After finishing Mayra, I am not sure what to think. I loved the premise, but the execution was not my favorite. We follow our main character on a visit to see an old friend (Mayra) at her new beau’s (Benji) remote family estate in the Everglades. Our main character and Mayra are from a lower class home, and we find out the home carries a haunting secret. While it is hard to describe, this unique novel covers themes of obsession and loneliness, while also delving into class divides. Reading this felt like a fever dream, which I think was meant to mirror the main character’s experience, but after finishing the book I craved more character development overall- for our protagonist, Mayra, Benji, and the house.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance reader copy.

did i initially pick this up because i saw florida and then miami? yes, yes i did. did i enjoy reading this? yes, yes i did. this was one weird book. i obviously loved the descriptions of hialeah and all the miami staples, which having just moved out of there recently made it seem like i was back at home. the way she described the people, and the food, and the way we talk was just spot on. the relationship between ingrid and mayra was so strange yet intriguing. the backdrop was eerie being in the practically everglades and an eerie house where mayra and her boyfriend have been staying. the reading experience was a very strange, dream-like, surreal experience, but an enjoyable one. if you’re a fan of books that just feel not right and a little gothic this is the one for you.

I deeply love a complex female friendship where the tension is palpable. You can tell this author truly understands Floridian culture, but specifically for latine people! The location feels like a character itself. The description of Florida, but specifically the wetlands added to the tension of the book and truly reflected the chaos of this friendship

Whew this has been sticking with me still, days after I finished. Truly a fever dream. Had to up my rating!!

The descriptive language in this novel is beautiful. Mayra is a cross between a fever dream and modern gothic fiction. While the novel centers around the relationship between two women, and their friendship as adolescencents, it also provides commentary on the desire for solace and escape. I really enjoyed the character the house played throughout the story. It’s ability to captivate residents, and inspire forgetfulness was quite eerie. I liked the role rest played as a lure to stay, and not leave the grounds.

This is a very enchanting novel for a hot summer day. I think I had a few questions or sources of confusion which were left unresolved, hence why I am giving it 4 out of 5 stars. I would read this author again!

A big thank you to NetGalley and Random House for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. Mayra is out now!

This book was a strange one - giving it 3.5 stars (I think?). Mayra is a work of gothic fiction in which our protagonist, Ingrid, goes to stay with her childhood best friend in a remote house in the Florida swamplands. As in all haunted house tales, the setting is more than it appears, and our main character has to confront what haunts her both physically and mentally before she becomes totally enveloped. There were some parts of this story I really enjoyed - the imagery of a childhood best friend serving as a mirror to reflect back the hidden parts of yourself really resonated, as did the overall themes running through the narrative of home, identity, and who ‘you’ really are as you change and grow as a person throughout your life. With that said, there were large parts of the book that just didn’t do it for me - I didn’t really start to connect with the plot or the characters until about 60% of the way through this book, and my experience of the house went from uncanny in an interesting, thought-provoking way to just downright weird. Overall, this was an interesting read that may be up your alley if you enjoyed modern gothic lit by Shirley Jackson or Silvia Moreno-Garcia, or classics like Northanger Abbey or Rebecca. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the early review copy of this book!

DNF’d this book at 49% on my kindle. The MC, thus far, seems to think about her childhood best friend pretty often to the point of annoyance. I do like the descriptions of the Everglades and the house. But this did not hold my interest.

3 stars ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️ I liked this book but I didn’t love it.

Pros: The gothic setting is really cool and I enjoyed the detailed descriptions of the house and surrounding land. The writing and characters were funny, and the friendship dynamic between Ingrid and Mayra was relatable. It was fast-paced and easy to read!

Cons: I was little confused on the plot and the overall message of the novel. I was unsure on the genre too - it read more lit fic than horror (really did not feel very horror at all).

While this book was not my favorite, I liked the author’s writing though, so I will give her another go when she releases her second book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ugh, one of the worst things I can do is say - this book sucked. It was such a slow burn. A toxic teenage relationship going nowhere. It felt like the story was just going in circles. Which girl did what, and how did that hurt. It kept on the same cycle, till the end. Which ended up being so bizzare and out of the blue, that I was shook. If you literally go into this book blind, without even seeing the cover, you wouldn't think this was a horror book. Just a contemporary story that had some weird vibes, a little bit of creepy friends.. but that's it. Till the end, which took a complete 180 turn around and then the horror elements showed up. So yeah. I like my horror. I like my obsession stories. But this was neither.

Not for my tastes.

