Scan barcode
A review by dreareads_
Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
4.0
If there is one thing Silvia Moreno Garcia is always going to do well is spooky vibes and colonialist critique.
This book follows many of Moreno Gracias usual beats. Woman (and man in this case) accidentally come across something spooky, slooow but mysterious things start to happen, surprise! it’s a racist doing racist things but supernaturally, the action reaches neck breaking speeds, vague (ish) conclusion. The existence of these beats is not problematic and actually make for a fairly entertaining story, the issue is when you know the formula and can tell when the highs do not reach as high as they could (ie comparing everything to Mexican Gothic).
Moreno Garcias passion for film shines through, and I learned more about movie magic than ever in my life. Unfortunately her passion translated into more information than necessary about the techniques on movie making/editing, which dragged the story a little. I enjoyed how the supernatural elements were tied to the movie making process, and the characters were directly tied to this process. There were also so genuinely creepy scenes that had me exclaiming “OH My God NO” in the middle of the night!
Unfortunately the main romance did not work for me, I felt as if the very clear issues that impeded our main characters from being together were never fully addressed. I could not see how these two were not just friends at the end of the day..
I also found the character of Monserrat to be missing ✨something✨. I know that is very vague, but I found that Monserrats personality was not necessarily memorable. It may be because I found Anwers slow possession? Of her to have no real effect on her or the story. She was always in control . I think my biggest issue is that she was missing flaws, at least flaws that she had to overcome in a significant manner.
I am writing a lot because ultimately I really enjoyed this book but there were parts that I just needed to rant about. Highly recommend!
TW: racism, death, murder, haunting, sexism, drug use, addiction, talk of suicide and cutting.
This book follows many of Moreno Gracias usual beats. Woman (and man in this case) accidentally come across something spooky, slooow but mysterious things start to happen, surprise! it’s a racist doing racist things but supernaturally, the action reaches neck breaking speeds, vague (ish) conclusion. The existence of these beats is not problematic and actually make for a fairly entertaining story, the issue is when you know the formula and can tell when the highs do not reach as high as they could (ie comparing everything to Mexican Gothic).
Moreno Garcias passion for film shines through, and I learned more about movie magic than ever in my life. Unfortunately her passion translated into more information than necessary about the techniques on movie making/editing, which dragged the story a little. I enjoyed how the supernatural elements were tied to the movie making process, and the characters were directly tied to this process. There were also so genuinely creepy scenes that had me exclaiming “OH My God NO” in the middle of the night!
Unfortunately the main romance did not work for me, I felt as if the very clear issues that impeded our main characters from being together were never fully addressed. I could not see how these two were not just friends at the end of the day..
I also found the character of Monserrat to be missing ✨something✨. I know that is very vague, but I found that Monserrats personality was not necessarily memorable. It may be because I found Anwers
I am writing a lot because ultimately I really enjoyed this book but there were parts that I just needed to rant about. Highly recommend!
TW: racism, death, murder, haunting, sexism, drug use, addiction, talk of suicide and cutting.