✨ Review ✨ The Seventh Veil of Salome by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Thanks to Del Rey and #netgalley for the gifted advanced copy/ies of this book!

Okay, I love everything SMG has written and especially love how every book is different in content and genre. Of all of her books, I think this might have the fastest pacing, and because of that, I flew through this one!

The book is set in 1950s Hollywood and instantly immerses us in Golden Age Hollywood, surrounded by wealth and glamour, and the seediness and fight for glory that lay underneath that glitz. The format reminded me a little of Daisy Jones, where we get fragmented clips, told through a variety of people's POVs.

Quickly, we see that there's drama around the casting of Salome, the famous ancient character best known for asking for the killing of John the Baptist. Eventually, an unknown woman, working in the office in her dad's dental office in Mexico, is cast for the role.

The story rotates between 1950s POVs and Salome's narrative then, setting Vera and Salome's stories in parallel. As the story goes on, the quantity of POVs decreases, focusing on main female characters like Vera and Nancy, a jealous competitor. (For me, this change of pace was a weaker spot for me...we went from a whirlwind of POVs to a much smaller pool of perspectives, and it made the pacing feel uneven).

I loved how this merged McCarthy-era fears and censorship, her super deep biographical research of 1950s Hollywood stars, issues of race and urban history in south California, and a richly developed narrative of Salome. I love her writing in general but this felt like TJR + The Book of Longings + a telenovela. Soapy and sensational all around!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (4.5)
Genre: historical fiction, women's fiction
Setting: Hollywood
Reminds me of: Daisy Jones meets The Book of Longings
Pub Date: August 6, 2024

Read this if you like:
⭕️ 1950s Hollywood stardom
⭕️ and the seedy behind the scenes
⭕️ Latina stars and the racism they faced
⭕️ fast-paced multi POV book

Silvia Moreno-Garcia continues to deliver immersive historical settings with complex and interesting characters. Set in 1950's Hollywood, The Seven Veils of Salome follows three women - Vera (an unknown who gets the lead role of Salome), Nancy (desperate to become a star but stuck playing bit parts), and the titular Salome (torn between her desire of John the Baptist and the politics of her family). The three stories intertwine and parallel each other while documentary interviews about the making of the (fictional) film and the events surrounding it are interspersed throughout.

The beginning of the book didn't grip me quite as much as I would have liked, but the entire book is much more of a character study than some of her other novels. The ending ramped up the action but was fairly abrupt. Still, it was a worthwhile read and I will continue to devour anything Silvia Moreno-Garcia puts out.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing me with an ARC!

Thank you to Netgalley and Random Health Del Ray for an eARC of this book.

This follows a couple different story lines - Vera Larios who was discovered in Mexico to play a breakout role as Salome but has no prior experience. Nancy Hartley who has been in the film industry for some time but hasn't had a breakout role yet and is frustrated with how her career has stalled. The titular Salome who struggles with her desire for the prophet/priest and what to do for her country.

This felt like a most historical fantasy version of Daisy Jones - was an entertaining read, interesting characters, also reminded me a little of Marisha Pessl's Night Film as well as Moreno-Garcia's other work Silver Nitrate.

Thoughts

My love for Moreno-Garcia knows no bounds and her writing an old Hollywood story was something I didn't even know I needed in this life.

This story was immersive and fabulous. I loved how it was part Vera's story and also the movie of Salome.

It was dramatic and entertaining in all the best ways.

It also is a look into what it was like for Latinx actors in this time period and in Hollywood as they sought to become part of it.

Obviously, I think you should read this one.

The Seventh Veil of Salome takes place in 1950s Hollywood and mixes historical, romance, and thriller.

It follows Vera, a Mexican actress making her debut in Hollywood, and Nancy, an American actress who has been passed over too many times. The Biblical Salome herself is the third main character.

The characters feel real and fascinating, and Moreno-Garcia made me care deeply about them all — which heightens the suspense in what could have been a fairly standard story. A confrontation between Vera and Nancy feels inevitable throughout.

