I received an eARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia never disappoints!

Velvet Was the Night is a historical noir set in 1970s Mexico City. The story focuses on two characters: Maite and Elvis. Maite is a secretary who often escapes from her life by reading issues of Secret Romance. She envies her neighbor, Leonora, because she is a beautiful art student who seems to live a life filled with romance and intrigue. Upon Leonora’s disappearance, Maite searches for her neighbor, trying to unravel the mystery. Elvis is also searching for Leonora. He is a member of the Hawks, which he turned to in an effort to escape from his life as well. He much prefers movies and rock music to violence and being a criminal. While searching for Leonora, Elvis and Maite cross paths. He realizes that they may have more in common than anyone would realize; both are lonely and lovers of music. As the search continues, the more dangerous it becomes for everyone involved.

I enjoyed seeing how the author balanced and incorporated historical context and intrigue in this story. It takes place at the beginning of the Dirty War and features the Hawks. The latter was a paramilitary group implemented by the Mexican government to attack, torture, and kill protesters. Music and literature were also important in Mexico during this time. The novel highlights this through things like romance comic books and rock music, which is very important to note because the government was also engaged in suppressing rock music at this time.

I seriously cannot get enough of this author’s writing. I deeply admire her skill and have loved everything I have read by her so far. If there is one thing I know, it is that I can count on Moreno-Garcia for some of the most beautiful writing I have ever seen. It is rich and atmospheric. It is so fun to see how the author explores a variety of genres in all of her different works. With her noirs, she does an excellent job creating intrigue and mystery.

I thought the characters in this story were a bit different than what I have seen in some of the author’s previous works. In some of those, the main protagonists can be selfish or flawed but would not necessarily be considered “bad” people as a whole. However, this novel features more characters who may be seen as immoral or morally ambiguous. It was an interesting shift and dynamic. They were all incredibly well written and developed too.

I loved how this story follows the two main characters Maite and Elvis. I enjoyed seeing how they had separate stories at first but ultimately came together through a connection to Leonora. The dual perspective really strengthens the narrative. It works to explore different perspectives by having an insider and outsider. Readers can see Maite as the outside perspective who is in over her head while Elvis gives the inside perspective into the Hawks and their operation.

Velvet Was the Night was such a captivating read. I love Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s writing so much; there is nothing quite like losing yourself in one of her novels. This story was no different. At this point, I feel like I can expect every book I read by this author to be a favorite of mine because that is what has happened with the five I have read so far. I am very much looking forward to picking up the ones I have not read yet!

*Content warning: guns, violence, blood, murder, death, torture*

Thank you to the publisher, Ballantine/Del Rey, and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this novel before its release on August 17, 2021.

I had SO much fun reading this! Silvia always knows how to craft the perfect story. I will certainly recommend this one to friends.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Random House Publishing Group for this ARC.
As soon as I started this book, I knew I was going to like it. I've never read anything by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, so I was very pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I've also never read a noir before, and I enjoyed how unique it was compared to many other books I've read recently. It was a mystery; not a crazy, twisty mystery like what seems to be so popular (almost too popular) lately, but just a well thought out mystery where I wasn't reading for a twist, but simply reading to see what was happening. I was intrigued and drawn in. This also allowed for the characters to be really well developed, in my opinion. I absolutely loved Elvis, and I liked Maite too. Some parts of Maite's personality were annoying to me, but there were parts I related to as well. The story was a little slow here and there, but for the most part the pacing was great I couldn't put it down because I needed to know what would happen next. I feel like this is a book I'll be recommending for a long time, and I'm now in a hurry to read more of Silvia Moreno-Garcia's writing because of how much I liked this one.

Where's Leonora? That's the question both Maite and Elvis are trying to answer, but for different reasons. It's 1971 and there's trouble in Mexico City. Maite, a 30 year old secretary is dissatisfied with her life. She doesn't really know her neighbor Leonora but agrees to watch her cat because it will mean cash in her pocket among other things. Elvis is esssentially a thug, A young uneducated man who does jobs for a mysterious man. Maite goes looking for Leonora to give her back the cat and finds herself caught up with a group of artists and others. Elvis finds himself beating people up. And then these two intersect. Both characters come alive, as do others, in this complex tale that's set in a time of unrest, and I found both of them sympathetic (yes even Elvis). Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. It's an excellent read.

