Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Siren Queen by Nghi Vo

10 reviews

narzibenoucdel's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexism, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Sexual assault, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Bullying, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Torture, and Violence

abarnakwn_ourcolourfulpages's review against another edition

I was really looking forward to reading this book, as I've loved Nghi Vo's Singing Hills Cycle. Unfortunately, I think the content of this particular novel is a bit too disturbing/triggering for me in the current head space I'm in. I will definitely be revisiting at a better time!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Racism, Alcohol, Child abuse, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Classism, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment

koboldskind's review

dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

I had no idea what to expect going in, no idea if Siren Queen was for my taste. It's some way from my usual tastes, I would say it's somewhere between magic realism and a fantasy drama, but I'm very glad I read it.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse

peggymay's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Abortion, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Death, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Alcohol, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Sexual content, Body horror, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Antisemitism, Murder, Homophobia, Misogyny, Classism, Sexual assault, Violence, Drug use, Racism, Sexism, Addiction, Cultural appropriation, and Body shaming

imds's review

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Racism, Body horror, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Kidnapping, Classism, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Sexual harassment, Racial slurs, Abortion, and Pregnancy

brownrecluse's review

dark 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Emotional abuse

ghosthermione's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious

I’ve enjoyed every Nghi Vo story I’ve read so far, so I was very excited for this novel! Thank you to Tor Dot Com and Netgalley for giving me this free eARC in exchange for a fair review! 

So far what I’d read from Vo were her two Asia-inspired novellas, which were a lot like fairy tales, so I wasn’t sure what to expect here. I’d say Siren Queen is more of a cross between The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Last Night at the Telegraph Club, with added magical realism.

It’s very much about the experience of a Chinese American girl in the 1930s, racism, sexism and all. It’s very much a story about queer Hollywood. And, also, a story where “all the myths are true” and fae and monsters roam the studios of Hollywood and you gotta make bargains – with your voice, your talent, sometimes your body parts or your life – to get anywhere.

I found it very slow, in a positive way. It’s a book you want to read bit by bit and see more of this world unfolding. And you never truly know as much as you’d want about any of it. I don’t think the narrator knows everything she wants to know. I really enjoyed the fantastical atmosphere and the idea that anything (mostly something terrible) could happen at any time. The prose is lovely as always with Nghi Vo, and I may not have liked Luli as a person but I enjoyed seeing her develop as a character, and seeing where she was going next. I also had no clue where the story would go next, or how it would end, the whole time. I like a book that keeps me on my toes!

And throughout, this idea of queer joy that I love so much, despite the rough context of the 30s and despite the fantastical horror: queer characters embracing who they are, even if the world around them would see them as monsters – and grab what joy they can get. I don’t know why queer joy and this kind of horror mix so well but they somehow do. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, and Pregnancy

musebeliever's review

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror

Moderate: Child abuse and Emotional abuse

Minor: Incest

rorikae's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

'Siren Queen' by Nghi Vo is an evocative and beautifully crafted novel about a Chinese American girl who infiltrates the murky studios of Hollywood in the early 1930s to become a film star. 
Luli Wang grows up above the laundry her family runs in Hungarian Hill. When she discovers her local movie theater and sees her first silent film, she falls in love with the movies. When offered the chance to be an extra in a movie shooting in her neighborhood, she jumps at the opportunity. This sets her on the path to becoming a film star herself, navigating the haunting backlots of the Hollywood studios, her own sexuality, and the racism that permeates society. 
Vo pairs her lyrical prose with a paranormal take on early Hollywood to create a haunting tale about the film industry, stardom, and racism. Luli Wang is the perfect main character between her confidence, willingness to disrupt systems, and determination to be a star without playing servants or femme fatales like her predecessors. 
One of the greatest aspects of this novel is the atmosphere. I felt almost as if I was in a dream between Vo's prose, the shifting paranormal world of demons and deals that is the backlot of the studios, and the way Vo amplifies history through speculative elements. I was never quite sure what was happening but that was intentional as Luli is dealing with the same issues. She stands so clearly amongst this shifting world that it further solidifies her character. 
I also loved the overall themes in this story including the importance of monstrosity, living as a queer person amongst a world that tries to suppress you, and the racism and misogyny of Hollywood. 
If you enjoyed 'The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo' but would like to see what it would be like with more monsters and speculative elements, you need to pick up 'Siren Queen.' I think it's Vo's greatest work yet and I can't wait to see where she goes next. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual content, and Xenophobia

internationalreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, Outing, Body horror, Drug use, Sexism, Sexual content, Abandonment, Body shaming, Classism, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Alcohol, Child abuse, Dysphoria, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Racial slurs, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Vomit, Fatphobia, Racism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, and Cultural appropriation