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A review by bookishjd
Siren Queen by Nghi Vo
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.25
4.25 / 5
i really wish books would stop being pitched as 'x popular book meets x popular book.' sometimes it's accurate. but more often than not, it sets expectations for the reader that aren't met, through no fault of the book's or author's.
siren queen is NOT the seven husbands of evelyn hugo and it's not remotely trying to be. in siren queen, we have our narrator and main character, luli, a chinese american girl longing for hollywood stardom, going through a lot and sacrificing even more to achieve her dreams. that - a starlet of color in an old hollywood-ish setting - is the only real similarity you can find to TSHoEH. otherwise, this is an exceedingly *different* book. different from evelyn hugo and different, i'd go as far to say, as most books in a similar setting.
luli's world is one of pacts, arcane circles, changelings and fey-flavored magic. if you want a comparison that came to my mind as i was reading, the ballad of black tom by victor savalle has similar vibes in terms of a fantastical, unsettling urban setting where the magic just IS, the characters just ARE, and the reader is dropped onto the sidewalk alongside them and expected to keep up.
this, in my opinion, is actually the novel's strength, but you may be disappointed if you're expecting...well. something that's not WEIRD. because this book is definitely weird. it's not straightforward. it winds and weaves like the fey magic within. it's full of nghi vo's usual lush, evocative writing and it focuses on what's happening to and around our main character, rather than explaining the how's or why's.
i did enjoy the second half of the book more than the first, which mostly focuses on luli's childhood and youth. past the 50% mark is really where the story shined for me. and I'm glad to report that nghi vo remains an author whose books I'll automatically pick up.
i really wish books would stop being pitched as 'x popular book meets x popular book.' sometimes it's accurate. but more often than not, it sets expectations for the reader that aren't met, through no fault of the book's or author's.
siren queen is NOT the seven husbands of evelyn hugo and it's not remotely trying to be. in siren queen, we have our narrator and main character, luli, a chinese american girl longing for hollywood stardom, going through a lot and sacrificing even more to achieve her dreams. that - a starlet of color in an old hollywood-ish setting - is the only real similarity you can find to TSHoEH. otherwise, this is an exceedingly *different* book. different from evelyn hugo and different, i'd go as far to say, as most books in a similar setting.
luli's world is one of pacts, arcane circles, changelings and fey-flavored magic. if you want a comparison that came to my mind as i was reading, the ballad of black tom by victor savalle has similar vibes in terms of a fantastical, unsettling urban setting where the magic just IS, the characters just ARE, and the reader is dropped onto the sidewalk alongside them and expected to keep up.
this, in my opinion, is actually the novel's strength, but you may be disappointed if you're expecting...well. something that's not WEIRD. because this book is definitely weird. it's not straightforward. it winds and weaves like the fey magic within. it's full of nghi vo's usual lush, evocative writing and it focuses on what's happening to and around our main character, rather than explaining the how's or why's.
i did enjoy the second half of the book more than the first, which mostly focuses on luli's childhood and youth. past the 50% mark is really where the story shined for me. and I'm glad to report that nghi vo remains an author whose books I'll automatically pick up.