I will always read anything this author publishes so when I saw this was her newest project, I was pumped! This story is narrated by a Mexican secretary who longs for more, at a time when the Mexico ruling party organized its own paramilitary groups to beat and even kill the opposition, as in the watershed massacre at Tlatelolco. The character is complex and interesting and Silvia uses the pulpy prose style of a detective novel, so it's a breezy read.
Full review to come on YouTube.

I’m not quite sure why, but this book failed to grab and hold my interest. The setting was interesting, Mexico in 1971, with student protests being violently quashed. The two main characters, Maite and Elvis, aren’t likeable but neither are they despicable. They also don't interact at all until the very end of the book.

While I received the eARC from NetGalley, I wound up mostly listening to the published audiobook by Random House Audio. The narrator, Gisela Chipé, did an excellent job with the many voices. It was not her fault that I wound up listening to the story at 2.0 speed, just to get through it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

So...I've tried a few of Moreno-Garcia's books now, and I'm thinking her style just isn't for me. Noir is alright, but I prefer a more modern tone in my mystery, I suppose. Would recommend to readers who enjoy her work but want something different from Mexican Gothic or her other fantasy work.

Another great read from Silvia Moreno-Garcia. This one kept me on my toes. Made me realize I really do like the noir genre.

I really thought I’d like this book based on my opinions on this author’s other works, but I just think the setting was not my style at all. I kept thinking about how I didn’t like the aesthetic and how I didn’t like the main character. I will still continue to read more by this author, but this one missed the mark.

This book was just not for me. I requested this one when there was so much fanfare around the author's previous book, Mexican Gothic. I ended up reading MG and really disliked it and was hoping that this book would redeem the author for me. However, I am just not the reader for her style and genre. I would not plan to read this author again.

i wasnt quite invested in the content of the story (i often found myself skimming through the elvis gangster chapters), i always appreciate how SMG sets the tone in her books. its consistent throughout and i have no doubt noir and pulp fiction fans will enjoy this.

You are hooked from the first sentence. I enjoy Moreno-Garcia's writing and this books did not disappoint. Thank you for permitting me to read this wonderful book.

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book! I will be posting my review on social media, to include Instagram, Amazon, Goodreads, and Instagram!

The historical setting for Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s noir novel, Velvet Was the Night, is the violent suppression of a student uprising in Mexico City in the late 1960s, and that part was fascinating. The characters, an idealistic youth drawn into the world of gang brutality, and an insecure secretary, find themselves drawn into the mysterious disappearance of an art student who may be in possession of incriminating photographs related to the uprising. For most of the book, Maite and Elvis go about their separate lives, slowly spiraling toward one another.

I loved earlier novels of Silvia Morena-Garcia (Gods of Jade and Shadow, The Beautiful Ones, Mexican Gothic, and Certain Dark Things). For me, however, this gritty novel never found its center, either dramatically or morally. I found both central characters ambivalent enough to be unsettling. I kept waiting for them to grow up, but they never did. Elvis becomes a casual murderer and torturer, without empathy for his victims even when he himself becomes one. Maite’s a thief, consumed with envy, living vicariously through the treasures she makes off with. Sure, they’re anti-heroes, but I like a little redemptive virtue and a reason to connect emotionally with my anti-heroes. The only characters I cared about were minor and didn’t stay around for the ending. The background, while intriguing, seemed to belong to a different story. Added to this, I’m profoundly uninterested in gangsters and their culture, and would not have picked up this book were it not for the author’s other, luminously creative works. I applaud her courage in tackling new subject material. All experiments run a risk, and the edgier the territory, the trickier the high-wire act. Other readers may gobble this one up but for me, even with Moreno-Garcia’s storytelling skill that kept me in the story until the end, the result was more “meh” than “magical!”

Silvia Moreno-Garcia is an author I've had on my shelves for the longest time, and I finally was able to dive in with this fast-paced and dark romance in Velvet Was the Night. It's definitely for fans of noir and anti-heroes, so light and bubbly this novel is NOT. Highly recommend if gritty crime procedurals or period pieces are your jam.

Summary:
From the New York Times bestselling author of Mexican Gothic comes a “delicious, twisted treat for lovers of noir”* about a daydreaming secretary, a lonesome enforcer, and the mystery of a missing woman they’re both desperate to find.

*Simone St. James, New York Times bestselling author of The Sun Down Motel

1970s, Mexico City. Maite is a secretary who lives for one thing: the latest issue of Secret Romance. While student protests and political unrest consume the city, Maite escapes into stories of passion and danger.

Her next-door neighbor, Leonora, a beautiful art student, seems to live a life of intrigue and romance that Maite envies. When Leonora disappears under suspicious circumstances, Maite finds herself searching for the missing woman—and journeying deeper into Leonora’s secret life of student radicals and dissidents.

