
Member Reviews

The Seventh Veil of Salome by Silvia Moreno-Garcia was an absolutely fantastic read. I always appreciate how Moreno-Garcia writes female characters. They're very well-developed and she truly makes you understand why they do the things that they do. I loved every character. The plot was great, too. It was well-written, entertaining and I couldn't put the book down. I liked how the story is told through multiple narratives and how it jumps from one to the other. It was so immersive and all I want to do since finishing the book is watch old Hollywood movies. I will definitely be recommending this book to every single person I know.

Set in 1950s Hollywood, The Seventh Veil of Salome tells the story of Vera Larios, a Mexican ingenue who unexpectedly lands the starring role in a blockbuster movie, and Nancy Hartley, a frustrated and scheming bit player who thought the part was hers.
I enjoyed being immersed in the making of this film. I felt for naive Vera. She arrives in Hollywood ill equipped to deal with gossip, manipulative studio executives, racism, and a rival in Nancy. Nonetheless, Vera focuses on doing her best to make herself and her family, including her overbearing and not easily pleased mother, proud. Playing Salome, battling the studio, and dealing with her rival teach Vera some important life lessons. I cheered for her transition into a woman who is determined to do what makes her happy and refuses to accept anything less.
It was masterful how the Biblical story of Salome is intertwined with Vera and Nancy’s story. The parallels between Salome, who is trying to navigate Herod’s court, and the two actresses are intriguing. This might be my favorite part of the book.
I really enjoyed the great storytelling and insightful look behind the curtain of 1950s Hollywood in The Seventh Veil of Salome.

Really really enjoyed this. It was part bible myth retelling, and part old Hollywood glam tell-all, and who EVER would have thought that those two types of stories went together but they do. Another brilliant genre-bending tale from another absolute favourite author. Only two small details at the very end keep this from being a 5-star book for me.

In 1950s Hollywood, Vera Larios is an unknown Mexican ingenue cast in the lead as Salome for a big-budget picture. Plenty of people talk about her, including bit player Nancy Hartley, who will do anything to win fame. Both actresses are determined to make it to the top in Golden Age Hollywood, and this is also the story of Salome herself, desiring the prophet who foretold doom for her stepfather Herod. In a tale about three women trying to make it in a man's world, there will be tears and tragedy galore.
The Seventh Veil of Salome is told through various points of view, from Hollywood players to Vera, Nancy, and Salome herself. Hollywood is cutthroat and difficult to navigate, with everyone wanting an angle to get ahead. It's very much a white game, with so many different cuts at Vera for her Mexican heritage, color of her skin, and her inexperience with the Hollywood machine. She's also fielding her family issues, dating life, nascent paparazzi, and trying to please a rigid studio. Nancy is mean and petty, angling to get more but not willing to admit that she can't play the Hollywood game, either. This is juxtaposed with Salome's story, where she's being used as a pawn in a political game between her stepfather and Rome, with an undercurrent of unrest in the country.
We're right there in the thick of it with this story, and the way the threads are woven is seamlessly done. Some of the interactions are masterfully done, and I was utterly gutted with the following: "I'm not going to love someone in fractions, and I won't be loved in quarters or in halves. You take the whole of me, if you want it." The tension of the ending was well done, and didn't go the way I thought it would even though it made sense. So much of Hollywood is smoke and mirrors, and the ending reflects that well.

I was really intrigued when I started this story. I was told from multiple POVs, and almost felt like you were getting two stories in one. There was the story of Vera and Nancy, who were both actresses in 1950's Hollywood, and Salome, whose story takes place in more of an ancient time period.
I enjoyed how the stories were blended, and loved that there were multiple POV's. I thought the first half of the book, though was really slow moving. The pace picked up towards the end, and I was satisfied with the ending of the story, but it almost felt a little too abrupt. I would have loved there to have been a little more time spent on unfolding of the story at the end. With that said, this was an enjoyable, very different read, that I would recommend!

Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a brilliant writer who expertly tackles different genres. Despite how good she is, her books don't always work for me, which was the case for The Seventh Veil of Salome. I didn't care for Salome's perspective and it stopped me from getting too invested in either Nancy or Vera.

Let me state upfront: Silvia Moreno-Garcia could write a list of names, and I would read it. I resonate with her writing, and this story was no different.
In the golden age of Hollywood, a twenty-one-year-old Mexican girl, Vera, is found and cast in the leading role of a Biblical epic, The Seventh Veil of Salome. Vera is thrust into the glitz, glamour, and seedy underside of fame that will come with a steep price. But, the story is also about Salome, the court of Herod, and all of the drama leading up to the beheading of John the Baptist, as told in the Bible.
This novel reads like a Hollywood tell-all and also a sweeping historical narrative. I was mesmerized by Vera and Salome, and I loved this story.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia takes on 50s Hollywood and the making of a biblical film. There’s all sorts of drama when Vera is cast on the lead part of Salome. I had trouble with the multiple POVs for a while, although things did start to come together and in the end it created a story that was well thought through.
Note: ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Genre: historical fiction
Hollywood, 1950s
Nancy Hartley firmly believes she's destined for stardom and the role of Salome in the sword and sandals flick Seventh Veil of Salome is hers. She's perfect; she just knows she is. But when the studio casts Vera Larios, a dental receptionist from Mexico, Nancy is livid. Vera has little confidence, thanks in part to her mother, who has always believed her younger sister should have been the star, and naivete serves no one in Hollywood.
A stunning story about rage, jealousy, love, and passion in 1950s Hollywood. Silvia Moreno-Garcia is the master of the unlikable characters and the complexity of women on page. Anger and passion rule the narrative, as she weaves perspectives of Vera, Nancy, and Salome herself together towards what only feels like it could be tragedy. I couldn’t put this book down. Sometimes, SMG’s prose can veer on weighty, but the propulsion of the plot and intricacies of the characters kept me hooked on Seventh Veil.
I listened to the audiobook once released in conjunction with the eARC, and the full cast narration works really well for the format. The book vacillates perspectives between the three primary women - Vera, Nancy, and Salome - with interspersed POVs from supporting figures such as the script writer, other Latinx Hollywood folks, and juicy gossip columns.
Silvia Moreno-Garcia makes my blood boil in the best way. The rage she evokes from the realistic nature of her characters is a reflection on the truth of human emotion. Her writing is piercing and relentless even as it strikes the perfect narrative chords.

In 1950s Hollywood, the filming of The Seventh Veil of Salome begins with unknown actress Vera Larios cast in the career-defining role. She had been working as a receptionist at her father's dental practice in Mexico City when she was discovered by the director's assistant and encouraged to audition after half of Hollywood had been rejected. She has to contend with her own doubt about her abilities to play this role, her family's doubt about her move to Hollywood, the pressures of the director and the studio, jealousy and racism from her costars, and falling in love for the first time. The story is told through the eyes of Vera, the character Salome, actors, producers, writers, and reporters who were all involved at the time, alluding to a tragedy that occurred during filming. I enjoyed all of the characters' perspectives and the way the tension was built up as Vera and Salome's narratives intertwined and mirrored each other was wonderful writing. This will appeal to fans of historical fiction and especially to people who enjoy old Hollywood.

I've never met a book by Silvia Moreno-Garcia that I didn't live! This one is no exception! I loved all the different povs we got, and loved the connection between Salome and Vera. The ending felt a little abrupt and I wanted more, but I absolutely loved the entire story! I never wanted it to end!

Oh my goodness this was an AMAZING read. Silvia Moreno Garcia truly immerses you in the time period in such a way that you can picture Old Hollywood as well as in the story of Salome. It very much feels like two stories being told at once where they converge in the final dance of the seven veils. If i could give this ten stars I would. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book before it was released.
I can’t wait to read their next book!!

