2.5 stars

Oh, the seductive cover; the promise of something new and different or old and familiar. Velvet Was the Night has a beautiful cover and a wonderfully engaging title. Offered up as a noir, the title and the cover both draw on that feeling — and they deliver. (Though I have no idea what the title means in relation to the story I read, nor who that woman on the front could possibly be.) Unfortunately, the story itself did not quite manage that.

Velvet Was the Night missed the mark and instead felt mostly like a book that was trying really hard to be noir — like a young Simba who still needs to work on his roar. Without all the earmarks and tropes typical of a noir, this ended up feeling distant and boring. No femme fatale, no murders, hardly any sex, a bit more violence than sex, and, the hardest one to miss, two protagonists who never felt as though they were tragically flawed.

Maite, a frumpy, moody secretary who is unhappy with her life and stuck in reading comic serial romances — wishing real life were more like her issues of Secret Romance, is thrown into the middle of something bigger when her neighbor, Leonora, asks her to care for her cat because she has to unexpectedly go out of town. Elvis (not his real name), is a member of the Hawks, a black operations group created to repress demonstrations and prevent other large popular movements. Neither narrator, Maite or Elvis, despite his current position with the Hawks, ever felt like an anti-hero with questionable morals. Both of them, in fact, felt completely redeemable the entire way through. And neither of them did much changing at all, being the same characters but just in a better mood by the end.

Now, if I disregard the noir attempt, the outline of the book itself was moderately interesting. Historical interest with the framework of the Mexican Dirty War, the 1970's setting, and the injections of pop culture as garnish. But Maite and Elvis both lacked in character development, which was not aided by the use of third-person, and the fact that the story felt as if it was unfurling with each page turn, rather than having already happened and utilizing the feel of relaying the events after the fact — but that's headed back into the noir arena. The protagonists/narrators don't even meet until near the end of the book — and the book's pacing didn't even feel settled until around 75%. Before that point, the tone was so removed as to not only make me feel uninterested and uninvested, but also giving me the distinct impression that the novel itself was neither interested nor invested in its own story.

Elvis filled the role of the person leading the search in the novel itself, but Maite was reluctant to become involved. While that did fit with her character, it only leeched into my mind and made me feel reluctant to continue the story. I ended up just pushing through because it was a galley — which is a shame because the last twenty-five percent was actually enjoyable . . . not wholly or enough to make up for the rest, but enough to make me wish the rest of the book had been similarly delivered.

This is one of those reviews where I begin by saying, "It's me, not you"! I just did not care much for this book. It was dark and violent.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for this advanced readers copy. This book is scheduled to release in August 2021.

Velvet was the Night is a noir novel about Maite, a woman in her thirties living in Mexico City in the 1970s who is sucked into the conflict between revolutionary university students and the various government groups attempting to suppress them when her neighbor goes missing. Maite’s neighbor Leonora asks Maite to watch her cat while she does on vacation. However, Leonora does not return as promised, and when Maite tries to track Leonora down to give her back her cat, Maite discovers that Leonora is on the run after taking photos of an attack that occurred during a recent protest. Maite does not know that she is being trailed by Elvis, a young man who works for a thug group called the Hawks, as Elvis is also trying to find Leonora and her photos. However, while Elvis follows the clues left behind after Leonora’s disappearance, he begins to doubt the value he holds for the Hawks and the role he plays for them.

With the two unrelated narrators – Maite and Elvis – I was concerned at first that the book would drag, or feel too stretched out. However, both narratives ran parallel to one another in a way that held my interest quite well. Maite and Elvis live in dramatically different worlds and have very different goals, but the mystery of Leonora’s disappearance tied the two stories together well enough, and the characters have enough action in their own lives to make each perspective interesting in its own way.

One of the most interesting things about Velvet Was the Night was that there weren’t really any terribly likeable characters, or anyone that I wanted to root for, and yet I still was invested in the story and the mystery. Maite starts out full of self-hatred, her life is a little boring, and she acts selfishly with little thought to the consequences of her actions, but her goal to find Leonora is admirable, and that was enough to push through until she picked up enough character growth to become more likeable. Elvis does some despicable things, but his motives are not bad, and he shows enough growth early in the story to help me root for him, if not for his organization. I was quite impressed that the author managed to keep me invested in the story despite the corruption of the characters and the world in which they live.

In all, I’ll give Velvet Was the Night an 8 out of 10. Most readers will enjoy the mystery at the heart of Velvet Was the Night, and the world of 1970s Mexico provides a fascinating setting that historical fiction readers will enjoy.

This was my first approved ARC from NetGalley and I literally screamed when I saw it was approved. Not just because of the fact that it's my first ARC that wasn't an automatic giveaway, but I've really enjoyed other books I've read by SMG so I was stoked to be able to read this one prior to its release.

