I really liked this book but had to ding it one star because at one point I could only suspend my disbelief so far. Although I didn’t really like any of the characters (there are really just three main characters), the story was good and the house coiled like a python in the midst of the Everglades was really cool because like the python, the house felt somewhat invasive in that setting; of course, it also made it seem that much more real.

Having been to the Everglades, though, I would never have tromped through the marsh like Ingrid does—not only are there massive pythons out there, but rattlesnakes, coral snakes, and cottonmouths, all of which are very venomous. And there are alligators, Florida panthers, bobcats, black bears, and snapping turtles not to mention poisonous plants and mosquitos. I think Gonzalez could have limited the story to the area right around the house with the same effect.

That being said, it was a freaky idea and very well executed. I definitely felt the surreality of it all.

Unfortunately, this book is let down by marketing it as a Southern gothic haunted house story.

While I appreciated the prose, reflections on friendship, culture, and the ties that bind us, I was let down by everything else the book promised to deliver. The first 30% of the book is our central character reflecting on her slight obsession with her unlikable childhood friend. None of which appears to be dark or sinister. Then we arrive at the house in the middle of the swamp. Yes, we get a stop at the local convenience store to get a flavor of the locals and a Hill House-esque warning of “where you’re going no one will be able to hear you scream.” But, there is no sense of dread, no building tension, little description to set the mood. We dive into more childhood memories and brief interactions with the modern day friend and her third wheel boyfriend, who is supposed to be mysterious but acts like their personal chef. And yet, here we are at 50% of the book and nothing has happened - no thrilling mystery, no ambiance, no feelings of dread.

Unfortunately, this was a slog to finish and the pay off was a rushed fever dream that didn’t make much sense to resolve the promise of a true haunted house story. If this book was properly marketed as a work of literary fiction with elements of a family mystery and a loss of self, I believe it would find its true fan base. As it stands this was a disappointing Southern Gothic haunted house story.

If there are words to describe MAYRA, it’s unsettling, unnerving, and atmospheric.

The narrative follows Ingrid, who, after years of estrangement, receives an unexpected invitation from her childhood friend, Mayra. Mayra, once a fearless rebel from their hometown of Hialeah, now resides in a secluded house deep within the Everglades. As Ingrid navigates the treacherous journey to this remote location—marked by poor directions, lack of cell service, and the ominous presence of the swamp—she is both intrigued and unsettled by the reunion. Upon arrival, Ingrid finds Mayra much as she remembers: sharp-witted, effortlessly beautiful, and defiant. However, the presence of Mayra’s new boyfriend, Benji, and the resurfacing of past conflicts soon disrupt their reunion. The trio’s interactions within the labyrinthine house, surrounded by the lurking dangers of the swamp, blur the lines between reality and illusion, leading Ingrid to question her own sense of self.

As a reader, Nicky Gonzalez’s writing really puts you in this haze where nothing is what it seems for the main character Ingrid. Time and memory blurs for the characters in this gothic haunted house novel. For a debut author, Nicky knocked it out of the park. Big thanks to Netgalley and Random House publishing for the advanced copy!

In the secluded swampy lands of Florida, there is a strange house where two childhood friends reunite with a resurgence of memories, good and bad, and revelations of a strange nature in Mayra by Nicky Gonzalez.
After receiving a call after years without hearing from a childhood friend, Mayra, who left their hometown Hialeah for college in New York, Ingrid is extended an invitation to spend a long weekend at a house in a remote area of the Everglades, which despite her hesitation she knows she’ll eventually accept as she’s always been captivated by and clung to the safety of Mayra. Before even arriving at the house danger looms: from the directions that need to be written down as cell service isn’t reliable to the biting creatures lurking in and around the swampy waters; once at the house, a sense of calm descends but danger remains, if only hidden further beneath the surface. As the friends reconnect, old disagreements and jealousies are rehashed, witnessed by Mayra’s new boyfriend and the house’s owner, Benji, placing a sense of unease over an otherwise peaceful and rejuvenating escape from daily life. Exploring the oddities of the house, with its many colorful rooms and hallways to get lost in, time passes strangely and the pull of the outside world diminishes, but something, about the house and property, is unsettling, compelling Ingrid to regain herself despite the surreal wonders promised, especially after what she read in the diary she found in her guest room that so eerily echoes what she’s experienced before arriving and experiencing since arriving.
In a setting that is surreal, with touches of dark faerieish wonder and lessons threaded throughout contributing to an eerie undercurrent pulsating beneath the surface trying to make itself known, the narrative is consuming and unbalancing as it explores friendships and the lengths you can go to both find and accept yourself, with the insecurity that accompanies that journey well-depicted. The house has a looming presence that is creepy, not necessarily menacing but certainly strange, which is compounded by the depiction of life experiences in the diary that Ingrid finds in her room that echoes her own experiences, facilitating a strong sense of misgiving within her that the house is an epicenter for unnatural events, which starts innocently enough with an unusual sense of calm and peace and strangely built rooms, then becomes progressively stranger with time’s odd passage and Benji and Mayra’s weird behavior, and ultimately peaks with the uncomfortable maw of a room and the house speaking directly to the characters. There’s a delving into Ingrid’s memory to flesh out her captivation and relationship with Mayra that was established in their middle school days up until they parted ways after high school; given that there was a kind of estrangement between them in their young adulthood, there’d be a lot to explore in their reunion but while the narrative places an emphasis on their dynamic, now that they’ve been drawn back together by the house they’re behaving as if no time has passed, apart from a few moments of disagreement, which pass relatively quickly, as they instead focus on the house and surroundings, but the unsettling nature of the house itself isn’t explained or explored enough to address the abundance of questions that arise to understand its origin and impact more thoroughly.
Overall, I’d give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was incredibly a well written Southern gothic exploring toxic female friendship and the last 10% felt like a fever dream. I loved it.

