The cover is this looks so cool, I had to try it! Overall there’s good stuff here, mainly in the setting of Mexico City and the culture it discusses. For me, the story was pretty slow until about halfway through and from here things went crazy, so the pacing is a bit uneven. Nothing truly unique happens plot wise but it is still solid as a possession story and for the setting.

Note: ARC kindly provided by the publisher in exchange for honest review.
4 stars

While the story did feel slow and bulky at times, there was a lot about it I enjoyed. It includes some very horrific and pretty brutal imagery. I also really appreciated the historical aspects, including the lasting repercussions of colonialism. What I found most interesting was the very different viewpoints of all the characters. While all their roles are clearly defined, they are still well rounded and complex characters. Including Father Veron—a symbol of the colonial history without the cruelty of—and Carmen whose place is even more complicated. After immigrating to America, she returns as a literal representative of an American corporation with the hope of educating her daughters of their heritage. It's a complicated story that's kind of heavy with lots of layers, but it's definitely worth reading.

What you thought would be your typical possession story but so twisted and steeped in an amazing history lesson! I could not put this book down! It made me care about each character and had me on the edge of my seat! Like nothing I have ever read! Part possession part history and entirely spooky!

Gout has written a truly original horror centered around indigenous folklore, erasure and revenge. Over the course of the book, Gout pulls no punches and delivers brief but brutal imagery alongside an accessible groundwork for the malevolent forces following our main characters.

Carmen is navigating misogynist culture in the workplace while also trying to engage her children in their heritage while in Mexico. Izel initially seems like classic moody teenager but ultimately has a deep love for her family that softens the harder bits of her outward personality. Luna is an intriguing and curious pre-teen adored by most who get to interact with her. This will make the later events of the story all the more emotionally conflicting for the other two women of the Sanchez family.

The story creates a subtle atmosphere of unease the whole way through and I couldn’t put this book down once we got into the second act. Fans of Stephen Graham Jones and generally any horror/thriller fans should give this a read. I will be keeping an eye out for future works from Gout, as this was a thoroughly enjoyable read.

This book really surprised me but I loved it! Carmen is an interesting main character and I loved how her story played out! This novel also has really cool history and heritage elements. The atmosphere was really cool too! I will keep an eye for other books from this author!! Just the right amount of creepy and fascinating

⭐⭐⭐

𝘼 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙁𝙪𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙂𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙨 𝙢𝙚𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙈𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙂𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙘 𝙞𝙣 𝙋𝙞ñ𝙖𝙩𝙖, 𝙖 𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙛𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙚 𝙗𝙮 𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙇𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙤 𝙂𝙤𝙪𝙩.

I went into this one completely stoked and excited, unfortunately, I didn’t love it as much as I wanted to. I heard it being compared to Mexican Gothic, but I didn’t get the same feeling when reading it. As soon as I was approved for this one on NetGalley, I instantly read it for the spooky season in October.

It’s hard to talk about this one without getting into spoilers so I'll try to be vague. I instantly felt intrigued by the way the Spanish invaders described the Aztec village in the prologue. The pacing was super difficult to connect with as it was extremely slow. I lost interest a few times while reading it and I just wanted to get through it - thankfully I did.

What I loved the most about this book was the cultural and folklore talk, however, I feel like the story itself failed miserably by comparing itself to bigger stories - such as Mexican Gothic. It just sets super high expectations and is usually a letdown when it doesn’t live up to the exposure it puts on itself.

I struggled with the author’s writing style. I just don’t think his stories are for me, this one felt so dry and it was a struggle to connect with. Overall, I was expecting an entertaining Latin horror fiction story. This one just wasn’t that - I can respect what this author tried to do, but I don’t think it should compare itself to other stories. I would still recommend this to the right reader as the culture is beautiful - the story was just a letdown for me. I would also advise going into it with no expectations and an open mind.

𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙨.
𝙉𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙤𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣.
𝙎𝙤𝙤𝙣, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮’𝙡𝙡 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙪𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧.

Thank you NetGalley and Tor Publishing for my review copy - all thoughts are my own!

Holy moly I loved this so much. Its everything I expected and more. Thank you so much for this ARC. I can put into words how good this was.

