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A review by carefulfearanddeaddevotion
Siren Queen by Nghi Vo
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Once again, beautiful gowns. Lovely prose, lovely (well - demonic, more like. but in a very whimsical, otherworldly way) atmosphere. Reading her books is like being in a dream - or out at sea. It's very hard to find purchase, but you're so distracted by the surroundings you don't really notice, you just feel vaguely unmoored. Where Nghi Vo fails is plot and creating solid characters. They're so ethereal, so wispy, so lovely that when you reach for them, your hand passes right through.
Like with The Chosen and the Beautiful, she dances around a magic system that is neither explained nor explored. This contributes to the ethereal quality of her novels, but it also leads to a lack of depth in both the plot and the characters. Yes, both are intriguing, but she fails to fully satisfy. I finished the book thinking not "oh, what a conclusion" but "ok, when does the story start?" It seems that she tries too hard to cultivate this dreamy vibe, and not hard enough to craft a story. I'm certainly not against thinking and interpreting - I hate when a book overexplains - but she leaves too much up to the reader to guess.
Like with The Chosen and the Beautiful, she dances around a magic system that is neither explained nor explored. This contributes to the ethereal quality of her novels, but it also leads to a lack of depth in both the plot and the characters. Yes, both are intriguing, but she fails to fully satisfy. I finished the book thinking not "oh, what a conclusion" but "ok, when does the story start?" It seems that she tries too hard to cultivate this dreamy vibe, and not hard enough to craft a story. I'm certainly not against thinking and interpreting - I hate when a book overexplains - but she leaves too much up to the reader to guess.