The Seventh Veil of Salome
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GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK • A young woman wins the role of a lifetime in a film about a legendary heroine—but the real drama is behind the scenes in this sumptuous historical epic from the New York Times bestselling author of Mexican Gothic.
“Whenever I want to read a book I know will be good, I go to Silvia Moreno-Garcia.”—Taylor Jenkins Reid, author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, NPR, BookPage
1950s Hollywood: Every actress wants to play Salome, the star-making role in a big-budget movie about the legendary woman whose story has inspired artists since ancient times.
So when the film’s mercurial director casts Vera Larios, an unknown Mexican ingenue, in the lead role, she quickly becomes the talk of the town. Vera also becomes an object of envy for Nancy Hartley, a bit player whose career has stalled, and who will do anything to win the fame she believes she richly deserves.
Two actresses, both determined to make it to the top in Golden Age Hollywood—a city overflowing with gossip, scandal, and intrigue—make for a sizzling combination.
But this is the tale of three women, for it is also the story of the princess Salome herself, consumed with desire for the fiery prophet who foretells the doom of her stepfather, Herod: a woman torn between the decree of duty and the yearning of her heart.
Before the curtain comes down, there will be tears and tragedy aplenty in this sexy Technicolor saga.
©2024 Silvia Moreno-Garcia (P)2024 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
“In Moreno-Garcia’s skillful hands, you’ll find the satisfaction of richly drawn characters, saturated settings and deftly constructed plot twists. . . . No matter the genre—gothic, horror, noir—she’ll embody its essence with a verve all her own. The Seventh Veil of Salome, Moreno-Garcia’s tenth novel, is an old Hollywood tale crossed with fire and brimstone. And like her previous works, it’s a compulsive page turner [and] a shrewd examination of faith and desire.”—The New York Times Book Review
“When I want to read a book I know will be good, I go to Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Her genres are ever-changing, and her ability to take on a wild story each time is incredible. You never know what she’s going to do, but you know it will be a page-turner.”—Taylor Jenkins Reid, New York Times bestselling author of Daisy Jones & The Six
“Using a kaleidoscope of perspectives, Moreno-Garcia skillfully depicts the rise of a starlet in 1950s Hollywood, capturing not only the glamour of poolside parties but also the sordid underbelly of the industry. That alone would be a great read, but she also weaves in the original story of Salome, adding rich layers to a story that bubbles with anticipation and will leave you spellbound.”—Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Spectacular
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Wonderful!!!
- By Alia on 12-11-09
By: Charles Dickens
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George Orwell’s 1984
- An Audible Original adaptation
- By: George Orwell, Joe White - adaptation
- Narrated by: Andrew Garfield, Cynthia Erivo, Andrew Scott, and others
- Length: 3 hrs and 27 mins
- Original Recording
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It’s 1984, and life has changed beyond recognition. Airstrip One, formerly known as Great Britain, is a place where Big Brother is always watching, and nobody can hide. Except, perhaps, for Winston Smith. Whilst working at the Ministry of Truth, rewriting history, he secretly dreams of freedom. And in a world where love and sex are forbidden, where it’s hard to distinguish between friend and foe, he meets Julia and O’Brien and vows to rebel.
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A Revelation!
- By wotsallthisthen on 04-07-24
By: George Orwell, and others
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The Plight Before Christmas
- By: Kate Stewart
- Narrated by: Joe Arden, Maxine Mitchell
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Clark Griswold was onto something...at least with his annual holiday meltdown. And since the last three weeks of my life have been riddled with humbug—another breakup, a broken toe, an office promotion I deserved and didn’t get—I’m not at all in the mood to celebrate nor have the happ, happ, happiest Christmas EVER.
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Gaslighting and games
- By FMC on 12-22-22
By: Kate Stewart
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He's Gone
- By: Rebecca Collomosse
- Narrated by: Victoria Blunt, Cicely Whitehead, Joe Eyre
- Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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My fiancé brought me tea and scrambled eggs in bed that morning, and we snuggled together, talking about buying our rings, and about our perfect wedding next year. Then we headed into town. He held my hand and gazed at the ring I liked best, a smile spreading slowly over his face. Then a glass of bubbly to celebrate. I felt flushed, excited and ready for the rest of my life with the man I loved. We race to get on the train home. It screams to a halt and I run towards its open doors. Made it. I think he’s right behind me — but when I turn around, he’s gone.