YOU CANNOT MISS THIS BOOK! Leopoldo Gout really brought it with Pin͂ata. It was one of my most anticipated reads of 2023 and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to get my hands on a copy of it prior to its release to the public. It is artfully written with incredible world and character building. Gout seamlessly weaves together generational traumas and insidiousness as the story of Carmen, Izel, and Luna unfolds. The further you venture into this book, the more intense the horrors and history of the Nahua becomes. Pin͂ata unpacks the horrors of gentrification in physical locations as well as institutional systems such as schooling, religion, and corporations. It is a unique and necessary horror novel that contends to the real life horrors that people face at the hands of racism, oppression, repression, commodification, and gentrification while framing it through the Nahua's own ancient practices, beliefs, and spiritual practices. Gout provides their reader an informative, deeply meaningful work that I truly believe to be one of the best novels of the 2020s. I personally cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy.

Aztec, femicide, religion, offerings, single mother, Mexico, engineer, female engineer, female, teenager, piñata, colonial, historical, suppressed

A child possession
Mother on a architectural job
Recently divorced
2 kids - one a teenager, one full of life

Would of loved a bit more history on the Aztec gods and why this one wanted what it did

actual rating: 3.5

This was a pretty good read and although the possession story is fairly straightforward I think the setting and background is very original and I did find the characters interesting overall as well. The only thing that didn't really work for me was the pacing as I found it to be pretty slow to start, with the plot not really starting to pick up until about halfway through in my opinion, and also I thought that sometimes the social commentary aspect didn't feel like it meshed entirely organically with the horror plot. Still definitely worth a read though if you're looking for a possession story that has a unique twist to it.

Piñata is a mix of horror, gore, thriller, family drama, culture with a dash of fever dream. I loved the history and culture that was brought into this book and love when that can be mixed with horror. There were a few pacing issues for me as I felt some chapters could have been shortened to allow more of a grand finale. The ending did feel a bit rushed but I did not mind how everything wrapped up. There were a lot more gory scenes then I expected but that definitely added to my enjoyment. Characters were well fleshed out and overall, I would recommend this to any horror reader!

Thankyou to the publishers and Netgalley for allowing me access to read this title early in exchange for an honest review.

This was easily one of my most anticipated books of the year and I literally screamed out loud when I for the email saying I was approved to read this. (thankfully I was home lol)

Gout had such an interesting idea for a horror novel and I loved the writing as it immediately hooked me and I read the story in one sitting.

I didn't love the characters but they felt and read as real people and it read like a throughly scary horror film. It had some terrifying imagery, creepy scenes, it definitely is worth the hype

Carmen gets a job to work down in Mexico so she accepts and moves down with her two daughters and spooky things start happening and lemme just say, wowie! this is a great read.

I can't wait for this one to come out and see everyone's thoughts :)

This story was a yes for me, and the cover is just fantastic. I love reading stories set in Mexico and this definitely delivered in the Nahua beliefs and lore. In this story we follow an architect mother, and her two daughters, that are living in Mexico as the mom works on the renovation of a cathedral to a new hotel. After a workplace accident, and a curious you g girl, some ancient evils are released and follow the trio back home to New York. Now, it was a little slow and at times the dialogue was not believable. But, other than that I thought it was an atmospheric and creepy read! I’ve seen it being compared to Mexican Gothic but it didn’t seem like it to me, which for me is a good thing.

Thank you to NetGalley, Tor Publishing Group, and Tor Nightfire for this eARC in exchange of my honest review. My review will be posted to my Instagram account (@booksandbackstreet) closer to publication date.

Piñata doesn’t bother pulling punches. The Prologue immediately sets up expectations for a brutal, blood-thirsty kind of horror and a stark social commentary.

I feel as if this would be non-stop, edge of my seat excitement, if presented as a movie. In fact, I’d jump all over a film adaptation. As a book, however, it wasn’t quite the 5-star hit I’d anticipated. The atmosphere of fear, in regards to the supernatural aspects of the story, didn’t build and hold in the right way to keep me truly enthralled. The obstacle there was the sometimes tangential feeling of Gout’s discourse on Piñata’s sociological themes. I think the possession trope was a clever vehicle for a discussion on the real-life horrors that are inseparable from the history of colonialism. Most of the time, Gout’s points on misogyny, femicide, colonialism, and erasure weaved in seamlessly with the story. Here and there, however, it seemed to sprout up suddenly and spread to the point that I felt it was interrupting the scene or character introduction I’d been reading.