Velvet Was the Night is a historical noir the takes place in 1970's Mexico City in the midst of a tense political climate. The story is told from the viewpoints of Maite and Elvis. Maite is an incredibly average secretary who lives for Secret Romance comics, vinyl records, and stealing mundane things from people for no understandable reason. Elvis is part of an anti-communist political group, the Hawks, and loves rock n' roll and old movies. The two storylines begin to merge as they both become involved in the search into the whereabouts of Leonora, an art student with links to a communist art collective who has potentially damning evidence against the government.

I'm not terribly familiar with the noir genre when it comes to books, however, if this is an example of what the genre is like, I'm here for it. The story starts out with a bit of a slow build and it took a bit for the actual story to begin to take shape. I was not familiar with the political history of Mexico during that time and I think having a base knowledge of that would have been helpful with some of the references. That being said I really liked this book a lot. The character development was fantastic, even with the secondary characters and I loved how all they were all intertwined as the storylines slowly came together. There are so many references to music integrated throughout the story that it's almost like you can hear the soundtrack to the book as you're reading. SMG created a playlist specifically for the book that I highly recommend listening to as you read along to fully immerse yourself.

Between the Mexican covers of 60's rock and roll and the brutal fight scenes, I think this would be an amazing movie adaptation, especially if Robert Rodriguez got his hands on it. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a slow-burn mystery and characters with a touch of hopeless romanticism, or anyone interested in diving into the noir genre of books.

**SIDE NOTE** Towards the beginning of the story Maite is asked to watch Leonora's cat and I was convinced something bad was going to happen to it. Nothing does, so if you're someone like me that can have a book ruined by the death of an animal, you're safe.

Strong start but a muddled middle...

VELVET WAS THE NIGHT is a noir set during political unrest in 1970s Mexico. There are two points of view: Maite, a young secretary whose neighbor goes missing; and Elvis, who has been hired to squash resistance among students and protestors.

I went in expecting a mystery, which led to disappointment as the missing neighbor isn't a huge part of the plot. Once I realized VWTN was more of a historical character study, I found it more satisfying.

Thank you Random House and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for this review.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review Velvet was the Night. Due to her recent tweets about reviewers I cannot review this book in an unbiased manner.

This is a slow book, and I wasn’t entirely in the mood to read it, but I do genuinely love everything SMG writes and will have to come back to it when I’m needing a historical noir.

Thank you to netgalley for providing me with this arc in exchange for an honest review.
I like anything that Silvia Moreno-Garcia writes. She never misses!! She can never do wrong and this story is an example of that. I loved it and will definitely be reading anything else she releases!

3.5 stars
This book is one I had to read slowly, I couldn’t binge it. I have not read Mexican Gothic yet and I heard SOOO many people tell me how amazing that book was, so I was very excited to try this one and possibly put too much hype on it.
I enjoyed Velvet Was the Night but I’m not sure it was totally my kind of book. There is a lot of cursing, and violence which isn’t 100% my thing unless it’s wrapped in fantasy. However I really enjoyed the writing style and the nuances of the different voices. I also really loved the noir feel! That was perfectly executed!

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. And thank you to SMG for being a writer.

Absolutely phenomenal as always. Silvia Moreno-Garcia is always great. I loved her other books set in Mexico and Mexico City- her ability to craft the world is incredible and makes me forget that I have no lived in Mexico City, especially during the 20s or 70s (as this book was). I am not as big of a fan of noir books, but anything she writes is always going to be so good.

SMG is in my top three favorite living authors, but I gave up reading this book a third of the way through. The pacing was slow and I just wasn't particularly invested in where it went. Others may still enjoy it, but it was not for me.

Worth it for the gorgeous cover! Does the 1970s count as historical fiction? I guess it does and this book takes you right there. I felt like the stakes were a little low for a suspense novel but that doesn't mean it wasn't an enjoyable ride. I felt like I learned about Mexico in the 1970s which was an added bonus.

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. This was a DNF for me. I had high hopes with it being by the same author as Mexican Gothic, but I just couldn't lose myself in the story.

Interesting crime/mystery novel set in Mexico. Good to read something a little different, but the characters were not incredibly likable and the mystery was easy to see coming.

Velvet Was The Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is described by the author as noir. The book was well written in the 25% that I read; I just don’t think noir and I fit well together. I am glad that so many others are enjoying the book. I will definitely give the author another try. Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for the ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

3/5 ⭐️s

I knew from the cover alone that this book was going to be a completely unique experience compared to Mexican Gothic, and while historical noir isn’t my normal genre, I genuinely enjoyed the experience!

Maite can’t deny her curiosity when her neighbor goes missing. Elvis has finally gotten the chance to lead a unit in the paramilitary group he works for and is tasked with finding the same woman. Both Maite and Elvis must avoid the corrupt government agents, hitmen, and KGB operatives as they seek the truth.