3.5 stars. I found this novel both interesting and at the same time kept wondering if something big was going to happen, if that makes any sense. I really liked the characters - Maite clearly gets swept up in the mystery as a way of escaping her boring life. Elvis was a bit of an enigma, and while a criminal, you find yourself rooting for him. Strangely enough, as it is a noir, the novel ends on a note of hope and new beginnings.

"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 comes to observe Maite from a distance—and grows more and more obsessed with this woman 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."

Thanks to NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Velvet Was The Night is a slow burn of historical crime noir.

I felt like this was very character driven and there’s a lot of history of the political aspect of Mexico. I really loved how that was thrown in there. The atmosphere is fantastically set. I wanted to be in the 70s because I felt like I was IN the 70s. I ended up listening to 70s Spotify because I was in the mood, that feel. I mean, the author even made a playlist in regard to how the Mexican government was trying to suppress rock music from their citizens. If there’s one thing I will always love about Silvia Moreno-Garcia is that I know I will always be transported to whenever and wherever that story takes place.

It started off slow, which I understood and it set the tone for the characters and complete atmosphere. I got invested around the middle, but the ending just kind of happened. It wasn’t anything that’s going to leave me thinking for quite some time. Plus, y’all, give dang Maite a break

Overall, Velvet Was The Night had amazing characters with a deep, rich atmosphere that took me to the 70s. It gave me the history and education for the war in Mexican. The Afterword got me. “We’ll never know the exact number of victims of the Dirty War. My novel is noir, pulp fiction, but it’s based on a real horror story.” I think if you enjoy noir, are a fan of Quentin Tarantino movies (looking at you Pulp Fiction) you’ll enjoy Velvet Was The Night. Thank you so much DelRay for the gifted copy. This is out Tuesday, the 17th!

This book is unlike any of Moreno-Garcia’s previous books. While it has the intrigue of historical events, much like we saw in Mexican Gothic, is representative of that country’s culture, and is written with compelling style and language much like The Beautiful ones, that’s really where the similarities end. This is a dramatic political mystery. I would not classify this as a thriller as there is no “edge of your seat” vibes to this book but it is still a book you start and want to finish up. You want to see where these two main characters - Maitè and Elvis - end up. You want to solve the mystery with them.

This is not my typical genre and I honestly wasn’t sure how I felt about this book when I started it. I couldn’t tell if I liked it or disliked it. But I found I kept wanting to pick it up. I kept wanting to read it. Moreno-Garcia’s writing is like that. It really pulls you along with her as she tells her story. I would give this book 3.5 stars just because of my own personal tastes but can easily see it being 4 stars to people who enjoy a political drama.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the ARC!

This is absolutely a "historical noir" novel, something I have never read before.

The pacing of this story was pretty slow and I had a hard time keeping the gang members straight. I also had a hard time really connecting to the characters.

Overall, I think this genre just was not for me. I will continue to look for the author's novels in the future.

The concept of the book immediately caught my attention. I'm super interested in the 1970s time period and learning more about Mexican history. I love a good noir and I obviously love an anti-hero. Our MCs Maite and Elvis are definitely an interesting pair. Maite is a exaggerating, self deprecating, mess and Elvis is an intriguing, sad, and searching for a family. This book took a long time to get into for me. The second have finally gains some momentum and the ending and the afterword with more historical information was great. This was a 2 out of 5 for me but would love to read more from the author because I definitely enjoyed the writing style and the infusion of historical moments. And come on.....that cover though!

