Book Review: Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

And welcome back to another book review! I need to start this review by saying that this novel was brilliant! This was another novel that was a 5-star read and I enjoyed reading it so much. I don’t often read paranormal-ish novels so, this was a very pleasant outcome considering I wasn’t sure what to expect.

So, here’s my review:

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Books, moonlight, melodrama

Mexican Gothic

This novel follows Noemi Taboada, a glamorous, fashionable and smart debutante. After having a fun night out partying she gets home to find a frantic letter addressed to her by her newly-married cousin. Her cousin was begging to be saved from some kind of impending doom.

So, Noemi travels to the Mexican countryside to her cousin and her menacing new husband, strange grandfather and even stranger house. Not long after arriving, Noemi starts dreaming of blood and violence.

Determined to solve the mysteries of her cousin’s alleged madness and the suspicious behaviours of her in-laws, Noemi dives deep into the history of this family’s past, their wealth and their broken empire.

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So, I adored the language and the writing style in this novel. This novel is labelled as a Gothic-Horror, so I think the writing style really nails this. The language is rich and haunting, it adds to the world-building and to the creepiness of the plot. Roshani Chokshi is probably the only other author I can think of that has a similar writing style.

Speaking about the world-building, I think this setting and universe were brilliant. We get some great Mexican representation since all the characters are Mexican and the novel takes place in Mexico in the 50s. We also get commentary about race, colourism, colonialism and eugenics. And on that point, I want to comment that I appreciate Noemi’s portrayal as a rich Mexican. I think more often than not, minority races are always portrayed as poor (and all the connotations that come along with being poor) so, I like how we get some positive portrayal with regard to Noemi being Mexican.

The characters are also super CREEPY! Noemi is brilliant, she’s feisty, feminist and somewhat fearless. Her love interest is the complete opposite, he’s shy and quiet but still very brave. Everyone else is creepy, and that is not an exaggeration. There is so much mystery and horror with the in-laws that you’re suspicious and also a little bit terrified of them. I think this proves that the characterisations are really great. I mean, I felt a bit scared of some of the characters and I was reading this novel in broad daylight on a bright sunny day and I still felt worried for Noemi.

My only issue was how the paranormal elements were introduced to us as a reader. While we go get some good horror/gothic/paranormal elements throughout the novel, it’s really in the last section of the novel that we get all these elements thrown at us in one go. Keep in mind I don’t read paranormal novels very often so, I’m not familiar with elements of paranormality. Hence why my criticism doesn’t really affect my overall impression (and star rating) of this novel.

Overall, it was an entertaining and at times, terrifying, novel. I loved the world-building, the characters and the writing style. Thank you for reading my review, let me know what you think of this novel if you’ve read it, and of course, I hope you have a lovely day.