In the end, would I recommend this? Absolutely! It’s good fun for horror fans who can’t resist an intense possession story. It’d also serve book clubs really well, with all the talking points it offers.

-Piñata- (DNF)

I went into this book hoping for the best and excited to see a story that delved into Indigenous Latin American Deities. With a brutal and strong introduction the book unfortunately gave into uneven writing styles and a broken story written through a lens se that says “I know this because it’s how I saw it in the movies.”

Unfortunately with a male author attempting to write a fem centric story it slowly gave into cliches presented through poor tempo, stutter-stop writing, and unnecessarily lengthy “tell-don’t-show” chunks of what felt like rough drafts, leaving me unable to finish the book.

A Head Full of Ghosts meets Hereditary is what hooked me into reading this book. I love both of those and couldn’t wait to see this spin of horror.

I feel like this author is one to watch for, as the writing was great and very atmospheric. However, for me, it was just a little too wordy. I’d rather less details that don’t progress the plot. A little less day to day details and life preferences probably would have made this a 3-4 star read for me. Instead, it just bogged the story down and took away from the scary aspect.

It just wasn’t what I was expecting and I truly think it’s an “it’s me not you” situation here.

(Shoutout to the MC’s daughter playing Animal Crossing. My favorite!)

I received an ARC copy of #Piñata via #NetGalley

The premise of this novel and the synopsis was excellent and very original. I was really looking forward to reading it. The story, however, was poorly executed and so riddled with errors and inconsistencies that it was hard to get through. This book really needs an editor. I expected there to be some issues with ARC copies, but this was more like a very rough draft than and mostly finished novel.

Carmen and her daughters Izel and Luna are New Yorkers currently living in Mexico. Carmen is an architect, and her company has netted a solid contract to restore an abbey in Tulancingo. Since Carmen is Latina, her presence is a win-win for the company … except that she's not used to maneuvering through the resentment for her nationality and her gender. The foreman Joaquín is especially macho and aggressive. Confrontations build, offering the foundation of a solid drama about a hardworking woman converting the active and passive chauvinists she's working with. However, author Leopoldo Gout has other things in mind than a story of harassment, corruption, and human drama.

While the mundane world's challenges intensify, a mystery woman arrives with thinly veiled threats. Yoltzi seems like yet another corrupt official until she reveals Carmen's children are in danger, possibly from supernatural forces. It seems like a joke, but Carmen's trusted artisan Quauhtli vouches for this sensitive woman. Then, a strange old lady is sighted walking in the neighborhood, stopping in front of their rented house and gesturing in a pointed, mystical way. Then, someone breaks in while the children are there alone, taking nothing but leaving behind a jade bracelet. Then, a major accident at the worksite reveals a hidden cache of pre-Hispanic artifacts behind a walled off section of the church. Then, Carmen's youngest child starts to develop some strange antisocial behaviors. It is almost a blessing when Carmen's company calls her home due to irreconcilable differences on the work site. She and her daughters can head back to the States and resume life as normal.

Or can they?

Ancient forces do not respect geographic borders. Luna secrets a piñata that is more than a simple craft or toy. It is a repository of bloody history, and the forces aligned with that relic are taking their toll on Carmen's family. Can this single mom figure out what is happening and find a way to free her child from an until-now, dormant god's clutches? In Leopoldo Gout's Piñata, answers are seldom easy and victory is even less often assured …

I love a book that kicks off with solid blows to my gut, heart, or nards.

Piñata manages to hit all three with a killer prologue, which is perfectly heartbreaking, infuriating, and marrow chilling. This sequence chronicles a brief scenario during the Spanish conquest of Mexico when the Catholics would subjugate the Nahua children, forcing them to smash their culture's deities in the forms of piñatas and meting out strict punishments for disobeying the orders to do so. The head friar has a visit from a powerful being that is not his one, true deity and pays a hefty price for his cruelty and insolence … That opening sequence has all the hallmarks of classic Clive Barker fiction, hinting at intriguing lore, a blend of reality with incredibly dark fantasy, a climax that is both gruesome and beautiful, and plenty of heart and horror told with powerful prose. It could well be a gem of a short story, doing quite a bit of work setting the stage for the drama to come.

