Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Siren Queen by Nghi Vo

22 reviews

kingcrookback's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

It's an interesting concept and premise, but the execution just did not do it for me. People of color and LGBTQ+ people in Old Hollywood - in theory, this is right up my alley! But there's a vague and meandering quality to the story, world, and magic system that hovered between mysterious and ethereal at best and muddled at worst. I wanted more exploration of the way things worked. For example, I know that the changes Vo made to the studio system is metaphorical of the exploitative practices of the real-life studio systems, but I was left wanting more detail. The nodders - horrifying! What does the process of making them entail?

The story really only started to grip me in earnest around the 75% mark, where we started to see conflict between Luli and Tara and the abstraction started to abate a bit. This wasn't for me, but I'll pick up some of Vo's other works and see if they stir up some different feelings.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Misogyny, Violence, Child abuse, and Blood

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Pregnancy and Abortion

eidolonghost's review against another edition

dark 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Sexual assault

Enjoying this book requires enjoying it's mystism, and a blurred line between symbolism and reality upheld but fatalistic magic - an within that it is gorgeous.

sarah984's review

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I love Nghi Vo's novellas (When The Tiger Came Down The Mountain is one of my favourite books) but this book did not work for me. I'm not surprised to find in the author's note that chronologically this is their first novel because it really does feel like a debut. There is not enough story to sustain a full length novel, but somehow the book still feels long. The writing style is also extremely fanficcy (the "all [noun] and [noun]" physical descriptors, the characters making parenthetical interjections throughout for no reason) and the romances are silly and over the top. None of the prominent characters are that interesting, and the book does that annoying thing from historical fiction where the character lays out the hardships of a certain setting and then goes, "but not me though!" as if they're better than all the real people who went through those situations.

I will say though that the world was very interesting (even if we didn't get to see a lot of it) and the way the magic was used to emphasize real world issues was mostly well done.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Ableism, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Racism, and Sexual assault

Minor: Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Drug use, Child abuse, Death, Addiction, Alcohol, Homophobia, and Infidelity

mothie_girlie's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Racism, and Homophobia

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Sexual assault

angelkisses's review

dark hopeful mysterious fast-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Absolutely DEVOURED this book. The magicality of it is so understated but ever-present -- a masterclass in interweaving the fantastical with the every day. Liked the mythological elements at play obviously. Epilogue landed great. Absolute recommend. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Racism, and Homophobia

Minor: Sexual assault

readandfindout's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexism

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Abortion

Minor: Sexual assault

slipstream's review against another edition

emotional 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

4.0

Somewhere between magical realism and fantasy, lots left to the imagination but still a very immersive world

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Racial slurs, and Racism

Minor: Abortion and Sexual assault

aardwyrm's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Abortion, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Antisemitism, Body horror, Classism, Cultural appropriation, and Drug use

mandkips's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Racism, and Sexism

Moderate: Addiction and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Domestic abuse, and Sexual assault

utopiastateofmind's review against another edition

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.) 


From the premise alone, I love the idea of making deals for fame and sacrifice. And Siren Queen is a world that is distinctly not ours - because hello magic - but it feels a shade away. This insular community of decadence and decay, of homophobia and fierce ambition, feels just a track away from our world. It uses this idea of trading everything we have to be in movies, for our dreams, and magnifies it. To say I'm a fan of this world building is an understatement. There's a rawness and elegance to it.How it's all a series of trades and transactions, sacrifices for success. And Luli is a character I couldn't help but love. Not only as an Asian woman did I obviously resonate with Luli, but I loved how driven she is. How she has her ambition and isn't willing to burn some bridges and to make some compromises - but not all. And in this world of deals with demons concealed by smoke, will she be able to find a shred of authenticity? Of friendship and love? 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism and Sexual assault