Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Sirens & Muses

brilliant look into art, artists, and what art means to artists

love for painting as an art form flies off the page

it’s artistically inspiring and informative for self taught artists

the characters and their relationships are incredibly developed and tangible

Content Warnings

_jennaalbright_'s review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

A beautiful novel that explores how, despite someone’s wrongdoings or faults, there is still a person inside who is deserving of love and a second chance at life. The art world was, in my opinion, excellently explored at a level that was digestible to someone who is not well-versed in that field. The characters are raw, tangible, and sometimes absolutely infuriating, but you cannot help but flip the page, eager to know where their lives will lead. No one character is the same, and I found myself equally invested in different aspects of each character's life. A new favorite on my shelf that did everything I want out of a literary fiction novel.

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1414's review against another edition

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emotional reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

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erinpoo's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

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

4.25

“Often, Karina would come home to find that Louisa had spent the evening painting swampy landscapes or fantastical birds or great, greedy, oceanic swaths of sky, the kind of sky that didn’t exist in New York and never would.”

my reverence for this book transcends all limits of language. in every way, this was a breathtaking kunstlerroman. it was magnetic, and it holds your attention even as it is fractured into different voices and perspectives; you’re never really broken out of the story until you arrive at the very ending (which still haunts me to this day). it’s just such an enrapturing depiction of the [contemporary] art world, of ambition and academia. at some point it unraveled a provocative discussion around how cutthroat the industry is, and how brutal it is to even pursue art in itself with capitalist forces, competition, commercialism, class, or generally the influence art has on its creators and audiences of all genders and ages. one thing i noted was also how it touches on the individualism that is demanded, if not coming naturally, in order to survive in the creative trenches lol

whilst this would have been a five star if there were no men (i don’t even say this to be funny, i genuinely thought their point of views were rather unnecessary and contributed nothing very substantial, louisa and karina is a love story for the ages and i stand by that!

Content Warnings

eloiserh'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

4.5

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