from his niece Catalina who hints greatly of a life of disarray and chaos. Catalina married an Englishman in secrecy and haste. The newlyweds live in a Victorian style house in the far off countryside of Hidalgo. Virgil Doyle traces his family back to generations living on the edge of a once prosperous silver mine. Senor Taboada fears for his niece's health and sends Noemi to observe the situation. Noemi will clutch that train ticket that will shuttle her to a life-changing venture she could never dream possible.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia has chosen an absolutely stunning cover for this book. Gaze upon this breath-taking young woman surrounded by the velvet of the swirling design on the wallpaper behind her. In her hands are grasped the sweetness and the delicacy of those flowers. The slope of her fine shoulders may indicate aloof indifference or may reveal the arching stiffness of intensity. You'll come to find out by lifting the cover and stepping within.

Mexican Gothic introduces us to a highly creative and unexpected storyline. Moreno-Garcia has us placing our feet on unstable ground as it turns into a slowly sinking marsh under foot. The pacing is not rushed as we soon take note of what is really happening here. The characters tilt their heads with prim and properness while causing us to take note that there is far more here than the mind can balance. Bravo, Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Just Bravo for such a job well done.

I received a copy of Mexican Gothic through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Random House Publishers and to the talented Silvia Moreno-Garcia for the opportunity.

"You must come for me, Noemi. You have to save me. I cannot save myself as much as I wish to."

This is what is in the frantic, rambling letter from Noemi's recently married cousin, Catalina, and it is what gets the young Mexico City socialite to agree to her father's request to investigate the matter. Noemi heads for the High Place, the crumbling, damp, and drafty English manor-house in the Mexican countryside, owned by the Doyle family, which Catalina recently married into after a short courtship. Noemi is greeted by strict rules from quiet and sullen inhabitants of the house, a library full of material on eugenics, and terrifying dreams of a golden woman. Will Noemi be able to help her cousin, learn the secrets of the High Place.... and save herself?

Another wonderful heart-pounding, page-turner of a novel from Moreno-Garcia, "Mexican Gothic" blends the glamor of 1950s Mexico with the horror and aesthetic of classic gothic literature. It is delightfully eerie and creepy, full of hauntings, cryptic characters, and deep, dark family secrets. A brilliant take on classic elements of the gothic novel, "Mexican Gothic" is a horror novel like no other that will have you holding your breath, wondering if Noemi will be able to free herself of High Place... or if she will be trapped forever.

I'm sorry, I did not like this novel. I thought it was very slow and I had no interest in the characters or plot. It started off very promising with Noemi's first nightmare but didn't go anywhere after that. Based on the reviews, I expected something completely different. This is on me and not the author, who writes very well.

Oh how I love a good old-fashioned Gothic novel and "Mexican Gothic" by Silvia Moreno-Garcia definitely did not disappoint! This book is everything a reader could want from a Gothic novel-it has mysterious characters, it is set in a spooky and isolated Victorian mansion, there is an eerie graveyard, the protagonist is a beautiful and clever woman-but with a Mexican twist! "Mexican Gothic" is a highly satisfying read and will keep the reader turning pages as fast as he or she can. It is one of those books that you want to devour in one sitting.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to read an advanced digital copy of this truly fabulous book. I will be recommending it to all of my reading groups. Five out of five stars!

I have chills. Horror is not a genre I tend to gravitate towards but this was mesmerizing. The book grabbed me and wouldn't let go. It's a story that made me feel in need of a shower with its descriptions of rot and ruin. It didn't feel grotesque, because the author gave it life. The writing of Silvia Moreno-Garcia is magnetic. This book is a mystery dripping with poison waiting to devour you in the deepest, darkest shadows.

This is a mysterious story, revolving around family secrets and a sinister home reminiscent of Manderly from the classic, Rebecca.

Mexican Gothic takes place in 1950’s in Mexico. The main character, Noemi, is a young debutante firecracker of a girl. But the real character MVP of the story is the sprawling house, known as High Place. It had a life of its own and that element was fun.

Although this story was intriguing, I felt like I had an overall disconnect with the characters and couldn’t quite get there when it came to forming a bond with them. I also felt like it went on redundant circles at times. There were some aspects I really loved, like the inclusion of Mexican culture and the haunting atmospheric qualities associated with the home. I also found the topic of eugenics to be a creepy and an startling component.

Overall, it was a unique read that thriller lovers should check out!

[Review will be posted 6/23/20]

I devoured this book in one sitting; I simply couldn't pry my eyes away until the end... CREEPY house, CREEPY people, & excellently plotted Gothic thriller set in 1950s Mexico that you won't be able to put down!

"He is trying to poison me. You must come for me, Noemí. You have to save me."

The tightly woven narrative of Mexican Gothic fills you with a sense of foreboding early on, that tension slowly builds as the story progresses. The atmosphere is immersive and eerie, but so are the characters. Everyone and everything filled me with unease and I love how ominous and horrifying the book is.

"They're cursed, I tell you, and that house is haunted. You're very silly or very brave living in a haunted house."

This is definitely a plot & mystery-driven novel, but I love that all of the characters feel as real as the main character and narrator Noemí. She's a vain socialite in her 20s, a bit unlikeable for me but also caring for her cousin and deeply inquisitive. I like her strength to buck convention and challenge societal expectations, and I appreciated how nuanced she felt - unlikable, yet I found myself rooting for her.

"In a sense all dreams foretell events, but some more clearly than others."

I love how time and reality slowly begin to blur. Like the fog that blankets the mansion's grounds, there's an eerie dreamlike quality where you're not sure what you're seeing. (Honestly, this is what I wished The Haunting of Hill House was.) I loved how everything pieced together into a truly horrific last quarter of the book that left my horror-loving heart so satisfied!

