Reviews tagging 'Abortion'

Siren Queen by Nghi Vo

25 reviews

shinypurplepants's review against another edition

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dark
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Fantastic! A weirdly horrific look at what Hollywood does to those (but especially queer women of color) that seek its approval. Magical and thrilling.

Recommended for fans of magical realism, feminist re-imaginings of monsters, and those that love the otherworldly nature you get from tales of the world behind the Silver Screen. 
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kathleencoughlin's review against another edition

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dark emotional fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

Siren Queen, like the Vo's other works, is fantastical, dark, cinematic, and (most importantly) queer. It also brings a nuanced perspective on the intersection of race and gender is a specific historical context. I never felt like I totally understood the magic, but honestly it just adds to the vampy, mysterious  vibe
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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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ninjamuse's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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lxshre's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful lighthearted 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

4.25

The author is truly excellent at weaving magical realism into her worlds in the most natural of ways and it's creative, so I enjoyed it. That said, I wasn't really into the plot of this and it was a bit too scattered for me even to summarize what it really was. But I tend to like more plot-based fiction in general. As someone who identifies in the AAPI community this did have some very quotable moments, but I wanted it to be more in some way. I did feel the same way about Chosen and the Beautiful,  so maybe the ambiguity is her thing.
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anxiousnachos's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced

4.5

4.5 stars. Siren Queen has again proved how much I adore Nghi Vo’s writing. She has such beauty and a delicate hand with her prose, it always feels like stepping out of a dream when I finish reading. I particularly loved the way folklore and mythology was embedded into Siren Queen, woven into the magic of the world and into the dark underbelly of Hollywood. 

Content warnings: racism, slurs, homophobia, sexual harassment, abuse in Hollywood, misogyny, physical child abuse, blood and gore, self-mutilation, fire, sex, pregnancy, discussions of abortion
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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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slipstream's review against another edition

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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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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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caidyn's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A fantastic queer Hollywood story peppered with fantasy. It was a pretty quick read to get through and I had a ton of fun with it!
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