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jneverland's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Drug use, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Death, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Sexual content, and Sexual assault
Minor: Rape
lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
I picked up this book because it was the monthly book club selection for someone I am subscribed to on Patreon.
"Sirens & Muses" follows four artists during a semester at a prestigious and competitive art school, Wrynn College of Art. Louisa is a level-headed, quiet nineteen-year-old who feels completely out of her element. Karina's parents have made a huge name for themselves in the art world, so it feels inevitable that Karina herself will succeed. Preston's home life is rife with turmoil, and he acts out and uses his shock-value art to get a rise from everyone. Robert is a once famous artist who has found himself as a professor at Wrynn. All of these characters have their flaws, and they are all just trying to succeed at the one thing that makes their life worth living.
This novel was pretentious as hell, but that is kind of why I loved it. These characters are artists and they view the world in such a different way. They are outraged by the problems they are facing in America in 2011 and are constantly walking the line between staying true to the art and creating for the sake of beauty, and selling out to a capitalistic society so they can survive in this world.
One big, reoccurring plot point in this novel is the Occupy Wall Street movement that was taking place at the time. Occupy Wall Street was a movement that protested and brought light to the economic inequalities that were taking place, and still truly take place to this day. The government can bail out big banks and multi-billion-dollar companies, but they cannot make higher education affordable? I started college in 2011 and graduated in 2016 with what felt like an insurmountable amount of debt. I completely sympathize with these characters about wanting to continue learning, being told I have to get a degree to succeed, and then feeling slighted when I graduated jobless, with debt that crippled my financial independence. Although I did not pursue an art degree, I did pursue an English degree, and I understand the struggle of feeling like a sell out because we live in this capitalistic world and I need money to survive. I think this one, moderate plot point just hit so close to home that I could not put this book down and led to my 5-star rating.
Of all the characters, I was most drawn to Louisa and Karina. They come from two entirely different worlds, but I wanted to see them both succeed so badly with their art, and their relationship. I think they are the perfect balance to one another, and having that opposite in their life, really helps them succeed with their art. Everyone thinks Karina is perfect and has the most poetic life, but she really struggles and faces real problems that would strike down anyone. She might have been born with an advantage because of her parents, but her life is far from "easy". Louisa has such a strong work ethic and is the real underdog in this story. She comes from a small town and works twice as hard just to be able to afford to stay at this art school. They are the perfect antithesis for each other.
I think Robert provides a good contrast to the other main characters because he shows a potential path they may find themselves on down the line. He has lived through being a young artist and now he has wisdom that he could not see when he was their age.
Preston is a fuckboy and I could do without his parts, but I do think he provided commentary about another type of young artist.
I already want to reread this book, and I look forward to finding more like it to enjoy!
"Sirens & Muses" follows four artists during a semester at a prestigious and competitive art school, Wrynn College of Art. Louisa is a level-headed, quiet nineteen-year-old who feels completely out of her element. Karina's parents have made a huge name for themselves in the art world, so it feels inevitable that Karina herself will succeed. Preston's home life is rife with turmoil, and he acts out and uses his shock-value art to get a rise from everyone. Robert is a once famous artist who has found himself as a professor at Wrynn. All of these characters have their flaws, and they are all just trying to succeed at the one thing that makes their life worth living.
This novel was pretentious as hell, but that is kind of why I loved it. These characters are artists and they view the world in such a different way. They are outraged by the problems they are facing in America in 2011 and are constantly walking the line between staying true to the art and creating for the sake of beauty, and selling out to a capitalistic society so they can survive in this world.
One big, reoccurring plot point in this novel is the Occupy Wall Street movement that was taking place at the time. Occupy Wall Street was a movement that protested and brought light to the economic inequalities that were taking place, and still truly take place to this day. The government can bail out big banks and multi-billion-dollar companies, but they cannot make higher education affordable? I started college in 2011 and graduated in 2016 with what felt like an insurmountable amount of debt. I completely sympathize with these characters about wanting to continue learning, being told I have to get a degree to succeed, and then feeling slighted when I graduated jobless, with debt that crippled my financial independence. Although I did not pursue an art degree, I did pursue an English degree, and I understand the struggle of feeling like a sell out because we live in this capitalistic world and I need money to survive. I think this one, moderate plot point just hit so close to home that I could not put this book down and led to my 5-star rating.
