Silver Nitrate

Burnt offerings for an invisible god, that's what nitrate was.

The plot of Silver Nitrate is a slow build that, just like its magic system, burns brighter with every page. Each puzzle piece of the mystery is revealed painstakingly slowly through long dialogue and endless research — but this pacing reflects the journeys of our characters. Their apprehension and disbelief is transformed with each close encounter with the supernatural, and their fear feeds into an ever-growing web of magic.

The first act is a bit of a slog if you're looking for a tension filled fright-fest. I went into this book expecting horror and found more of a paranormal mystery. The “horror” elements were more visual in nature than a horrifying scenario, so the scare-factor relied on the reader's imagination to conjure up images of bleeding ghosts and decaying corpses.

I predicted many of the plot points and I'm not sure how to feel about it. For me, the best part of the horror/thriller genre is that shocking moment where everything falls into place. You see the chess pieces moving across the board, but you don't recognize the strategy until your queen is already in check. But is predictability a bad thing? Maybe it means the author set up the magic system and the flow of the story well enough to be predicted.

Most of the tension in the first half of the book comes from Montserrat and Tristán's friendship — Tristán's reckless, disaster-bi personality versus Montserrat's closed off, protective nature. Tristán's grief and guilt over his late girlfriend versus Montserrat's unrequited love for Tristán.

When they watched horror movies, it was the sight of the monster, the Other, that terrified Tristán and the idea of becoming the hero that seduced him. Montserrat saw herself in the faces of monsters and did not wince.

Montserrat transforms through bravery and determination, and Tristan transforms through acceptance and selflessness

He was attuned to Montserrat's phases, like memorizing an almanac and knowing if it was a gibbous or waxing moon without having to glance at the sky.

it felt a little shoehorned in, but I can also see that their relationship progresses not because Tristán suddenly falls in love with Montserrat, but rather because Montserrat's love is something he's been trying to deny for decades. It's not a realization, it's an acceptance, which aligns with his larger character arc. That being said, I don't think the story needed the romance to bring the character arcs full circle, and it wasn't awfully romantic either.

Silver Nitrate