Montserrat, a skilled but underappreciated sound editor in 1990s Mexico City, finds herself entangled in a dark, occult mystery when her friend Tristán introduces her to cult horror director Abel Urueta. Urueta claims that finishing a cursed film by a Nazi occultist will change their lives forever, and though skeptical, Montserrat and Tristán can’t resist the lure of adventure. As they dive into the film’s eerie past, they uncover a world where sorcery and horror are disturbingly real. Blending Mexican horror film nostalgia with supernatural thrills, A Breathtaking Blend offers a thrilling, atmospheric tale of ambition, friendship, and the thin boundary between reality and the occult.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!

I've had an interesting relationship with Silvia Moreno-Garcia's work ever since I fell in love with her debut, Signal to Noise, back in 2015, but managed to fall behind on some of her latest releases--I still have Velvet Was the Night, The Daughter of Doctor Moreau and The Seventh Veil of Salome to read.

Something I've discovered, though, is that I seem to most love the books by Moreno-Garcia that are the least loved by many of her other readers. I often see reviews complaining about Meche in Signal to Noise and nowhere near enough people have read Untamed Shore, so perhaps I shouldn't be surprised that I ended up enjoying Silver Nitrate as much as I did despite going into it with lowered expectations after seeing several lukewarm reviews.

Set in Mexico City in the 1990s, Silver Nitrate follows best friends Montserrat and Tristán - an overlooked sound editor and a fading soap opera star - after they befriend retired cult horror director Abel Urueta who requests their help to finish a horror film that he believes will lift the curse on his life. Neither of them particularly believe in the occult, but Tristán's not one to turn down work and Montserrat is a huge fan of Urueta's work who'd love the chance to see the movie that never was. Their luck does turn, but not in the way any of them want as they find themselves wrapped up in a world of sorcery and Nazi occultism.

There's nothing particularly ground-breaking about Silver Nitrate, nothing is a huge surprise plot-wise and as a horror novel it leans much more into the fantasy than into the horror, in my opinion. If you're a reader who found Mexican Gothic too creepy then Silver Nitrate could be a great in for the horror genre for you, but if you loved Mexican Gothic I wouldn't necessarily recommend Silver Nitrate to you.

Instead where this novel shone for me, which is so often the case with Moreno-Garcia's work, was the characters. Montserrat is the kind of prickly woman I love to read about, and while Tristán is often incredibly infuriating, he's also charming enough that he can get away with it. Especially because Montserrat knows when to put her foot down and stop putting up with his shit. Their friendship is believable and I enjoyed watching Tristán slowly realise that if he wanted anything more he really had to earn it.

It was also a very easy read; there are fairly long stretches where not a lot happens, but I personally didn't mind that because I liked spending time with these characters so none of it felt like wasted pages. Having said that, the more I think about this novel, the more I wonder if there's any chance it could have been a novella--perhaps it would have been a tighter story if it had been, but that potentially could have been at the expense of the character work that I loved.

So this isn't a new favourite, but I did have a lot of fun reading it and it's definitely one I could see myself revisiting in future.

**I was provided with an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

Not my favourite Silvia Moreno-Garcia book but an entertaining one all the same!

I don’t read a lot of horror but I’d pick up anything she writes and the main ideas behind this book really intrigued me. Silver Nitrate follows two childhood friends who are now both part of the film industry – one being a sound editor and the other an ex-Soap actor – whose lives get upturned when they cross paths with an infamous cult horror director and his unfinished, cursed film Beyond the Yellow Door.

I’d say this is more of a supernatural thriller/mystery story than an all-out horror and while it definitely had a dose of murder and spookiness it didn’t get to the same amount of eeriness that Mexican Gothic did for me. One thing that is guaranteed though is that Moreno-Garcia’s storytelling will truly fold you into the tale and keep you reading until the end.

I really loved Montserrat and Tristán, Moreno-Garcia always aces her character studies! Our FMC is a badass, always determined to stand her ground whether that’s standing up to bullies as a child, striving for her place in a male-dominated industry or facing off against Nazi occultists. Whereas our MMC is as charming as he is cowardly, he is haunted by his past and prefers to run away from his true feelings. The addition of the messy yet endearing relationship between the two of them and the fact this was dual PoV so we get to see both sides of it develop was the icing on the cake.

Additionally, I loved the 90s atmosphere and all the pop culture references. Whilst I didn’t know them all they really informed the personalities of the protagonists and them being film buffs especially for horror films which enriched the overall story. I absolutely loved the inclusion of film history in this too and the whole sorcery/occult side of the story made it all the more interesting.

Mexican culture is beautifully woven into the story as with all of her books as well as discussions on the themes of colonialism, racism, white supremacy and gender based discrimination which were addressed really well.

