Well, I read this. I read this very quickly and was thoroughly entertained, so that's something.

However, the structure of this book really did not work for me at all. So much of the book is taken up with the Salome narrative which is basically just a cheesy 50s Hollywood movie plot. And I feel like the concept of a story within a story only works when it reveals some intriguing narrative themes that tie into the main plot. But in this case, the story of Salome had zero to do with Vera and Nancy at all. To make it even more irrelevant, the Salome chapters were basically just a word-for-word retelling of the Oscar Wilde play and Rita Hayworth movie. Right down to the colours of Salome's clothes and the lists of specific gems. It didn't do anything new with the Salome story and didn't provide any commentary on Vera's story, so it just felt entirely pointless.

I also found the main plot to be fairly frustrating. Vera is a saintly paragon surrounded by unreasonable people being excessively mean, and that concept always feels silly to me. Vera felt like a bit of a blank page, and this impression was furthered by just how little her relationships were actually explored. The author spends the first half of the book building a huge family conflict with Vera's controlling, colorist mother and golden child sister, but then that plot is randomly dropped and decades of resentment and insecurity are handwaved away. Likewise, Vera's grand romance and her fight with her nemesis all just fade away abruptly with little resolution or character development.

Ultimately, I really liked the idea of a story focused on Mexican actresses during the golden age of Hollywood and the Salome narrative, but sadly, this just fizzled out into a big pile of nothingness for me.

Real drama is back! The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo meets Yellowface meets the Bible in this epic historical fiction.

Sylvia Moreno Garcia takes us back to old Hollywood when “sword and sandal” movies were all the rage. We meet Nancy and Vera. Nancy is a delusional “actress” who is determined to get the main role in the upcoming movie The Seven Veils of Salome but they pluck the young and beautiful Vera Larios from Mexico City to play the titular role. Chaos (and racism!) ensues.

This is a historical fiction within a historical fiction. We learn more about Nancy’s one sided fight with Vera, but are also taken back to the biblical/Roman times to get Salome’s perspective. She is a young girl who’s mother married her uncle (yes, keep up!) and now sits at the precipice of a huge political shift. So many political and religious agendas are proposed to her, and she also is conflicted in imagining life with the man she loves but is forbidden to see.


So glad I read this on the kindle so I could just highlight words I needed a definition on. The x ray was also helpful in keeping names straight in Vera, Nancy, and Salome’s stories

The title references the ancient tale of Salome dancing the “dance of seven veils” (something I had never heard of).

I love how their stories intertwine and the build up was done exceptionally well. Sylvia Moreno Garcia has a way with words and I found some of the characters and vocabulary hard to keep up with at times, but once it clicked, it clicked! 5 stars

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. I will be buying!

Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc of this one in exchange for an honest review!

This book is a historical epic about a movie star and the woman that she plays.

Unfortunately, I was not a big fan of this one. I don’t think this author is for me because others that I’ve tried from her didn’t work for me either. I just find myself bored and not interested in the book. I didn’t really connect with any of the characters either.

I hope others love this one!

Another amazing read from Silvia Moreno-Garcia!

This book is a beautiful historical fiction set in the golden age of Hollywood. It’ follows multiple characters as they film a gladiator-and-sandals, biblical epic “The Seventh Veil of Salome.” It also ties in the story of the movie itself. Every piece pulls back another layer on the story and the plot, and you slowly see the pattern emerge until they all converge at the end. It’s truly masterfully done!

I loved how deep and well-written each character POV was. The voices were distinct and interesting. You really got to know the character and who you wanted to root for.

I absolutely recommend this for any historical fiction fan!

This is more than just a love story.

With several women competing for the leading role of a Hollywood movie in the 1950s, one has to expect some hard feelings going down. Nancy Hartley, an attractive 26-year-old model, thought she was best for the part. But the director was looking for someone that had more of an exotic look. And there she was: Veras Larios. She didn’t have the experience but she was a very beautiful 21-year-old Mexican actress. With hard work, she could learn the lines and become a star.

It was all about the production of the Biblical story of Salome, a beautiful princess, who was in love with a preacher. The book had multiple POVs that told the story of the challenging relationships of these three women. There were a lot of layers and prejudice with this plot that could be split into several pieces. When one woman gets the leading role and takes the boyfriend, there has to be emotional backfire.

It was years ago when I saw the opera: Salome. It wasn’t my favorite then and this part of the story was slow even though I enjoyed an original storyline. I was most impressed with how the author used her knowledge of Hollywood stars and music from the past and incorporated it into a chain-of-events with three women that were trying to find their true love. It concludes like the end of a fireworks show.

My thanks to Del Rey and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book with an expected release date of August 6, 2024.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia's talent grows with every new work published. Her ability to draw together characters and weave complex stories is unmatched. This tale of Salome and Hollywood would not have been as interesting and entertaining if not for her storytelling skills.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Random House | Del Rey and NetGalley for providing an eARC for an honest review.

As much as I like this author, this novel just didn’t work well for me. Vera is a main character who, in the 1950s, lands a lead role in an epic film. She has just moved to the U.S. from Mexico and has no background in Hollywood and very little in acting yet she quickly adapts. Really? Parts of her character are believable but mostly she bounced from quiet/anxious-to-please to reckless/sexually aggressive. The other characters seemed to stay true to themselves. The story itself is told from multiple POV which works well to make a cohesive novel.

Thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey Books for the ARC to read and review.

