Thank you to Netgalley and to Random House Publishing for this eARC. Unfortunately this is for a specific kind of reader, and that is not me. “Mayra” is a slow and atmospheric type of literary gothic horror, similar to The Haunting of Hill House, Rebecca, and House of Leaves. It is very light on the horror aspect until the last 10% or so. The book mainly focuses on the toxic friendship of the narrator and the title character. I didn’t find it interesting.

Having finished Nicky Gonzalez's Mayra, I have multiple responses to it, some of them contradictory, so I'm going to go with those multiple responses rather than trying to tie things down into a neater, but more limited, bundle.

• There's magic in this book. Some of it is creepy. Some of it is compelling. I never quite felt fully able to give myself over to that magic because part of magic involves letting things remain unknown, but entering a narrative requires a generous serving of the known—at least by the narrative's end.

• The first truly creepy, "gothic" moment of this novel comes at the 43% point. It's a long stretch after that before we get another such moment. And the piling up of these moments occurs in a rush near the novel's end.

• The narrator's voice is engaging. I didn't grow tired of hearing her version of events. I trusted her perceptions, even when they felt incomplete.

• The publicity for this novel compares it to Silver Nitrate, but for multiple reasons I don't think that's a particularly useful comparison. Silver Nitrate and Mayra are very different creatures.

• I find the novel's ending oddly happy. I don't think that's intended, but in my mind each character came to a sort of personal resolution by the end.

If you're willing to embrace a narrative that remains shadowy in places and if you value not knowing as a form of knowing, you will likely be pleased with Mayra. I received a free electronic review copy of it from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own.

Rounded up from 3.5 ⭐️’s

What stands out the most in this book is how gorgeous the writing is. I’m not an annotator, but if I was, this book would be covered in highlighter. Some of the prose and descriptions were just 🤌🏻 🔥

I liked the fever-dream aspect of this story, but it was really all vibes, no plot. It circled around ideas of self-realization, friendship, and the ways relationships shape our identity. Nothing hit the mark, though so ultimately I was left saying, “okay… and????”

It will be hard to recommend this because of how unfocused the overall message is. I think I understand the author’s intention, but the execution fell short.

I liked it, and I can’t say why (not because of spoilers, just that I really don’t fucking know 🙃) and that irritates me.

I received an advanced copy from NetGalley/the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Nicky Gonzalez’s Mayra is a revelation—a novel that pulses with lyrical prose, richly drawn characters, and a setting so vivid it becomes its own character. At its heart is Mayra, a heroine whose upbringing in Hialeah is rendered with such specificity and authenticity that you can practically feel the humid air. Gonzalez doesn’t just describe a place; she immerses you in it, making Mayra’s struggles and pleasure all the more visceral.

One of the novel’s most compelling layers is its exploration of danger—not just physical, but cultural. The rural setting acts as a crucible, threatening to erode the identities of its Hispanic women, forcing them to fight for their heritage, language, and bonds. This tension is masterfully portrayed, making every small victory feel monumental.

But what truly sets Mayra apart is its profound understanding of female friendship. Gonzalez captures the depth, loyalty, and occasional ferocity of these relationships in a way that feels achingly real. If you’ve ever rolled your eyes at a man’s shallow interpretation of women’s connections (yes, looking at you, Bryan Adams’ cover of “Bad Blood”), this book is your antidote. The friendships here are messy, sacred, and full of a depth that outsiders rarely grasp.

Mayra is a triumph—a story that lingers long after the last page. If you crave narratives that honor cultural resilience, the complexities of womanhood, and prose that sings, don’t miss this one.

When I got to the last third of this book, I realized that I may have accidentally entered a different book. The first third is about memory and self-identity (Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde). The second third is about questioning memory and reality (The Memory Police meets House of Leaves). The last third is about a convoluted house as a succubus (Hill House meets Dracula); and it’s this section that the book went off the rails.

The premise is enticing: an introverted young woman is contacted by her childhood frenemy. According to Ingrid, Mayra was everything she wasn’t; their friendship a transaction that kept Mayra from getting bored, and gave Ingrid opportunities to be noticed. After years of separation, Mayra invites Ingrid to join her at a house located deep in the Florida Everglades. It only takes a couple of days for Ingrid to fall into a malaise, and experience an existential crisis. Nothing (people, landscape, house) is behaving rationally.

However, writing that was provocative and insightful in the beginning, became convoluted and dry in the end. I still don’t know what I read, and I don’t care to know. The ending was abrupt: with only 240 pages, there is no worry of this book being overly long. So many possibilities went unexplored; with added depth and heightened dread, the forays into Ingrid’s psyche would amount to something more interesting.

I would like to thank Random House and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

This book hit me in a way I didn’t expect. It’s powerful, emotional, and deeply personal. From the very first page, I was pulled into Mayra’s world, and I couldn’t look away. What stood out to me was how raw and real Mayra’s journey felt. She’s not a perfect character, and that’s exactly what made her so compelling. I connected with her struggles, her anger, her grief, and her fight to make sense of everything happening around her. Gonzalez didn’t hold back. The writing felt honest and unfiltered, and I appreciated that. The relationships in the book added so much depth. Whether it was family, friends, or the complicated connections in between, every dynamic felt layered and true to life. Some moments genuinely broke my heart, but also moments that made me feel hopeful.

