Reviews tagging 'Death'

Siren Queen, by Nghi Vo

9 reviews

entityj's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Racism

Moderate: Classism and Xenophobia

Minor: Homophobia, Alcohol, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief

sarah984's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I love Nghi Vo's novellas (When The Tiger Came Down The Mountain is one of my favourite books) but this book did not work for me. I'm not surprised to find in the author's note that chronologically this is their first novel because it really does feel like a debut. There is not enough story to sustain a full length novel, but somehow the book still feels long. The writing style is also extremely fanficcy (the "all [noun] and [noun]" physical descriptors, the characters making parenthetical interjections throughout for no reason) and the romances are silly and over the top. None of the prominent characters are that interesting, and the book does that annoying thing from historical fiction where the character lays out the hardships of a certain setting and then goes, "but not me though!" as if they're better than all the real people who went through those situations.

I will say though that the world was very interesting (even if we didn't get to see a lot of it) and the way the magic was used to emphasize real world issues was mostly well done.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Ableism, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Injury/injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Racism, and Sexual assault

Minor: Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Drug use, Child abuse, Death, Addiction, Alcohol, Homophobia, and Infidelity

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

smalika's review

dark emotional inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Body horror, Sexual content, Lesbophobia, and Homophobia

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Violence

Minor: Death and Addiction

wordsareworlds's review

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious 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

5.0

I loved this book so much. Vo's writing is, as always, exquisite and she is masterful at crafting a story that pulls the reader into a world that is so much like our own while encompassing so much more. The supernatural elements were a perfect addition to the glamour of the Silver Age of Hollywood, and I found myself gutted when I finished the book because I didn't want to leave the world Vo crafted. 
Fantastic lesbian heroine with flaws that made me love her even more, and the relationships she had (both romantic and platonic) were so done. Honestly I am too in love with this book to write a detailed review that isn't just gushing about pretty much every aspect of it. Just read it, you'll be so happy you did.

CN

Spoiler

racism, homophobia, mild body horror, death, grief, non-explicit sexual content

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Homophobia, Death, and Grief

Minor: Sexual content and Body horror

readandfindout's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Style/writing: 5 stars
Themes: 4.5 stars
Characters: 3 stars
Plot: 3.5 stars
Worldbuilding: 3.5 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexism

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Abortion

Minor: Sexual assault

aardwyrm's review

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Abortion, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Antisemitism, Body horror, Classism, Cultural appropriation, and Drug use

pagesofbellerose's review

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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Pregnancy, Body horror, Death, Classism, Gore, Sexual content, and Injury/injury detail

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