This is the first time I'm reading one of Silvia Moreno=Garcia's books, and I know this author has some well known titles so I was excited to pick this up and see how I enjoyed the writing style and characters! I think the Seventh Veil of Salome is definitely interesting. The ultimate premise is for sure one to get people interested in the book, but I think once you start reading you become a bit surprised with the pace and overall storytelling of the plot. I was surprised by the inclusion of the POV of the original Salome character. As someone who went to a catholic school I actually did not know much about the story of Salome and John the Baptist, so seeing it in this context was interesting. I guess I struggle to see how relevant it was to include that part of the story in the novel. I understand it is to draw elements of similarity for Salome, Vera, and even Nancy's characters as they all struggle with some of the same things at some point, but honestly it is hard to follow. While I liked some aspects of it, I didn't enjoy it entirely. However I looooved Vera's character and her antagonist Nancy. I think the book could have just surrounded them and not included the biblical aspect as I do love stories set in the Hollywood glam era.

I think this book was okay, didn't hate it but I also didn't love it!

Silvia Moreno-Garcia is back in a completely different genre (at least it seemed like it). I was a little confused at first because of the multiple narrators, but it didn't take long for the different vantage points to make sense. The bulk of the storytelling tooks place either in Salome's time or in Hollywood; the Hollywood storytelling is mostly done through Vera and Nancy's point of view. It was not a direct parallel of the story from the bible; you know things are going down, but how? Moreno-Garcia also didn't shy away from old Hollywood's treatment of racism, colorism, and homophobia. Overall, while I didn't find myself to be in favor of any particular character, I was entertained.

For the first half of the book, I think I was expecting something different. I thought it was going to be darker. Once I realized the tone was more like The Beautiful Ones, I started to get into it more. This book is a slow burn, and I know its going to be popping in and out of my mind.

Silvia-Moreno Garcia is an extremely talented author who has the ability to write cross-genre and do so spectacularly. Whether writing in first person, third person, or from multiple points of view, Silvia Moreno-Garcia does not miss, and that includes the latest book, The Seventh Veil of Salome. Even though Salome is not a horror novel, it does beg the question to what lengths will individuals go when driven by success, vengeance, jealousy, envy, love, or rage. I thoroughly enjoyed how the story was relayed through multiple perspectives, and that each main character had a distinct voice cueing us in to their passions, dreams, and vices. I particularly enjoyed how SMG expanded on the biblical Salome tale to present the reader with a fully-fleshed character in her own right so that we could follow along and understand what Nancy and Vera felt and how each perceived the role.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia highlights again how she is a master storyteller as she pulls us back in and orients us to 1950s Hollywood. AS with all of her tales, she reminds us that "survival is at our core" and there is not a singular way in which to survive. I highly recommend this book for any Silvia Moreno-Garcia fans and readers of historical fiction.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for the digital galley in exchange for my honest review.

This one was a really slow start but I stuck around for the interesting characters, most notably, Nancy, who I wanted to see more of even if she’s really awful. Plus, I didn’t know anything about Salome and I’ve learned she’s quite an interesting figure.

All of the characters stories weave together so nicely, and I really enjoyed it despite the pinch it took to get into it.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia is one of my favourite authors, and this one ranks pretty high on my list. She has an incredible way of reviving past eras for the modern reader.

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!

Another interesting and thoughtful read from Silvia. It is a wonderful feeling when you are kept wondering where it will go next.

I may need to face that Moreno-Garcia is just not for me. There is something solid to this novel, but the different tone of Salome vs the “modern day” characters just didn’t work for me.

I have previously enjoyed reading Silvia Moreno-Garcia's novels.
This one is a bit different from the others I have read .
The story is following mainly Vera Larios, a rising actress of Mexican heritage.
She is cast to play the part of Salome in a big Hollywood picture (Think Ben-Hur)
Her Rival is Nancy Hartley, a down on her luck aging actress.
The third woman is actually Salome, who is telling her story in her own words.

It's a very interesting book with a surprising twist at the end.
Definitely had a film noir/suspense vibe.

Thanks to NetGalley for an electronic ARC of this book.
My opinions are my own

The Seventh Veil of Salome is a behind the scenes look into the Golden Age of Hollywood, surrounding the making of a fictional film about the mythical/Biblical character, Salome, told primarily through the perspectives of three women, Vera Larios, the unknown young woman from Mexico who is cast in the lead, Nancy Hartley, a bit player living in Hollywood certain that she is on the verge of making her big break, and lastly, Salome herself leading up to the fateful night of the part for her stepfather/Uncle's birthday party when she dances for him and makes her demand for the head of John the Baptist.
The book begins as Vera is cast, gradually building a cast of characters in Hollywood, as filming progresses, casting the two women against each other, culminating in a tragic confrontation that coincides with Salome's dance for Herod. The writing itself helps to build the tension behind the scenes between the two women, as well as for Vera as a Mexican woman, ostracized and looked down upon in Hollywood. This book for me functioned as a coming of age as Vera grows up, asserting herself to her mother, and to the director of the film as well, standing up for herself against Nancy and other racists she meets, but this also sets her up for the culmination of the book.
The reason I rated this book 4 stars is because the conclusion, after a relatively slow build up to the climax, felt quite rushed, and left me slightly unsatisfied.
Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the electronic ARC of this novel for review.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia returns with this novel told in multiple perspectives surrounding the filming of the Biblical Epic "The Seventh Veil of Salome". The main conflict is between Vera, an up and coming star in her first role and Nancy, a bit player with big dreams, and bigger personal demons.

Moreno-Garcia takes the reader through the behind the scenes drama and a look at the studio system. There is plenty to keep the reader engaged throughout and the mini "interviews" with other characters throughout.

This was well-written and interesting but didn’t have enough plot for me personally. I enjoyed reading about these women in the film scene as well as Salome in Biblical times.

This is a nice noir about 1950s Hollywood complete with sexism and prejudice. There is lots of material for discussion.