****Huge thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.***

I really wanted to like Mayra, but honestly, I just didn’t get it. The premise had so much potential—an eerie house in the middle of nowhere, no cellphone signal, a friend’s creepy boyfriend—all the right ingredients for a compelling, suspenseful read. But as I kept reading, I found myself waiting for something to happen. By the time I was 60% in, I still felt like the story hadn’t really gone anywhere.

The main character, Ingrid, seems stuck in the house, unable to leave, and she discovers a journal from someone who had been there long ago. This discovery felt like it should have led to something bigger, but instead, the story remained stagnant. And then came the ending—a complete blur. It felt rushed, and I finished the book still unsure about what actually happened with the house, which I assume was supposed to be the central mystery.

Maybe other readers will connect with Mayra and appreciate what the author was trying to do, but unfortunately, I wasn’t one of them. That said, I do look forward to reading more from Nicky Gonzalez in the future.

A bit slight, but not half bad - a haunted house story that's mainly about two old friends who've grown apart, reflecting on the sadness of their divergent lives. It's well written and I like the way the creepiness drips slowly into the narrative like a horrible dawning realization. Horror fans picking it up on the strength of the cover and description may feel a little let down - on the spookiness scale it's a few degrees milder than Hill House, which is pretty mild as haunted house stories go - but I enjoyed its depiction of an intense girlhood friendship in a small town and observations on the marks we leave behind on each other.

This book was slightly different than I expected but in a good way. This book is a fever dream in a horror setting, and I loved it. If you can get through the slow beginning, it will be worth it in the end.

This is an amazing literary horror--immediately immersive. It's like a lush fever dream, and I didn't want it to end. Can't wait to recommend this to everyone I know who likes slightly weirder fare.

I found this book to be a little odd. It’s listed as a story about a gothic haunted house, however I found that most of the story focused on the friendship. I found the story to be entertaining but there were definitely some really parts of the book where I had to push through. Thank you to the publishers for sending me an ARC of this book.

Nicky Gonzalez's debut novel tracks the reunion of Ingrid and Mayra, childhood best friends whose connection has long since dissolved. When Mayra unexpectedly invites Ingrid to a secluded house in the Florida Everglades, what begins as a potential rekindling quickly transforms into something far more unsettling. The story weaves between past and present, revealing the intricate, often fraught landscape of their friendship—a relationship that was never comfortable, which in fact, seemed awfully fraught, tenuous, and one-sided, with Ingrid never quite knowing where she stood with Mayra. Ingrid's imagination drives the narrative, making her an unreliable yet captivating guide through the novel's increasingly strange terrain. Her internal world is so big, so ridiculous, that even when the plot threatens to unravel, she remains compelling. The house itself becomes a character—isolated, labyrinthine, as mercurial as the swamp surrounding it—mirroring the unpredictable dynamics between Ingrid and Mayra. While the book occasionally feels like it's losing its way, particularly towards the end, there's an undeniable magnetic pull to the story that keeps you turning pages, curious about what bizarre turn might come next.

Wow - this book will take you on a gripping and spooky journey. The way the author wrote this book, made me feel how I imagine the main character, Ingrid, felt. I found myself losing track of how fast/slow time was passing in the book. The subtle yet stark changes in the character’s throughout the progression of the book, paired with the unsettling vibes of the house, left me feeling uneasy (in the best way). I zipped through this book so quickly and can’t wait to read more of what this author writes.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

thank you Will Lyman, Random House Publishing and Nicky Gonzalez for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!!

So this book was not really what I was expecting when I hear a ‘horror’ book, but it really is a great example of gothic horror.

If you’ve read any of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s works, this book I would put right up with her because boy is it unsettling.

Ingrid gets a call from her high school best friend, Mayra inviting her to a weekend getaway to a vacation home in the middle of the Florida Everglades- no service, no technology- just a detox from technology for a simple weekend.

Ingrid and Mayra’s relationship is heavily detailed in this book between current day chapters and flashbacks to their schooldays before they graduated. I feel like these flashbacks could have been cut down IMMENSELY to make way for more of the unsettling aspects of the house but the reader gets a really good sense of their relationship and how Ingrid may have misinterpreted some events in their past, and how the rectify those.

