looking for an immersive book club experience? look no further than mexican gothic by silvia moreno-garcia! this kit is a must-have for any book club, packed with detailed descriptions, background history, and thought-provoking questions that will keep your discussions lively and engaging. but that's not all - you'll also get a music playlist to set the mood and a bonus paper doll of the protagonist, complete with all her stunning outfits from the story. whether you're a seasoned book club pro or just starting out, this kit is the perfect addition to your reading list. with little tasks that fit the book so well, like the dressing chapter, you'll be amazed at how much fun discussing a book can be!

Book Club Kit: Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a Must have! I bought the book when it first came out, and I will be buying this new version too. This kit is fully immersive. It is packed with detailed descriptions, background history, and great book club questions. I was really impressed by how thorough, and well done this kit is. There is even a music play list to listen to as you read and, there is a bonus. A paper doll of the protagonist, with all of her outfits worn in the story on display in full colour! This is by far the coolest book club version I've ever read!

This kit is a great add on to any book club! Especially for beginners and people who don't know where to start discussing, but also great for any sworn in book club.
I love that you get questions to discuss and little tasks that fit the book so we'll, like the dressing chapter! Amazing!!

Very interesting. Made me appreciate the book even more. It’s probably a time for a re-read. I loved all the little details and notes. It’s very interesting to get a better understanding of what you have read.

This book was unlike anything I’ve read before. Let’s start with the cover which is one of the most beautiful book covers I’ve ever seen. It immediately caught my attention and even if it sounded like a dud, I would have probably still purchased a copy to have in my shelf. It’s THAT gorgeous! I started and finished this book in October which seemed fitting with Hispanic Heritage Month and Halloween. This book definitely has a lot of dark elements to it, and I think fans of American Horror Story and The Last of Us would really enjoy this book. Please look into trigger warnings if you have any prior to starting this book.

The fact that this is written by a female author of Mexican decent really brought this book home for me. You can tell that meticulous research was done about the location and the time period. The way she describes in intricate detail everything from the surroundings, to the history and the people, is done in a way that only someone with true passion and love for the culture can. The one thing that slightly disappointed me was the suggested soundtrack included in copy I received. All of the music was moody and appropriate to the theme but none of it was in Spanish. I would have loved for her to include some Spanish music, there are plenty with the same vibe that would have gone perfectly with the rest of the soundtrack.

I was sucked into this book immediately and connected with the FMC from the very beginning. When things started to get really twisty and dark, I wasn’t expecting it to go where it did. It wasn’t what I was expecting, nor was it necessarily what I had hoped for, but nonetheless, the writing itself was fantastic. It was so easy to picture in your mind exactly what was happening. Even when the story got darker (and creepier than I typically prefer), I was drawn in because of the writing style and imagery. I literally had moments where I cringed and even had goosebumps. This is not your typical thriller, but I definitely think the book is worth a read especially if you prefer out-of-the-box psychological thrillers.

I want to sincerely thank NetGalley, the author Silvia Moreno-García, and the publisher for allowing me access to an advanced copy of this book. I have actually already purchased a physical copy since finishing this……because……well…..the book is freaking beautiful and I really want to support latinas that are stepping out to showcase their intelligence and capability. There was a lot of beauty to be found in this book and already know of others that I plan to recommend this too, because I know they will enjoy it!

I just reviewed Book Club Kit: Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. #NetGalley
Great guide to use if you have a book club. It even has some cutouts to print and color for decorations during your book club meetings.

This kit is the perfect idea for a book club, it really helps to reflet on the book and its characters. I've loved the cute illustrations and I'm obsessed with the playlist!

This was a cute idea I thought it was a book so this was my mistake and it was a kit. The idea is cute but not for me, thank you to NetGalley and publisher for providing me this.

I read Mexican Gothic when it came out back in 2020 with some friends. Something like this would have been perfect. The music playlist is great, and all the little pieces that make up the book club kit definitely help to understand Noemi better.

All in all a good resource, to be read after the book and to help you reflect upon its themes and the history that inspired such contents.
The book kit is divided into the following sections:
- A letter from the author;
- Discussion questions;
- The playlist, curated by the author;
- Author notes on the town of Real Del Monte;
- Illustration of the Doyle family seal, by Sara bardi;
- An essay on the history of the gothic genre, of which the novel is a modern example, titled "The Girl in the Mansion - How Gothic Romances Became Domestic Noirs";
- A Noemi paper doll to cut with four outfits from the novel and fashion notes on each one of them.

The Book Club Kit for Mexican Gothic is a helpful resource to think deeper about the story by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and discuss the book with a group. There were more sections included in the kit than I originally anticipated; the author note was easily my favorite part of the kit. Discussion questions are typically the main thing I expect from a book club kit or reader guide, and while this does include questions, they are mostly generic book club questions and aren’t particularly tailored to Mexican Gothic. Still, they’re a useful set of questions and the other sections—all detailed below—make it worth picking this up. Even the generic questions about Mexican Gothic are helpful in that I fully anticipate flipping to these to help guide book club discussions on other books with only minor adjustments.

