The Seventh Veil of Salome: A GMA Book Club Pick

I was really looking forward to reading this after enjoying Mexican Gothic. Old Hollywood, jealous rivals, a femme fatale. What's not to love? A lot apparently. The multiple POVs were too much and unneeded. It would be much tidier and more interesting if we only read from Vera and Nancy's POVs. I found Salome's completely unneeded and wooden, and her love for John the Baptist not believable at all. In the end I still didn't understand Salome's motivation and wanted to get back to the conflict between Vera and Nancy who were meant to embody the dual natures of Salome. Wish I could have enjoyed this more.

Ahoy there mateys! There is something about Moreno-Garcia's writing that always works for me.  This historical fiction novel was no exception.  It takes place in 1950s Hollywood where a big budget film about the life of Salome is preparing for production.  Everyone is surprised when the director casts Vera Larios, a Mexican woman with no experience as the lead.  Another American actress named Nancy is appalled and wants revenge for "her" part being stolen.  The novel focuses on how the film changes their lives forever.The two elements I loved best about the novel were the atmosphere and the characterizations.  The Hollywood of the 1950s was not always as glamorous as the films themselves would suggest.  There was rampant racism, misogyny, and studio control over the talent.  In addition the Red Scare caused actors to be blackballed.  Studios also could influence who actors dated and, in the case of gay men, encourage them to marry to hide their sexual preferences.  Vera Larios, as a Mexican, is treated with disdain.  She is not considered white.  Getting the part of Salome is a big deal but Hollywood treats the young actress more as a possession of the studio than a real person.  I thought the undercurrent of Hollywood politics was extremely well done because the overt and subtle impacts to the talents' lives were woven throughout the novel.I also loved the characterization.  Vera is controlled by her mother and familial obligation of the Mexican culture.  She is a bit naive but also resourceful in her own way.  She lives in the shadow of her sister being the family favorite.  I was rooting for every gain she made towards personal freedom.  I also had a lot of sympathy for how poorly Hollywood treated her.  Nancy, on the other hand, was someone I loved to dislike.  She has a lot of freedom but also has family pressure in trying to obtain her father's approval.  Nancy has truly horrible taste in men.  She is manipulative, abusive, and cunning.  Her focus on blaming Vera for all her woes was ridiculous yet realistic and the conflict this entailed was excellently done.  I felt that both women's endings were so sorrowful in their own ways.  The other interesting character in this novel was Salome herself.  We learn about her life in the palace, her uncle's desire for her, her marriage prospects, and her fascination with John the Baptist.  This storyline was my least favorite but it did add for some interesting parallels with the 1950s.Overall, I loved this novel even if I will likely not reread it.  I love the author's work and am looking forward to The Bewitching coming out later this year.  Arrrr!

I really enjoyed how different this book was from her others. She truly sucked me in as usual and I’m super thankful I got the ARC through NetGalley. I wish I had the physical copy now. I’ve already recommended it to others!! Thank you to the publishers, I absolutely love Silvia Moreno Garcia! The characters in this book were really well written and the pace and description were perfect. Such a great version of a historical story mixed with some drama. I felt like I was right there in the mix and have been digesting the feelings I got from it since I finished.

I loved this book. I wish it was one chapter longer….i want to know how an arrest came to be. I want to know how others walked away unscathed. That final chapter would have made this book remarkable instead of “ really good!”

I loved the suspenseful buildup and the descriptive language right up to the highly anticipated crescendo of the dance and the story!!!

Author takes the story of Salome from the Bible and alternates it with a movie script.Older story more interesting and filled with suspense. New story, not so much.This book an example of how dual timelines don’t always work.

I loved this book! The main characters felt so real to me. The way the story revolved around another story, it was really two books in one. A 1950’s Hollywood tale showing scenes behind the glamour and a bit of history too!It does jump from character to character so some may find it hard to follow but once I got into the rhythm it was just fine.This is the type of book that I wish I could get together with friends and discuss.

This was my book club’s selection. I couldn’t do it. Other women in my book club enjoyed it, while others thought it was boring. Mixed reviews from our small group

I honestly didn’t know what to expect when I picked this one up, but I have to say Silvia Moreno - Garcia is one of my auto-buy authors. I have loved every single one of her books. And this was no exception.Set in 1950s old Hollywood we are introduced to Vera, an unlikely pick for Salome in an up-and-coming movie. As you can imagine, drama ensues. This was a multiple POV, which jumped around a bit, but did come together at the end. The character development was excellently done. We have character characters. We love to love and characters. We love to hate. I think I liked the ending, but felt that it was a little rushed like everything culminating at once in the last 5% of the book so I feel like there was a lot of buildup and only a little climax. This was the only thing that wasn’t my favorite in this one. I highly recommend adding this one to your TBR if you don’t have it already on there.