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Disappointing plot
- By TerriSweeta on 12-04-24
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The Answer Is No
- A Short Story
- By: Fredrik Backman, Elizabeth DeNoma - translator
- Narrated by: Stacy Gonzalez
- Length: 1 hr and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Lucas knows the perfect night entails just three things: video games, wine, and pad thai. Peanuts are a must! Other people? Not so much. Why complicate things when he’s happy alone? Then one day the apartment board, a vexing trio of authority, rings his doorbell. And Lucas’s solitude takes a startling hike. They demand to see his frying pan. Someone left one next to the recycling room overnight, and instead of removing the errant object, as Lucas suggests, they insist on finding the guilty party. But their plan backfires. Colossally.
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Narrator doesn’t get Backman’s satire or rhythm
- By joey1603 on 12-01-24
By: Fredrik Backman, and others
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Starship Troopers
- By: Robert A. Heinlein
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 8 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Johnnie Rico never really intended to join up—and definitely not the infantry. But now that he’s in the thick of it, trying to get through combat training harder than anything he could have imagined, he knows everyone in his unit is one bad move away from buying the farm in the interstellar war the Terran Federation is waging against the Arachnids. Because everyone in the Mobile Infantry fights. And if the training doesn’t kill you, the Bugs are more than ready to finish the job.
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The definitive version!
- By Kristopher G. Hesson on 10-03-24
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Dead Med
- By: Freida McFadden
- Narrated by: Patricia Santomasso, Scott Merriman
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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When Heather McKinley dreamed of becoming a doctor, she imagined curing sick kids and sporting pink stethoscopes. She never anticipated the sleepless nights, grueling exams, and endless labs. And she certainly never knew that her medical school earned the nickname Dead Med thanks to the tragic history of students overdosing on illegal drugs. But Heather would never consider doing anything like that. That is, until her longtime boyfriend dumps her, she finds herself failing anatomy, and her world starts to crumble.
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Hmm
- By Morgan Meaux on 08-22-24
By: Freida McFadden
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Mexico City, 1988. Long before iTunes or MP3s, you said "I love you" with a mixtape. Meche, awkward and fifteen, discovers how to cast spells using music, and with her friends Sebastian and Daniela will piece together their broken families, and even find love.
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I Was Never the First Lady
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Nadia Guerra’s mother, Albis Torres, left when Nadia was just 10 years old. Growing up, the proponents of revolution promised a better future. Now that she’s an adult, Nadia finds that life in Havana hasn’t quite matched its promise; instead it has stifled her rebellious and artistic desires. Each night, she DJs a radio show government censors block from broadcasting. Frustrated, Nadia finds hope and a way out when she wins a scholarship to study in Russia.
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Malas
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- Length: 12 hrs and 30 mins
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In 1951, a mysterious old woman confronts Pilar Aguirre in the small border town of La Cienega, Texas. The old woman is sure Pilar stole her husband and, in a heated outburst, lays a curse on Pilar and her family. More than forty years later, Lulu Muñoz is dodging chaos at every turn: her troubled father’s moods, his rules, her secret life as singer in a punk band, but most of all her upcoming quinceañera. When her beloved grandmother passes away, Lulu finds herself drawn to the glamorous stranger who crashed the funeral and who lives alone and shunned on the edge of town.
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I wanted to like it
- By Sara da Silva on 12-01-24
By: Marcela Fuentes
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Silver Nitrate
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- Narrated by: Gisela Chipe
- Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Montserrat has always been overlooked. She’s a talented sound editor, but she’s left out of the boys’ club running the film industry in ’90s Mexico City. And she’s all but invisible to her best friend, Tristán, a charming if faded soap opera star, though she’s been in love with him since childhood. Then Tristán discovers his new neighbor is the cult horror director Abel Urueta, and the legendary auteur claims he can change their lives—even if his tale of a Nazi occultist imbuing magic into highly volatile silver nitrate stock sounds like sheer fantasy.
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Good story but the narrator…
- By MAW on 07-21-23
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Velvet Was the Night
- By: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
- Narrated by: Gisela Chípe
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
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Mexico in the 1970s is a dangerous country, even for Maite, a secretary who spends her life seeking the romance found in cheap comic books and ignoring the activists protesting around the city. When her next-door neighbor, the beautiful art student Leonora, disappears under suspicious circumstances, Maite finds herself searching for the missing woman—and journeying deeper into Leonora’s secret life of student radicals and dissidents.