In addition to links below, I shared on my Instagram stories on on Aug 5, and Aug 13. WIll post reviews on Amazon and Kobo after release date.
---------------
Every one of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s books is so different, and all are so good. This is no exception!
.
If you’ve only read Mexican Gothic, know that there’s no huge paranormal reveal at the end. This is a totally different genre, and totally worth it if the genre appeals to you.
.
Maite is a “regular girl” working at a law firm, trying hard to afford her own apartment and get her car out of the shop. She agrees to watch her neighbor’s cat, and gets caught up in [everything] once the neighbor goes missing.
.
Meanwhile, El Elvis is working as a goon for a paramilitary group, roughing up students who may or may not have communist leanings.
.
These two main characters spin around each other as they search for the neighbor – they don’t even meet until near the end. El Elvis’ boss is working for the government, but there are also two rival agencies in the hunt. Betrayals, secrets, scorned lovers, missing photographs: truly a classic noir novel with all the atmosphere you’re looking for, in a setting that’s likely new for you.
.
I’m always fascinated by the pacing of SMG’s books: I typically have a “is this going to get going anytime soon??” moment, right before things get going! This one wasn’t quite as extreme: it’s deliberate throughout, but always moving along and never stalls…until everything hits the fan in the last chapters. @readingwithrendz called it “slow but sleek pacing” and that hits it on the nose.
.
And the characters! Maite and Elvis are fully formed, and flawed, and fascinating. While Maite is the “regular girl” character, she’s not the femme fatale you might expect going in. She doesn’t see herself in the heroine roll…and yet she embodies it. And Elvis: was I really rooting for a goon? Yes, yes I was.
.
There is quite a bit of namedropping of Mexican politicians from the time; it’s perfectly fine to not know who they are going in.
.
#VelvetWasTheNight comes out August 17, 2021. Thanks to #NetGalley for the ARC; opinions are my own.

I think it is perfectly categorized to say this is a "historical noir" novel.

The pacing of this story was pretty slow, but there were no shortage of scenes of violence and mystery. SMG did a great job of weaving the characters together, although I will admit some of the gang members ran together for me.

I never felt like I connected with the characters, but I can objectively appreciate that this novel was written along the same lines as Mexican Gothic. I will continue to look for SMG's novels in the future.

Thank you to Silvia, Random House, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Absolutely obsessed with this book! The story read itself right out of a soap opera immersed in noir tint. I was invested since the beginning with the fact that the author based it off an actual event that occurred in Mexico. The fact that as the reader you didn’t know who the good guys were and who to root for was extra delicious.

Amazing read.

I think everything I dislike about this novel is typical of the noir genre. I don’t normally read noir, but I have enjoyed previous books by Moreno-Garcia, so I thought I’d try this. It’s well written, and I like how the author incorporates music and comics as well as political history into this noir set in 1970s Mexico City. The text is filled with cinematic imagery. The afterword provides additional details on the ugly history of that time.

My main problem with this book is that none of the characters are very likable. I intensely disliked the female lead, Maite, who is constantly complaining about her life without making any effort to change it. She is intensely self-centered, repeatedly makes poor life choices, and resorts to lies and petty theft to console herself. Our male lead, Elvis, is loyal and strives to improve himself, and is therefore more sympathetic, despite his life of violence and crime.

The book gets off to a very slow start and I almost gave up before the action picks up and the plot begins to twist and turn. For most of the story, both main characters are lost in their own fantasies, but both receive harsh reality checks and are forced to grow. We don’t get a happy ending or even a tidy resolution, but the ending does offer a glimmer of hope while still feeling appropriate to the noir genre.

Note that the book contains swearing, violence, death, and sexual content.

Thanks to Random House for providing me with an ARC through NetGalley, which I volunteered to review.

3.5 stars

Silvia Moreno-Garcia (SMG) has incredible range, and one of the best parts of reading her work is knowing that you'll get the same characteristically appealing style but in entirely different packaging. In this latest novel, she adds yet another something new to her repertoire!

There are two simultaneous threads happening at the beginning of the novel: the criminal element and Maite. The latter is such a quirky and antiheroic individual that I found myself instantly interested in her bizarre activities and even the mundane aspects of her life (though I never quite got into the other thread). Everyone knows a Maite. She's overextended financially, has a family who likes to remind her both intentionally and by just existing that she is failing in a number of ways, and has a life that seems relatively boring on the outside. That's why it's particularly hilarious when she agrees to cat sit - not just to get paid but also so that she can fulfill another strange hobby, pilfering - and ends up in a _Mulholland Drive_-style other world. Though everything about this novel is subtle and thus not Lynchian at all in that sense, I love the way SMG builds this notion of the underbelly along with the concept that anyone can find themselves in that space at any time.