2.75 stars. Weird

The first half of this book was slow, but still held my interest—mostly due to the intriguing dynamic between Ingrid and Mayra and the glimpses we got into their past friendship through flashbacks. The writing was atmospheric, making the swampland feel vivid and the old house appropriately eerie.

But then things got weird. And then they got even weirder. I think it was aiming for gothic horror with layered symbolism, but it ultimately felt more like a fever dream—or an acid trip—than a coherent story. It had potential, but in the end, it fell flat for me.

If you enjoy disjointed, surreal narratives, this one might work for you. I was curious enough to see it through, but it just wasn’t my thing.

This was a very odd, interesting and unique read. I really enjoy horror books and books that are very out there. This one I would say dipped into that category. I think it’s a great debut book and I’ll definitely be keeping this author on my radar to see how their writing evolves.

While there are aspects of Mayra that I liked, this was mostly a miss for me.

Mayra centers on a friendship between Ingrid and the titular Mayra, and how they drifted apart when Mayra left their Florida suburb to go to college. Ingrid, even as an adult, is relatively insecure and a bit aimless — the memories she shares of her teenage years growing up with Mayra show how easy it was for her to follow Mayra’s lead. Their tenuous, intimate relationship is the absolute best part of this book. When Mayra calls Ingrid out of the blue and invites her to reconnect at a rural home in the Everglades, Ingrid reluctantly agrees to come…and of course, things get weird.

But even more weird — essentially nothing happens for the first 65% of this book. If this were simply a character study on toxic friendships, this could have been a home run. But the addition of a supernatural creepy house element felt sloppy and undercooked. The last 30% of the novel felt like it was trying hard to be an unnerving Gothic tale, but there was such little foreshadowing or built up tension that I wasn’t really invested in how the creepy parts ended.

This book also featured one of my least favorite tropes: someone finds a strange diary and decides that instead of reading it all at once, they will spread it out over time. It’s such a lazy plot device, and I skimmed all of those journal entries except the last one because it was obvious what was going to happen.

So this wasn’t for me, but I actually did like the writing itself quite a bit. I hope Nicky Gonzalez writes an entirely character focused fiction, or else commits a bit harder to a supernatural storyline in the future. Despite this one not working for me, I’m intrigued by her writing enough to pick up her next book.

A strange book that I wish was more creepy. It had some good creepy moments but I wish the author kept building that creepiness throughout the book. It did get a bit strange with the pacing especially during some of the memories. I wish pacing was steadier.

Thank you Random House for my gifted copy!

Mayra was good - if not a little strange. Definitely not horror. And a little … choppy? The flashbacks were intriguing, but I kept losing the momentum because of this. It was an interesting little book, I’ll give it that. More about a turbulent starting and outcome of a friendship than how it was marketed. But it was still a fun little ride.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of this book.

3.75, rounded up to 4.

I enjoyed this gothic, horror (lite?) novel. Particularly, I really enjoyed the friendship between Ingrid (MC) and Mayra. I thought the characterization of the two women and their bond was realistic and complex. There were a lot of flashbacks in the story and while I felt like a few could have been shortened or removed, for the most part I liked them just as much as the present day storyline.

I do wish the creepiness factor of the present storyline was dialed up a bit. At times it seemed to hum at a certain level and even in the climax, I didn't get that heart racing sensation of dread I was expecting. Still, I thought the novel was well-written and I would read more by the author in the future.

If the books “House of Leaves” and “Alice in Wonderland” had a baby it would be called “Mayra”! If you like strange books, this one is for you! 3 Stars⭐️⭐️⭐️!

All of these horror books sounding pretty dang good but not fully delivering is starting to harsh my mellow you guys.

An old friend rings up, back in the area again, and invites you to hang with them at a secluded rental house in the middle of the everglades. You were too young to know it then, but they were a bad influence on you but you're aware of that now and worry that you might not find each other likeable now. But you go, reluctantly, and are surprised at how easily you pick things back up.

They forgot to tell you that their boyfriend is there, which was a little weird at first. And then they share that it's not actually a rental but a house the boyfriend inherited from his family, and it's kind of mazelike trying to find your way around inside but you're feeling at ease and kind of peaceful, the stress of real life slipping off your shoulders and you start to lose track of time and then... well... there's a lot of flashbacks, I mean A LOT of flashbacks and then there's this journal under the bed of the room you're in, which you start to read and which makes no sense until it kind of does and then everything just seems to sort of stop making sense.

The weird doesn't hit until we're almost at the end of the book, so the whole time I'm like yeah, ok, where's the horror, and even when it does finally shows itself, it's like meh, THAT's what I was sticking around waiting for? Nah. Not ok. That was crap.

The 'horror' probably comes from the horribly long wait for the criminally horrible payoff.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC! All opinions are my own, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to provide them.