What worked:
SMG writes really amazing and complex characters. In what I’ve read of hers so far, her heroes/heroines are never typical, and I appreciate that. Maite was borderline unlikeable (although maybe it’s because she’s also extremely relatable?), but you still find yourself routing for her as she navigates the seedy underworld of Mexican government in the ‘70s.

The historical component of this was also incredible. I know almost nothing about Mexico’s history, yet SMG managed to create this story that completely immersed me within the time and culture.

What didn’t work:
The plot is slow, especially in the beginning before the mystery really begins to take shape.

I wish the two storylines had overlapped a bit more, but that’s a personal opinion. I can see a beauty in the parallelism of the two POVs as well.

While I loved Maite and Elvis, I felt the side characters were less fleshed out. I wanted to know more about Leonora especially.

Read this if you love:
- Mysteries
- Historical fiction
- Noirs

Slight spoiler:
I always need some form of romance to truly enjoy a book. This had that, but it was a very light seasoning on the mystery.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Having not read anything by this author before, I was not quite sure what to expect. In all honesty, I knew of Mexican Gothic but have not gotten around to reading it yet despite it being highly recommended and on my to-read list. Therefore, when the opportunity to read and review this presented itself, I jumped on it.
I am glad I did because I have not read something like this before.
This book takes place in the 1970s in Mexico and follows a group of student protestors, and two rival groups that are either involved with suppression of information by the Mexican government or just hired thugs on the other hand.
I have very little knowledge of this area of Mexican history, but this book was absolutely the most interesting thing I have read in a while. Not only was it stunningly and beautifully written, helping to evoke Mexico of that era, but it also has a matching Spotify playlist to match up with Maite's musical interests that are mentioned in the book so you can listen to it while reading.
I think if you enjoy things that are intellectually superior, well-written and very meticulously researched while still being interesting and fun, this is 100% a book you NEED to read.

This ebook was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely adore Silvia Moreno Garcia’s books, and when I got this one I was so beyond excited and it did not disappoint. This noir had everything that I wanted in a book, and left me with a whole in my chest. Really really great.

Velvet Was the Night was a very different read from Silvia Moreno-Garcia's Mexican Gothic. Here we have a historical noir, centered around the historical events of The Dirty War in Mexico City (1970's). I personally had never heard of this war, and believe the reader would benefit from a bit of a history lesson in the beginning, as I found the opening chapters and the political nuances a bit hard to follow due to my lack of knowledge. At the end of the story, there is an epilogue that explains what was going on at the time, along with a playlist of the songs mentioned in the writing.

The novel is set around the idea of a boring woman, Maite, slowly becoming unintentionally involved in the Dirty War, initially by agreeing to take care of her neighbor's cat. Her neighbor, Leonora, disappears, and Maite does her best to track her down in order to relieve herself of cat-caring duties, thus finding herself getting deeper and deeper into the political resistance scene. Maite has a lot of self-loathing and has never had much encouragement or even creativity in her life, and she is a seemingly average person. Maite does love and collect books and records, however, and enjoys listening to them and the act of collecting them. She also reads romances in the form of graphic novels, often wishing her life was like that of the characters in the graphic novels.

Elvis is a thug who works for a gang called The Hawks. He leads a rough and disposable life, doing without question what his boss asks of him. He has never had a loving relationship, or much encouragement or success outside of this gang structure. Elvis loves music and books as well, and while surveilling Maite, becomes intrigued with her collections and the fact that she seems to be as passionate as he about music and books/knowledge. Elvis tries to better himself by learning a new word each day and inserting it into his conversation.

The overall theme could be that nurturing relationships and mentoring drive our actions, good or bad. And also, that the arts unite us. There are photographers, writers, books and music that are very central to this novel, and the overall idea that the arts can drive change, unify people and build relationships is a good one. I'm not sure if that was what the author was going for with the focus on the violence and noir, but that is what I will take from it, elevating this to a three star read for me.

Thank you to #netgalley and #randomhousepublishinggroup for this ARC of #VelvetWasTheNight!

Velvet Was the Night is a noir thriller set in 1970s Mexico at a time when students were being brutally attacked for organizing, protesting, and standing up against an oppressive and corrupt government. The book centers around Maite and Elvis. Maite, a single woman who works as a secretary, isn't satisfied with her mundane life and wishes for a life more like the stories she reads in her romance comics. Elvis, is a member of Hawk, a government/military funded unit of basically, hired brawn, and spends his days on assignments surveilling, interrogating, and roughing people up. Elvis' and Maite's stories intertwine as both of them, for different reasons, are caught up in search of a missing woman.

Both Elvis and Maite are such well written characters and I enjoyed watching them evolve throughout the novel. Both faced disappointments that they had to come to terms with. I especially liked that both main characters had a deep love for music. Author Silvia Moreno-Garcia even compiled a playlist to go along with the book and set the mood, and I found that to be a brilliant touch.

At times the pacing of the novel was a bit slow for me and there were twists that I found predictable but the setting, vibe, and characters made it well worth reading. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC of this novel.