Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Velvet Was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

70 reviews

uranaishi's review

adventurous challenging dark informative mysterious reflective 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? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Physical abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body shaming, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Police brutality, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Torture

Minor: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Car accident, Classism, Cursing, and Vomit

nebulasaurus's review

dark informative mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Death, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Murder, Violence, Police brutality, and Torture

kace's review

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Torture, Murder, and Stalking

arthur_ant18's review against another edition

mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Gun violence, Police brutality, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Classism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Mental illness

Minor: Sexual harassment

whatcassiedid's review

adventurous challenging 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

5.0

I may have understood the political background a little more if I was familiar with Mexico's political history but I don't feel like that impeded my enjoyment of the story. This book was riveting and after each of Elvis and Maite's first chapters I could not have predicted where it ended up. This had an act 4 twist that actually made me gasp out loud and had a delightful ending.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, and Torture

i_am_selinam's review

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, and Torture

carbs666's review

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

I don't read a lot of noir but this book was delicious. A collection of flawed, bad people dealing with a complicated mess from different angles, in a richly crafted, real setting. I was compelled by Maite; her deep insecurities, petty grievances, her small life suddenly exploded by a chance encounter with her neighbour. She could easily be me. If you have experience with mysteries the twist is easy to spot but that doesn't take the enjoyment out of reading at all. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

maregred's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Police brutality, Murder, Gun violence, and Violence

maryy_r0se's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

“Love, frail as gossamer, stitched together from a thousand songs and a thousand comic books, made of the dialogue spoken in films and the posters designed by ad agencies: love was what she lived for.”

It’s the 1970s in Mexico City. Elvis, a boy who hates violence and loves rock ‘n’ roll, finds himself involved with the Hawks, a group aiming to suppress young political activists. Meanwhile Maite, a secretary, daydreams of an exciting and romantic life that couldn’t be further from her own. When Maite’s neighbor goes missing, Elvis and Maite’s lives begin to unexpectedly intertwine.

This and Mexican Gothic have really solidified Silvia Moreno-Garcia as one of my new favorite authors. She is such an expert at creating the perfect atmosphere, and I love how this book twists together at the end. A main criticism I have seen for this book is that the main characters aren’t likable. This is really funny to me because I find Maite so intensely relatable. She is certainly flawed, but in a way that resonates strongly with me. I love how she seems so unlike the type of characters we typically associate with “noir.” I also appreciate how different she was from Noemí in Mexican Gothic. Noemí was cool and glamorous; Maite was plain and awkward. Noemí is the kind of girl I wish I was; Maite is the kind of girl I actually am. It is a testament to Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s writing that she can create two such different characters with such nuance. 

I would certainly recommend this one. If you’re struggling at all with the historical context, I would check out the author’s book kit. It gives a lot of historical context that I found super helpful! (I also recommend listening to the playlist for this one because the songs add so much to the atmosphere.)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Police brutality, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

katymat18's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Stalking and Torture

Minor: Blood and Sexual content