One thing that was slightly disappointing was that the creepiness factory didn’t really ramp up until 3/4 of the way through (65-75% through specifically) but the author does a really good job with incorporating the unreliable narrative trope into the modern day sections and putting little unsettling hints here and there.

The ending was really an interesting thing, and I would recommend this to someone who may like thrillers vs horror, because I was expecting more actual horror aspects within the book which never really happened.

I think though anyone who enjoys a book that you have to really pay attention to and is more atmospheric horror vs overt would really enjoy this story.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. I started the book excited to see Latina characters thrive and take center stage literally just living their lives. I feel their Latin background could have been explored further and deeper without venturing into gratuitous territory and I’m sad it wasn’t more present than in some slang and specific locations mentioned from their childhood. I actually feel the opposite than several of my fellow ARC reviewers. I was kind of getting annoyed with Ingrid and beginning to find her insufferable when The Unhinged Fever Dream part began. Or rather, once The Window Cleaning bit happened, my back snapped to attention, and once I was able to clear my grimace I really began to enjoy the story.

As a bi Latina, I was really hoping that the sexual tension between Mayra and Ingrid, or at least Ingrid’s bisexuality would be touched on a bit more. It was barely really addressed, but I’m still glad the author didn’t bury the gays I guess.

My other bone to pick is that while I appreciate the author doing a lot of showing rather than telling, help a girl out and tell me some stuff, you know? Like. Ok, you dropped in the tidbit about the eyes in the diary and then mentioned them again when speaking about Benji a few chapters later, but a little more exposition, without having to give us the “How This House Became a People Eater” explanation wrapped in a bow would have been appreciated!

I will also add that there are some truly beautiful bits of prose scattered throughout the book that even if this Grady Hendrix-esque gothic horror isn’t your normal cup of tea, make for a worthwhile read.

I love a book that feels like a fever dream and makes you question every bit of reality until the end. It’s not always easy to develop a twisty gothic book that delivers a resound punch at the end, but this book truly took some turns that I didn’t see coming. This story follows two long-lost childhood friends that adventure to a lonely house in the middle of the swamplands of Florida to reconnect and stay a while. The house has rooms that shift and rooms that find you and rooms that change you. But which room is yours?

I’m so excited to see future books from this author and can’t believe this is a debut!

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for an E-ARC copy of this book.

Complex female friendship reunion in a mansion that’s giving haunted funhouse fever dream vibes. It started off slow, but by the end I was so creeped out. Worth checking out at release.

“Mayra” by Nicky Gonzalez is a truly unique and odd experience in the best possible way. From the very first page, I was entranced by the author’s beautiful writing—each sentence feels like it was crafted with the utmost care. I found myself highlighting something on almost every page, as the prose is not just beautiful but poetic, making it easy to lose yourself in the rhythm of the words. The novel takes you on a hallucinogenic fever dream, where reality and fantasy blur seamlessly. It’s a wild, captivating journey that leaves an unforgettable impression. The haunted house vibes are also executed to perfection, which is a tricky element to pull off in literature but Gonzalez nails it. The eerie atmosphere and unsettling tension create a sense of being trapped in an otherworldly place, making the narrative all the more immersive.

I also admired how well Gonzalez developed the characters, especially Mayra and Benji, despite the story being told from Ingrid’s first-person perspective. Typically, we get a limited view of other characters in such a narrative, but here, I felt I really got to know Mayra—particularly her teenage version—and Benji in a way that’s rare for first-person accounts. This debut has me craving more of Nicky Gonzalez’s writing, and I can’t wait to see what she does next. Gonzalez’s talent for blending surrealism with deep emotion creates a work that is both haunting and mesmerizing. If you’re looking for something unconventional, this is a must-read.

This was weird but very interesting. The author did a very good job at making this very atmospheric swamp/marshlands in the middle of nowhere setting and I felt like I was there. It was very easy to picture in my head and it was like I was watching a movie. I liked seeing the descent into madness that our main character Ingrid experiences. I just feel like I wanted more from this book. But I will definitely look out for this authors next release!

2.5 stars...first off thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this eARC. I really wanted to like this book but it kind of fell flat for me. Nothing really happened until like the last 15% of the book. So I was bored for a majority of the book but I finished it because I wanted to give this book a fair shot and maybe time to redeem itself. I thought it was going to be more than it was. No real character development the plot was meh. I don't think I would recommend it in all honesty

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to preview Mayra by Nicky Gonzalez in exchange for my honest review. This was an odd one! Mayra starts out with an interesting premise- an invitation to stay with an old friend for a weekend at a big, old house in the middle of nowhere. Once the narrator, Ingrid, arrives at her destination, things get more and more weird until the end. The house and it's caretaker, Mayra's boyfriend, are deeply strange and disorienting. I won't say more as I don't want to ruin the fun for future readers.

I didn't know what to expect with Mayra, and I like what I got.