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Yun's Reviews > Velvet Was the Night
Velvet Was the Night
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You know that feeling, when you've become fully immersed in a story and you no longer realize you're just reading words on a page? Well, that feeling never came for me in Velvet Was the Night.
Maite is a self-centered girl, working as a secretary while waiting for a wealthy, attractive man to sweep her off her feet. El Elvis is a thug in the Hawks, whose sole purpose is to undermine activist students using whatever means necessary. When Maite's neighbor goes missing, their individual steps to find her slowly take them on an intersecting path toward each other and danger.
Even though I thoroughly enjoyed the other two books I'd read by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and the writing in this one is as sharp as ever, somehow the story itself fell flat to me. I didn't connect with it at all. And I've been trying to figure out what happened ever since.
I think one issue is that I didn't really like the characters. Maite is off-putting to the extreme. She's the most awful combination of vain and vapid. She's extremely judgey of everyone on a superficial level while having nothing to offer, not even kindness. Meanwhile, Elvis seems only to care about rock and roll music in between beating up students for a paycheck. I just couldn't find even a sliver of connection to these two.
The other big issue is the book covers topics I'm fairly ambivalent about. I don't really enjoy reading about mobsters being cool or beating each other up. Nor do I enjoy reading about self-indulgent people preening and pitying themselves for their lack wealthy and good-looking boyfriends. Nor did I understand any of the references to Mexican government dysfunction during the 1970s. And with its numerous musical references, I didn't know one single song that was mentioned.
Without emotionally connecting with the story, this felt like a slog that wouldn't end. I don't want to dissuade anyone from reading this because I can imagine it being enjoyable for the right audience, but unfortunately, it wasn't me. I remain a fan of the author, but I'll avoid any more of her noir pulp fiction.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
See also, my thoughts on:
Mexican Gothic
Gods of Jade and Shadow
~~~~~~~~~~~~
� Connect with me � �
Maite is a self-centered girl, working as a secretary while waiting for a wealthy, attractive man to sweep her off her feet. El Elvis is a thug in the Hawks, whose sole purpose is to undermine activist students using whatever means necessary. When Maite's neighbor goes missing, their individual steps to find her slowly take them on an intersecting path toward each other and danger.
Even though I thoroughly enjoyed the other two books I'd read by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and the writing in this one is as sharp as ever, somehow the story itself fell flat to me. I didn't connect with it at all. And I've been trying to figure out what happened ever since.
I think one issue is that I didn't really like the characters. Maite is off-putting to the extreme. She's the most awful combination of vain and vapid. She's extremely judgey of everyone on a superficial level while having nothing to offer, not even kindness. Meanwhile, Elvis seems only to care about rock and roll music in between beating up students for a paycheck. I just couldn't find even a sliver of connection to these two.
The other big issue is the book covers topics I'm fairly ambivalent about. I don't really enjoy reading about mobsters being cool or beating each other up. Nor do I enjoy reading about self-indulgent people preening and pitying themselves for their lack wealthy and good-looking boyfriends. Nor did I understand any of the references to Mexican government dysfunction during the 1970s. And with its numerous musical references, I didn't know one single song that was mentioned.
Without emotionally connecting with the story, this felt like a slog that wouldn't end. I don't want to dissuade anyone from reading this because I can imagine it being enjoyable for the right audience, but unfortunately, it wasn't me. I remain a fan of the author, but I'll avoid any more of her noir pulp fiction.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
See also, my thoughts on:
Mexican Gothic
Gods of Jade and Shadow
~~~~~~~~~~~~
� Connect with me � �
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Velvet Was the Night.
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Reading Progress
September 10, 2021
–
Started Reading
September 10, 2021
– Shelved
September 13, 2021
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-50 of 143 (143 new)
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Anne
(last edited Sep 16, 2021 09:15AM)
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Sep 16, 2021 09:14AM
Oh, Yun, sorry you didn’t find that emotional connection with the book. 😐 I have this book and another from this author upcoming. Loved Mexican Gothic and enjoy noir, so I am still interested in reading it. Regardless of how I like her other books, I must say she has unique book covers! 💛Excellent review!
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Fantastic review Yun! Not my kind of book but you make it sound very appealing.
very honest review Yun! Don't worry there are lots of books out there you would like!