I've read all of Moreno-Garcia's books because she is such a an enthralling storytelling, and this title continued her excellence. I loved Vera's character development as well as the insight into how hard old Hollywood was. Definitely recommend.

The Seventh Veil of Salome depicts '50s Hollywood in all its mid-century tawdriness. It also depicts life in the year 30 AD with excellent historical precision and a relatability that rings true. Ms. Moreno Garcia expertly interweaves both narratives. What I hated was how tawdry Hollywood was and how awful it treated women and men, which, of course, isn't improved, but that's another story. The Hollywood part and Ms. Larios family issues were rendered so perfectly that it made me re-fall in love with the author's writing. Well done!

It’s interesting how the book incorporates both the fictional Salome from biblical times with modern day Vera (in the fifties) as a newly discovered actress.Neither story has a happy ending.

Very enjoyable. A little different than other books in that it tells two different stories with a common thread.

Despite the author’s claim to have read extensively about Hollywood, she made an almost unforgivable error. In the book and in the Author’s Note, she claimed that Audrey Hepburn was cast as an unknown in “Gigi” and that it led to her stardom. I think everyone else knows that Leslie Caron was Gigi.

Ever since I read Gods of Jade and Shadow I want to read everything this author writes. She adds history and cultural context to her stories so that you can feel a connection to characters and better understand their time and environment.

Wow. I honestly waited to read this because I loved her past genre books and just couldn’t see her doing straight historical fiction. I now believe Morena-Garcia can do anything. I actually think this tops even Mexican Gothic for me. Real, flawed characters with real stakes. I loved this book

Easy and entertaining read. Fun novel.

I’m never disappointed by a Silvia Moreno-Garcia book. This one, in particular, is right up my alley with the classic Hollywood setting. A must read for anyone interested in historical fiction, particularly around Hollywood’s Golden Age.

This book was worth the wait. This book feels like a live painting and as the brush moves faster and adds more details you can’t look away. This is her first book where there wasn’t a supernatural element. It is poignantly written and addressed the reality of the other side of Hollywood, the not shiny part and how unwelcoming it was for minorities. It was fascinating learning about the many sides of humanity exhibited through the multi character narration. I wish I could re read it again for the first time.

The Golden Age of Hollywood was for many a storied era of handsome leading men and gorgeous starlets, where epic movies tantalized theatergoers in all their letterbox and technicolor glory. But for Vera Larios, her introduction to Hollywood was vastly different. Scouted at her father’s dentist office in Mexico she was an unknown thrown into a major epic production. Cast as Salome in the highly anticipated retelling of the biblical tale, Larios was starstruck, but determined to conquer the task ahead of her. Accompanied by her overbearing mother, aunt and cousin, Vera begins to navigate Hollywood while her mother attempts to direct her career. But not everyone is happy for the starlet’s debut. Nancy Hartley is furious that Vera has landed the lead role. She thought herself to be a shoo-in with her connections and experience, but now she must stand on the sidelines as a nameless extra and watch her role be played by an inferior actress. The duo embarks on a smoldering rivalry that results in rumors, scandal and romantic entanglements as Hartley is dead set on taking the rookie actress down a peg. And when fame and love are at stake, all bets are off.The Seventh Veil of Salome is the newest novel by author Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Coming on the heels of Silver Nitrate, Moreno-Garcia returns to an “old Hollywood” setting, but instead of horror, The Seventh Veil of Salome has more of a Noir feel. I really loved the different story lines going on throughout the story. First there is Salome’s view, basically the movie scenes playing out the big screen production. Then you have Vera and Nancy’s behind the scenes “real time, real life” storylines that give insight not only to the mechanics of the movie set, but also the personalities of the women themselves. These differing views helped to illustrate the tone of the era where the story takes place. In a world where “me too” had yet to be thought of, the sexism and racism was jarring and at times hard to read but I felt very necessary to completely set the tone and immerse the reader in the overall story. At times it felt as if I were reading two different books, taking a break from the Nancy and Vera drama to pick up the historical Salome story. But the further I got into the narrative, Moreno Garcia masterfully brought the two narratives closer and closer until they merged into the final act. Overall, the story begins a little slowly, but rapidly develops and it held my attention. As I found myself reading though, I was eager to see not only the final scene of the production, but also the conclusion of the real-life rivalry playing out. I could not have even imagined the conclusion, however, when it was all said and done it was very fitting.If you are a fan of Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Noir, or old Hollywood stories with multiple concurrent storylines The Seventh Veil of Salome would be a nice addition to your bookshelf.