This book focuses on three women, Vera, a newbie Hollywood starlet, a Nancy, a struggling actress and the historical character of Salome herself. I was more intrigued by Salome's track as princess in the older era fighting for her true place and finding her love in an unexpected place. Vera and her Hollywood introduction was interesting enough but the drama was for Nancy's story as a self sabotaging person getting into all messes. But it was Salome's ending that I was interested in and it totally felt unexpected. For a lot of readers, olden/golden days of Hollywood and diva's experiences are interesting to read and this one shows the intricacies of one production house and everyone associated with the movie. I rated it 3.5 stars.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia has long been an automatic read for me and "The Seventh Veil of Salome" further cements her status as one of my favorite authors. Ms. Moreno-Garcia refuses to be pigeonholed into one genre but instead writes across several with equal success. From horror and fantasy to noir and historical fiction, Ms. Moreno-Garcia's books never fail to surprise and entertain.

Told through dual timelines, this story follows Salome, the step-daughter of Herod Antipas who is famously credited with asking for the head of John the Baptist on a silver platter; Vera, the young Mexican woman who lands the movie role of a lifetime-Salome-in a racist 1950s Hollywood; and Nancy, a would-be actress who believes she is fated to play the role of Salome and is willing to go to great lengths to make that happen. The author deftly blends the different timelines and stories into one seamless plot, in effect removing the seven veils of each character to reveal the complexities of the woman underneath. The commonalities between the three characters, struggling to exist in a man's world, become clear with every passing chapter and any reader will become so engrossed in the plot that it will be difficult to put the book down once it is started. Are these women innocent or temptresses? Opportunists or Survivors?

Many thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of a book by one of my favorite authors! It's another five-star read from Silvia Moreno-Garcia!

Great idea, but not really for me. I was most drawn to the Biblkcal passages from Salome’s perspective, but it’s also interspersed with random POVs from not just the “main” characters, but some other random people I just didn’t care about. It has the feel of a transcript for a documentary in places, so may try the audio if I can get my hands on it.

This is a different direction for Moreno-Garcia, purely historical fiction with nothing mythical or supernatural. Three women, all struggling to find their identities and be heard in a male-dominated world: Salome, daughter of Herodias, niece of Herod Antipas, Princess of Idumea; Vera, a Mexican actress and newcomer to Hollywood; and Nancy, a struggling extra who has been trying to get her big break in Hollywood for ten years, convinced that she could be a major star. Two parallel storylines, one the life of Salome, the other the movie being made about her. Although there are multiple POV and narrators, I did not find it at all confusing. We are supposed to hate Nancy, the villain of the piece, but really she is her own worst enemy, sabotaging herself at every turn, so it's hard not to feel sorry for her for her dumb choices. Highly recommended for readers of historical fiction, especially about the golden age of Hollywood.

I received an advance copy via NetGalley.

<i>The Seventh Veil of Salome</i> is a fascinating work of historical fiction that juxtaposes the dark drama behind set of 1950s Hollywood with the tale of Salome from 2,000 years ago. The greater focus is on Hollywood in the era of epic swords-and-sandals films, as a young Mexican woman, Vera, is cast as Salome. She isn't even aware of her enemy, Nancy, who was snubbed for the role. The two are opposites in many ways. Vera is a dreamer, compassionate, tired of living in her sister's shadow. Nancy is ambitious, manipulative, certain of what she deserves. Around them are friends and studio insiders whose voices emerge in brief, insightful chapters that hint of a horrible tragedy to come.

Meanwhile, there is the interspersed tale of Salome herself. I enjoyed reading about that era and setting of history, though I wished there'd been more explanation about certain things. The plot plows onward, a fast read, but sometimes it felt too fast, and I was left wanting.

I won't give away spoilers, but the book itself does that from a bit too early on. I'd hoped for more twists at the end, but everything played out as it had been telegraphed.

This is still a fantastic read, with deep studies of character and cringe-inducing insights into the rampant sexism and casual racism of Hollywood and society at large (the microaggressions of Vera's family are horrific in the realism).

