Welcome to Litsy!

Ugh, rich white men 🙄

That‘s it. That‘s the review.

This was my #Bookspin for November

I have a lot of thoughts that definitely won‘t all fit here, but the long and short of it is that this was just okay. The writing and the plot didn‘t do a whole lot for me, but I get why it was super popular. The spooky haunted mansion atmosphere was 10/10 though, very deliciously creepy.

Time to see what all the fuss was about 😊

Nothing wrong with the book, it's just far more dark and creepy than I can handle right now.

This novel is deceptively easy to sum up - classic gothic horror in a new setting. Even if true, it doesn't do justice to the truly outstanding part of this novel: how effectively Moreno-Garcia gets under your skin with her unnerving horror writing. The first half is a slow burn, like an eerie rewrite of Jane Eyre, but the tension mounts and the payoff is gory perfection while staying true to its twin thematic horrors of colonialism and misogyny.

Loved it. Pacing was a little slow but it kept me entertained as the family‘s tragic backstory &their true motivations were revealed. 🍄🪦🧪

I have been so busy with teaching, coaching, second job working and mom-ing that even the thought of reading is exhausting. Thankful for a few quiet moments before another full day. A fun fall mug, a spooky read to kick off #HauntedShelf and get me back in the groove👻🎃🍂 #DeadSerious

This has all the creepy vibes! Noemi (I love that name!) is tasked by her father to travel to High House to check on her cousin, who, after a rushed marriage to a less-than-desirable societal match, has been sending cryptic and concerning communications. The house and its inhabitant seem trapped in the past, and Noemi finds herself trapped at first by duty to her family, and soon by the house itself.

Happy Hispanic Heritage month

One more photo from yesterday. We enjoyed a beer tasting flight from Cooper Landing Brewing and I started this 'Rebecca'-inspired novel.

This was interesting in that it wasn't something I was quite in the mood for but my Libby hold came in and I gave it a go. Definitely an interesting experience knowing the gothic formula and seeing how the author was playing with it.

I admit it took me several months to get through this. But only because I designated it as my book to read while I on my lunchbreak at work from the office once a week, not because it was boring. Not scary per se, definitely some gory scenes, and the vivid nightmares and hallucinations throughout were creepy. Overall an entertaining book and I liked it enough to read more by this author. I think this would make an excellent tv/movie adaption 👻

Good horror novel of a family mansion on a mountain with dark secrets. I liked it but it could have been a little shorter. It is not really the type of thing I usually read. Noemi goes to retrieve her cousin Catalina but gets sucked in herself. I could see it being made as a movie.

Starting a novel found at a Free Little Library. I will give it a shot!

#storysettings #graveyard

Started this book club read today and am enjoying it so far. If anyone is interested in discussing Mexican Gothic, please feel free to join our free virtual book club. RSVP here: https://meetu.ps/e/MW6qT/zxXbQ/i

My March #WrapUp of my 5🌟reads :)

my #MarchPick for my #BookBracket2024

March also beat out my January pick (but... it was a close call there)

I really enjoyed this book! The author's use of "Caravaggio" as a descriptor created a vivid and immersive atmosphere. Reminds me of my times in Mexico growing up. ??

Author is #POC

Might be able to finish this one during my #HyggeHour. Just got everything ready, mostly documents, for my first day of work tomorrow. I haven't worked since November 30th, so hopefully, orientation will go well.

I'm going to read in bed under my heated blankets with my babies adding some weight to my legs 🩷💜🐶🦞

#HyggeHour
@AllDeBooks
@TheBookHippie
@ChrissyReadIt
@jenniferw88

Getting my second infusion today. It‘s going well so far and I‘m able to read a bit :) ~~~ this was part of the Anthology 2023 collection 💜💛💜

One chapter in and maybe it's due to the weather, but I'm feeling Texas-home sick right now. I think I should buy an indoor bougainvillea plant to liven up my space. This picture is the image that comes to my mind when the main character's home is described.