It therefore comes as a surprise to find Gout shifting gears to a slow burn build up with minor flares of the fantastique for much of the book's opening half. Instead of continuing the mood of that prologue, we get a simmering situation with all the construction yard drama we could ever want. The darker, supernatural elements are sly and subtle at first, building steadily. However, there are no volcanic eruptions quite as potent as that prologue until well into the second half of the book. Instead, we get a work that reads like a companion to William Peter Blatty's The Exorcist, spinning a story that finds a mother whose family unit is slowly coming apart as an ancient power unearthed from its entombment increasingly claims her youngest child.

Gout manages to eschew the Catholic trappings, finding a much more intriguing clash of religions to focus his piece on. As well, there's a sense that the cultural history we forget may well come back to bite us, which adds more gravity than Blatty ever achieved for me as a reader. That said, I was primed for something cosmic and cool from the get-go, and it takes quite a bit of time before we get to that place again. So, readers looking for more of the prologue set in the modern era will be disappointed. However, those who are eager for a lovely blend of human drama as well as horror fiction will find their time rewarded as we dig into the lives of our protagonist family: Carmen, Izel, Luna, and their abuela Alma are well-crafted characters, people we can cheer and fear for.

Even better is Gout's inclusion of Mesoamerican cultures that do not get enough visibility in fiction, such as the Nahua and Mexicas. The characters of Yoltzi and Quauhtli are enjoyable secondary characters, whose excursions and tangential storylines offer up some intriguing history lessons as well as drawing upon unfamiliar folklore for both good and ill stakes. Black butterflies, unsettling dreams, and hideous corpse-people blend together in a tapestry of subtle supernatural interactions with the mundane world.

One of the joys found in tales of horror and dark fantasy is the free rein to look at real human fears and concerns through metaphor. Tales of possession can have a lot of resonance and ripples for readers. At its heart, Piñata grapples with possession horror, and it's not difficult to see how that fantasy element can encompass the changes that teenagers undergo as they stretch their own wings and explore personal passions. It seems like tweens/teens can turn into different people overnight, and as the weird forces assail Luna, a generous-spirited and socially acclimated kid becomes foul mouthed and isolated. Carmen is left to rationalize these changes as rising from their vacation or even their vacation being cut short, but those rationalizations cannot cope with the changes yet to come ...

The author has some things to say about being a parent, about the responsibilities of adulthood, and about being a part of a modern world that has little to no time for superstition or history. Sure, there are some strange situations and circumstances featuring inhuman creatures. However, a good portion the horror stems from every parent's dread that their child will change in unnatural ways, heavily touted symptoms of issues like drug use or suicidal depressions. What if the problem is even worse than what the news tells us we need to worry about? What if our kids are chosen for great, terrible things by forces we have no hope of contending with? Gout seems to enjoy asking these provocative questions, providing a potent spine of unease for anyone who has kids, who has nieces or nephews, or friends with kiddos.

From a structural perspective, Piñata's narrative is a tad splintered, jumping between adult and young perspectives with surprising fluidity. Izel and Luna's journey would fit comfortably between the covers of a YA novel, while Carmen's story, the abuela's point of view, as well as a couple of desperate journeys from Mexico when allies make their difficult way to New York are defiantly adult oriented. Some readers may find the shift in focus from adult horror story to a YA tale to be a bit jarring.

Despite the surprising shift in tone and scope between the prologue and main text, Piñata is a good page-turner, which finds a family beset by nightmarish powers having to acknowledge repressed heritages if they are to survive. Gout delivers an interesting work of fright fiction, which employs some untapped elements in its construction. I wish the whole book had veered closer to the prologue in terms of tone, intensity, and effect, but taken on its own merits, Piñata is an enjoyable read.
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A special thank you to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for the opportunity to read an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ok. So I picked this solely on the cover and brief synopsis. It looked and sounded interesting. I read a lot of everything. From classic to romance to horror and splatter punk. I read it all. But for some reason this just didn’t click with me. It didn’t drag me in like I want my horror story’s to do. I gave it my best shot but was unable to finish it. I may come back and try again but at the moment I don’t think I will. Three stars because I didn’t hate it. It had promise but I just couldn’t finish.

Not enough to keep my attention throughout. Clearly this book wasn't made for me and I need to do a better job of looking out for a few things but it's well written and I'm sure it will get a great audience.