I also loved the detail about the film industry, which was one of my favourite aspects of Moreno-Garcia’s previous novel Silver Nitrate.

Thank you to Netgalley and Del Rey for my review copy of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for allowing me to read an ARC of The Seventh Veil of Salome by Silvia Moreno-Garcia.

The infamous Seventh Veil of Salome. When Vera, beautiful and naive to the world of Hollywood is cast for the role of Salome herself, it causes quite the commotion in 1950's Hollywood. Told from the perspectives of Vera, Salome, and those who were there to watch their journey, mysteries and stories unfold as love, lust, jealousy and desire change their worlds.

I absolutely love Silvia Moreno-Garcia. I have read almost all of her books and have loved each one of them for their own reasons. When I first began reading this one, it just wasn't the right time and something was quite clicking, I couldn't sink into the story. BUT I knew I loved this author and had so much faith that it was me and not the book, so I put it aside until I felt ready (I am such a mood reader) and I am SO glad that I did, because when the mood and time was write, I devoured this book.

Definitely give this one a read!

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing, and Silvia Moreno-Garcia for an advanced copy of this book.

It’s honestly hard to describe why I enjoyed this book so much. It’s a more in depth look at 1950’s Hollywood and the hardships that Latina actresses had to face in that era. The comparison of Vera’s life to Salome’s was well done and insightful. I myself do not know much about biblical stories but I didn’t let myself look up the story of Salome and instead let the author tell me her version of the story, and how Vera and Salome both are women who face hardships because of their status, their relationships, and their gender. This is my second book by Silvia and so far for me she’s 2/2 .I really love her writing style and her story telling.

3.5/4⭐️

I liked the premise of this book because it seemed so interesting and something different from what I would normally read. I have read Mexican Gothic and I loved it.

This story has multiple point of views which I found cool but I also would get lost sometimes on whose POV it was. The three main POVs being Vera: the actress who is casted as Salome, Salome herself, and Nancy: the actress who wanted to be casted as Salome and is jealous of Vera. There’s also other small POVs here and there, and I felt that it was a little too much at times.

You can tell the author did her research on both Salome’s story and also the old Hollywood time period that the book is set in.

It was a good read, took me a little bit to get through but that’s only because this isn’t a genre I’m used to 😂 but I still enjoyed myself reading it and I’d definitely recommend, I love Silvia Moreno-Garcia!

"The Seventh Veil of Salome" is set in 1950s Hollywood with all of the grit and glamour of that time. There's lots of drama as there is a slow reveal of what occurred around this movie set. Although there are multiple POVs, the main characters are: Vera, who is a new actress discovered in Mexico and cast as Salome in a sword and sandals flick; Nancy, who is an absolute hot mess and will do anything to make it in Hollywood; and Salome, who is the focus of the film. The perspective of Salome honestly slowed the pace of the book for me and I didn’t like the book as much as I hoped I would, but I did enjoy it. I listened to the audiobook and the full cast added to the experience.

The thing I love most about Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s books is that we can always expect the unexpected. I love her genre-bending novels, and the way she explores various elements of history through her specific lens. The Seventh Veil of Salome was no exception. Here Moreno-Garcia takes on the Hollywood studio system with the story of a newly discovered starlet, Vera, who is to portray the Biblical temptress, Salome, in a swords and sandals epic of the 1950s. The steady, self-contained Vera contrasts with her hot-blooded onscreen persona, but both women find themselves entangled in a web of envy, revenge, and tragedy that unfolds both in Hollywood and onscreen. Another hit from Moreno-Garcia, and, as always, I await her next book with bated breath!

Luscious and sultry, this envelops you immediately, drawing you in with a cast of characters that are each unique in their own way. Every character adds a layer of texture to the storytelling that bring the story to life. I enjoyed how even the characters set up as ‘villain’ like Nancy still feel so deep and richly crafted to have nuance. You want to both judge and condemn the characters, yet you can feel their wounds, taste their yearning, and feel the excitement and glossy allure of Hollywood and moviemaking.

Expertly balanced and paced, this was a fascinating read that although you think you know how it all plays out, manages to surprise and hook you.