#BIPOC author

I've been meaning to read this one for a while now. Joshua and I went to Mystic recently and found this super cute bookstore (Alice's Little Haunted Bookshop), and I had to pick it up :) The store had such a great vibe!

Anyway, this was one of many books I bought here.

It's almost the end of February so it's time to post this #2024bookbracket (the template is made by @/CSeydel, it's only fair to credit them)

I will be posting these every 2 months 👀

This book was so atmospheric and chilling. It didn't feel much like a Gothic novel of yore but it was a unique spin on the subject.

#Bookreport

📚Currently reading:

📕The Goblin Emperor - A chapter a day.
📕A Storm of Swords - A chapter a day
📙Lord of The Necropolis - Reading before bed.
🎧Mexican Gothic - Evenings
🎧Night of the Hunter - From time to time.

Progress:

I got food poisoning over the weekend so I didn't read or finish anything, though I had a really productive week reading. I'm either finishing Mexican Gothic today or tomorrow.

#Bookreport

📚Currently reading:

📕The Goblin Emperor - A chapter a day.
📕A Storm of Swords - A chapter a day
📙Lord of The Necropolis - Reading before bed.
🎧Mexican Gothic - Evenings
🎧Night of the Hunter - From time to time.

Progress:

I've finished 2 books this past week! Liked Piranesi a lot more than Thornhedge. Looking forward to continuing MG and finishing it this week as well.

#LuckyInLove

Perhaps this book belongs in “unlucky in love” but I love this cover with its #Bouquet as there is both beauty & subtle menace in it. 💐

The book comes with all the tropes of the genre: slow suspense, a creepy house, lecherous men, and a female antagonist. It also connects to other books in the genre, creating a sense of camaraderie with likeminded readers. Deeper themes are subtly addressed: women's lack of independence, power abuse, social inequality. Though, character development falls short, as the protagonists remain almost unchanged #told_by_a_woman #womenwiters #moderngothic

It‘s a nice turn how a character that loved “Wuthering Heights” and “Jane Eyre” is now a subject of a gothic mystery herself. The main heroine and most of the other heroes bow to these two books here and there as well. #womenwiters #told_by_a_woman #moderngothic

This book IS worth the hype. A beautifully written gothic novel about a haunting of a family in a creepy dilapidated house at the top of a treacherous mountain. If you like Rebecca or Jane Eyre, then you will like this. It is creepy, captivating, disturbing, and I couldn‘t put it down. Not my usual genre, but it is so well done that it didn‘t matter.

Another creepy, weird read - can you tell I tried to do some spooky Halloween reading but am a bit behind? The title sums up the feel of this, which I enjoyed. The creaky old house in the Mexican mountains, the rain, the mist, the odd family who barely speak. But when it took a turn to the weird - the dreams, the fungus, the mushrooms - I just wasn‘t feeling it and nearly gave up. A satisfying ending but I‘m not sure this genre is for me.

I appreciated the author‘s effort in this story. I feel she was rather successful in creating a creepy setting filled with strange individuals and mystery. My issue is that the big plot twist and reveal just didn‘t work for me…to the point I just wanted to make it through the final hour or so of the book and move on with my life. I get why reviews are really all over the place for this title.

A socialite leaves her bright urban life in 1950s Mexico City to check on her newly-wed cousin, who has sent an ominous message regarding her husband and his family‘s rotting (and haunted?) mansion she is sequestered in, off in the mountainous countryside. A good effort to infuse the Gothic novel with new blood, but the book still misses its mark.

22-25 Oct 23 (audiobook)
Decided to get into the spirit and this was in the audible spooky sale. I should have recalled my undergrad frustration with those novels read in Peter Otto‘s Gothic Fiction.
The premise was truly bizarre - set in 1950s Mexico, our feisty young heiress is sent on a mission to rescue her cousin trapped in a haunted mansion from ghosts - real or imagined.
If you like gothic novels, you would probably love this. Not for me.