I have to admit the mystery/thriller side of things whilst having some suspense fell short of being scary/creepy. The narrative felt more like a follow the bread crumbs to get to the bottom of what is happening and why to solve the case kind of thing. However, I still thoroughly enjoyed it. The plot overall was really cleverly wrapped up and Montserrat and Tristán’s arcs were great.
Final Rating – 4/5 Stars

Being my first book from this author, I didn’t really know what to expect. From what I know about Silvia I was expecting great writing from someone who writes across genres. I was not disappointed. A slow burn horror about the occult power of old school film.
A much loved trope in a Mexican setting gives this horror new life.
With well drawn out characters with their own slow burn relationship being a big part of the story. The magic system was complex and a little hard to follow, but when it hits, it’s all out action.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia is just a straight up good writer. She can cross genres with ease, writes flawed but enjoyable realistic characters and fills her work with a love of Mexican history and culture, and often with a thread of the surreal or magical running through.

Silver Nitrate is an homage to Mexican horror movies of the 60s and 70s, whilst creating its own original horror story set in the 90s. There's a skein of romance that doesn't feel forced or uncomfortable, two lead characters who are rude and cowardly and entirely human, and growing sense of something magical and malevolent.

As well as a good story, I always feel when I finish one of her books that I've learned something too.

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Amazing horror novel, with a haunted film, magic, and cults! It's a great read for those who love the author's other work! The writing was superb and I loved all the characters.

A plot that is tricky to synopsise - so I’ll give you the two main elements : Nazi Occultism and Mexican Horror Movies.
Sounds intriguing right?

Set in Mexico City in the 1990s, Silver Nitrate’s main characters are Montserrat - an audio engineer with an obsession for old horror movies; Montserrat’s childhood friend Tristan - handsome, has-been Soap Opera actor and Abel Urueta; Tristan’s neighbour and one-time film maker of Horror Movies.

The three get enmeshed into re-dubbing the only remaining film stock of Urueta’s lost cult masterpiece (shot on the highly flammable Silver Nitrate film stock) which will somehow reverse a curse that was placed during the original (it’s not quite as simple as that, but far too complicated to explain here!)

This is the first Silvia Moreno- Garcia book I’ve read (but I have a couple more on my TBR pile). This hasn’t made me want to push those up the ‘must read next’ list though. It wasn’t a terrible read, but I didn’t find myself over-eager to get back to reading it. A pretty convoluted plot (which veered towards the silly and ridiculous at points); Lots of information that I couldn’t keep track of, and a slow-burner were the main reasons for my reading reticence.
Just a bit disappointed as I was expecting to absolutely love

Unfortunately didn’t especially scare me, however it was very well written. I think I much prefer the author’s short stories!

I really enjoyed this suspenseful horror of the Mexican film scene. I loved the relationship between the main characters, it was so messy and complicated, but it was great to see them overcome to repair the cracks and start again. Turns out, it only takes a Nazi haunting you to fix your relationships. It does start out slow and took me a bit to get into, but once they start tracking down the Nazi cult it really picks up, and I was hooked. A must-read for any Moreno-Garcia fan.

“Silver Nitrate” – Silvia Moreno-Garcia

“Why? Because to imagine Indigenous intelligence and power would have been unthinkable. We are all taught to despise the whiff of darkness, of Indigenous blood and of Blackness. We speak about ‘bettering the race,’ and by that we mean injecting more European blood into our veins. What Wilhelm said wasn’t considered outrageous at the time. It’s not even outrageous now, sadly.”

My thanks to @netgalley and @quercusbooks for my #arc in return for an honest review.

Set in 90s Mexico City, “Silver Nitrate” follows the middle-aged lives of childhood friends Montserrat and Tristán. The former is a sound editor with a love of horror cinema, while the latter is a former soap star with charm, addiction issues, and an accident in his past that still haunts and scars him today.

Together they get drawn into a world of the occult and Nazis through Montserrat’s new neighbour, Abel Urueta, a cult director. Urueta has a tale of magic and silver nitrate, a curse that has lasted for decades, and an opportunity for the two friends to find success and happiness that seems to be alluding them.

This is the second book I’ve read from this author, the first being “Gods of Jade and Shadow”, and I find myself finding similar positives and negatives to that book. It was a fun, pacy read with a bit of local flavour, some good action sequences, and a sense of atmosphere throughout. The characters are fairly fleshed out and believable, even in a world of sorcery and black magic, and the book touches on aspects of race and colonialism that I always find interesting.

The negatives remain, however. The romance in this book is terrible, just like it was in Jade and Shadow, and there are long periods of dialogue where not much happens. Perhaps most damningly, it’s not scary at all, though that may just be me, as I had exactly the same problem with Our Share of Night as well.

All in all, this might be my definition of a three-star read. Fun, inoffensive, but nothing I’ll ever come back to.

Have you read this? What did you think?

Thank you to Quercus Books for allowing me to read an e-arc of Silver Nitrate in exchange for an honest review·

Over the years, Silvia Moreno-Garcia has become one of my few auto buy authors; when I see that she has a book coming out, I automatically make plans to make time for her new release on my never-ending to-read list. When I think of the type of books Silvia Moreno-Garcia writes, they tend to be in the gothic, mystery and thriller genres, with the stories often set in a historical Mexican setting. I am also always fascinated by her ability to combine a number of narratives in a single story.