This was so different from any of the other books I've read by this author and I enjoyed! But like many of her previous books, it melds together different genres, although this time she leaves out the supernatural horror. At its heart it is historical fiction, with two different times and three different characters. The story focuses on Salome, the daughter of Herodias with a convoluted family tree. Basically Herod Antipas ("King Herod") divorced his wife to marry Herodias. She was originally the wife of his half-brother Philip. However, because Herodias was also the daughter of another half-brother of Herod and Philip, Aristobulus, Herodias ended up being both the wife and niece of Herod and Philip, as well as the sister-in-law to her second husband (ex-SIL?). Since Salome was the daughter of Herodias and Philip, she was both the daughter and grandniece of Philip and the stepdaughter and grandniece (by marriage) of Herod. And yes, she was also the daughter and grandniece of her own mother. When her mother married Herod Antipas, she came with her. I have read the family connections several times and it still makes my head spin!

In the bible, Salome is actually unnamed, though she is named by the historian Flavius Josephus later. But she is infamously known for asking for the head of John the Baptist on a platter after dancing for her stepfather.

The modern story takes place in 1950s Hollywood and centers around two women, Vera Larios and Nancy Hartley and a film that Max Niemann is directing called The Seventh Veil of Salome. Vera is an unknown Mexican ingenue who has been told her entire life by her mother that her prettier, more talented, lighter-skinned sister (yep) is the one who will be an actress and she (just as pretty and talented, but not according to her mother) is destined to be married and become a housewife and mother. Nancy has always thought she belonged in the movies, but things have never quite worked out that way. When she tries out for the part of Salome, she is all but sure she has nailed the role, except the role ends up going to Vera, an unknown Mexican girl (although she puts it much more unkindly).

The story jumps around between Salome's time and the more modern time, but the perspective jumps around all over the place, not just with the three of them. This takes some getting used to and although the audiobook seems to have different voices for all the different perspectives, I suspect that one would want to read along to the audio. Personally, I enjoyed reading the book, although I tend to love audiobooks, and I did notice they have some of my favorite narrators for this book. I will likely be checking out the audiobook.

I absolutely love how she develops all three characters, even if I really disliked Nancy. But she was such a product of the time period and it was almost chilling how similar Salome's circumstances were with the two women in the 50s. I disliked Nancy because she was a user of people and the way she treated Vera was so unfair, but I also understand why she ended up the way she did. SMG did an amazing job characterizing these women and showing the strength that each of them had to develop just to survive. Without a doubt, Vera was my favorite character, but what happened to each of them were connected and I loved how SMG did that.

If you're looking for her usual gothic horror stories, this is not going to be that. But SMG shows just how versatile she can be as she moves out of her usual lane and writes another engrossing story. If you're looking for good characterization and strong female characters with a dose of danger and suspense, give this book a chance! I definitely recommend it.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

In The Seventh Veil of Salome, Sylvia Moreno-Garcia returns to the subject of film history, this time taking us to 1950s Hollywood- particularly during the time of the ‘sword and sandal’ films like Ben-Hur and Cleopatra. In this story, we hear about the making of a fictional movie about Salome, a woman in the Bible who is said to have captivated King Herod with her dance to the point that he was willing to grant her anything she wished for. What she asked for– and was dutifully given– was the head of John the Baptist on a platter.

When the unknown but beautiful Mexican actress is given the role of Salome, she becomes the focus of admiration, speculation, and hatred, for nearly every woman in Hollywood was hoping to be cast as Salome. At first, Vera seems to be handling the process very well: she attends the parties she’s told to attend, makes friends, and meets a young man who is very interested in her. She is the talk of the town. But multiple forces are working against her: constant racism and misogyny, an overbearing mother, a jealous fellow actress, and a press as eager to tear down celebrities as it is to build them up.

Interspersed with Vera’s tale is a story of Salome. Perhaps it is historical, perhaps it’s the story of the film Vera is making. But in both cases, Salome’s dance is the pivotal moment upon which both stories turn, and both Vera and Salome’s lives will be changed forever afterward.

