Reviews tagging 'Classism'

Siren Queen by Nghi Vo

11 reviews

ka_cam's review

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adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.0

Enjoyed the writing, the magical realism, the lesbianism/queerness! Some sections dragged a bit but all and all an interested read.

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uranaishi's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25


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thissagreads's review against another edition

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challenging reflective tense slow-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? It's complicated

1.5

The plot was a bit confusing. So confusing and VERY SLOW at times, that I almost DNF’d the book. And there was-or wasn’t- magic interlaced? I had to reread a few times because I wasn’t sure what was going on and that was a tad frustrating. This book was written a little too mysterious for my preference and yes there’s LGBTQIA+ love from several characters, but I think after reading this, I understand why I typically never enjoy reading something where a person of color has to hide their identity because of the “times” of an era. It’s so saddening and frustrating that there wasn’t much opportunity to love bravely without the retribution from old Hollywood. And the scenes and characters were a bit too vague for my liking so I wasn’t really connected to any of them.

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peggymay's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense 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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lilacs_book_bower's review against another edition

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

3.75

If I had read this book as a teenager, I would have been obsessed with it.  There are monsters straight out of fairy tales and myths, classic Old Hollywood stories, love stories, different kinds of magic.... Unfortunately, as an adult, it felt a bit lacking for me, even though I did enjoy it.  This is supposedly a few different novella ideas brought together, and that makes sense to me.  There is a lot going on here.  In spite of that, I did want a bit MORE, more explanations, more world building, more stakes to this world.  The magic systems are vague and just mentioned without deeper explanations, and people can become immortal by becoming actual stars in the sky, but they are still alive?  I get the metaphor about immortality and fame, but my literal brain wants to know how that WORKS.  :) The main character basically just gets whatever she wants and doesn't grow much.  There is great LGBTQ rep, although the characters sadly have to keep who they are quiet.  The main character is a child of Chinese immigrants, and has to deal with racism, as well, and she fights back against being the stereotypical roles.  She is called a monster, I guess because of her drive and cold-nature in going after what she wants.  I was kind of hoping she would become a true monster and maybe strike some blows against the patriarchy.  I would not call this a horror by any stretch of the imagination, more like a beautiful but unsettling dream.  

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imds's review

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  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0


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entityj's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad 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

4.0


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kathleencoughlin's review

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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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aardwyrm's review

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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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pagesofbellerose's review against another edition

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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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