This was uneven, a lot of the early choices don‘t make a lot of sense but the plot twist was much more interesting than I thought it would be.
Noemi is sent by her father to check on her cousin who sent a distressing letter from her new husband‘s house. Noemi is surprised by her cousin-in-laws house and family and must discover if her cousin is experiencing mental distress or if there is a darker secret.
2/5 starts slow, better ending

A young well to do
Not given mush room for choice
Upholds her morels

?????????????

Yoo, this was so fun!!! And grotesque! And creepy! Thoroughly enjoyed. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Favorite quote: "We thoughts monsters and ghosts were found in books. But they're real, you know."
#haikureview

ADHD hyper focus mode today - worked on this for ~10 hours while finishing up Mexican Gothic and starting back up with Ghost Summer. I'm in the mood for some spooky/creepy/horror/thrillers. Throw some recs my way if you've got any! 👻👀
#LitsyCrafters

“Noemí‘s father said she cared too much about her looks and parties to take school seriously, as if a woman could not do two things at once.” (ch 4)

I couldn‘t get a good image of my right hand‘s entire mani (also matching the book) and thought this quote quite apt, hehe.

Twenty years too late: finally seeing the allure of crackle-effect nail polish.

Noemi is on the mission to check up on her cousin, which is married to a man who is very disliked by Noemi family. Big pick for creepy atmosphere and descriptive, vivid prose, but big pan for final reveal of the haunted house.

But it isn‘t like you should have to make up your mind about everything at twenty-two, she thought. There was no point in telling her father that. He‘d taken over the family business at nineteen. By his standards, she was on a slow course to nowhere. (ch 1)

Some spooky weekend reading chunks planned for this weekend (with matching distracting mani).

When the MC gets a suspicious letter from her newly-married cousin, she goes to visit and finds a dilapidated mansion full of more questions than answers.
I wanted to like this one but the first 2/3rds of it dragged. I struggled until the final third which was fantastic. Definitely had Fall of the House of Usher vibes.

I was so late to this party! I read this in one sitting. Totally didn‘t expect what was revealed. I‘m also glad I waited until spooky season to pick it up. #huey #catsoflitsy #readharder

My idea of how to spend free day … I will be on the couch all day with the exception on the afternoon - when I have to pick up my library‘s holds. What a glorious day! Hope your day will be/is nice too ♥️

This reminded me of Poe‘s “Fall of the House of Usher,” since the house itself is an important character. Our FMC goes to help her newly married cousin after she falls ill. Her cousin‘s husband and his family has a crazy family history and the house and surrounding area plays a major role in this story. I kept trying to guess the cause- vampires, werewolves, etc.. and was surprised when it was actually revealed. Still, the story dragged. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

#SummerEndReadathon #Rushathon

I have had this book in my #TBR for ages now so I am glad I finally managed to read it when it came up as an option in the Kindle Summer Reading Challenge. I do enjoy a creepy & atmospheric gothic tale & found myself caught up in the story. While it dragged a bit in the middle, the ending brought the tension & I really enjoyed it. I may not think of mushrooms as positively for a while.🍄😱 😉 I loved the author‘s ⬇️

#RushAThon #SummerEndReadathon

Another crazy week & the next one will be as well.😬 After running my errands today I treated myself to a poke bowl from a little place close to my neighborhood. This one is miso ahi & Hawaiian salt ahi with tempura flakes on top. 😋

Finally getting to this book on my TBR forever. It‘s part of my Kindle Summer Challenge so I need to finish it in September.

I like the Gothic revival and the additional info in the back felt like a little college course in the genre which was neat!

A very good gothic tale set in 1950's with historical and mystical elements. Creepy and unique with a very likable and charismatic heroine. Read somewhere they are making a tv show, which will be a good watch 👻

A little poolside reading ☀️