Muñeca by Cynthia Gómez (Hardcover)

Fiction - Horror - Gothic - Fantasy 

RELEASE DATE: 6/2/2026 (WILL SHIP DIRECTLY FROM OUR SUPPLIER'S WAREHOUSE)

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.

AUTHOR BIO: 

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.

"Set against the backdrop of the Bay Area in the late 1960s, Gómez explores the complicated nature of family and queerness in a story steeped in atmosphere and magic . . . Steeped in the history of the era, this quick read is perfect for fans of Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Carmen Maria Machado." -- Booklist

"Filled with longing and desire, Muñeca explores the true cost of freedom and the lengths we go to attain it. Cynthia Gómez's writing is utterly hypnotic; from the very beginning, she had me completely under her spell." --Monika Kim, author of Eyes are the Best Part

"What horrifying magnificence! Muñeca feels like an iconic classic you somehow missed--like We Have Always Lived in the Castle (if it was horny and intersectional) or Rebecca (if Rebecca had an actual protagonist). I adored it." --Sam J. Miller, USA Today bestselling author of Blackfish City

" 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 is the best sort of story: sexy, witchy, sapphic. A class-conscious fairy tale with teeth that I shall carry within my heart for years to come." --Johanna van Veen, author of Blood on Her Tongue