Though told with Moreno-Garcia’s usual skill and attention to detail, I found this particular novel to feel a little unfocused thanks to the inclusion of one-off point-of-view characters whose purpose is to give background to the story and provide a sense of foreboding. Personally, though, I thought they were distracting and killed some of the book’s tension, as I was almost told what to expect. Had the narrative stayed with the three main female perspectives, I think it would have helped both the pacing and the tension. As it was, I found the first half to be slow going, but things started to pick up around the halfway mark.

The Seventh Veil of Salome is not my favorite of Moreno-Garcia’s books, but this is partly due to my own tastes. I don’t have a lot of interest in the golden age of Hollywood. I was mostly interested in this because I enjoy Moreno-Garcia’s work in general. This is a generally well-crafted book about a subject that a lot of people are fascinated by. Sadly, I am not among them, but I am looking forward to whatever Moreno-Garcia writes next.

I really struggled with getting into this book. It took me over 2 weeks to read which is very unusual for me.

The story is told with multiple narrators and multiple perspectives. One group of people are in the future and reflecting on a tragedy that happened in the past on the set of "The Seventh Veil of Salome". Those characters are being interviewed and are very clearly talking to someone.

The second group are in the past and it's a more traditional story in the 3rd person POV where we're watching the story unfold. You, as the reader, don't feel like you're a character being talked to - you're just reading the story.

Then, the story also jumps to Salome's perspective and we're reading the story of what's happening with Salome in the fictionalized movie. The author might have done this to avoid having a movie script within the book, which was appreciated. However, it's a bit strange, especially the first time it happens. It was like a book within a book. Anytime we jumped from the Hollywood movie set to the Salome world and then back, it felt disjoint and took me out of the story.

The last 10-15% of the book was good and I enjoyed how the author wrote the climax scene. But the initial 85-90% was a slog, which hasn't been my experience with other books by this author.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this advance review copy.

This story is partly set in 1950s Hollywood and inspired by the author’s deep research into the period. Every actress wants to play Salome, the star-making role in a big-budget movie about the legendary woman whose story has inspired artists since ancient times.
So when the film’s director casts Vera Larios, an unknown Mexican ingénue, in the lead role, she quickly becomes the talk of the town. Vera also becomes an object of envy for Nancy Hartley, a bit player whose career has stalled and who will do anything to win the fame she believes she richly deserves.
Two actresses, determined to make it to the top in Golden Age Hollywood—a city overflowing with gossip, scandal, and intrigue—make for a sizzling combination.
But this is the tale of three women, for it is also the story of the princess Salome herself, consumed with desire for the fiery prophet who foretells the doom of her stepfather, Herod: a woman torn between the decree of duty and the yearning of her heart. And honestly, I loved this part of the story the most.
It is told in multiple points of view, including those of various minor players in Vera’s life. These perspectives affect how we see and understand Vera and Nancy. Alongside our three main characters, Moreno-Garcia injects stories from other characters, some of which we meet through the story, these are told in different formats, some interview style, some like reading a diary and they all add to the intrigue of the story. From the first page we know it is building to some big event, and these little additions add to the tension and the build up to the ending.
The book also addresses the pervasiveness of racism, misogyny, sexual assault and double standards that were once so explicit. It’s a story of ambition, of romance, but it’s also one of three women simply trying to survive, to thrive in worlds that will never accept them as they are.
If you enjoy historical fiction, and don’t mind a slow burn plot, especially with characters this well written, I would highly recommend.

I will always run to pick up anything that Silvia Moreno-Garcia writes. Especially her historical fiction! Everything about this book spelled a recipe for a new favorite SMG title. In reality, it was just okay. I did like how the plot points in Salome's POV echoed what was happening with Vera and how everything came to a big climax. After the climax of the plot, the story ended super abruptly, IMO, with little resolution. And I did not like that so much.