I really enjoy this author, but unfortunately, I was not able to get into this book after several tries. It looks like I am the outlier as others have enjoyed it, so if you are on the fence, give it a try for yourself! Going to go with the average star rating so as not to bring down the average with this one.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book has really fantastic atmosphere. Silvia Moreno Garcia has a real gift at creating setting and tone in her books. The characters are well-written and interesting. The plot is a little basic, but was still enjoyable to read. Unfortunately, I think that this book really suffered from its narration style. It is written in multiple POV’s, switching between past and present tense and first and third person kind of randomly. There is both third person narration describing the plot and first person reflection on the plot from some future point, but this conceit is not laid out clearly or well-integrated. It’s a decent book and a fun read, but it could have been so much better if the narration was more thought out.

I've yet to find a SMG book that I didn't enjoy, The Seventh Veil of Salome is no different. Set in 1950's Hollywood, every starlet is vying for the part of Salome, in the movie set to be the next big blockbuster Biblical movie.

SGM does a masterful job crafting a story of 3 women: the new girl in town Vera Larios, the veteran actress whose yet to catch a break and Salome herself. I was continually engaged from start to finish even when Nancy was being a peace of work to put I mildly.

I would highly recommend this for fans of Old Hollywood films and historical fiction. Or if you are just a big SGM fan like me. I can't wait to buy my copy on release.

I loved this one. It was such a thrilling, complex story about what people feel is owed to them—mixed in with the glamour (and darkness) of Hollywood's golden age. Vera Larios is a dentist receptionist in Mexico who gets thrust into the limelight when she's cast as the titular role in a Hollywood epic about the Biblical character Salome. However, she draws the ire of Nancy Hartley, a wannabe ingenue whose acting career can be summed up to a series of bit parts. As filming on the movie commences, Vera confronts the racism of '50s Hollywood and Nancy's desperation for stardom intensifies, leading to an ultimately deadly conclusion—all while unpacking the tragedy of Salome. It is such a page turner and is so well done. Silvia Moreno-Garcia does not disappoint.

I am never sure which of the genres SMG writes in I like best - and the answer seems to be which ever one of hers I am currently reading. I just love how versatile she is as a writer. In this latest book we are transported to the golden age of Hollywood and also take a trip to biblical times. I sometimes have a hard time with dual timelines as it can feel a bit jarring when you go between stories, but this book manages the two timelines well.\

The MC in the Hollywood timeline, Vera Larios, is a character with a lot of depth and it is fun to draw parallels between her and Salome (who Larios is playing in a movie). I was a little curious about the Salome timeline as it is really beautifully written and I wondered if it was supposed to be the movie script because it seemed like way better quality than the movie they were shooting - but SMG explains that near the end. The end, by the way, is fantastic! The scenes switch character POVs quickly and dramatically at the end as the fates of all our characters are revealed.

I love a good retelling from vilified women's POVs and the Salome parts would be an excellent standalone in that regard, but it is great seeing the reflections of Salome in both Vera and Nancy.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for an advance copy for review purposes. My opinions are my own.

Although not my favorite by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, she consistently writes stories that mesmerize and draw me in. Her take on a biblical tale told through a 1950s Hollywood film had so much of interest to me! I loved all of the aspects of the novel about old Hollywood and the making of the Salome movie. It so accurately depicted the studio system of the time and the struggles of being an actor, particularly an actor of color. Vera was an amazing main character as she struggled in her first Hollywood role while also balancing the expectations of her mother, a hostile co-worker, and a budding romance. With the number of details, you can tell that the author really put in the research (as she always does as her books are so historically rendered). The main reason that this isn’t a five star read for me is that the Hollywood scenes were interrupted regularly by the story of Salome, a small character from the Bible that was later mythologized into a temptress and cunning vixen. I understood why these parts were in the novel, but for me, I didn’t really love having the story dragged out and found myself reading these parts just to get back to the main storyline. I still definitely recommend this one to historical fiction fans or fans of this author in general!

Thank you Del Rey and NetGalley for an eARC. All opinions are my own.

