Reviews with content warning for Violence - Velvet Was the Night

Probably my least favorite/liked book by this author. It's not necessarily bad, the story is interesting for the historical aspect and it being based off some true events that I didn't know about, but it wasn't really for me. Felt pretty slow for the majority of it. Some of the characters were interesting some of them I didn't care for.

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raiimundo97's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.0

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unlikelyplaces's review

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4.0

I’m not overly sure how to talk about this one. It’s really not my usual genre but I picked it up because I wanted to try this author’s work and I’ll read anything set in the 70s but I did really enjoy it.

This is a noir/mystery/thriller novel set in Mexico in the 70s during a time of extreme political control known as the “Dirty War”. The story itself follows a woman called Maite and a man called Elvis as they investigate the disappearance of a missing woman.

I loved the way the characters lives sort of circle around each other and interweave throughout the novel. I really enjoyed the author’s writing style and am definitely interested in picking up more of their work.

My main issue with this was that I really couldn’t stand Maite. I don’t think she’s meant to be particularly likeable but I just found her a very irritating pov, especially early on in the novel. Once the story got going through I was hooked.

As I say, this is really not my usual genre so I don’t know how much I can say about how good it really is but I had a good time and learned about a period of history that I didn’t know about before so that’s a win for me.

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vagrantheather's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful 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? Yes

4.75

Civil unrest in 1970s Mexico leads a well connected student activist, Leonora, to go into hiding over some photographs that show what the state doesn't want seen. This story follows Maite, her neighbor, as she tries to figure out what happened to Leonora, and Elvis, a private militia thug assigned to tail her.

Absolutely loved the characterization and character development. I could see where others would not find the plot very compelling but I enjoyed it. I especially liked how the interpersonal dynamics played out. Compelling prose.

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knitterscasket's review

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adventurous dark medium-paced

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

4.0

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msradiosilence's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

TLDR; 4 rating, Maite is so funny, and I really liked this!
Content warnings at the bottom. :)

First and foremost: fuck El Mago. That bitch deserved it lol.

Listen, I like Maite and I like Elvis, but I am uncomfy with age gaps. That being said, I hope Maite and Elvis find happiness and if that’s with one another? Even better. After what Ruben pulled, Maite deserves happiness.

Speaking of Ruben,

the fact that Maite opened up and told Ruben about Cristabol and he still left her for the artist bitch??

Are you kidding me? I hope she leaves his ass again.

I thought this book was a different one (Certain Dark Things) but I was pleasantly surprised. I had a great time.

Rating: 4
Would I recommend? Yes, especially if you enjoy noir and complicated romances.

Content warnings: Violence, Gun violence, Murder, Torture, Sexual content, Blood

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