Of all the characters, I was most drawn to Louisa and Karina. They come from two entirely different worlds, but I wanted to see them both succeed so badly with their art, and their relationship. I think they are the perfect balance to one another, and having that opposite in their life, really helps them succeed with their art. Everyone thinks Karina is perfect and has the most poetic life, but she really struggles and faces real problems that would strike down anyone. She might have been born with an advantage because of her parents, but her life is far from "easy". Louisa has such a strong work ethic and is the real underdog in this story. She comes from a small town and works twice as hard just to be able to afford to stay at this art school. They are the perfect antithesis for each other.
I think Robert provides a good contrast to the other main characters because he shows a potential path they may find themselves on down the line. He has lived through being a young artist and now he has wisdom that he could not see when he was their age.
Preston is a fuckboy and I could do without his parts, but I do think he provided commentary about another type of young artist.
I already want to reread this book, and I look forward to finding more like it to enjoy!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Lesbophobia, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Drug use, Terminal illness, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Homophobia, Hate crime, Death, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Infidelity, and Grief
raemow's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Grief, Death, Alcohol, Drug use, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Classism, Blood, and Dementia
knhall14's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The writing was nice. However, I could not bring myself to love this book. I tried. I'm fine with messy characters but I feel like there wasn't enough time with each of them to love them. There was only one character that from the beginning you get a good sense of who they are. Even though it was a 13 hour audiobook it felt too short to connect with the storyline.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Suicide
Moderate: Mental illness
Minor: Drug use and Death
bbonaguro's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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? Yes
4.75
beautifully written and amazing imagery. i loved the look into the complicated lives of these artists and how they all are connected in their various ways. i wish they had a little bit more of an ending that brought the lovers together but it didn’t leave me feeling upset or mad about how their stories were ended, it left things up to imagination which was beautiful. i love that everyone found their way and figured out who they are meant to be in some sort of way. Karina is a very complex character and i hope that the future she could have is found through loving herself and while she doesn’t get a happy ending bow i am so happy that she met Louisa and they had their time together. fingers crossed she goes to Louisiana to escape the world she has always been a part of even for a little bit.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Gaslighting, Rape, and Sexual content
Minor: Death
orireading's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Can’t believe I waited so long to read this!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Drug use, and Alcohol
Minor: Death of parent, Death, and Suicide
shector1's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity and Drug use
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, and Cursing
Minor: Suicide, Misogyny, and Vomit
ynotlime's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Death
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Alcoholism
iamthecampion's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
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
I loved this book, absolutely devoured it. Louisa and Karina’s stories and how they intertwined were so lovely, and it was such gorgeous writing. I could have done without Preston’s entire arc, I found him pretty dull and annoying, but that just made me treasure Karina and Louisa more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
Minor: Death
caseythereader's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Thanks to Random House for the free advance copy of this book.
- SIRENS AND MUSES is atmospheric, enveloping the reader in the characters' art world bubble.
- It's got a touch of Donna Tartt to it, with the wealthy college students getting wrapped up in each other and their studies, and I think anyone who has ever been in an art program (hi, me) will find some aspects of the story highly, maybe uncomfortably, relatable.
- This book gets really deep into questions about what and who is art for, and while the fine art vs the internet throughline could have been trite, I think it was pretty well done. Additionally, the bits about how so much art has simply become items for wealthy billionaires to trade around...whew.
- SIRENS AND MUSES is atmospheric, enveloping the reader in the characters' art world bubble.
- It's got a touch of Donna Tartt to it, with the wealthy college students getting wrapped up in each other and their studies, and I think anyone who has ever been in an art program (hi, me) will find some aspects of the story highly, maybe uncomfortably, relatable.
- This book gets really deep into questions about what and who is art for, and while the fine art vs the internet throughline could have been trite, I think it was pretty well done. Additionally, the bits about how so much art has simply become items for wealthy billionaires to trade around...whew.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Child abuse, Cursing, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Vomit
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