Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

11 reviews

boba_nbooks's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Spice Rating: 🫑 / 5 🌶️

Silvia Moreno-Garcia does not disappoint. Silver Nitrate had me on the edge of my seat and is terrifying in all the right ways.

Monserrat and Tristán have been friends since they were kids, and though Monserrat has been in love with Tristán all these years, he is oblivious to her feelings. The boys' club running the film industry in Mexico City in the 90s leaves no place for Monserrat, even though she's an extremely talented sound editor. As an aging actor, Tristán is also starting to feel left out of the industry, too. So when he finds out that his new neighbor is a cult horror director who wants to work with himself and Monserrat, Tristán wants to jump in without any hesitation. However, Monserrat is a little more cautious. The director, Abel,  wants the two of them to help him finish a film that he never got the chance to complete, but that film has left everyone who has touched it with bad fortune. The person Abel originally worked with on the film was a Nazi who believed creating this film would bring them magical powers. Abel believes finishing the film will lift the curse and bring fortune and fame, as well as magic, to the trio, but once they start working on it, strange things start to happen that leave Monserrat and Tristán wondering just what they got themselves into.

This novel focuses on how obsession with the occult can drive people to go to the extreme. It also explored the art of film, especially horror movies, and how all of the pieces come together to create a sort of magic--and in this story, the magic happened to be real. After being powerless her whole life, both in her career and in her own body, Monserrat has to decide what to do with the very real power she gets ahold of. She has to choose whether power is the most important thing to her. 

Similarly to one of Silvia Moreno-Garcia's other novels, Mexican Gothic, this was a very atmospheric read. Silver Nitrate explores ritual and how the past can still permeate the present. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Ableism, Chronic illness, Racism, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Car accident, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Cancer, Cursing, and Vomit

shaun_dh's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Silvia Moreno-Garcia can write a vibe, that’s for sure! This is a slow burn horror that took a little too long for me to get into. I found the plot to be a bit murky, but the vibes are immaculate. This is a great starting place if folks are wanting to do their toe into the horror genre

My biggest qualm with Moreno-Garcia’s writing is

her hurried romances. In both the books I’ve read of hers, she rushes a romance into the last four pages. Either flesh it out a bit more or leave it out entirely…

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Chronic illness

Minor: Bullying, Cursing, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, and Colonisation

dishajetly_123's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Blood, and Car accident

vixenreader's review

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.

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

ninahuynh's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

I found the writing in this book to sometimes be confusing. I like the direction Silvia Moreno-Garcia is exploring. It gives me sci-fi vibes, like those of the genres using

video games and film as a launchpad to another dimension.

I did not anticipate magic to be part of this plot, but I guess that works on par with her theme as Mexican Gothic, my first book from her, also has elements of magic, but with

mushroom

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Racism, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Classism

mari1532's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

#ReadLatineLit hosted by @iamrainbou

I read this audiobook through my local library. 

Brief Summary: Montserrat, a brilliant sound engineer, is facing sexism where she is the only female sound editor. In addition to her struggles at work, she is trying to help her sister through her cancer treatments and be emotionally supportive of her childhood best friend, Tristán a charming but out-of-work soap opera star. However, Montserrat attempts to keep her life on track and her feelings for Tristán in check things are taken off the rails when she meets Tristán's mysterious neighbour Abel Urueta.

At first, Montserrat is intrigued by Abel as he is the director of a lost film that was never finished. As she and Tristán get to know Abel they learn that the film is shrouded in mystery because it's cursed. When Abel asks for assistance in removing the curse Tristán and Montserrat think no harm will come from helping him. That is until they start to see ghosts and shadows. Racing against the clock Montserrat and Tristán have to work together to untangle the intricate web of occultism that they've awakened.   

Thoughts: First, I want to make it very clear that this book deals with Nazi ideology and cancer treatment. Both of these things permeate the book and at times could be very difficult to hear, so if these are topics you do not enjoy reading, I would not recommend this book. 

Second, I did not enjoy the romance aspect of this book. In part because I did not think that Tristán was particularly motivated to be in a relationship, nor did I necessarily like the romantic dynamics between him and Montserrat throughout the book. In the end, it felt a bit like he was settling because he a. didn't want to die alone and/or b. experienced excitation transfer/trauma bonding due to what he and Montserrat experienced. I liked them much better as friends.

Third, the book was a bit slow to build to the climax, but I found the story interesting throughout. Moreno-Garcia's writing is so engrossing that I didn't notice how long it was taking to get to the end of the book. I also found the mystery, occultist angle kept the story riveting.

Finally, I think that Moreno-Garcia dealt with several very difficult topics throughout this book and managed to do so in a way that made Montserrat and Tristán interesting and flawed human beings. Morally grey characters are so hard to get right in a book and I felt that Moreno-Garcia did just that throughout the book. I also learned a great deal about the film industry in general and loved how Montserrat was such a nerd (I mean this with great love) about movies and the film industry. 

This is a good book that had me captivated until the end. I would recommend it.   

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Bullying, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Nazi ideology, Nazi occultism

achay91's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Cursing and Racism

Minor: Drug use and Murder

chelsearm's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

What if airing a reel of film was the next step in a long dead ritual?

WOW, this was a great read to start just as the weather turns. From page 1 I was in love with Montserrat, and fell into her world. Between her and Tristán, I loved that you never felt like they just “bought it” with no hesitations - a true friendship, one of them is always calling bullshit!

If you’re a fan of horror movies, old cinema, or are aware of Nazi Occultism, this is a great thriller to sink your teeth into. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Murder, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Misogyny and Car accident

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Drug abuse, and Grief

displacedcactus's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

As usual, Silvia Moreno-Garcia does an amazing job of conjuring a sense of time and place, while populating her story with characters who are kind of annoying. This time around, we've got two childhood friends well into their 30s, both struggling with their careers, who find themselves caught up in a plot involving magic, an unfinished possibly cursed horror film, and conflict between several factions who all have their own idea of how the magical film should be put to use. All of this against the backdrop of 1993 Mexico City.

Moreno-Garcia weaves in classic horror films, film dubbing, Mexican cinema culture, and Nazi occultism (and how Nazism intersected with racism in Mexico). You'll probably learn a lot of interesting facts along the way.

This book has bisexual and disability rep, and one of the characters is Lebanese-Mexican. It's surprisingly diverse for a book with a relatively small cast of named characters.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Blood

Moderate: Cursing and Racism

Minor: Animal death