This debut novel has a lot of promis. I really enjoyed the slow burn pacing and the use of flashbacks, and the fever dream elements. While the plot was sometimes hard to follow in a way that felt more confusing than intentional, it had a good representation of toxic friendships which is hard to capture. I’m definitely looking forward to reading more from this author

This was wayyy too slow for me and I was to the point where I was getting mad because there was nothing remotely horror about it. The last few pages had a hint of paranormal, but I was left wanting a lot more than I got.
The setting and the atmosphere had potential for a great horror story, but it missed the mark.

If you enjoy toxic, imbalanced friendship stories, this may not be as much of a slow burn for you and could probably be a good read. The author does well at writing, so I would pick up another book by them. Thanks to Random House for my eARC.

3.5 stars rounded up. I love books that explore complicated/toxic female friendships, so Mayra was immediately engaging for me. Set in Florida – in the Cuban neighborhood of Hialeah and in the Everglades – this is a book about estranged friends who reunite, six years after last seeing each other, in a mysterious house deep in the swamplands. Our narrator, Ingrid, has just left her job at Kohl’s to work at a real estate office but is otherwise feeling a sense of stagnation with her life. So when Mayra calls her out of the blue to invite her for a weekend at her boyfriend’s family home in the Everglades, Ingrid accepts despite some initial apprehension, unable, as always, to resist the enigmatic pull of Mayra’s energy. But Ingrid was right to be apprehensive, because something very strange is happening within the ever-changing, ever-expanding walls of that Everglades home.

Mayra is such a unique and promising debut. It’s a take on the haunted house novel, but presented in a way that feels completely fresh, while also deftly exploring themes of toxic female friendship, family and belonging, and the idea of feeling directionless in your current life and nostalgic for a past you’ve romanticized. It feels very of the moment while also seeming to stand outside of time, and there were things that worked for me and things that didn’t. The best thing about this book by far is its atmosphere. The neighborhood of Hialeah and its inhabitants are so vividly rendered; it’s clear that Nicky Gonzalez is writing about a place and people that are known to (and loved by) her. Likewise, when the narrative shifts to the Everglades, the swamp completely comes alive as Gonzalez weaves her strange tale. I felt like I was breathing the thick, suffocating air and feeling that wet, oppressive heat on my skin. I felt utterly transported into and immersed in the world of this book – which made it all the more fun when things started to get weird.

Into this setting, Gonzalez places fascinating characters with complicated relationships. Ingrid and Mayra’s friendship is so complex and intriguing. While Mayra remains enigmatic throughout, Ingrid is immediately relatable and sympathetic when, near the beginning of the novel, she observes: “It’s a cruel trick of the universe that one can be exhausted after a day of mostly sitting still. All I did, all I’d ever done, was move from a desk, to a car, to a restaurant, to a car, to a couch, and yet I wanted to hibernate for a hundred years.” OMG, Ingrid, same. The book provides such an observant take on modern life but there’s something ancient and primal about it as well. A sense of wrongness pervades the entire narrative, which eventually evolves into a claustrophobic fever dream. The window cleaning scene had me sitting up and paying attention, marveling at the weird, disturbing wonder of it.

Gonzalez doesn’t quite make the most of the book’s intriguing mysteries, though, and I was left with so many questions when I finished reading it. And although I typically enjoy a “found journal” trope, it could’ve been executed in a more interesting and clarifying way. But there is some truly unique material here, and I know Mayra is a book that will stick with me like swamp air on skin. Thank you to Random House for the complimentary reading opportunity.

I am impressed at how many things Gonzalez managed to do (and do well) in the short page count of this book. Not only did she accurately portray the phenomenon of being an awkward teenager who latches HARD onto the first toxic relationship they form, but she also used this to explore our complete inability to know or really understand what's going on in other people's minds (and how wrong our assumptions often are), which is genuinely one of the scariest things. The weird, ever-changing, possibly sentient swamp house added a layer of dreamy confusion and unease.

This one gave a strong Southern Gothic atmosphere that I LOVED, especially being a Florida native. Overall a decent read, just I felt the build up fell flat and left me with more questions than answers.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Continuing my gothic horror summer with this new release that sucked me in and creeped me out (the best combo). I’d been interested in Mayra since the cover reveal and it did not disappoint.

Ingrid’s adolescent best friend, Mayra, who she hasn’t heard from or seen in years is back in Florida and wants Ingrid to come out into the Everglades to visit. Ingrid, hesitant at first, decides to spend a long weekend there with Mayra and (surprise!) her boyfriend. But as she spends time at the kooky house (it’s giving the Winchester mystery mansion), her thoughts and understanding of time get spongy until it’s unclear if Ingrid (or Mayra!) are ok or if the boyfriend or the house is more than they seem.

