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panic_at_the_bookshelf's review against another edition
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Grief
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Racism, Alcohol, and Drug use
Minor: Car accident, Cancer, and Addiction
lonerangerl30's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Death, Racism, Blood, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Car accident, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Cancer
Minor: Alcohol, Drug use, and Biphobia
hauntedantiqueshop's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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 book was a love letter to all the weird, slightly off putting girls who grew up loving witches and occultism and had a vast knowledge of obscure movies. Sooo basically me 😋 I would have probably rated it higher had there been no romance aspect but that’s just me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death, Suicide attempt, Murder, Car accident, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Ableism, Blood, Biphobia, Addiction, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, and Cancer
Minor: Genocide, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, and Blood
This book does talk about nazis and eugenics, there being a hierarchy of races. The main characters are adamantly against that bullshit but it’s part of the cult’s background.sammaywin's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Addiction, Car accident, and Death
Minor: Cancer, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Drug abuse, and Self harm
garrettcz's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
No spoilers:
I struggled with this book. I really liked the occult and mysticism elements. I really liked the history tie-ins and details. I liked some of the details about the film industry.
I really disliked the characters. It felt like the author was going out of her way to make them unlikable and really awful to each other.
I felt the story spent way too much time on really boring, mundane things and far too little time on the cool things like mysticism, occultism, and the horror elements. The story would sometimes dip into horror but the scenes felt way too fast so the atmosphere didn’t build up enough to where I really felt anything from them. I couldn’t get immersed in the spooky/horror scenes to really care and I didn’t care about the characters enough to really be engaged by the action scenes, so there never really felt like there was enough tension.
Spoilers:
*********************************
I REALLY hated the romance ending thing. I saw it coming and was really hoping this wouldn’t happen. These characters felt like they really disliked each other and if romantic chemistry could be approximated with temperature theirs would be somewhere in the ballpark of absolute zero. Yuck.
3.5
I struggled with this book. I really liked the occult and mysticism elements. I really liked the history tie-ins and details. I liked some of the details about the film industry.
I really disliked the characters. It felt like the author was going out of her way to make them unlikable and really awful to each other.
I felt the story spent way too much time on really boring, mundane things and far too little time on the cool things like mysticism, occultism, and the horror elements. The story would sometimes dip into horror but the scenes felt way too fast so the atmosphere didn’t build up enough to where I really felt anything from them. I couldn’t get immersed in the spooky/horror scenes to really care and I didn’t care about the characters enough to really be engaged by the action scenes, so there never really felt like there was enough tension.
Spoilers:
*********************************
I REALLY hated the romance ending thing. I saw it coming and was really hoping this wouldn’t happen. These characters felt like they really disliked each other and if romantic chemistry could be approximated with temperature theirs would be somewhere in the ballpark of absolute zero. Yuck.
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Toxic friendship, Murder, Bullying, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Violence, Alcoholism, Drug use, Addiction, Drug abuse, Cancer, and Alcohol
Minor: Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, and Terminal illness
curlydanreads's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Suicide attempt, Cancer, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Xenophobia
abitbetterbooks's review against another edition
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Sexism, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Blood, and Racism
Moderate: Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Addiction, Toxic relationship, and Antisemitism
Minor: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Biphobia
heather667's review against another edition
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
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Car accident, Misogyny, Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Violence, Biphobia, Chronic illness, Grief, Gore, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: War, Genocide, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Vomit
sol_journal's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
*Thank you Netgalley and Del Rey for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!*
Posted to: NetGalley, Goodreads, and The StoryGraph
Posted on: 28 July 2023
4.4 (rounded down to 4) out of 5 stars.
‘Silver Nitrate’ was a book that when I first saw the summary, I was a little iffy on if it was one I’d like. Now, I *loved* a few of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s previous books- ‘Gods of Jade and Shadow’, ‘The Beautiful Ones’, and ‘Velvet Was The Night’. I knew her writing style well to know that I’d most likely *enjoy* her books regardless. I just figured that this new read would be a mood-read kind of book where I’d pick it up when I found myself *craving* a cursed movie title centering Nazi occultism, rough main characters, and stuff of fiction bleeding into two normal people’s reality. When I got approved for this eARC after all, I decided to just jump right in and, man, was it a *phenomenal* read at the end.
‘Silver Nitrate’ shows the ugly of characters as well as it shows their ability to work together in the face of other’s ugly. Monserrat and Tristán were a duo that I found myself in love with from the start. They had a dynamic that grew and burned into what was the ending scene and I *loved* it SO much. There was just something about their flaws- one’s cowardice and the other’s unhealthy dive into what she finds interesting- being highlighted and then *actually* working through them at some point that grabbed me.
I also thoroughly enjoyed the magic system. I know the premise was in-story built by not so good people, but Silvia Moreno-Garcia creates this interesting system that almost had me like Monserrat in that I wanted to know more! I don’t know how much of real world occultism was used to help base the magic in ‘Silver Nitrate’ though, but the entwining of it *and* the idea of movies being more magic than what meets the eye was enthralling.
I think I’ve got a major book hangover with ‘Silver Nitrate’ though because I want more reads *just* like it. I want to know what happens after the ending and I honestly just need more Monserrat and Tristán! I can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy so I can read it all over again (and annotate it this time!)
Posted to: NetGalley, Goodreads, and The StoryGraph
Posted on: 28 July 2023
4.4 (rounded down to 4) out of 5 stars.
‘Silver Nitrate’ was a book that when I first saw the summary, I was a little iffy on if it was one I’d like. Now, I *loved* a few of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s previous books- ‘Gods of Jade and Shadow’, ‘The Beautiful Ones’, and ‘Velvet Was The Night’. I knew her writing style well to know that I’d most likely *enjoy* her books regardless. I just figured that this new read would be a mood-read kind of book where I’d pick it up when I found myself *craving* a cursed movie title centering Nazi occultism, rough main characters, and stuff of fiction bleeding into two normal people’s reality. When I got approved for this eARC after all, I decided to just jump right in and, man, was it a *phenomenal* read at the end.
‘Silver Nitrate’ shows the ugly of characters as well as it shows their ability to work together in the face of other’s ugly. Monserrat and Tristán were a duo that I found myself in love with from the start. They had a dynamic that grew and burned into what was the ending scene and I *loved* it SO much. There was just something about their flaws- one’s cowardice and the other’s unhealthy dive into what she finds interesting- being highlighted and then *actually* working through them at some point that grabbed me.
I also thoroughly enjoyed the magic system. I know the premise was in-story built by not so good people, but Silvia Moreno-Garcia creates this interesting system that almost had me like Monserrat in that I wanted to know more! I don’t know how much of real world occultism was used to help base the magic in ‘Silver Nitrate’ though, but the entwining of it *and* the idea of movies being more magic than what meets the eye was enthralling.
I think I’ve got a major book hangover with ‘Silver Nitrate’ though because I want more reads *just* like it. I want to know what happens after the ending and I honestly just need more Monserrat and Tristán! I can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy so I can read it all over again (and annotate it this time!)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Death, Antisemitism, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Cancer, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Addiction, and Alcoholism
Most of the minor content warnings are brief mentions that are a bit pertinent to the story, but aren’t too in depth. The antisemitism is in the form of nazi talk/mentions of nazi occultism and racism in that aspect- eugenics included.
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