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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
the ending of this book is quite devastating. silvia moreno
-garcía is a mastermind and i have adored every bit of work by her. her representation of mexican characters and culture and tradition will never fail to hit home for me.
“salome was a chimera. part dove and part lioness.” oh so you’re saying she was a gemini????
-garcía is a mastermind and i have adored every bit of work by her. her representation of mexican characters and culture and tradition will never fail to hit home for me.
“salome was a chimera. part dove and part lioness.” oh so you’re saying she was a gemini????
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
It took a while for the story to really pull me in and unfortunately I was only pulled in the last 20 pages. To be honest I would’ve rated it higher it they hadn’t killed Jay. I really wanted him and Vera to have their own happily ever after, however that may look
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Murder
tense
slow-paced
adventurous
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
mysterious
fast-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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment
This author is amazing - adept in such a variety of genres.
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“‘Little girls can’t see the wickedness of men. But women must.’ Herodias said with disgust, as she wiped her stained fingers against the folds of her dress. ‘Survival, my daughter. It is our lot in life.”
I just adore SMG. She is an author whose voice and style works so well for me. She is also an author who writes so many different kinds of stories. I don’t think any one of her books is just like any of the others. This one is very different though, and I loved it.
This is a historical fiction that is set in 1950s Hollywood and there is a new hot film that is being made. It is the story of Salome, a woman who agrees to perform the "dance of the seven veils" in return for John the Baptist's head on a silver platter.
We are following this character named Vera, a Mexican woman who was discovered in her hometown and was asked to play Salome in the film. Everyone can’t stop talking about Vera, but with all that attention comes jealousy. Nancy, another character we follow, hates Vera and feels that she stole the role that should have been hers. At the same time, we’re also following Salome’s story. A story about a woman who has a desire for a man she shouldn’t, while also having a strong desire for power that leads her to doing what she must to gain it.
I hate comparing authors of color books to white author books, but I have to say that if you loved The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid, I think you’ll enjoy this. It has that same mixed media kind of feel due to their being excerpts of different people from Hollywood chiming in about what was happening with Vera. Those moments really helped add some layers to this story and made it feel so real for me.
Vera is a character that is very easy to root for. While she is a bit naive, which is not unexpected, she is very endearing. There were so many moments where I felt bad for her due to the way she was being treated not only on set, but also at home by her family, particularly her mother. Through Vera, we see how racist Hollywood was (and still is). There were these instances where the actresses of color were being separated from their white counterparts. There were also moments where there were racist words being used to describe them or demean them.
Like I mentioned though, it wasn’t just Hollywood where Vera received criticism. Her mom was the absolute worst. She favored Vera’s little sister, Lume, because she was lighter and Vera’s mom felt like she should have been the one to hit it big in Hollywood. She constantly put Vera down, and it was all due to the color of her skin. I liked that SMG put this in because I always feel like colorism doesn’t get talked about enough and I always appreciate when books include discussions about it.
We get to see Vera navigate through Hollywood, and that includes romance, but also sexual harassment. Vera’s costar was terrible. He was one of those men who thought that he was entitled to any woman he wanted, which I’m sure was more prevalent back then. At the same time, Vera does have a love interest, and while I enjoyed their relationship, it also showed how even people who wanted to do good and be good people, got caught up in the prevalent racism in the industry. I really enjoyed how SMG used Vera to show how women of latin descent were sexualized and demonized by society as a whole, but in particular Hollywood.
Like mentioned earlier, we also follow Nancy, the white woman who felt that Vera stole her role and that she deserves everything that Vera has. Nancy was terrible. She is selfish, racist, egotistical, etc, but you could tell that SMG wanted to give her a reason for being that way, though it wasn’t an excuse. Nancy is not someone I ever would root for, but she made for a pretty good antagonist.
While these two women stories were going on, we also had Salome’s. I didn’t know how much I would enjoy her story and I feared that it would distract from the main story, but I was so wrong. I was captivated by Salome and her story, to the point that I would have read a whole book just following her. Her story, in a lot of ways, mirrors Vera and at times, Nancy, and I found her parts to add to the richness of the story versus detracting from it. Salome is another strong, female character, who was navigating a sexist society and while she wasn’t the best person, she was real and dynamic, which is something I appreciated.