The Book Club Kit for Mexican Gothic includes the following sections:
- Introductory letter from the author
- Discussion questions
- Music playlist
- Author notes on the town of Real Del Monte
- Illustration of the Doyle family seal
- Essay titled “How Gothic Romances Became Domestic Noirs” that’s a history of the genre
- Noemi paper doll to cut out with fashion notes from Mexican Gothic for each outfit

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House Library Resources for the opportunity to review this book club kit!

A good companion to the Mexican gothic book ( book club kit ) Uts wonderfully put together so can’t wait to read this book in full!

I won't necessarily be "reviewing" this document as it's a book club kit and not a book, but I did want to mention that I think this resource is very nicely put together! The design, information, and graphics are all great!

I nice little companion to the full length novel, especially when it comes to visualizing Noemi, her outfits, and the history of gothic romance genre.

Okay first of all, the aesthetics in this book are fantastic. This book is very good at including diverse characters and the FMC Neomi is so great to follow. She is headstrong and very capable! I love how different this is from other books I have read so far being in Mexico City in the 1950. It’s not an era I have read a lot from but I really enjoyed it. This is also my first more “creepy” book and I enjoyed it a lot and the author did such a great job of mixing it with the gothic aesthetics. The book started off very slow which was sadly a big setback for me as it was hard to get in to and I hope not too many people DNF it because of it as the rest makes it so worth it. I loved the little dash of romance as well to lighten up the darkness in the story.

“A woman who is not liked is a bitch, and a bitch can hardly do anything: all avenues are closed to her.” ― Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Mexican Gothic

Anyone who has read this book will be kicking themselves that they didn't get this kit first. This not only rounds out the story giving readers a chance to explore what it means but is actually a very entertaining, somewhat tactile way to fully immerse in the world this author has brought to life. I definitely recommend this to those who wish to discuss and explore the ideas with like-minded friends and very much look forward to reading more by this talented author.

<b><i>"“Loyalty to the family is rewarded, and impertinence is punished. Remember that and you shall be very happy.”</i></b>

<b><u>Summary</u></b>
Noemí is a sparkling but smart socialite, partying it up in Mexican city. Her life changes, however, when a frantic letter from her Newlywed cousin spurs Noemí in to taking a visit to the Mexican countryside. There resides High Place, the Gothic manor of the looming Doyle family. Catalina has taken ill, and no one in the family - not her handsome husband, the ancient patriarch, or the gentle youngest son will say what exactly is causing her condition. As Noemí gets drawn deeper in to the world of High Place, her dreams become those of blood and murder as she discovers horrors that lurk behind every wall.

<b><u>Review</u></b>
WOW. I have never read a horror novel before and so I am absolutely floored at how much I loved this! I'm seriously a scaredy-cat when it comes to horror movies, so I guess I have to get my fill of creepy content from books from now on. As this book got creepier and creepier, I could not put it down.

The writing was immaculate and really transported you to the 1950's Mexican countryside. High Place was SO flippin' creepy, and the descriptive writing really made me able to picture it very clearly in my mind. I was completely enthralled and held in suspense as I read this book just because of how insane it was.

I loved Noemí. She is not willing to take what the Doyle family says about her cousin at face value, and fights for Catalina's well being. Francis, while harboring dark secrets, is very sweet and I loved the connection he had with Noemí. The rest of the characters were perfectly creepy - demanding Virgil, the ever-looming patriarch Howard, and strict Florence rounded out the cast and contributed to the harrowing atmosphere of High Place.

I will say that this book is definitely slow at the start, but the build up is so insanely worth it. Around the halfway mark I found that I could no longer put the book down as it got creepier and creepier, and the intensity escalated. It was a heart-pounding read, and I am definitely looking forward to reading more in the horror genre!

Serena’s Thoughts
I love Silvia Moreno-Garcia. She’s such a unique talent. I’ve now read three or four books by her, and they all spanned different time periods, genres, and themes. It’s truly incredible to find an author who can succeed in so many different lanes. We’ve got fairytale fantasy; we’ve got historical regency romance with a dash of fantasy; and now she comes with a new story mixing fantasy (of course) with gothic horror. And while horror isn’t typically my thing, I do like the creepy novel now and then, and this one seemed like just the thing for me.

The story definitely has some “Yellow Wallpaper” vibes, and I loved every bit of it. When Noemi arrives at the mysterious mansion, High Place, everything is just enough off to feel strange and eerie, but not too strange as to immediately raise alarm. Instead, it’s just the type of creepy dread that makes Noemi, and the reader, begin to question just where the line is drawn between reality and superimposed horror. Are their true mysteries here or is the setting, people, and house, all in their equal strangeness, just enough to spark a wild imagination?

Throughout the story, I found myself routinely falling into the classic horror-bystander role where you scream “just get out of there” at your heroes as they creep into a dark basement or linger in a mysterious place. But the author does a great job creating a situation where the threats are of the sort that if I had been in Noemi’s place, I, too, may have questioned my own reactions. This ties nicely into some fairly well-covered themes about women and how they are almost trained to question their perception of things and doubt their own observations. The question of whether one will be believed or not, or simply dismissed as hysterical, is very real today as it was in the past. And, of course, in the past and the time period during which this is set, women’s choices were that much more limited, especially when married.