I was really excited to read this book; a Latina author and a story about two estranged friends meeting up under creepy circumstance? I was all for it! However, I would give this book 2.5/5 stars.

I think Nicky Gonzalez is an exceptional writer. I felt that Ingrid and Mayra had so much personality, and it was easy to relate to both of their experiences and thoughts. I’m excited to see what else she writes!

My biggest qualm is that I was not truly engaged with the book until 65% of the way in. From there, it starts to incorporate all the creepy and mysterious things going on during this fun “vacation”. It felt like La Hacienda by Isabel Cañas and Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, but with more emphasis on the past friendship…like way too much emphasis on the past friendship, to the point where I felt like the plot was lost…but maybe that was also the point! (read jt and you’ll understand why I say that). Overall I think the story is very unique, but it lacked cohesion when it came to telling the story of Ingrid/Mayra and the mystery of this house in the Everglades.

My brain feels like it's going to bleed. I just finished Mayra and the last 50 pages destroyed my ability to think. "Time fell away in chunks through the wooden door at the bottom of the staircase in the back of my mind." This is a direct quote and an accurate depiction of how I feel about the last hour or so of my life.

This began innocuously enough. The language was atmospheric and I loved that it was based in the Florida Everglades. We follow Ingrid to a house surrounded by swamplands to reunite with her best friend, Mayra. It is told between flashbacks of their early friendship and current day.

Upon arriving, Ingrid is upset to learn that Benji, Mayra's boyfriend, is also accompanying them as he manages the property. The story is eked out slowly and there is no real plot. I felt like I was wading through molasses to get to a point. Any point.

There's a diary of a young woman who had been to the house before. There's old resentments brought to the surface. There's the slipping of memories (the dolphin toy, the date, the events of the past) and the slipping of time. But where is the point?

The last 50 pages take a decidedly bizarre turn. Ingrid goes crawling around in this home Being John Malkovich style. It becomes stranger and trippy, like an outlandish fever dream. The conclusion was unsatisfying. Nothing feels like it is resolved by the end.

I appreciate the opportunity to read an ARC from NetGalley, Random House and Nicky Gonzalez in exchange for my honest opinion. This one just wasn't for me.

Boy, this was a weird one. I was pulled in by the description and the cover, it sounded like something I was going to love: female friendship, eerie swamp, weird Florida shit, creepy house. Although it took a long while to get going, I was still intrigued by the book and kept reading. Overall, I'd say this book is more for folks that are interested in atmosphere and worldbuilding, but plot readers will likely be frustrated by the narrative. The author did a great job of building the "lore" and backstory, but I kept waiting for something to "happen." Then I looked and saw I was more than halfway through. The pace really escalated in the last ~30%, when the house started getting really creepy and we learn more about Lizzie in the journal. I wanted that to be a larger part of the story and was somewhat disappointed by the rather abrupt ending.
All that being said, I did enjoy this short book and found myself desperate to know what was next. Kudos to the author, psychological books are hard to write. I do love an unreliable narrator!

I don’t feel like I should be bored during a >250 page book. Even literary ones. We’ spent so much time establishing a tumultuous friendship that I understood within 40 pages. Too many flashback chapters. I kept waiting for it to start.
The ending did get interesting, at least. ‘Mayra’ had the bones of a story I’d enjoy but I just felt…. whatever about it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Synopsis: Ingrid, our FMC who lives in Hialeah, FL, gets a phone call from her estranged childhood friend, Mayra, inviting her to come visit her in the Everglades. Ingrid instinctively is pulled to accept the offer and we are taken on her journey of exploring her relationship with Mayra and the mysterious house they are staying in with Mayra's boyfriend, Benji.

I loved the writing style used by the author and am impressed to know it's their debut novel. I found Ingrid's relationship with Mayra very relatable, as we all may have had a Mayra in our lives at one point. Her flashbacks/memories are well written and I loved the cultural elements the author incorporated. Loved seeing Spanish in the book and having female main characters who were Latina.

I enjoyed all the creepy elements of the house and it's family history. The writing and the descriptions are done so well. I enjoyed the book but did feel the last few chapters rushed to wrap things up.

Overall, would recommend this one and can't wait for anything else by this author.

4 star read ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Ingrid is invited to meet her old friend Mayra at a remote house in the Florida Everglades owned by her boyfriend's family after several years of falling out of touch. At first, Ingrid finds this all relaxing and refreshing, but then she realizes the vibes are off.

I enjoyed this book more than I was expecting to. The prose is beautiful and the author does an amazing job capturing the feel of bring somewhere isolated when the mind starts to play tricks on itself. I thoroughly enjoyed the weird house in the swamp setting. The flashbacks to the girls' teenage friendship were fun and enlightening. Is Benji really a creep or is Ingrid losing touch with reality? I wasn't 100% satisfied with the ending, but I understand what the author was trying to do. The book is a slow buildup to the action for sure, but the whole thing is atmospheric and I needed to know what happens. I read a ton and I haven't come across anything quite like this in a long time.