Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

23 reviews

peppypenguin's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

An engaging adventure with horror, magic and mystery. The concept of film as ritual and magic is, to me, unique. I enjoyed the care the author took to explain how the magic system works through the characters and progression of the story - it could have easily gone sideways and devolved into a nonsensical mess but it felt like going through a tutorial, so by the third act we have an idea of what is happening. I loved the main characters even when I didn’t. I felt they were well developed, and at the end of the day the story is also about their friendship and love for each other. It adds some cheesiness to the plot but that wasn’t an issue for me. Overall it’s a fun read that picks up the pace as it goes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Classism

Minor: Cancer, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Stalking, and Sexual harassment

gdulecki's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.5

Unfortunately I did not care about this book at all!! I usually love SMG’s books, but this one did not do it for me and I certainly would have dnf’d if I wasn’t reading it for one of the prompts on my StoryGraph challenge. Also that ending was stupid. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Blood, Car accident, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racism, and Colonisation

alisonvh's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I surprised myself by answering “no” to the question “Did you find the characters lovable?”

Whether or not I like the characters is usually directly related to whether or not I like a book. In this case, I didn’t care for any of the characters, but I think that was kind of the point.

The book is all about magic and movie-making, and I don’t mean “the magic of movies!” I mean using movies as a vehicle for casting literal spells.

A central part of the book is how access to that kind of power can bring out the worst in us.

I loved this book! I was growing up in the ‘90s, so I feel very nostalgic about that time period. And I love a story about magic and sorcery, so this book was right up my alley.

My only complaint is the narrator gave a very stilted and wooden performance, so maybe skip the audiobook for this one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

vixenreader's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

A tribute to foreign cinema, adversity, and overcoming your own demons, this book inspires everyone to embrace their own magic. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Biphobia, Bullying, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual content, Cultural appropriation, War, and Classism

Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Child abuse, Terminal illness, Torture, Vomit, Kidnapping, Stalking, and Colonisation

Be aware that this novel features ageism, toxic workplace environments, Nazism, cults, occult rituals, violence with knives, harming one’s self for rituals, and people being crashed by large instruments.

faehistory's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Absolutely brilliant book. The plot is well-written and doesn't drag. 

I really enjoyed the overarching themes of magic as power and intent, as well as the examination of grief and guilt. 

The mixing-in of real history is awesome and really fascinating. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Grief

Moderate: Ableism, Drug use, Racism, Car accident, and Cultural appropriation

azrah786's review against another edition

4.0

 [This review can also be found on my BLOG]

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

CW: blood, violence, injury, murder, death, car accident, misogyny/sexism, racism, colonialism, ableism, drug use/addiction, alcoholism, cancer, toxic relationship, antisemitism, depression, kidnapping, grief, suicidal ideation, bullying
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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 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Cancer, Suicidal thoughts, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Car accident, and Colonisation

reddeddy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Self harm, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, Vomit, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation

damrod92's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Car accident, and Alcohol

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Murder, and Alcohol

mxpringle's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was absolutely incredible. So well-written and the concepts were unlike any other horror I've ever read which was so refreshing 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Car accident, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racism, Stalking, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Antisemitism, Kidnapping, and War

panic_at_the_bookshelf's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I don't even know where to start on this one... Silver Nitrate is set in Mexico City. We follow the story of Montserrat and Tristán. Both characters try to make their way in the film industry, one as a sound editor and one as an actor, during the 90's.

The first 80-ish pages of the book aren't that scary. We meet the characters, get to know some stuff about their past and come across an ocult horror movie director. Everything seems fine at first, until both Montserrat and Tristán both realise they are in deep trouble. Of course it is way too late to back off... Those occult stories might not be stories at all... 

As soon as the creepy stuff started happening I was on edge every single chapter. The author found the perfect balance between creating a scary and mysterious atmosphere without it being too overwhelming or boring. Throughout the story subtle details are being shared, so I was able to put a few puzzle pieces together and figure some plot twists out on my own. None felt obvious to me, which I liked a lot! It is only until the last few pages the story finally reveals what is actully happening... The ending was a big chef's kiss if it were up to me.

The book gives us bisexual representation, together with trauma and disability rep.

Some content warnings: car accident, dead people, murders, mental health, mentions of addiction, mentions of drug and alcohol use, mentions of suicide, mentions of cancer, racism, scars and blood.

Ps. My edition had a small font, so it was often hard to focus on the letters once my eyes got a bit tired.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Grief

Moderate: Drug use, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol

Minor: Addiction, Cancer, and Car accident