Reviews with content warning for Death - Siren Queen

Reviews tagging 'Death'

ghosthermione's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious

I’ve enjoyed every Nghi Vo story I’ve read so far, so I was very excited for this novel! Thank you to Tor Dot Com and Netgalley for giving me this free eARC in exchange for a fair review!

So far what I’d read from Vo were her two Asia-inspired novellas, which were a lot like fairy tales, so I wasn’t sure what to expect here. I’d say Siren Queen is more of a cross between The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Last Night at the Telegraph Club, with added magical realism.

It’s very much about the experience of a Chinese American girl in the 1930s, racism, sexism and all. It’s very much a story about queer Hollywood. And, also, a story where “all the myths are true” and fae and monsters roam the studios of Hollywood and you gotta make bargains – with your voice, your talent, sometimes your body parts or your life – to get anywhere.

I found it very slow, in a positive way. It’s a book you want to read bit by bit and see more of this world unfolding. And you never truly know as much as you’d want about any of it. I don’t think the narrator knows everything she wants to know. I really enjoyed the fantastical atmosphere and the idea that anything (mostly something terrible) could happen at any time. The prose is lovely as always with Nghi Vo, and I may not have liked Luli as a person but I enjoyed seeing her develop as a character, and seeing where she was going next. I also had no clue where the story would go next, or how it would end, the whole time. I like a book that keeps me on my toes!

And throughout, this idea of queer joy that I love so much, despite the rough context of the 30s and despite the fantastical horror: queer characters embracing who they are, even if the world around them would see them as monsters – and grab what joy they can get. I don’t know why queer joy and this kind of horror mix so well but they somehow do.

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leanne_miron's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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smalika's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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wordsareworlds's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I loved this book so much. Vo's writing is, as always, exquisite and she is masterful at crafting a story that pulls the reader into a world that is so much like our own while encompassing so much more. The supernatural elements were a perfect addition to the glamour of the Silver Age of Hollywood, and I found myself gutted when I finished the book because I didn't want to leave the world Vo crafted.
Fantastic lesbian heroine with flaws that made me love her even more, and the relationships she had (both romantic and platonic) were so done. Honestly I am too in love with this book to write a detailed review that isn't just gushing about pretty much every aspect of it. Just read it, you'll be so happy you did.

CN

racism, homophobia, mild body horror, death, grief, non-explicit sexual content

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readandfindout's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Style/writing: 5 stars
Themes: 4.5 stars
Characters: 3 stars
Plot: 3.5 stars
Worldbuilding: 3.5 stars

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aardwyrm's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Vo does beautiful and terrible like nobody else. Soft touches of magic add up to something deep and horrible in the best way. I'm not an Old Hollywood person at all, and was still transfixed by the deft wielding of the unreal.

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