Velvet was the Night: President Obama's Summer Reading List 2022 pick

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Maite works as a legal secretary in 1970s-Mexico City. But that's just her day job. At night she reads romantic comics and dreams of a different life for herself. Both of their paths cross as they try to find missing Leonara ! Their intentions to find her are totally different. Maite wants to find her because she’s her roommate, Elvis wants to find her because she is supposed to keep dangerous photos that shouldn’t be revealed! As you can imagine they have been dragged into very dangerous situation by looking for the girl. During the course of his hunt, Elvis begins to notice the quiet, mousey woman living in Leonora's building. There's something about her that he is drawn to. Velvet Was the Night is a study in interesting contradictions wrapped around a "true horror story," as the author notes in their afterword. I found it to be utterly compelling even despite of a few personal quirks.

The story is told through the POVs of the two main characters, Maite and Elvis. Maite is a secretary, who is always looking for excitement, and who somehow finds herself investigating the disappearance of her neighbor, Leonora; and Elvis is a hired gun, who is also looking for Leonora, howbeit for much different reasons than Maite. I didn't care for either of them - frankly, they were both annoying characters. Their two storylines also felt disconnected, which made the entire reading experience rather disjointed. Unfortunately, I just never felt any type of connection to the storyline or the characters, and the ending was also very anti-climactic. While I loved Moreno-Garcia's writing style in "Mexican Gothic," I found it choppy and almost redundant in this one. There were also too-many-to-count references to 1970's music, which I didn't find enjoyable in the least.Velvet Was the Night is a riveting historical crime noir that swept me up in its lush descriptions and complex characters consistent with everything else its author has written thus far. While this book is much different than Moreno-Garcia’s previous six novels, it stays true to much of what made her other works so impressionable: profound characters and her general talent for storytelling. This is a novel that draws upon the intrigue to an almost impossible point, fraying the minute hold I had on everything that was happening, and leaving me unaware of what to expect next. Among the complicated alliances and brimming hostility, Moreno-Garcia captures a profound loneliness in each of her characters, a loneliness that propels them forward even when facing dangerous circumstances. Elvis and Maite specifically, have an underlying bond that is only strengthened by the things they are experiencing. Something that added a much-needed lightheartedness to an already intense story. Utilizing dual perspectives creates a kind of split viewpoint in the novel, juxtaposed against the exterior of the Dirty War only beginning to escalate in the small period of time in which this takes place. I’m not sure what this would have looked like if it only centered around one character's perspective, the outsider or the inside man. Both are necessary to craft the picture that Moreno-Garcia so brilliantly captures in the story. Even the connection between the two main characters is only strengthened by the existence of an alternating point of view, aiding in their respective development from start to finish. Having never read noir before, I can safely say I am planning on continuing given how much I enjoyed this. Silvia Moreno-Garcia has once again demonstrated her ability to write incredible stories in almost any genre, and I have no doubt her next project is going to be just as remarkable. Her seventh novel gives a glimpse into two lonely people living vastly different lives, and the potential they have to become something more together. I loved how this story follows the two main characters Maite and Elvis. I enjoyed seeing how they had separate stories at first but ultimately came together through a connection to Leonora. The dual perspective really strengthens the narrative. It works to explore different perspectives by having an insider and outsider. Readers can see Maite as the outside perspective who is in over her head while Elvis gives the inside perspective into the Hawks and their operation.

By the end of the novel, you come to truly feel for the characters and you are rooting for them, realising that Elvis doesn't want to do the things that are asked of him and that Maite has enjoyed the chance at an adventure. Elvis's battle with morality that we see throughout the novel shows his character growth and by the end, we see him have a real grasp on what he believes is right and wrong. The ending provided a real sense of closure for the story. Ultimately, the character progress is fantastically done and we see Maite grow into herself, realising that she is enough as a person and we see her start to fall in love with life again, just as we see Elvis move away from the things that have been bad for him.I loved both of the characters. The pacing was still intriguing. I never get bored till the end. That’s why I’m giving my whirlwind, exciting, powerful, fast pacing, four viva Mexico stars! This was definitely a slower story. I felt that it was much longer than need be. I did grow slightly bored with everyone's obsession about Leonora's whereabouts at some point. It took a while for me to really get into this, but when I did, it took off and didn’t stop!! Maite was such a strange protagonist that I didn’t really related to her until she started looking into Leonora’s disappearance with Rúben. And he wasn’t that interesting for a long time too. In fact, Maite annoyed the crud out of me cause while her life is boring, she’s not the best person ever. Her redeeming qualities were… well, slim to none! But once they really got into searching for Leonora, I got hooked and started to like her more. It was a unique reading experience for me. I don't read a lot of books like this and while I really enjoyed it, it still won't be a genre I will seek out. Now that I essentially just wrote a review about how Velvet Was the Night is the greatest thing since sliced bread, I will mention that the book was pretty slow at times. The book is focused on trying to find Leonora, but I think the characters spend way too much time on, "I don't know where she is. Do you?" Given the storyline, the book should have been trimmed down a bit.

Her fictional story is set in Mexico City and focuses on a romance comic-obsessed secretary named Maite who gets caught up in the disappearance of her beautiful neighbor and meets a reluctant thug named Elvis who’s also trying to find her. There’s violence, a little sex, loads of naughty words, and a lot of intrigue. As soon as I heard about SMG writing a book set in the 70s, I had to have it! I am entranced by this time in history where so much happened. A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy. But before I begin this review I’m going to do a bit of a preface—If you are already a Silvia Moreno-Garcia fan then I’m sure you’ll love this. If the only work of hers you’re familiar with is Mexican Gothic then it may diverge from your expectations. While Mexican Gothic was a slow-burn gothic horror novel set in the 1950s, Velvet Was the Night is a crime noir that takes place in 1971 Mexico City. It’s not a thriller. There’s nothing paranormal. And if those are deal breakers then this might not be the book for you. Now, I'm starting from a place of bias when I say that I love Silvia Moreno-Garcia already. I'm primed to—at a minimum—enjoy their work as I love the writing style and their way of delving into character development. This novel was no exception. I loved it too.some of the descriptions were actually pretty great and certainly fitted in with the noir aesthetic Elvis is a member of the Hawks which is a group run by the government. He is a criminal who loathes violence. When it becomes known that Lenora has photos that the government do not want to be seen, El Mago, Elvis's boss sends him and his crew to get those pictures. While looking for the Lenora and the pictures, Maite catches his eye and Elvis' eye especially when he learns of the things they have in common. Needless to say, both of their searches are dangerous - more dangerous than they could ever imagine! A rich novel with anengrossing plot,distinctive characters,and a pleasing touch of romance. Readers won’t be able to put it down.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)