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Amazing, entertaining, and insightful
- By Mogopolis on 09-07-21
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The Beautiful Ones
- A Novel
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- Narrated by: Imani Jade Powers
- Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins
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They are the Beautiful Ones, Loisail’s most notable socialites, and this spring is Nina’s chance to join their ranks, courtesy of her well-connected cousin and his calculating wife. But the Grand Season has just begun, and already Nina’s debut has gone disastrously awry. She has always struggled to control her telekinesis- neighbors call her the Witch of Oldhouse - and the haphazard manifestations of her powers make her the subject of malicious gossip. When entertainer Hector Auvray arrives to town, Nina is dazzled.
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Beautifully Written, Beautifully Boring, Horrifically Slow
- By Mary D on 04-29-21
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Signal to Noise
- By: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
- Narrated by: Kyla Garcia
- Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
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Mexico City, 1988. Long before iTunes or MP3s, you said "I love you" with a mixtape. Meche, awkward and fifteen, discovers how to cast spells using music, and with her friends Sebastian and Daniela will piece together their broken families, and even find love.
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I Was Never the First Lady
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- Length: 6 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Nadia Guerra’s mother, Albis Torres, left when Nadia was just 10 years old. Growing up, the proponents of revolution promised a better future. Now that she’s an adult, Nadia finds that life in Havana hasn’t quite matched its promise; instead it has stifled her rebellious and artistic desires. Each night, she DJs a radio show government censors block from broadcasting. Frustrated, Nadia finds hope and a way out when she wins a scholarship to study in Russia.
By: Wendy Guerra
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Malas
- A Novel
- By: Marcela Fuentes
- Narrated by: Christine Avila, Victoria Villarreal
- Length: 12 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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In 1951, a mysterious old woman confronts Pilar Aguirre in the small border town of La Cienega, Texas. The old woman is sure Pilar stole her husband and, in a heated outburst, lays a curse on Pilar and her family. More than forty years later, Lulu Muñoz is dodging chaos at every turn: her troubled father’s moods, his rules, her secret life as singer in a punk band, but most of all her upcoming quinceañera. When her beloved grandmother passes away, Lulu finds herself drawn to the glamorous stranger who crashed the funeral and who lives alone and shunned on the edge of town.
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I wanted to like it
- By Sara da Silva on 12-01-24
By: Marcela Fuentes
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Silver Nitrate
- By: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
- Narrated by: Gisela Chipe
- Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Montserrat has always been overlooked. She’s a talented sound editor, but she’s left out of the boys’ club running the film industry in ’90s Mexico City. And she’s all but invisible to her best friend, Tristán, a charming if faded soap opera star, though she’s been in love with him since childhood. Then Tristán discovers his new neighbor is the cult horror director Abel Urueta, and the legendary auteur claims he can change their lives—even if his tale of a Nazi occultist imbuing magic into highly volatile silver nitrate stock sounds like sheer fantasy.
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Good story but the narrator…
- By MAW on 07-21-23
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Velvet Was the Night
- By: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
- Narrated by: Gisela Chípe
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Mexico in the 1970s is a dangerous country, even for Maite, a secretary who spends her life seeking the romance found in cheap comic books and ignoring the activists protesting around the city. When her next-door neighbor, the beautiful art student Leonora, disappears under suspicious circumstances, Maite finds herself searching for the missing woman—and journeying deeper into Leonora’s secret life of student radicals and dissidents.
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Amazing, entertaining, and insightful
- By Mogopolis on 09-07-21
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The Beautiful Ones
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- By: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
- Narrated by: Imani Jade Powers
- Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins
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They are the Beautiful Ones, Loisail’s most notable socialites, and this spring is Nina’s chance to join their ranks, courtesy of her well-connected cousin and his calculating wife. But the Grand Season has just begun, and already Nina’s debut has gone disastrously awry. She has always struggled to control her telekinesis- neighbors call her the Witch of Oldhouse - and the haphazard manifestations of her powers make her the subject of malicious gossip. When entertainer Hector Auvray arrives to town, Nina is dazzled.
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Beautifully Written, Beautifully Boring, Horrifically Slow
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Gods of Jade and Shadow
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The Jazz Age is in full swing, but Casiopea Tun is too busy cleaning the floors of her wealthy grandfather’s house to listen to any fast tunes. Nevertheless, she dreams of a life far from her dusty small town in southern Mexico. A life she can call her own. Yet this new life seems as distant as the stars, until the day she finds a curious wooden box in her grandfather’s room. She opens it - and accidentally frees the spirit of the Mayan god of death, who requests her help in recovering his throne from his treacherous brother.