The Seventh Veil of Salome masterfully intertwines ancient folklore with the allure of 1950s Hollywood, creating a captivating narrative. Vera Larios, a young Mexican actress, steps into the spotlight as the enigmatic Salome in a new film, despite being an unfamiliar face in the industry. Meanwhile, Nancy Hartley, a competing starlet, yearns for her big break but finds herself relegated to minor roles in the background. As we navigate the intertwined lives of these two actresses, we also gain insight into Salome's historical perspective, presented as a screen treatment for the film.
Both Vera and Nancy encounter significant challenges on their paths to stardom. Vera struggles to escape the clutches of her controlling mother while navigating the treacherous waters of Hollywood's promotional machine, which includes forced public appearances and the ever-watchful eyes of scandal sheets. On the other hand, Nancy is willing to resort to dubious alliances and connections to achieve her dreams of fame. The tension escalates as the narrative unfolds through the reflections of other characters, hinting at a tragedy that remains shrouded in mystery.
In parallel, the ancient tale reveals Salome's internal conflict as she grapples with her infatuation for the prophet Jokanaan—Oscar Wilde's pseudonym for John the Baptist—while contending with the expectations of her mother, Herodias, and her stepfather, Herod Antipas. Silvia Moreno-Garcia's meticulous research breathes life into this adaptation, offering a version that aligns more closely with historical truths than Wilde's sensationalized portrayal. Without giving anything away, the conclusion is both surprising and grounded in reality, while the modern storyline culminates in a thrilling and unexpected finale. Overall, an interesting read for sure!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc!

Silvia Moreno-Garcia, my fave living author, casts another spell with her newest work. We're taken on a journey through Biblical Palestine through the lens of Salome, the famous Jewish princess. Salome's struggles and vision are delicately woven into narratives of two women thousands of years later in mid-twentieth century Hollywood during a 1940's production of The Seventh Veil of Salome.
What I love so much about Moreno-Garcia's writing is that while the historical contexts are central to the plot, we really get to dive into each character's psyche and explore their morally ambiguous motivations. There is never a "likeable" character in her books and the same can be said in this one. Each character is so remarkably flawed and it's such a pleasure to watch this intricate story unfold naturally, without narrative or audience bias.
The themes explored in this book range from explorations of the various feminisms and how race, class, and culture influence the manifestation of individual understanding of feminism, highlighting Hollywood as a canvas for the vices presented by capitalist material conditions under the guise of glamour and glitz, and the overall detriment of patriarchal dominance throughout history and how women can be just as responsible for perpetuating it as men.
Additionally, I see no coincidence that one of the more prominent storylines takes place in Palestine. I think the intention here is to implore folks to study and understand the history of this region and cultivate more educated understandings of the current and ongoing g3nocide.
This book definitely will not be for everyone. I'd even argue it's one of Moreno-Garcia's more difficult reads, but the magic woven into each narrative is well worth the effort!

Silvia Moreno-Garcia is back, this time with an old Hollywood Biblical epic drama that traces the mythmaking around the infamous story of Salome through the fraught production of a major old Hollywood film and the cutthroat nature of the studio system. The plot weaves together plot lines of the three women central to this epic story. First: Vera, a young Mexican ingenue plucked from obscurity to play the film's star. Vera finds herself thrust into the intrigue, glamor, and danger of the Hollywood spotlight. In her shadow: Nancy, an aspiring actress who has been trying to get her big Hollywood break for years, with only a few small roles and subsistence, seedy modeling gigs to show for it. She resents the ease with which stars like Vera are minted, while she lives a hardscrabble existence far from the life of glamor and success she believes should be rightfully hers.
These tensions and resentments mix with the racism and bigotries of the studio system, the Hayes Code, and the gossip media, which are narrated through oral history-style interviews and contemporaneous press excerpts as the story traces the film's development. Interspersed throughout is the story of Salome herself: her tenuous existence in Herod's court in the midst of political intrigue and on the cusp of civic unrest. These stories build to the film (and the Salome myth's) climactic scene: Salome's dance before Herod for a court celebration, and her request for a Jewish prophet's head on a platter.
I am once again impressed by Silvia Moreno-Garcia's dexterity as a writer, shifting into yet another genre. The scope of this book is especially ambitious. It's a rich and sumptuous book that truly feels like a larger than life Old Hollywood epic. I am intrigued by the layers of myth-making in the story: the mythos of an Old Hollywood film which gains notoriety for its offscreen melodrama and the mythic femme fatale who serves as the film's inspiration. It's richly layered and propulsively readable. The escalation to the climax is especially delicious.