In The Seventh Veil of Salome, we follow Vera Larios, a former receptionist from Mexico City newly arrived in Hollywood, as she makes her film debut in the titular film. The book is set during the Golden Era of Hollywood, filled with drama and intrigue, and overbearing mothers.

I enjoyed this book. I've read all of Silvia Moreno-Garcia's books, and have enjoyed most of them, so I had really high expectations of this book. Of course, it's difficult to gauge how I'll react to SMG's books since she doesn't write in the same genre. With that...

I always prefer multiple points of view in books. I feel like we get more of the story. However, there does seem to be such a thing as "too many POVs" for my taste. There were too many and a number of the POVs were for people that might not even be classified as side characters. More like 'extras.' Without spoiling, I'll say I was a little disappointed with how those characters came into play.

And speaking of characters... there were too many to keep track at the beginning. Obviously that got easier as the book went on, but the beginning was too many characters, and, again, the same issue with the POVs - not all of them were of significance.

I did enjoy most of the characters. I think the main players were developed well. I actually personally disliked at least one of the MCs, and I think that's a good thing because it means the character was developed well enough for me to develop a disliking.

I thought some of the plot lines weren't developed all the way. They were introduced, woven into the story, and then just seemed to die without getting a concrete resolution.

I did like the way the movie plot was included as a different POV, and had its own storyline, so it felt like we were getting two different stories. It kept me wondering how they'd converge.

The climax was anticlimactic. At first I thought there was a good buildup, and kept me wondering what "the bad thing" would be. Then I felt like the story dragged on. When we finally got the "bad thing," it was a little underwhelming.

Overall, I do recommend this book. I liked that the book synopsis was vague, so it didn't give away what happens in the book and kept me interested. I liked the multi POVs, though it got a little out of hand, and I enjoyed the dual storyline with the present setting and the movie story setting.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia continues to be such an artful storyteller and delivers incredible drama in this one. I would love to see this optioned and adapted for film because I think it would translate really well to the big screen.

The Seventh Veil of Salome is a historical fiction set in the 1950’s golden age of Hollywood when audiences couldn’t get enough of sword-and-sandal movies. We’re told that a big studio has searched for over three years to cast the right actress to play the main role of Salome in their much anticipated blockbuster feature. Nancy is an extra, wannabe big screen super star who is grasping for fame and believes she was born to play Salome. All are shocked when an unknown Mexican ingénue, Vera Larios, is cast as Salome. The off-screen drama plays big as Nancy becomes obsessed with Vera, and with taking what she believes is “rightfully” hers. Interwoven throughout is the story of the biblical figure Salome and of her tragic entanglement with Jokanaan, the preacher called John the Baptist. In parallel, we witness the schinanigans of the big studio system and the political intrigue of the court of Herod Antipas.

Moreno-Garcia’s knowledge and love of film shines throughout in this well crafted tale as old as time. In The Seventh Veil of Salome, she presents the many ways in which patriarchal systems are at their core unkind to women, pit women against one another and exoticize women of color. She is a storyteller and a feminist at heart. And if that sounds too serious for you, you needn’t worry. The novel reads like a gossip column and technicolor melodrama.

Many thanks to the author @SilviaMG.Author, @DelRey and @NetGalley for the pleasure of reading this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars
“The thing about this book is, I’m very interested but I’m also bored” was the easiest way I could describe my feelings while reading “The Seventh Veil of Salome.”

Silvia Moreno-Garcia is a master of mood and she successfully avouched her throne. The stylistic choices to convey old Hollywood glamour and the voice of the characters transported me into this world.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t nearly as compelled by the plot, which is told from multiple POVs including the historical / biblical character of Salome herself.

But from any angle or POV, the build up to the climax doesn’t work because it’s either too well known, or too one dimensional.

That is not to suggest there is no meat in the story- there certainly is- but the two major events of the story felt very uneventful.

I’d recommend this title to anyone who loves an Old Hollywood atmosphere and who prefers a heavily character driven plot.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Del Rey for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoy this author, but I appreciate her horror better. This was more than a 3, but not quite roundupable. I enjoyed the old Hollywood vibe, the gossip and the press, and knew next to nothing about Salome, but the villainess was a little too psycho for my tastes.

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!