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I can’t finish this
- By zoomcity on 08-07-19
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Daughter of Fire
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Catalina de Cerrato is being raised by her widowed father, Don Alonso, in 1551 Guatemala, scarcely thirty years since the Spanish invasion. A ruling member of the oppressive Spanish hierarchy, Don Alonso holds sway over the newly relegated lower class of Indigenous communities. Fiercely independent, Catalina struggles to honor her father and her late mother, a Maya noblewoman to whom Catalina made a vow that only she can keep: preserve the lost sacred text of the Popol Vuh, the treasured and now forbidden history of the K’iche’ people.
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Writen by a Latina for latinas
- By Anna Ortiz on 11-25-24
By: Sofia Robleda
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Miss del Río
- By: Bárbara Mujica
- Narrated by: Frankie Corzo
- Length: 13 hrs and 2 mins
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1910, Mexico. As the country’s revolution spreads, Dolores, the daughter of a wealthy banker, must flee her comfortable life in Durango or risk death. Her family settles in Mexico City, where, at sixteen, she marries the worldly Jaime del Río. But in a twist of fate, at a party she meets an influential American director who recognizes in her a natural performer. He invites her to Hollywood, and practically overnight, the famous Miss del Río is born.
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beautiful story
- By rosemarie camacho on 05-13-24
By: Bárbara Mujica
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Certain Dark Things
- A Novel
- By: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
- Narrated by: Aida Reluzco
- Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Welcome to Mexico City, an oasis in a sea of vampires. Domingo, a lonely garbage-collecting street kid, is just trying to survive its heavily policed streets when a jaded vampire on the run swoops into his life. Atl, the descendant of Aztec blood drinkers, is smart, beautiful, and dangerous. Domingo is mesmerized.
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Pretty good
- By Zachary on 09-27-21
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The Daughter of Doctor Moreau
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- Narrated by: Gisela Chípe
- Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Carlota Moreau: A young woman growing up on a distant and luxuriant estate, safe from the conflict and strife of the Yucatán peninsula. The only daughter of a researcher who is either a genius or a madman. Montgomery Laughton: A melancholic overseer with a tragic past and a propensity for alcohol. An outcast who assists Dr. Moreau with his experiments, which are financed by the Lizaldes, owners of magnificent haciendas and plentiful coffers. The hybrids: The fruits of the doctor’s labor, destined to blindly obey their creator and remain in the shadows.
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High hopes dashed
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On a Night of a Thousand Stars
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New York, 1998. Santiago Larrea, a wealthy Argentine diplomat, is holding court alongside his wife, Lila, and their daughter, Paloma, a college student and budding jewelry designer, at their annual summer polo match and soiree. All seems perfect in the Larreas’ world—until an unexpected party guest from Santiago's university days shakes his usually unflappable demeanor. The woman's cryptic comments spark Paloma’s curiosity about her father’s past, of which she knows little. Paloma is determined to learn more about his life in the years leading up to the dictatorship of 1976.
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Amazing narration, moving story!
- By Suzanne B on 04-03-22
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The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina
- A Novel
- By: Zoraida Córdova
- Narrated by: Frankie Corzo
- Length: 10 hrs and 57 mins
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Performance
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Story
The Montoyas are used to a life without explanations. They know better than to ask why the pantry never seems to run low, or why their matriarch won’t ever leave their home in Four Rivers - not for graduations, weddings, or baptisms. But when Orquídea Divina invites them to her funeral and to collect their inheritance, they hope to learn the secrets that she has held onto so tightly their whole lives. Instead, Orquídea is transformed into a ceiba tree, leaving them with more questions than answers.
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Magical Realism Weirdness
- By @abagoflit on 09-08-21
By: Zoraida Córdova
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Mexican Gothic
- By: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
- Narrated by: Frankie Corzo
- Length: 10 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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After receiving a frantic letter from her newly-wed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom, Noemí Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside. She’s not sure what she will find—her cousin’s husband, a handsome Englishman, is a stranger, and Noemí knows little about the region.