Anne wrote: "Oh, Yun, sorry you didn’t find that emotional connection with the book. 😐 I have this book and another from this author upcoming. Loved Mexican Gothic and enjoy noir, so I am still interested in re..."Thanks, Anne! I also really enjoyed Mexican Gothic, as well as Gods of Jade and Shadow! I thought I'd like anything she writes, so I'm super surprised I felt so meh towards this one. Looking forward to seeing what you think! Totally agreed that her covers are gorgeous! 🤗
Melissa (LifeFullyBooked) wrote: "Fantastic review Yun! Not my kind of book but you make it sound very appealing."Thanks, Melissa! This isn't my favorite by her. I'd recommend her "Gods of Jade and Shadow" and "Mexican Gothic" a lot more! :)
Ren wrote: "very honest review Yun! Don't worry there are lots of books out there you would like!"Thanks, Ren! Appreciate you saying that! :)
Thank you, Yun, for dissecting this book and exposing it's inner problems. Time to move on and good luck as always.
Terrific review, Yun! Hope your next book is a better fit! 💖
Bob (aka Bobby Lee) wrote: "Thank you, Yun, for dissecting this book and exposing it's inner problems. Time to move on and good luck as always."Thanks, Bob! Appreciate your thoughtful words! :)
Julie wrote: "Terrific review, Yun! Hope your next book is a better fit! 💖"Thanks, Julie! I hope so too! 💖
fantastic review, Yun! sorry this wasn't for you. I Hope your next book is a much better fit for you.
Great review, Yun! The judgey character would probably bother me too. But I am curious to know more about the music and Mexican govt references. I’ll have to add this one!
Terrific review Yun, hope you get a 5 star read next!
Debra wrote: "fantastic review, Yun! sorry this wasn't for you. I Hope your next book is a much better fit for you."Thanks, Debra! Can't love them all, it seems! :)
Jasmine wrote: "Great review, Yun! The judgey character would probably bother me too. But I am curious to know more about the music and Mexican govt references. I’ll have to add this one!"Thanks, Jasmine! If you just happen to know a little bit about the music and Mexican government issues going in, I suspect you'll connect with this way more. Hope that's the case! Will be excited to see your thoughts! :)
Maureen wrote: "Terrific review Yun, hope you get a 5 star read next!"Thanks, Maureen! I hope so too! :)
Not a fan of slogs! I have it so we'll see!
Holly wrote: "Not a fan of slogs! I have it so we'll see!"Hope you enjoy it more than I did, Holly! :)
Fantastic review, Yun! This one doesn't appeal to me, and now it appeals even less. Lol! Hope you love your next read! :)
Michael wrote: "Fantastic review, Yun! This one doesn't appeal to me, and now it appeals even less. Lol! Hope you love your next read! :)"Thanks, Michael! She's an auto-read author for me, so I didn't pay enough attention to what the book was actually about beforehand lol.
Glad to read this review. I thought it was just me because its taken me two days just to read the first chapter and I don't know if I'm interested in continuing...
Leah wrote: "Glad to read this review. I thought it was just me because its taken me two days just to read the first chapter and I don't know if I'm interested in continuing..."Thanks for the comment, Leah! I totally feel you. When I first started this book, I thought I just needed to give it more time before I could get into it. But then I never did, all the way to the end. If you decide to continue, hope it gets better for you. :)
Uhoh I hope Elvis don't find you Yun ! I say stay in Singapore !
Yun, your reviews are so entertaining!! Slog fests are not fun🙃. I have this on my TBR and have not read any of her works yet, but will keep your review in mind when I finally get to this one👍🏻.
I hate when I can’t connect to the the characters. Oh well. On to the next!!
Jaidee wrote: "Uhoh I hope Elvis don't find you Yun ! I say stay in Singapore !"Colonial Singapore > 1970s Mexico! :)
Barry wrote: "Yun, your reviews are so entertaining!! Slog fests are not fun🙃. I have this on my TBR and have not read any of her works yet, but will keep your review in mind when I finally get to this one👍🏻."Thanks a bunch, Barry! SMG's books are all so different from each other. My favorites are Gods of Jade and Shadow and Mexican Gothic. Would recommend you read the blurbs to see which story appeals to you most and start from there! Hope you enjoy! 🤗
Barbara wrote: "I hate when I can’t connect to the the characters. Oh well. On to the next!!"Thanks, Barbara! Yep, onto the next indeed! :)
Yun, sounds like Velvet has a lot of points stacked against it. Hopefully Moreno-Garcia writes something a bit less sloggy next time!
