Book Review: Mayra by Nicky Gonzalez

 

From the publisher: 

An eerie, hypnotic debut about friendship, desire, and memory set against the sultry backdrop of Florida’s swamplands.

LONGLISTED FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE

It’s been years since Ingrid has heard from her childhood best friend, Mayra, a fearless rebel who fled their hometown of Hialeah, a Cuban neighborhood just west of Miami, for college in the Northeast. But when Mayra calls out of the blue to invite Ingrid to a weekend getaway at a house in the Everglades, she impulsively accepts.

From the moment Ingrid sets out, danger looms: The directions are difficult, she’s out of reach of cell service, and as she drives deeper into the Everglades, the wet maw of the swamp threatens to swallow her whole. But once Ingrid arrives, Mayra is, in many ways, just as she remembers—with her sharp tongue and effortless, seductive beauty, still thumbing her nose at the world.

Before they can fully settle into the familiar intimacy of each other’s company, their reunion is spoiled by the reemergence of past disagreements and the unexpected presence of Mayra’s new boyfriend, Benji. The trio spend their hours eating lavish meals and exploring the labyrinthine house, which holds as much mystery as the swamp itself. Indoors and on the grounds, time itself seems to expand, and Ingrid begins to lose a sense of the outside world, and herself.

Against this disquieting setting, where lizards dart in and out of porches and alligators peek from dark waters, Gonzalez weaves a surreal, unforgettable story about the dizzying power of early friendship and the lengths we’ll go to earn love and acceptance—even at the risk of losing ourselves entirely.

Mayra by Nicky Gonzalez was published July 22, 2025 by Random House.

My Thoughts: It's a good haunted house/gothic novel. The story is told from Ingrid's point of view. To me she came across as a pretty normal person. Not really happy with her job, looking for love, and she has family ties. Presented with an opportunity to revisit an earlier friendship that was very important to her, she feels ambiguous. Last time they saw each other didn't go spectacularly. Pushed together in this way out of the way place, Ingrid tentatively tries to bond with Mayra again. 

It's awkward with Mayra's boyfriend Benji around. He's doing everything for them - cooking, cleaning, laundry. Their happiness seems to be paramount to him to the point of being creepy. And as they explore the house, they keep finding creepy little details that make them wonder about the previous residents.

The narrative takes on a dreamlike tone the longer they are there. Ingrid feels like she is forgetting something, but not quite what. She is lulled into a false sense of security. It's at this point, you speculate what is causing the disconnect. I somewhat expected the source, but there were still surprises. I ended up staying up to finish it once I hit the 90% mark. I had to know what would happen next.

I gave the book 4 out of 5 stars. Dreamlike, the story is a little slow in a few places. It still moves the ladies further down the path to the conclusion. And it makes the ending feel positively manic. I enjoyed the book as a whole. I would recommend it for people who enjoy gothic literature and gothic horror.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher through NetGalley. This did not affect my review.

Have you read Mayra? What did you think?

Teaser Tuesday: Mayra by Nicky Gonzalez

 

Welcome to Teaser Tuesday, the weekly Meme that wants you to add books to your TBR! You can also just share what you are currently reading. We make it very easy to play along, it is as easy as 1, 2, 3! Teaser Tuesday is hosted by Ambrosia at the Purple Booker.

1: Grab your current read 2: Open to a random page 3: Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers! Everyone loves Teaser Tuesday.

She didn't like him, I told myself. She liked the story of him, the idea that someone could snatch her from her humdrum routine, even if it meant walking into the mouth of a monster.

--56% through on my Kindle

Mayra by Nicky Gonzalez was published July 22, 2025 by Random House.

What are you reading? Got a teaser to share? Leave a comment with it. Happy Reading!

Book Review: The Puzzle Master by Danielle Trussoni

 

From the publisher: 

Reality and the supernatural collide when an expert puzzle maker is thrust into an ancient mystery—one with explosive consequences for the fate of humanity—in this suspenseful thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of Angelology.

All the world is a puzzle, and Mike Brink—a celebrated and ingenious puzzle constructor—understands its patterns like no one else. Once a promising Midwestern football star, Brink was transformed by a traumatic brain injury that caused a rare medical condition: acquired savant syndrome. The injury left him with a mental superpower—he can solve puzzles in ways ordinary people can’t. But it also left him deeply isolated, unable to fully connect with other people.

Everything changes after Brink meets Jess Price, a woman serving thirty years in prison for murder who hasn’t spoken a word since her arrest five years before. When Price draws a perplexing puzzle, her psychiatrist believes it will explain her crime and calls Brink to solve it. What begins as a desire to crack an alluring cipher quickly morphs into an obsession with Price herself. She soon reveals that there is something more urgent, and more dangerous, behind her silence, thrusting Brink into a hunt for the truth.

The quest takes Brink through a series of interlocking enigmas, but the heart of the mystery is the God Puzzle, a cryptic ancient prayer circle created by the thirteenth-century Jewish mystic Abraham Abulafia. As Brink navigates a maze of clues, and his emotional entanglement with Price becomes more intense, he realizes that there are powerful forces at work that he cannot escape. 

Ranging from an upstate New York women’s prison to nineteenth-century Prague to the secret rooms of the Pierpont Morgan Library, The Puzzle Master is a tantalizing, addictive thriller in which humankind, technology, and the future of the universe itself are at stake.

The Puzzle Master by Danielle Trussoni was released June 13th, 2023 by Random House.

My Thoughts: 

There's a lot going on in this book. From puzzles of different kinds, historical happenings, haunted dolls and golems, and quantum computers and cryptocurrency, there is so much covered in this book. But, the author manages to pull it off. I have to admit, my eyes glazed over a little at some points because of the amount of detail. At those points I skimmed a little to get the gist of what was happening. There weren't many parts like that though.

I also skimmed ahead a little reading some of the parts with the dog. I was worried for the dog and needed to know what would happen to it before I could go back and read what all was going on with the people. The inclusion of the dog seemed to do two things. It helped to humanize Mike Brink. And it ratcheted up tension a little. Frankly, I could have done without the inclusion of the dog, no matter how cute the name Conundrum is for a puzzle master's dog. Honestly, I had to look ahead because I was on the verge of DNF'ing the book because of the inclusion of the dog. But, because of the way things worked out, I was able to go on and finish and enjoy the book.

My favorite characters in the book were the lead character Mike Brink and the Kabbalah expert. The rest of the characters were ok. Cam Putney and Jameson Sedge played good villains.

Generally, the book moved along at a decent pace. Things were explained along the way as part of what was going on. 

Overall, I enjoyed the book. I gave it 4 out of 5 stars. I would recommend it to people who enjoy thrillers with both a supernatural and technical aspect. The supernatural aspect appealed more to me than the technical parts.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher through NetGalley.