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Lacking, Disappointing, Not Developed
- By Bitten and Seven Forever on 07-10-20
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Anita de Monte Laughs Last
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- By: Xochitl Gonzalez
- Narrated by: Jessica Pimentel, Jonathan Gregg, Stacy Gonzalez
- Length: 13 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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1985. Anita de Monte, a rising star in the art world, is found dead in New York City; her tragic death is the talk of the town. Until it isn’t. By 1998 Anita’s name has been all but forgotten—certainly by the time Raquel, a third-year art history student is preparing her final thesis. On College Hill, surrounded by privileged students whose futures are already paved out for them, Raquel feels like an outsider. Students of color, like her, are the minority there, and the pressure to work twice as hard for the same opportunities is no secret.
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Thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this book.
- By Ulissa on 03-14-24
By: Xochitl Gonzalez
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The Lover
- A Short Story
- By: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
- Narrated by: Nina Yndis
- Length: 1 hr and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Judith knows her sister, Alice, is the pretty one—but that doesn’t stop her from wishing for love. When a handsome and gentlemanly hunter appears in their village, seeking lodging from the cold, she believes her lover has finally arrived. He does, indeed, choose to stay—but as Alice’s husband, not her own. When another stranger comes out of the woods, looking every bit a vagrant, he offers Judith something mysterious and enticingly strange. Against reason and decency, she welcomes both men into her life, in different ways.
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Entrancing fable, mostly
- By 🔥 Phx17 🔥 on 11-28-23
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The Tiger Came to the Mountains
- Trespass Collection
- By: Silvia Moreno-Garcia
- Narrated by: Cynthia Farrell
- Length: 50 mins
- Unabridged
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She is the adventurer of the family. Her brother, the gentle dreamer. Even as they bond over folktales and hold each other close, their world has never felt so dangerous. Revolutionaries and pelones are in conflict, soldiers have turned into scavengers, and an escaped tiger has slipped up the mountain, looking for easy prey. As the darkest of legends becomes real, a young girl will do anything to save her brother’s life.
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Amazing Story
- By kutzkai on 02-10-23
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A Touch of Moonlight
- A Novel
- By: Yaffa S. Santos
- Narrated by: Diana Pou
- Length: 7 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Larimar Cintrón works hard at three things: her job as brand manager for Beacon Café, a New York based corporate bakery chain; taking care of her parents and her abuela; and hiding that she’s a ciguapa—a mythical creature of Dominican folklore with long, straight hair and backwards-facing feet. Larimar may only be a ciguapa on full moons, but she feels like an outsider in her family the rest of the month too. Her love of ’90s punk rock music and style further sets her apart.
By: Yaffa S. Santos
What listeners say about The Seventh Veil of Salome
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Tasha Dagenais
- 08-20-24
outstanding
Wonderful performances from various voice actors. This was a truly riveting listen and interesting story.
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- Grace P Kinchen
- 10-02-24
Excellent character development and cultural knowledge.
Very slow start but Silvia is one of my favorite authors so I stuck with the story and it soon had me enthralled.
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- Susan Parks
- 09-27-24
Well thought out.
Enjoyed the story, it was what I needed for a flight home. It’s a bit fluffy & fun but gives one a great feeling of Hollywood in the 1950’s. The audible version is very well done.
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- Stefan Filipovits
- 08-08-24
A New Look At Old Hollywood
After ravenously consuming “Mexican Gothic” I became obsessed with the other works of the rising literary titan that is Sylvia Moreno Garcia. She’s become one of those writers whose work I must read as soon as it’s released. I think a big reason for that is because she’s a rare breed of author. No matter what she’s writing, whether it be noir, horror (her strong suit in my humble opinion), mystery, or even just a character piece, she always manages to somehow turn in something readers like myself simply can’t put down. The aforementioned “Mexican Gothic” was an engrossing and addictive gothic pot-boiler that grabbed me by the throat and squeezed tighter with every turn of the page. “Silver Nitrate” was a fun and entertaining thrill ride that felt like it was written by a true horror junkie. “Velvet was the night” was an atmospheric mystery with insightful perspectives and prose that wore its pulp and noir influences on its sleeves. In my mind, she has yet to turn in anything that wasn’t thought-provoking, thrilling, superbly written, and utterly addictive. That winning streak continues here with “The Seventh Veil Of Salome”.