"Silver Nitrate" is essentially about two friends who do everything they can to break a curse set in motion by the unearthing of a film and all the secrets that go with it. There is a theme of the occult throughout the novel, and the film has the potential for deadly and sinister consequences. One of the narratives in "Silver Nitrate" was that of a slow-burning romance, despite the serious challenges the two main characters face in their separate and shared lives. For example, Silvia-Moreno Garcia is quick to present the blossoming relationship between Montserrat's childhood best friend, Tristan, and Montserrat.

Montserrat is described early on as a quirky and unique character, who enjoys nerdy things but is unfortunately easy to forget despite being talented at her job as a sound editor. However, the circumstances of Mexico City in the 1990's affected Montserrat's working life in a male-dominated industry. There were other narratives mixed in with the film. The sinister elements were so exciting and I kept turning the pages, hoping to find out what kind of danger was coming for Montserrat, Tristan and the other characters. Was it a curse from the living, or a curse from the dead on the living? What is the relationship between film and the uncanny? These are all questions I asked myself right up until the revelations.

For anyone who has any interest in the history of the film industry or the occult, or simply likes to read a mystery thriller set in a rich historical setting, then this book is for you! 4.5 stars

i thought this was a gripping noir that definitely succeeds in evoking a specific place and time as well as giving readers an inside into mexico's 80s filming industry. the fl initially may seem like the typical moreno-garcia mousey-not-like-other-girls type of lead but she actually is a well developed character with a strong sense of who she is. the ml is a bit of a looser in comparison, and while i did like their dynamic i thought the fl deserved better given how much of an asshole the guy is,

Another unusual, supernatural and highly entertaining tale from Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Cults and curses in Mexico City. Can't wait for the next novel.

Exploring cults and curses in early nineties Mexico City, Silver Nitrate has Moreno-Garcia’s trademark atmospheric writing. Though slow to start, I really enjoyed this tale of taking on decades old nazi sorcery through the power of film and friendship.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia's latest offering, set in 1990s Mexico, explores a blend of historic Mexican cinema, occultism and Nazism. This unique premise drew me in, but sadly it fell a little short for me in terms of execution. I really want to love this author, but personally my reaction to her books has mainly been lukewarm - I know that I'm in the minority here.

One thing this book does have going for it is the characters - Tristan and Montserrat are both well-drawn, complex and flawed protagonists, and I appreciated the dual point of view. Some readers may enjoy this as more of a character-driven slow burn, but for me it was a little too slow with a heavy emphasis on dialogue to fill any gaps in the plot and a lot of detail on the art of cinema. It's unique and clearly well-researched, but it fell down on the horror elements for me. I'm sure lots of readers will enjoy it though.

The concept is cool as all hell, and the characters feel very real. The climax is effective and pays off well. An enjoyable read with a kickass gothic horror premise.
It takes a while to get into. Quite a bit in the first 100 pages could be cut to make for a more propulsive read. There’s a fair amount of treading water in the beginning and we hear about specific things that are repeated more than they need to be. After the 50% mark it became super exciting and I couldn't stop!
Overall, the book successfully blended mystery and fantasy, providing an entertaining and engaging read.

This had 2 amazing concepts
1. Cursed film - along with a nod to every vintage horror film from all over the world
2. The Nazi's obsession with the occult (alla Hellboy and Indiana Jones)
I was very excited to read this....however although most of the book did meet my anticipation it did go the long way round!
Yep, it was definitely spread too thick for my liking. It only just scraped a 4 star IMO and like most "horror" books that have come out in 22/23 it couldn't possibly have been shelved in the horror section (also, my opinion) but as always Silvia has written a brilliant book that is rich in drama and tension and that gothic kind of way she has that I can't say I didn't enjoy it but it didn't dazzle me

I love Silvia Moreno-Garcia and so far I've adored every book they have written, this one? It was enjoyable but not on the same level. Its a supernatural thriller with a very different spin to what I have come to expect from this author so whilst refreshing I wasn't quite ready. Its very well written and I loved the references to pop culture throughout. I did feel like the concept was more complex than I quite understood when I went in though, so all in all a good read!

I've said it before online and I'm sure I'll say it again - Silvia Moreno-Garcia gets better with every book.

The writing of Silver Nitrate reflects the tone of the plot perfectly. As the characters are hypnotised and caught up in the mystery of magic and movies. so the reader is unable to step away from the pages. Likeable characters, a fascinating quest and the atmosphere of Mexico, its history and society made this compelling for me.

A beautiful Latina tale that I heartily recommend.

Set around the film industry in 90’s Mexico, this follows Montserrat and her friend Tristan as they become involved with a lost, cursed movie.

This was a fast paced ride, with magic, Nazi’s, occultism and horror movies. I loved all of the movie knowledge and trivia within this book and Montserrat’s love of films shone through.

The characters were great, well formed and fully fleshed and I loved the dynamic between Montserrat and Tristan.

This wasn’t overtly horror, but had a suspenseful tone that built throughout the novel. I loved this, but always struggle a little with supernatural elements in books.

This was my first Silvia Moreno-Garcia novel and it won’t be my last!

AD - this copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review