Overall, this book was incredible and I can't stop thinking about it a week later. Mexican Gothic has a slow start that is true to the Gothic Horror genre and builds tension slowly. If you liked Crimson Peak, this book matches that aesthetic and vibes well in my opinion.

Content warnings: body horror, cannibalism, child death, gore, incest, racism, sexual assault

eARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Quotations are taken from an uncorrected proof and subject to change upon final publication.

This was terrific read!

I loved the setting of 1950 Mexico City and the main girl Noemi was pretty fascinating from the beginning. Normally gothic horror books are pretty slow-paced but this kept me glued to the pages even though half the times I wanted to throw the book and scream, it was pretty terrifying!

Did you want Mexican folklore, horror, paranoia, humiliation, and Darwin’s theory of natural selection rolled into one story? Well, this is it for you!

[This review contains spoilers and I received a copy of the book from the publisher. Opinions are my own] This was this my first book by Silvia Moreno-Garcia but I believe this was also only my second ever fantasy novel. Not going to lie, THAT COVER was so gorgeous and the title was so cool that I immediately knew I was going to read it. No matter what the book was about, lol! I can honestly say, it did not disappoint. Omg, I don't even know how to describe this gothic jewel. We have Noemi who goes to visit her cousin and then gets sucked into this creepy world. There are so many layers to finding out the truth of what is going on at High Place that you can't help but turn the pages. I honestly couldn't tell if the dreams were actually happening or if they were really dreams. I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS! Did Virgil rape Noemi? Either in the tub or after? I couldn't tell! And oh poor Francis, I kept wishing him the best but kept assuming he'd have to be sacrificed (luckily, he makes it, yay). UGH, what a great book! I want to read more like this. I also want this dress to be made for me because it's gorgeous. The end.

There isn't a book I had been anticipating more than this one, it is rare that I'm able to find a book that mingles my love of Gothic subject matters, phantasmagorical imagery, and Mexican folklore & culture. I had no idea that after reading it, I'd have to sleep with the lights one for a couple of nights. But that is what happened.

Unique and terrifying, Mexican Gothic is THE book to read this coming fall. The less you know going in as a reader, the more you are likely to freak out.

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is REQUIRED reading. And I sincerely hope there is a Netflix series adaptation- but only if it's created by Guillermo del Toro!!

I'd definitely heard about the upcoming book Mexican Gothic, but it wasn't really on my radar until I received an ARC of it in one of the Penguin cancelled festival boxes--Ladies First. I shelved it and figured I'd get around to it eventually, which I did when I found someone who wanted to trade for it--and I was so pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this book! One, I love a good standalone, and two, place-based stories are so intriguing to me. In the end, I KIND of predicted what was going on in High Place, but that's fine, I still enjoyed this book!

In 1950s Mexico, Neomi is enjoying her life as a flirtatious socialite. Then, a concerning letter comes from her newlywed cousin, Catalina, she writes of poison and ghosts and her husband insists she is just sick. Neomi is dispatched to her cousin's new family home,  High Place, to check on her. Is she truly sick? Is her husband trying to steal her money? What Neomi actually finds is much, much more sinister. This strange family is not what she expected. The old, decrepit house truly seems to be rotting. Catalina's sickness is concerning, and when Neomi starts having nightmares, she realizes something truly sinister is going on. Is the house cursed, or is the curse the Doyle family itself?

I was really pleasantly surprised by this book! It reminded me a lot of the movie Ready or Not, which I saw in theatres (RIP movie theatres..) in a good way! Family-based weird place stories are kind of my jam, ya know? Always interesting, even if you can kind of anticipate the ending. Neomi was a fascinating character, and the "reasoning" behind the  spookiness was unique and well thought out, in my view.  I also loved the 1950s Mexican setting--not something you see a lot. Overall, happy I read this book and happy to recommend it to people who like Lock Every Door, Ready or Not, or Catherine House for example.

Mexican Gothic might be the best thing I've read all of quarantine. It was scary, propulsive, and much richer than others in the genre. I absolutely loved the Mexican folklore that is interwoven throughout this week. Everyone should pick this up at once!

As with every review of a Silvia Moreno-Garcia book, I have to repeat that she never disappoints. Even working within familiar tropes and themes she will surprise you with unexpected things. Her characters are vivid and realistic, the dialogue and exposition believable, even when the plot is fantastic.

GoodReads:
I like the ending. The rest of the book took a bit too long to get there for my taste (without enough spookiness in the build-up either). I also was expecting a bit more Mexico for a Mexican Gothic book. I get it that it makes some sense for the spooky family to be English colonizers, but having most of the book set in an English-style house wasn't quite what I was hoping for when I heard a gothic novel set in Mexico.

Instagram:
Coming June is MEXICAN GOTHIC. Thanks to @netgalley for this advanced copy.
When Noemí’s newly married cousin sends a strange letter to Noemí’s father, he sends her to the Mexican countryside to check on her and protect the family’s reputation. Her cousin has married a man whose grandfather came to Mexico from England to run a nine - he even brought English dirt with him. Her cousin claims to be hearing spirits, and the villagers distrust the home.
I love a gothic story and was so excited for one set in Mexico! I must admit that I personally was a little disappointed because the addition of the English family and their English-style home made it feel much more traditionally gothic than I was expecting. That said, there is some delightful subtle commentary on colonialism and refusal to even attempt to be multilingual. (I wished more of the book was en español). Recommended if you’re a gothic fan looking for something different.