A vivid, surreal Gothic about a queer, Latine, working class witch who sets out to rescue a bespelled heiress and loses control of her powers and her heart in the process.
It is 1968 Oakland, and Natalia Fuentes has been hearing rumors about the beautiful Violeta Miramontes. The young heiress to Spanish colonial wealth has been left paralyzed by a mysterious illness. But Nati knows a thing or two about witchcraft, and she is certain that this is the work of dark magic.
Armed with a plan to break the spell and earn a handsome reward, Nati works her way into the house as Violeta’s caretaker, and immediately discovers her suspicions are true. But who cursed Violeta? And why?
As feelings between the two women bloom into romance, Nati grows more and more reckless, and is forced to face her own ghosts— ones she hoped would stay gone forever.
Riveting and richly layered, Muñeca explores how far one will go to save the person they love—even if that means damning themselves. Cynthia Gómez fills her debut novel with moments that chill your bones and warm your heart, a razor-sharp examination of deep-rooted issues that will haunt readers long after the last page is turned.
"Muñeca by Cynthia Gómez is box with shining dangers inside. With captivating and alluring prose, Gómez stuns as a powerful new voice in horror!" —Cynthia Pelayo, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Vanishing Daughters
"Muñeca takes the 'one last job' motif and spins it on its head with spells so believable that I can't help but wonder what else Cynthia Gómez knows. A dizzying journey to finding love in spite of the systems that try to confine us. And the doll . . . the doll!" —Gus Moreno, author of This Thing Between Us
Cynthia Gómez is the author of the story collection The Nightmare Box and Other Stories, and a Tin House and VONA alumn whose short fiction has published in Fantasy Magazine, Strange Horizons, Pseudopod, Nightmare Magazine, and numerous anthologies. She lives in Oakland.
View titles by Cynthia Gómez
A vivid, surreal Gothic about a queer, Latine, working class witch who sets out to rescue a bespelled heiress and loses control of her powers and her heart in the process.
It is 1968 Oakland, and Natalia Fuentes has been hearing rumors about the beautiful Violeta Miramontes. The young heiress to Spanish colonial wealth has been left paralyzed by a mysterious illness. But Nati knows a thing or two about witchcraft, and she is certain that this is the work of dark magic.
Armed with a plan to break the spell and earn a handsome reward, Nati works her way into the house as Violeta’s caretaker, and immediately discovers her suspicions are true. But who cursed Violeta? And why?
As feelings between the two women bloom into romance, Nati grows more and more reckless, and is forced to face her own ghosts— ones she hoped would stay gone forever.
Riveting and richly layered, Muñeca explores how far one will go to save the person they love—even if that means damning themselves. Cynthia Gómez fills her debut novel with moments that chill your bones and warm your heart, a razor-sharp examination of deep-rooted issues that will haunt readers long after the last page is turned.
Reviews
"Muñeca by Cynthia Gómez is box with shining dangers inside. With captivating and alluring prose, Gómez stuns as a powerful new voice in horror!" —Cynthia Pelayo, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Vanishing Daughters
"Muñeca takes the 'one last job' motif and spins it on its head with spells so believable that I can't help but wonder what else Cynthia Gómez knows. A dizzying journey to finding love in spite of the systems that try to confine us. And the doll . . . the doll!" —Gus Moreno, author of This Thing Between Us
Author
Cynthia Gómez is the author of the story collection The Nightmare Box and Other Stories, and a Tin House and VONA alumn whose short fiction has published in Fantasy Magazine, Strange Horizons, Pseudopod, Nightmare Magazine, and numerous anthologies. She lives in Oakland.
View titles by Cynthia Gómez
