Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

17 reviews

panic_at_the_bookshelf's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I don't even know where to start on this one... Silver Nitrate is set in Mexico City. We follow the story of Montserrat and Tristán. Both characters try to make their way in the film industry, one as a sound editor and one as an actor, during the 90's.

The first 80-ish pages of the book aren't that scary. We meet the characters, get to know some stuff about their past and come across an ocult horror movie director. Everything seems fine at first, until both Montserrat and Tristán both realise they are in deep trouble. Of course it is way too late to back off... Those occult stories might not be stories at all... 

As soon as the creepy stuff started happening I was on edge every single chapter. The author found the perfect balance between creating a scary and mysterious atmosphere without it being too overwhelming or boring. Throughout the story subtle details are being shared, so I was able to put a few puzzle pieces together and figure some plot twists out on my own. None felt obvious to me, which I liked a lot! It is only until the last few pages the story finally reveals what is actully happening... The ending was a big chef's kiss if it were up to me.

The book gives us bisexual representation, together with trauma and disability rep.

Some content warnings: car accident, dead people, murders, mental health, mentions of addiction, mentions of drug and alcohol use, mentions of suicide, mentions of cancer, racism, scars and blood.

Ps. My edition had a small font, so it was often hard to focus on the letters once my eyes got a bit tired.

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nicolemhill's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny 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

4.25

Silvia Moreno-Garcia is an author I trust implicitly. It took me longer than usual to get hooked by this one, but she has never let me down before. I persevered. And about halfway through the book, the occultist hijinks took over my thoughts. I couldn't put it down, and I came to hold such affection for Montserrat and Tristán. 

Read if you like: horror films, Raiders of the Lost Ark, telenovelas, and women who don't take 💩 from anyone. 

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lonerangerl30's review against another edition

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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

4.25


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sammaywin's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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nashxra's review

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adventurous informative mysterious tense
  • Loveable characters? Yes

5.0


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narsere's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5


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curlydanreads's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5


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katndrsn's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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tamara_joy's review

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0


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abitbetterbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous 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? No

4.0

This was a great read. I listened to the audiobook and loved the narration; it was super engaging and the story, while a bit slow to take off, built and built and built until everything came to a head in a bold climax with a very satisfying conclusion. 

I always say I’m not a horror fan, but I think I’m constantly getting proved wrong. This book wasn’t even that scary! I loved Mexican Gothic (which in my opinion was much more disturbing than this one) so I knew I had to give Silver Nitrate a shot. While I’m no film buff, I still really enjoyed the connections and details to the industry.

I loved Monserrat and Tristan. I loved their banter and closeness that only knowing someone your whole life can bring. I also adored heroes that were 38 and felt like real adult humans that made real adult human decisions. I also appreciated how flawed the characters were. 

As a note, there is a decent amount of discussions of Nazis and Nazism as they pertain to post-WWII in Latin America, and in particular the ideas of “Aryan superiority” and eugenics. 

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