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.

I was excited for this book as I really enjoyed 2 of Moreno's other books but this one just didn't hold my attention. I wish it had been the first book I had read I may have felt differently but I think I was stuck comparing it to her other work and I just couldn't find the same feelings.

Love the book cover of this fantastic book by Silvia Moreno-Garcia! You have everything you need in a mystery love story where the characters come alive for you as you follow all this mystery!! You start out slow which I think it did but got to going before you knew it where you are wondering where it will take you and if you don't be killed! Received from Net Gallery!! This is a must read for the mystery solving part of you!

I highly enjoyed this novel- it is another Sylvia Moreno great that weaves the noir with a wonderful story ans characters set in Mexico.

https://bookriot.com/listen/resolutions-and-reflections/

Hear me talk more about why this book was one of my absolute favorites of 2021. Vivid historical fiction with characters that stay with you long after you turn the last page.

Maybe her best book yet -- the most assured, in its way? There's a confidence to the prose, to the 70s vibe, to the story itself. It's a terrific summer read.

Anti-heroes abound in this novel from Silvia Moreno-Garcia. There's really no character that I loved or even liked, but the story kept me intrigued till the very end and I think that's the noir feeling the author was going for. But a mysterious disappearance and the ensuing amateur investigation by Maite, a daydreamer, loner secretary and the alternating perspective of the Hawk Elvis made for an intriguing story.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I did not finish this one. I tried really hard, but I just couldn't get myself to care about the characters or what happened to them. I really loved her book "Mexican Gothic," so this was a big disappointment.

Before this book, Silvia Moreno-Garcia was an insta-buy author for me. I am so happy to report that "Velvet Was the Night" continues this tradition.

I'll admit I was skeptical going into this book as it doesn't have Moreno-Garcia's traditional SFF element. Purely historical and noir, "Velvet Was the Night" plunges the reader into a time of tumult in Mexico and drives the stakes higher with a thrilling plot.

As always, Moreno-Garcia's main characters are flawed in all the right ways, with enough sass and life that they nearly jump off the page. Truly, Moreno-Garcia is an incredible storyteller, with a deep understanding of what makes characters human.

No spoilers, but the tension between our dual-perspective (which was a beautiful addition, and desperately needed), protagonists runs hot and deep. Also, this book just proves Moreno-Garcia must have banging tastes in music if her character's collections are of any indication.

In sum, this book shows that Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a storyteller to be reckoned with in any genre. I'd read her grocery list, to be honest.

And for everyone who was worried: the cat makes it out okay.

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.

I am a huge fan of historical fiction novels. It is one of my favorite genres. I enjoyed the book. It wasn't what I was expecting and I should have done more research on the backstory but I thought it was a good novel. I haven't read her other novel, but I would recommend this title for people who like more military-themed novels. I was hoping for more action. I felt it was a little long and thought it would be more suspenseful.

“Some people are made to be lonely.“

Velvet Was the Night, set in Mexico during the 1970s, covers a lot of true life events- student protests, infiltration and violence by The Hawks, or Los Halcones, and political unrest, but ultimately is a novel about people suffering from loneliness. Told in alternating chapters between Maite and Elvis, we see lives up ended as the search for a missing girl goes on.

I really enjoyed this book and while I guessed one of the “big” twists, I absolutely loved the ending. Highly recommend for fans of a slow burning mystery or historic noir, my one issue is that there was some inner dialogue repetitions, but over all I enjoyed Velvet Was the Night much more than Mexican Gothic. Plus that cover is EVERYTHING!