I came into this novel with limited relevant historical knowledge, and one of my favorite parts of reading was getting to know more about that piece. Though I love noir and the understated nature of its style and themes, I found parts of this one a little slower than I'd have liked. Maite kept me going, but faster pacing in the third quarter would have helped me stay more engaged overall.

More than SMG's other work, I think this one is going to find a bit more of a niche audience. If you love SMG and/or noir or you're looking to try something new, I recommend this one. Anticipate a slow burn.

I loved the noir feel of this book but it was long & drawn out to me. I wasn’t overly captivated with the characters & was really just hoping for more!

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review.

Moreno-Garcia is back, hitting us with another genre. If you enjoyed MEXICAN GOTHIC or GODS OF JADE AND SHADOW... this is nothing like either of those. But if you like noir and historical fiction, this will be right up your alley.

Set in Mexico in the 1970s when student groups were clashing with the government, Moreno-Garcia introduces us to Maite and Elvis. At 30 years old, and unmarried, Maite is well aware of what is NOT happening in her life. She escapes her boring, monotonous life by listening to music and reading romance comics. But then her neighbor (who she doesn't even know) asks her to cat sit while she's out of town for a few days and Maite agrees. She needs the extra money and she has a habit of stealing small things from other people's homes to give herself a small thrill. But then the neighbor goes missing and Maite is swept up into the search for Leonora that causes her to cross paths with agencies of government police and crime... that all use violence to get the answers they want.

Elvis (not his real name) was a poor kid without direction until he gets taken in by one of the leaders of the Hawks (a criminal organization that interrupts the student protest groups). Elvis' boss has also put him on the hunt for Leonora, which also means he has to keep eyes on Maite - who intrigues him. Elvis may be a criminal that uses violence... but it's not the type of life he wants, he just doesn't know how to get out of it. Like Maite, he escapes by listening to music.

I found the mystery of Leonora and the missing photos interesting, as was the context of what was really happening in Mexico at the time. I also enjoyed the twist of who was really looking for Leonora and why... at least I didn't see it coming. Based on the synopsis, I was expecting more crossover between Maite and Elvis, but I actually preferred how everything panned out better.

All in all, this was a really great read and I think it was my first noir novel. I'm seriously impressed with how well Moreno-Garcia executes so many different styles of novels.

I received this read as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much to NetGalley and the author for this opportunity. I’m such a huge fan of this author and I was so excited to get this read. Although there were some elements of the story I wasn’t a fan of, I enjoyed the overall story.

I went into the story completely blind, it was a pure author pick for me because I just love this author and her choice to do such amazing stories of Mexico from different historical time periods. This time the author took us to the 1970s and it was glorious. The clothes, the music, the elements of political turmoil was wonderful and so interesting.

The story was also extremely interesting as well, it mixed a missing person case with elements of gang violence, shady characters, and political turmoil. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time because it just kept getting deeper and more intricate and I was LIVING FOR IT! It all started with pet sitting an unwanted cat and it turned into such an insane ride of thrills and kills.

I was also completely obsessed with all the music that was mentioned and woven into this book. The author has even included a playlist of all the musical references she made at the back of the book.... You can bet that I added every single song to my spotify and am listening to it constantly. The music really brought out an interesting element to the story because it created a romance and an ambience to the environment that could have been gritty or depressing. I loved the nuances the music added because it would make a scene that didn’t really have any importance to the plot become important or interesting. UGH I JUST LOVED IT. It was like adding the creepy music to a scary movie to make it scarier. ( I mean there was no scary music mentioned, but you get what I’m saying.

So I loved the overall story and the small details that the author brought to this book, but the characters were either truly loveable or just plain irritating. The story was told through dual perspectives between the main characters of Elvis (yes, he got his name from Elvis Prestly, I was in love) and Maite. Now one character stole my heart while the other made me want to scream just a little.....

