Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

Siren Queen by Nghi Vo

27 reviews

leanne_miron's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Racism, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Homophobia, Domestic abuse, and Death

Minor: Abortion, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

anxiousnachos's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Lesbophobia, Blood, Violence, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, and Misogyny

Moderate: Abortion, Physical abuse, and Child abuse

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

onestephatatime's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual violence, Racism, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, and Misogyny

Moderate: Bullying and Toxic relationship

Minor: Abortion

enasbookshelves's review

mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Many thanks to NetGalley and Tordotcom for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Full disclosure: I took nearly two weeks to finish this book. In my defense, elections happened in my country. But apart from that, while films are meant to be consumed in one sitting, this magnificent book about what it takes to be in film is something to be chewed slowly and thoughtfully, for maximum impact. And wow, did it impact me! It’s only my second time reading anything by Nghi Vo, but her prose always seems to take the humble Declarative Sentence to a higher plane.

Every layer in Siren Queen is rich and adds value to the larger story; every fantasy element a brilliant, uncanny metaphor. In a world where it is cishet white men and their stories that are granted immortality, Nghi Vo empowers that which is rarely told, if told at all, but without pretending that the world has magically turned kinder towards everything that is not straight, white, or male. My only actual complaint is that there were too many transitory characters — mostly actors whom the main character meets once, or whose projects are mentioned in passing then are never heard from again — that made me glad that e-readers come with highlight and bookmark functions. Then again, is Hollywood not full of short-lived, meteoric careers behind, around, and in front of the camera?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Gore, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Violence, and Addiction

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

amandalorianxo's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

Even though this book is somewhat shorter than some of the other novels I read this month, there was something about the language of this book that I wanted to take my time with. We explore a fantasy esque 1930’s side of L.A where legitimate monsters are in control of the movies and the stars in them. Our female MC develops a strong passion for being in movies but has hide parts of her that was a huge no, even way back then. Some might say there weren’t enough fantasy elements but I thought for a book less than 300 pages, there was enough fantasy to keep me occupied. Wei discovers her sexuality later in life but isn’t ashamed about being purely attracted to women. I think possibly my only… qualm would be the slight rush towards the end? I was hoping for a tad cleaner finish yet that doesn’t deter from the fact that this was is a great pick if you are looking to tip your toes into fantasy or are a fan of lite fantasy. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia and Sexual content

Minor: Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, and Pregnancy

pagesofbellerose's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Pregnancy, Body horror, Death, Classism, Gore, Sexual content, and Injury/Injury detail