Meanwhile, someone else is also looking for Leonora at the behest of his boss, a shadowy figure who commands goon squads dedicated to squashing political activists. Elvis is an eccentric criminal who longs to escape his own life: He loathes violence and loves old movies and rock ’n’ roll. But as Elvis searches for the missing woman, he watches Maite from a distance—and comes to regard her as a kindred spirit who shares his love of music and the unspoken loneliness of his heart.

Now as Maite and Elvis come closer to discovering the truth behind Leonora’s disappearance, they can no longer escape the danger that threatens to consume their lives, with hitmen, government agents, and Russian spies all aiming to protect Leonora’s secrets—at gunpoint.

Velvet Was the Night is an edgy, simmering historical novel for lovers of smoky noirs and anti-heroes.

I like this author's writing. It's dark and noir and I learn something new every time I read her. In this intense, I learned about the politics in Mexico in the early 70's, when the government began to crack down on activist work. I liked the two protagonists and grew to care about their wellbeing. I enjoyed Mexican Gothic more, but appreciated that this one was more based in reality.

SMG did it again! I will forever pick up and read whatever she writes. No matter what genre, her writing style is still strong and brilliant.

Velvet Was the Night: This is not Mexican Gothic. And hurray! She can weave historical occasions and spin them into literary wonderment. Pick this up and add the playlist to enhance the reading experience.

The latest novel from the author of 'Mexican Gothic' is a fast-paced, darkly romantic journey set during Mexico's Dirty War. I don't read many dark academia books, but I liked what the author did with ‘Mexican Gothic’ as well as ‘Gods of Jade and Shadow’, and I have seen so much hype around this book! The imagery is beautiful, and the symbolism is on-point. The pictures that Moreno-García paints are stunning, vivid, magical. The world building is beautiful, but the magic system was, admittedly, strange. Even though it was a bit of my comfort zone at times, I really enjoyed the story.

Moreno-Garcia has a gift for genre. This homage to noir, set against the backdrop of political unrest in 1970s Mexico City, works within and bends the conventions. None of the characters are particularly likeable (noir) but you end of rooting for them anyway as they all search for the mysterious, beautiful missing Leonora. Recommend for all adult libraries...not sure yet if I will purchase it for my teen library. It may be a little too niche for them.

I was really looking forward to reading this after all of the hype in my book groups. It was difficult for me to connect to the characters, and therefore to the story. I know lots of readers will LOVE this - I think it's just not my cup of tea. Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for an advanced reader copy of this book for an honest review.

This book kept me on my toes. The premise is so interesting, once I got into the rhythm of the writing, I could not put the book down.

Another intricate story by Silvia Moreno Garcia. Velvet Was The Night is a unique look into Mexico’s underbelly and it’s characters are loveable yet flawed. The characters’ loneliness is palpable at times and much like most of her writing, Moreno Garcia’s characters drive the story. The plot is action-packed and subtly leads up to the novels climax.
Rating: 4/5

Silvia always delivers atmosphere. Even I might not think I will enjoy the story the vibes are always there and that keeps me around. I have never read Noir and I am so happy that SMG is the one to introduce me to it. The time period and talk of music and fashion was so good and the mystery was not entirely predictable. SMG just never misses.

This is a hard book for me to review, mostly because I was left with mixed feelings once I read the last sentence.

As many of her readers know, Silvia Moreno-Garcia is an excellent writer! That was showcased throughout this novel and was what I was expecting. She has a way with words and a way of bringing those words together to create a story that you can see. She makes it easy for the reader to not only see the image she’s creating for us but also feel along with the characters. I did love the noir tone that is infused into her writing and this story.

Speaking of the characters, this is partly where I have mixed feelings. I didn’t find either of our main characters Maite or Elvis to be likable or even easy to connect with. It seemed that Maite was always either whining/complaining or lying. Those two things are what I remember the most about her. Elvis, on the other hand, mostly seemed to me a little mindless. He had orders and he followed them. He had music interests similar to Maite’s, but it was always in the background. It seemed that this tidbit of each personality was placed into the story to connect them more to the plot, but it just felt like a weak connection.

The plot was interesting and just engaging enough for me to continue reading through the end. However, I think I would have preferred slightly different main characters. Or just a different angle on the whole story. The missing woman and her story, understandably, were given a lot of page time throughout the book. I honestly kept reading to find out what she saw, what she knew, how does it connect back to this little enforcer gang for the government, etc. We only get partial answers to some of those questions by the end, which was frustrating. I also felt that the story was missing the slow tension that I imagine is seen in noir (but I wouldn’t 100% know).

And then reading the author’s note gives insight to why she wrote the story yet leaves me wondering why she wrote this particular story and say Leonora’s story (the missing woman). In the end, I didn’t love it, but didn’t hate it.