Muñeca by Gómez, Cynthia

"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

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: Cynthia Gómez
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Published: 06/02/2026
Pages: 176
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.52lbs
Size: 7.91h x 5.44w x 0.73d
ISBN: 9798217047574

Review Citation(s):
Booklist 04/01/2026
Publishers Weekly 04/06/2026
Library Journal 04/24/2026 pg. 1
Kirkus Reviews 06/15/2026

About the 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.