Wonderful review!! Can’t wait for your next read
Minna wrote: "Yun, sounds like Velvet has a lot of points stacked against it. Hopefully Moreno-Garcia writes something a bit less sloggy next time!"Thanks, Minna! Normally I find her books to be riveting, so this took me by surprise lol. :)
Harshia wrote: "Wonderful review!! Can’t wait for your next read"Thanks, Harshia! Appreciate you saying that! :)
Great review, Yun! It is indeed disappointing when you just cannot connect with a book by an author whose works you’ve enjoyed before. Plus who wants to waste time on “vain and vapid� heroines anyway?
Nataliya wrote: "Great review, Yun! It is indeed disappointing when you just cannot connect with a book by an author whose works you’ve enjoyed before. Plus who wants to waste time on “vain and vapid� heroines anyway?"Thanks, Nataliya! Appreciate your thoughtful comment! The heroine in particular confused me. She wasn't written as if she's a caricature (like, can you believe this girl?), but more like we're supposed to root for her. Very strange and disappointing.
I thought it was interesting how Moreno-Garcia even in Mexican Gothic had a heroine with a bit of vanity and shallowness � but it felt refreshing when doled out in small doses. Maybe she just took it too far this time.
Nataliya wrote: "I thought it was interesting how Moreno-Garcia even in Mexican Gothic had a heroine with a bit of vanity and shallowness � but it felt refreshing when doled out in small doses. Mayb..."Ah good point! Now that you mentioned it, I do remember that in Mexican Gothic. But you're right, it was in small doses, which felt endearing. In this book, it was like being hit over the head with the vain & vapid hammer lol. :)
Great review! I will definitely skip it. Thanks for your honesty.
Based on your review, I don’t think I would enjoy this either! Hope you love your next!
Fantastic review, Yun! I LOVED Mexican Gothic, her newer titles didn’t appeal to me. Dying to seeWhat she will come up with next!
Linda wrote: "Great review! I will definitely skip it. Thanks for your honesty."Thanks, Linda! :)
Jayme wrote: "Based on your review, I don’t think I would enjoy this either! Hope you love your next!"Thanks, Jayme! I've already moved onto another read and very much enjoyed it! :)
JaymeO wrote: "Fantastic review, Yun! I LOVED Mexican Gothic, her newer titles didn’t appeal to me. Dying to seeWhat she will come up with next!"
Thanks, Jayme! I really enjoyed Mexican Gothic too, as well as Gods of Jade and Shadow. This one wasn't like either, unfortunately. Same here! :)
Yikes! It really doesn't sound like "Velvet" was a very good fit at all, Yun. That stinks. And you really didn't even know the Elvis or Beatles songs?!?! 😂
Melissa wrote: "Yikes! It really doesn't sound like "Velvet" was a very good fit at all, Yun. That stinks. And you really didn't even know the Elvis or Beatles songs?!?! 😂"Thanks, Melissa! Eh, sometimes a book just isn't a good match, and it definitely happened here. OMG, so embarrassing, but I really don't know any... I always say it's before my time lol! 😅
Wish we had BOTM in Aus! Great review Yun 💖
A good friend whose tastes align with my own dnf’d it so I didn’t consider it. Sounds like it was a good choice. Sorry this was a miss, but frankly it sounds awful!
Rebecca wrote: "Wish we had BOTM in Aus! Great review Yun 💖"Thanks, Rebecca! I wish you guys had it too, though to be honest, I'm only at about 50/50 success rate with my BOTM books lol. 💖
JanB wrote: "A good friend whose tastes align with my own dnf’d it so I didn’t consider it. Sounds like it was a good choice. Sorry this was a miss, but frankly it sounds awful!"Thanks, Jan! I think you made the right choice. I have such a friend, but in this case, she nominated me to try out the book first, and here we are lol.
Great review, Yun. My "not caring" about these characters would make it hard for me to read this book. Thanks for your review!
MarilynW wrote: "Great review, Yun. My "not caring" about these characters would make it hard for me to read this book. Thanks for your review!"Thanks, Marilyn! It was definitely tough to get through this story. Usually I warm up to characters, but it never happened here.