The ending is what really bumped this up to a 5 star for me. It was exciting and while I did see one part coming, it was handled so well. I truly loved this and I do recommend the audiobook. It was fantastic.
CW for sexual harassment, sexual assault, racism, colorism, and
I just adore SMG. She is an author whose voice and style works so well for me. She is also an author who writes so many different kinds of stories. I don’t think any one of her books is just like any of the others. This one is very different though, and I loved it.
This is a historical fiction that is set in 1950s Hollywood and there is a new hot film that is being made. It is the story of Salome, a woman who agrees to perform the "dance of the seven veils" in return for John the Baptist's head on a silver platter.
We are following this character named Vera, a Mexican woman who was discovered in her hometown and was asked to play Salome in the film. Everyone can’t stop talking about Vera, but with all that attention comes jealousy. Nancy, another character we follow, hates Vera and feels that she stole the role that should have been hers. At the same time, we’re also following Salome’s story. A story about a woman who has a desire for a man she shouldn’t, while also having a strong desire for power that leads her to doing what she must to gain it.
I hate comparing authors of color books to white author books, but I have to say that if you loved The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid, I think you’ll enjoy this. It has that same mixed media kind of feel due to their being excerpts of different people from Hollywood chiming in about what was happening with Vera. Those moments really helped add some layers to this story and made it feel so real for me.
Vera is a character that is very easy to root for. While she is a bit naive, which is not unexpected, she is very endearing. There were so many moments where I felt bad for her due to the way she was being treated not only on set, but also at home by her family, particularly her mother. Through Vera, we see how racist Hollywood was (and still is). There were these instances where the actresses of color were being separated from their white counterparts. There were also moments where there were racist words being used to describe them or demean them.
Like I mentioned though, it wasn’t just Hollywood where Vera received criticism. Her mom was the absolute worst. She favored Vera’s little sister, Lume, because she was lighter and Vera’s mom felt like she should have been the one to hit it big in Hollywood. She constantly put Vera down, and it was all due to the color of her skin. I liked that SMG put this in because I always feel like colorism doesn’t get talked about enough and I always appreciate when books include discussions about it.
“If she had met him before, when he was simply a merchant’s son, sent to study in the city, would she have loved him at first glance, too? Yes. And if he’d been different, if his limbs had been crooked or his face savaged by the elements, then would love have sprung between them? Yes, too. In every epoch, in every disguise, she would have loved him.”
We get to see Vera navigate through Hollywood, and that includes romance, but also sexual harassment. Vera’s costar was terrible. He was one of those men who thought that he was entitled to any woman he wanted, which I’m sure was more prevalent back then. At the same time, Vera does have a love interest, and while I enjoyed their relationship, it also showed how even people who wanted to do good and be good people, got caught up in the prevalent racism in the industry. I really enjoyed how SMG used Vera to show how women of latin descent were sexualized and demonized by society as a whole, but in particular Hollywood.
Like mentioned earlier, we also follow Nancy, the white woman who felt that Vera stole her role and that she deserves everything that Vera has. Nancy was terrible. She is selfish, racist, egotistical, etc, but you could tell that SMG wanted to give her a reason for being that way, though it wasn’t an excuse. Nancy is not someone I ever would root for, but she made for a pretty good antagonist.
While these two women stories were going on, we also had Salome’s. I didn’t know how much I would enjoy her story and I feared that it would distract from the main story, but I was so wrong. I was captivated by Salome and her story, to the point that I would have read a whole book just following her. Her story, in a lot of ways, mirrors Vera and at times, Nancy, and I found her parts to add to the richness of the story versus detracting from it. Salome is another strong, female character, who was navigating a sexist society and while she wasn’t the best person, she was real and dynamic, which is something I appreciated.
The ending is what really bumped this up to a 5 star for me. It was exciting and while I did see one part coming, it was handled so well. I truly loved this and I do recommend the audiobook. It was fantastic.
CW for sexual harassment, sexual assault, racism, colorism, and