eidolonghost's review
- 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
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Sexual assault
Enjoying this book requires enjoying it's mystism, and a blurred line between symbolism and reality upheld but fatalistic magic - an within that it is gorgeous.sarah984's review against another edition
- 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 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.
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
mothie_girlie's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Sexual content, Racism, and Homophobia
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Sexual assault
angelkisses's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Racism, and Homophobia
Minor: Sexual assault
readandfindout's review
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Themes: 4.5 stars
Characters: 3 stars
Plot: 3.5 stars
Worldbuilding: 3.5 stars
Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexism
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Abortion
Minor: Sexual assault
slipsstream's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Racial slurs, and Racism
Minor: Abortion and Sexual assault
aardwyrm's review
- 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
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
mandkips's review
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Sexual content, Racism, and Sexism
Moderate: Addiction and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Domestic abuse, and Sexual assault
utopiastateofmind's review
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
From the premise alone, I love the idea of making deals for fame and sacrifice. And Siren Queen is a world that is distinctly not ours - because hello magic - but it feels a shade away. This insular community of decadence and decay, of homophobia and fierce ambition, feels just a track away from our world. It uses this idea of trading everything we have to be in movies, for our dreams, and magnifies it. To say I'm a fan of this world building is an understatement. There's a rawness and elegance to it.How it's all a series of trades and transactions, sacrifices for success. And Luli is a character I couldn't help but love. Not only as an Asian woman did I obviously resonate with Luli, but I loved how driven she is. How she has her ambition and isn't willing to burn some bridges and to make some compromises - but not all. And in this world of deals with demons concealed by smoke, will she be able to find a shred of authenticity? Of friendship and love?
Moderate: Racism and Sexual assault
enasbookshelves's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Full disclosure: I took nearly two weeks to finish this book. In my defense, elections happened in my country. But apart from that, while films are meant to be consumed in one sitting, this magnificent book about what it takes to be in film is something to be chewed slowly and thoughtfully, for maximum impact. And wow, did it impact me! It’s only my second time reading anything by Nghi Vo, but her prose always seems to take the humble Declarative Sentence to a higher plane.
Every layer in Siren Queen is rich and adds value to the larger story; every fantasy element a brilliant, uncanny metaphor. In a world where it is cishet white men and their stories that are granted immortality, Nghi Vo empowers that which is rarely told, if told at all, but without pretending that the world has magically turned kinder towards everything that is not straight, white, or male. My only actual complaint is that there were too many transitory characters — mostly actors whom the main character meets once, or whose projects are mentioned in passing then are never heard from again — that made me glad that e-readers come with highlight and bookmark functions. Then again, is Hollywood not full of short-lived, meteoric careers behind, around, and in front of the camera?
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Gore, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Violence, and Addiction
Minor: Fire/Fire injury