Elvis just stole my heart and ran with it throughout the whole book. I mean his name is Elvis, first of all, and he is a bad boy with a heart of gold.... Ms. Moreno-Garcia you made a main character just for meeeeeee. Thank you girl! I just loved to see his character develop and I really loved his back story and how he rose from the ashes. His ending was beautiful and it made me so happy.

Now..... Maite was another story. She was an interesting character to be sure, but BOY DID SHE ANNOY ME and I think that’s what the author wanted because she did it soooooo well. Maite is like a mixture of Bridget Jones and Don Quixote. I know that’s weird... let me explain.... There is a scene where she is very upset about how her life is going so she is sitting alone listening to her records. It reminded me of the beginning of the Bridget Jones movie and it kind of rubbed me the wrong way. She also was so obsessed with what everyone thought and her internal dialogue just reminded me of my own anxieties and it was not cute y’all. She went throughout the whole story as a very whiny and complainy character and IT WAS NOT WHAT THE COVER GAVE ME.... She also reminded me of Don Quixote because she was dreaming of a different time, but it was to her detriment and also NOT CUTE. However, I would love a copy of those romantic comics...

Overall, this story was shocking and thrilling and left me wanting more because that ending’s innuendo was colllddddddd......

First off, I would like to say that I am grateful for this book. We need many more stories like this because there is so much chaos in the world sometimes which can make gaining awareness of the lived experiences of others difficult. Our various histories are not taught to us all in our formative years, but books like Velvet Was the Night teaches us a little about the past and encourage us to learn from and empathize with the struggles of different peoples.

In the middle of this book, I started watching a TV show called Tehran and I was struck by the realization that young people between the ages of 18-35 seem to suffer the consequences of bad governance the most. On Tehran, it's Tamar and Milad and Razieh and all the others trying to make their way in a world that would rather see them silent and subdued. And in this book, it's the Maites and Leonoras and Elvises of the world who have to contend with upheaval even in the most ordinary of circumstances.

Maite's adventures remind me of Sujata Massey's Perveen Mitry mysteries, but without as much oomph. It starts out slow and picks up eventually, but the pacing and climax left me feeling a bit unfulfilled. I'm sure there are many who will love this book completely, but alas, I am not one of them. It's a pleasant memory and I'm sure I'll find a place for it in my library.

What a unique and original novel! This was the first offering from Silvia Moreno-Garcia that I have had the privilege of reading and it certainly will not be my last. The story, set in 1970s Mexico, is classified as "noir" by the author and it certainly has elements of that but it also has a central mystery/thriller component (what happened to Leonora) that propels the story forward. On the "noir" side of the coin, the characters are interesting, engaging, and hard to root for (in the same way you might be conflicted about rooting for the success of a Tony Soprano) but relatable. The novel has a singular thread that follows it all the way through and connects the two main factions that the story centers on. The ending was both satisfying and genuinely surprising. This is a rare feat these days as any avid reader can usually deduce "who did it" early on in the novel (often some ancillary character!). I recommend giving this novel a read and look forward to investing in Ms. Moreno-Garcia's back catalogue of writings.

“Change should come peacefully”

1970s Mexico: A secretary who can’t stop daydreaming, a lonely enforcer who cant help but imagine the future and the missing woman who brings them together.

Maite wants love, she wants to belong to someone, something larger than her own self. She wants to make a difference in the world. She wants to be noticed.

“Just because someone stops loving you, doesn’t mean you stop loving them”

Elvis is surrounded by people, but he is alone. He wants to be understood and know someone has his back. He wants to know that what he does with his life is gonna make a difference.
“You gotta have some loyalty in this world.”

I was drawn into this story-it is definitely more of a slow burn book that paints the picture of what is happening. I love Garcia’s writing! It is very beautiful and lyrical like. At times I swear I could hear the music come up from the pages. While reading this book I felt like I was walking the streets with these characters.

I have yet to read Garcia’s other books #mexicangothic and #godsofjadeandshadow but I may just throw my august tbr out the hypothetical window and read these next because I just loved her writing!