I did find elements of the fantastical elements involved in the story to be a bit confusing and hard to track. A long history begins to unfold, and I wasn’t quite sure how exactly it all tied together. But most of the time, this didn’t matter as I was so caught up in the tension that it was enough to accept that it just was. I really loved the Gothic vibes that were brought into the story, and they were blended seamlessly into a location and culture where you don’t typically find this type of story. Overall, I really enjoyed this book, creepiness and all!

Kate’s Thoughts
I love the horror genre as a whole, but it’s hard to deny that a lot of the powerhouses and more popular works are very white dominated. That isn’t to say that progress isn’t being made; on the contrary, as pushes for diversity ramp up in publishing we are seeing more horror tales written by BIPOC. But we still have a long way to go. When I heard about “Mexican Gothic”, I was thrilled to see that we had a take on the Gothic genre from a perspective that wasn’t a white woman, as is the usual suspect within this kind of tale. I will admit that I was a little nervous going in, as Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s other work I’m familiar with is fantasy. Would she be able to make such a huge switch in genre tone? Turns out I was a dope to worry about it, because she nailed the scare factor and creepiness in “Mexican Gothic”.

Noemí is the perfect Gothic protagonist, as she comes from a gregarious and effervescent lifestyle in Mexico City and being thrust into the isolation of the Mexican countryside. It is the exact kind of scenario you see in the genre, and her personality of wanting to figure out what is going on, and then questioning if she is just overreacting when those around her dismiss her, feels so right for the Gothic vibes. But Moreno-Garcia takes it a couple steps further, not only taking on the themes of sexism and misogyny that are prevalent in Gothic lit, but also that of racism and prejudice. Noemí and her cousin are two Latina women who are now living in an English family’s estate, and their history of colonization in the area is what built up their wealth… and also may have something to do with the secrets they are hiding. For Noemí and Catalina, not only are they vulnerable because they are women, but also because they are brown women, and that fact is a really great way to make this story feel all the more fresh and relevant.

And the horror elements were definitely unsettling and outright scary. Not only the fantastical and supernatural ones, but also the real life horrors that Noemí discovers during her time at High Place. As Serena mentioned above, there are the questions as to whether or not Noemí is slowly losing her grip on reality, or if the things she’s experiencing, unsettling imagery and sounds and feelings, are actually happening. There were some really well described moments that made me squirm, which is exactly what I want from a Gothic horror novel.

“Mexican Gothic” is a great spooky read, and Silvia Moreno-Garcia continues to delight and show off her talents! Fans of Gothic novels absolutely need to check it out.

Serena’s Rating 9: Tension-filled and scary, this book makes it easy to feel as if you, too, are being sucked into the mysteries of High Place.

Kate’s Rating 9: A creepy and refreshing take on the genre, “Mexican Gothic” will fill all you may need from a good Gothic tale!

"Mexican Gothic" by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a chilling and atmospheric novel that masterfully blends elements of horror, mystery, and historical fiction. Set in 1950s Mexico, this book offers a fresh and unique take on the gothic genre, immersing readers in a world of dark secrets, eerie landscapes, and a family with a haunting history.

The story follows Noemí Taboada, a headstrong and independent young socialite, who is called to the remote and decaying High Place estate after receiving a troubling letter from her cousin Catalina. Upon her arrival, Noemí is met with a foreboding atmosphere, filled with unsettling visions, cryptic warnings, and a family that seems trapped in the past.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia excels at crafting a sense of unease and dread throughout the narrative. The High Place itself, with its deteriorating grandeur, overgrown gardens, and oppressive architecture, becomes a character in its own right. The author's vivid descriptions transport readers to this eerie world, creating a palpable sense of isolation and impending doom.

One of the strengths of "Mexican Gothic" is its exploration of cultural and societal themes within the context of a horror story. The novel delves into issues of race, class, colonialism, and gender, providing a thought-provoking backdrop to the supernatural elements. Noemí's character serves as a lens through which these themes are examined, as she grapples with the patriarchal constraints of her society while confronting the sinister forces at play in the High Place.

The pacing of the story is expertly executed, with each chapter building upon the suspense and intrigue. As Noemí unravels the mysteries of the estate, readers are drawn deeper into a web of family secrets, forbidden rituals, and a malevolent presence that lurks in the shadows.

"Mexican Gothic" is a captivating and spine-tingling read that pays homage to classic gothic literature while infusing it with fresh cultural perspectives. Silvia Moreno-Garcia's writing is evocative and immersive, making it a must-read for fans of atmospheric horror and those who appreciate a richly layered narrative. This novel is a testament to the author's talent for crafting a story that is both haunting and thought-provoking, leaving readers with lingering chills and a deep sense of unease long after the final page is turned.

This made reading the book so much more fun! Loved using this in my book group! Would recommend to others!