This book was not for me. To me, the prologue was the best part. Overall I didn’t feel attached to any of the characters. Everything felt “told” to me in an over explaining kind of way. And even though this is a work of supernatural fiction- the most unbelievable parts were the simple every day stuff- for example … something happens at the daughter’s school with another student and when a teacher comes to break it up she asks the young girl if she wants her to send the other student to the principles office…. Isn’t that your job to determine as an adult and the professional? Also, when something disturbing happens in the family they all just seem to recover incredibly quick….. “like that was terrifying…oh well! “ Maybe it was the writing style but I had a hard time picking this book up to finish for the review.

This was so slow. I really liked the story, but I wish it was a bit faster paced. Slow-burn works for me sometimes, but in this case I just needed more, faster. I liked the characters and what they represented--this story had a lot of layers, and was wonderfully complex. I just also wish it was a little faster-paced, haha.

Wow this is a favorite of the year! It was a slow burn but I still highly recommend. Definitely got attached to the characters and the back story of them.

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.