First of all, girlhood friendships are scary enough without a spooky isolated house, so mingling Ingrid’s memories of her friendship’s chaotic past (and the horrors of growing up female) with the increasingly bad vibes of the isolated location made the horror SO CREEPING. There’s no jump scares, but it made me unsettled to my core, which is my favorite kind of horror. This is also great for new to horror readers cause there isn’t bloody body horror, just the most creepy of creeps. I loved this debut and can’t wait to read more novels from Gonzalez!!

This kept me on the edge of my seat! I don't normally do suspenseful/horror type books so this was my first experience reading something like that, but I thoroughly enjoyed!

In the green glass room, there is apprehension, but no rush. There is sapphic allure, but no spice. There are feelings, but no tears.

Ingrid is doing the best she can with what she’s got when she gets a call from her old best friend, Mayra. Their friendship is complicated, but Ingrid always finds herself drawn to Mayra, and can’t say no when she invites her to her boyfriend’s vacation home deep in the Florida Everglades. Ingrid’s narration switches back and forth between her memories of Mayra and present day. It feels like we spend more time in the past than in the present. The flashbacks are not uninteresting, and they are essential to understanding Ingrid, her friendship with Mayra, and the place and time in which they grew up, all of which is essential to understanding their current struggle, but it does slow the pace a little.

Mayra is a slow burn in every sense of the phrase. Similar to my favorite Southern Gothic novel, The Elementals, by Michael McDowell, the sweltering heat is like a character itself, and you can feel its languid oppressiveness hovering over you. The creeping dread is palpable right away and is drawn out until the very end. Not a lot happens in the house, but the parts we do get are so compelling, I needed so much more. I felt like Alice saying, curiouser and curiouser, and never being able to see how deep the rabbit hole goes.

Still, I did really love this book, and I could see myself rereading it. I could relate to both Ingrid and Mayra, being torn between wanting desperately to leave and trying to make do with where I am. Friendships that blaze, smolder, and then fizzle out. It left me with a lot to contemplate. Do we ever really know a person? Do we only ever just see what we want to see? If we’re unhappy here, will we be unhappy everywhere? Southern Gothic novels lay a foundation, build a mystery, infuse it with atmosphere, and leave readers with possibilities to explore, and Mayra is a beguiling debut that does all of that.

Thank you Random House for the eARC to read and review

this was eerie, creepy and so so feverish, it had my skin crawling. solid debut novel by gonzalez, though i wish the ending delivered a bit more.

the first 70ish, maybe 75% of the book reads well and then it turned into an almost dreamlike quality that always seems to be a hit or miss for me. i wanted to know more about the journal. who was paul really? and lizzie? and is the house just this forever living entity, dependent on the lives it manages to trap??? by the end of the book, i had more questions than i did answers.

idk why i tend to read these types of books in the dead of night when i should really be asleep but now i'm not sure if i can sleep. i mean, how the fuck can i forget about benji eating a balled up piece of cobweb?! gross.

big thanks to random house for the early copy!

Mayra is a very unique reading experience and different than what I was expecting based on the synopsis. Set in the Florida Everglades, the novel follows Ingrid and Mayra’s, two childhood best friends who reunite in adulthood. What follows is a fever dream novel about obsession, identity, memory, and toxic friendship. I was expecting more of a horror novel about a haunted house (as some other readers were) and it was more abstract than I went in thinking. Gonzalez does excel at the setting though, as you can feel the cloying atmosphere of the Everglades all over you as you read this.

Not quite sure what to do with this one, but it does have its promise and it’s selling points-namely the setting and atmosphere as I mentioned!

Thanks to the publisher for providing the arc via the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Happy Book Birthday!
Summer DEBUT! Are you ready for it?!

A HUGE thank you to Penguin Random House for this early copy of Mayra! What a ride!!

A twisty gothic debut about two former best friends reconnecting at a secluded house deep in the swamplands of Florida. I’ll say no more! Pick this one TODAY!

This one was eerie, creepy, atmospheric, disturbing and could easily be the debut of the summer! Thank you again to the publisher, the author & Netgalley for this early copy of Mayra in exchange for my honest review!

Mayra is one very odd little book. I went into it expecting a gothic haunted house story, and I guess it is kind of that if you have a very loose definition of the word “haunted.” But mostly it's about a toxic teenage friendship, and then in the final pages it turns into a fever dream. Set against the backdrop of the Everglades, this novel just didn't grab me.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House for this digital e-arc.*