Del Rey eARC
What I love about Silvia Moreno-Garcia's work is that I always get a different book each time I read her, and each time it pays off. This was such a fascinating look into old Hollywood and the life of Salome - whom I knew from the Biblical story but nothing else about her. She made these women so vivid and fascinating. I wanted to spend time with all of them - even Nancy because who doesn't love a fleshed out villain. I ended up doing this one on audio and I'm glad I did because of the full cast production. I had no idea where this story was going the entire time and trusted the author to bring it to a satisfying conclusion and she did. This was masterful storytelling and I'm curious to see where she takes us next.

As always with Silvia Moreno-Garcia, a deeply atmospheric story that slowly builds tension that deliciously pays off. This follows three women, two involved in Golden Age Hollywood, and the other the titular Salome at the start of the first millennium. Three very different women with very different lives, but all wrestling with remarkably similar challenges because of the demands placed on them by the people (mostly men) that surround them. I'd call it a slow burn if I tried to describe the plot, but I was sucked in from the first pages and couldn't put it down.

Whilst reading this book, I kept trying to place it in a genre and even after finishing it, I can’t place it in one. The Seventh Veil of Salome is about a 1950s film and paints a complex story of two actresses, Hollywood, and the biblical princess Salome.
Our first actress is the lead in the film. She is an unknown Mexican woman that is pushed into the spotlight after being cast in this role. Our second actress has been in Hollywood for years looking for her big break and has become a bit more unhinged following the casting of a part that "should have been hers!"
I have to admit, I did not know the story about Salome prior to reading this book, but her story is interwoven throughout the narrative and wow was this book well done. There was one particular moment (without spoiling) that became lost in the story and captivated by the intricate way it was told.
I felt all the emotions while reading this. Excitement for our up and coming actress, anger at the racism she experiences, and anxiety for the impending doom that I could sense in the build up of tension. I absolutely adore Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s work and am so grateful to have been given the opportunity to review this. Thank you NetGalley and Random House.

What a unique, different book for Silvia Moreno-Garcia ! I've read several of her other books (Mexican Gothic and Silver Nitrate), which were gothic horror. Is she veering away from that genre and focusing more on historical fiction? Or is she so multi-talented, she can go back and forth between the two? I imagine it's the latter. This is an impressive read that is a movie set within a story.
We start out with the historical story of Salome, a character in the bible who is known for performing a dance before King Herod, in exchange for the head of John the Baptist on a platter. She's manipulated by her mother, Herodias, into siding with her over her uncle or father, as her mother conspires with them both to arrange a marriage for Salome to increase their share of the kingdom. Unfortunately, Salome is in love with a peasant preacher currently jailed for speaking out against the throne and is being pursued by her cousin for marriage as well. There is a lot of politics going on here with various outcomes. In essence, it's the biblical version of Romeo and Juliet.

We then turn to 1950s Hollywood, where a movie version of 'The seventh veil of Salome' is being produced and stars a young Mexican ingenue, Vera Larios. Vera is beautiful and has never acted before. Her mother favors her sister and she's constantly doubting herself as she navigates her way through the politics and intrigue of the glamourous Hollywood lifestyle.

The 3rd woman in this story is Nancy, an actress who was also up for the part of Salome, but is incensed that she lost out to Vera, an unknown, and a Mexican to boot. There are a lot of racial references to the challenges hispanic and spanish actors faced in Hollywood and if you were from Mexico, you had to pretend you were from Spain just to buy property in CA.
All three stories intertwine a bit as each woman faces similar obstacles-racism, sexism, misogyny, and their drive to succeed. Sometimes the sections on Salome are hard to follow as there are many Roman and Greek characters, but once you get into the meat of the story, only a few really matter. You root for Vera, and are excited for her when she finds true love, fleeting as it may be. Everything comes to a head when the final scene of the movie is filmed and Nancy plots her revenge. You know that tragedy is on the way and when it finally comes it's bittersweet.

Moreno-Garcia makes you feel like you too, are part of the glamour and excess of old school Hollywood, when actors were managed by publicists who controlled all their social activity, and gossip magazines followed the actors from place to place. Not much has changed, but this is a great ode to classic Hollywood, historical fiction, and the great biblical epic movies of the past.