Reviews with content warning for Blood - Silver Nitrate

Set in early 1990s Mexico, Silvia Moreno-Garcia's Silver Nitrate is full of film references and dark magic. Montserrat and Tristan, friends since childhood, are horror film aficionados who become embroiled in a sinister plot by occultist magicians when they meet famed director Abel Urueta and agree to help him complete his unfinished film Behind the Yellow Door in hopes of lifting the curse Urueta feels has caused him to fade into obscurity.

Look, I am a SMG fangirl. This is the seventh book of hers that I have read. I love how she explores common themes like racism, colonialism, and misogyny by dipping into so many genres and periods of Mexican history. I love her female characters, who are so different from one another but are all strong, smart, and cool in different ways. I will never discourage people from reading her books. She is awesome.

With that caveat, I will say that I found Silver Nitrate more difficult to get into than other books of hers that I have read. She is not one to write breakneck, fast-paced books, so I didn't go in with that expectation, but this one was so slow in the beginning that I found it difficult to get into. Probably around 70 percent of the way through the pieces really started coming together and I was hooked, but it took me longer to get invested than it usually does with her books.

Although not my favorite of her novels, Silver Nitrate has much of what I love about Moreno-Garcia's writing-- flawed characters, strong female leads, and a progressive, feminist lens applied to traditional genre tropes and themes.

Content Warnings

rachelunabridged's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

[ Huge thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this ARC! ]

After having a blast with Silvia Moreno-Garcia's Mexican Gothic, I knew I had to check out more of her work. I'm so glad that I finally had the chance to do just that with her latest book, Silver Nitrate. With a background consisting of the Mexican horror film scene and Nazi occultism, it really snatched my interest right from the beginning.

Though the build-up was quite slow, I felt like the author did an awesome job letting the plot simmer for the first half of the book, but then really letting shit go wild in the last half. I had such a blast following the characters throughout this read as they peeled back the layers of intrigue and mystery, and I loved getting to linger in the tension and atmosphere that Moreno-Garcia built.

While there were some spooky scenes, I think that calling this a horror story might be misleading in some reader's eyes so I would actually recommend this as more of a thriller or suspense with some horror elements. If that's enough to grab your interest, definitely give it a read!

Content Warnings

bookcheshirecat's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense slow-paced

Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.0

“Montserrat had three loves. One was horror movies. The other was her car. The third was Tristán.”

➽ This book sounded so compelling, but it was a huge letdown for me. The story follows Montserrat, a talented sound editor who struggles in a male-dominated field. I loved the setting of 90s Mexico and the premise was interesting. Montserrat and Tristán find Abel Urueta, a cult horror director and occultist who knows about a legendary, lost film that's steeped in legend. I found this Thriller painfully boring despite the obscure topic. The author had Montserrat do a ton of infodumps about her love for movies and Horror. They were a chore to get through and didn't make me any more interested to find out more about the topic. Nothing much happens in the book until the very end, so it becomes very repetitive quickly. The occultism and Montserrat's emerging powers weren't explained at all and a lot of the 'worldbuilding' made no sense at all. So many things flew over my head as they came out of nowhere. There wasn't really much to keep my interest, so maybe this author isn't for me!

Content Warnings

heather667's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

bessadams's review

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dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

caidyn's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Another enjoyable read by Moreno-Garcia!

Content Warnings

writingcaia's review

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adventurous dark funny mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

As always, Silvia takes me on slow, but increasingly addictive ride. I couldn’t stop.
Nazis, sorcerers, a lot of old-school horror movies, a cursed film reel, and a friendship that drives the story forward as it intertwines with powers old and new.
It’s really all, the characters, their dialogues, the relationships, the historical and immersive context, the pointed descriptions. It connects, it sizzles, it feels real, and because of that, it wraps you in its darkness and fears.
The whole tale evolves beautifully and has a perfect ending.
Also, loved the bisexual main rep, in the midst of such prejudiced setting - misogyny, racism, eugenics.
Another great one, and I just want to say next, please! 💜🤌🏼

Content Warnings

ncoletti's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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