Max Niemann is casting for the lead to his next film, The Seventh Veil of Salome. There are many actresses in Hollywood who want the role, but Max is looking for an unknown; someone with beauty and confident sensuality. The role goes to Vera Larios: a young, Mexican woman who works in her father’s office. Her acting experience is minimal; However, at her audition, her passion comes through and Max decides she is his ingenue.
Nancy Hartley believes Vera has stolen her part: she has been trying to make it in Hollywood for a few years and, to have money, she dates a thug named Benny, and poses for nude photographs. She did not have an audition, and there is no logical reason for her to believe Vera has stolen the role. However, she becomes obsessed with Vera, and vows to take the role that was rightfully meant for her, no matter the cost.
The book alternates between 1950s Hollywood, and the hills of northwestern Jordan in the year 30 AD. Vera and Salome are preparing for the dance of the seven veils: Vera for the movie and Salome for Herod’s birthday. They each have a reason to dance: for Vera, it is to prove she is the only one for the part. For Salome, it is for the head of John the Baptist served on a platter.
Filled with a behind the scenes look at the Golden Age of Hollywood—where the big movie studios controlled the lives of their actors and actresses—The Seventh Veil of Salome is a multi-layered book. Racism, sexism, hedonism, power, and love are explored, and the ending is the perfect Hollywood finale.
I highly recommend this book. I would like to thank Del Ray Publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this novel.

It’s typical SMG - lush and vibrant and entertaining and filled with storytelling and characters a reader can fall in love with. This book surprises and rarely lets the reader down. A big winner here.

The latest by Silvia Moreno-Garcia takes a break from the Gothic horror seen in Mexican Gothic and brings us to the 1950s Hollywood scene. This book reads like a documentary & multiple POV style featuring Salome, Vera, and Nancy.
Vera, a Mexican woman with no acting experience, is cast in Hollywood to play a big role of Salome in a retelling of a Biblical story. Nancy is a struggling actress who had hopes of securing the role instead of Vera, with a sharp tongue and insane jealousy of Vera. Lastly, Salome is a princess from the AD time period who is in love with a fiery prophet who fortold the doom of her stepfather, Herod. The three women demonstrate the power men have over their lives and what it was like trying to live in a man's world. In reading each POV, we learn that Nancy and Vera are not too different from Salome, with Nancy possessing her vicious side and Vera with her softer side.
As a historical fiction lover, I have always enjoyed reading books set during the Golden Age Holleywood. I loved how SMG held nothing back in showing the reader how women, including minority women, were treated during that time. Pacing was slow to medium throughout the book, but really came together at the end. I'd recommend this to historical fiction lovers!
Thank you NetGalley, Random House/Del Ray Books, and the author for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a captivating tale set in 1950s Hollywood, where ambition and jealousy ignite a fierce rivalry. Vera Larios, a Mexican actress with no prior experience, lands the lead role in a film about the biblical Salome, much to the dismay of Nancy Hartley, a seasoned actress whose career has hit a plateau. The novel skillfully intertwines the glamorous yet ruthless world of Hollywood with the ancient story of Salome, creating a plot rich in drama and intrigue. Moreno-Garcia’s exploration of fame, power, and the struggles women face in a male-dominated industry makes this a compelling read for those who enjoy historical fiction and complex character dynamics.

This is different than what you expect in a Silvia Moreno-Garcia novel. She shows how versatile she truly is! I was swept away by this story. The multiple povs are perfection.