I think part of the reason I respond so much to Sylvia Moreno-Garcia’s writing is because most of her works involve in some way cinema and Hollywood history, as well as the influences she’s picked up from what seems like a lifelong fascination with those subjects and years of indulging that fascination. As someone who has also been obsessed with the history, legends, and world of movies since I was 10, I share her palpable love for all things cinema. She has a remarkable way of immersing the reader in that world and getting them invested in it, and thus, the story. She captures the vibe, aesthetic, institutions, politics, and tumultuous change that was occurring in Tinseltown at the time of “The Seventh Veil of Salome” exquisitely. The old studio system was collapsing, New Hollywood and its stars were emerging, and Joseph McCarthy and his absurdly overreaching House Un-American Activities Committee was ruining lives and turning everyone in the Hollywood machine and America at large into paranoid reactionaries. It is in this world that “The Seventh Veil Of Salome” is set.
While this historical setting provides ample opportunities for conflict, intrigue, and very deftly written world-building, it’s the enthralling character work that will stick with readers most. When one of the ubiquitous (for the 50’s) sword and sandal films about the biblical temptress Salome finally emerges from “development hell”, the race is on to find the perfect actress to inhabit the titular role. And while mega-stars like Mansfield, and Russell, vie for top-billing it’s the unknowns that are truly in contention. This is a story of Hollywood and the world of cinema told from people on its margins. A Mexican girl ashamed of her accent despite her undeniable talent, a “pick me up” girl doing ANYTHING to get ahead, a Jewish writer who only wants the best for his script, even Salome herself has her say and each perspective offers something new, insightful, and engrossing while simultaneously conflict, duplicity, hatred, and cruelty abound. The most laudable thing about “The Seventh Veil Of Salome” was that despite how “cinematic” it felt, it was never formulaic. No matter how familiar it was, it was never predictable. No matter how gritty, off-putting, or self-serving the world, circumstances, or characters became, the story was never anything less than enthralling. So, If you’re looking for a new look at old Hollywood, definitely give “The Seventh Veil Of Salome” a listen.
But buckle up and enjoy the ride.
If you enjoyed “The Seventh Veil Of Salome” as much as I have and are looking for similar titles then definitely check out Sylvia Moreno-Garcia’s aforementioned earlier works like “Silver Nitrate”, “Mexican Gothic”, and “Velvet Was The Night”. You might also enjoy “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” by Taylor Jenkins Reid, “The Enchanters” by James Ellroy, “The Devil’s Playground” by Craig Russell, and “The Garden Of Allah Series” as well as “The Hollywood Homefront trilogy” by Martin Turnbull (both of which I heartily recommend) .
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- QueeneB21
- 11-03-24
Hollywood vs History
3.5 Stars. Interesting story about 1950's Hollywood, how people of color were treated and the supposed back story of Salome
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- NTexHiker
- 08-14-24
Predictable
Spoiler: Characters are predictable as is the story. Interesting look into the days of classic Hollywood but you already know ethnic actors and actors of color were discriminated against. You know the rich guy’s parents aren’t going to want him dating a Mexican born actress, Nancy is jealous because she didn’t get the role. You could write the outline for this typical tale without reading this book. It was nicely written but nothing new or exciting here.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Patty Gamez
- 08-08-24
Great Story Telling
I love how Silvia mixes history, myths, etc in her stories. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Great, great book!
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- JP
- 10-02-24
It is almost like watching a movie
Hollywood glamor and scandal but with a Hispanic main character! I was blown away by the writing and voice acting.
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- Diego
- 10-14-24
The Seven Veils of Hell?
The first third of the book was painful to get through—a perfect example of excessive description and unnecessary detail that doesn’t add to the story in the end. About two-thirds in, however, the book starts to make great points through Vera’s development, her strong work ethic, and defiance toward her mother. I found myself rooting for greater character exploration, especially as Jay also struggles with family dynamics. Nancy’s relationship with her father could have been an interesting thread to explore further also.
As an entrepreneur myself, I saw my own story reflected in Vera’s defiance of society’s expectations, her strong work ethic, but most of all in the artistic expression of her dance—her craft.
There was a clear opportunity to draw stronger parallels between Vera and Salomon and to explore the tormenting consequences of Nancy’s actions. The ending felt rushed, unexpected, and insufficient.
Nonetheless, if you really think about it, the book offers unique insights and valuable social critiques. Unlike Salomon, Silvia had all the right steps for a great dance, the right ingredients for a great tamale, and still fell short.
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- Raya
- 09-07-24
Another hit!
I’ve loved SM-G’s novels in the past for their gothic horror and magical realism. This one has neither and it still knocks it out of the park. Ending was very emotional. I know I’ll be buying a print version and treasuring this one!
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