I really wanted to like "Siren Queen," and it has elements that typically work well for me: Old Hollywood, a dash of magic, should be a good time! Unfortunately, I just found the book to be a little too plodding for my tastes. It's a short book, yet it took me a number of tries to finish it. The concepts Vo is exploring are very interesting, I just wish there was a bit more narrative thrust to fully flesh these ideas out.

A short novella that was both compelling and eerie, yet it was packed with symbolism and so much to take in! I liked this book and would recommend if you're looking for a magical realism novel by this author. The covers for them are always amazing and I think if you want to complete your yearly goal, pick this up!

An incredible fantasy story, with great LGBT representation. This book was a great read. Recommend to fans of dark magic and You Must Remember This. Thank you to Netgalley and Tor for the ARC.

Nghi Vo, my beloved author of historical fantasy 🤩 Perhaps best known for the fantasy novella The Empress of Salt and Fortune , I have somehow only read her two historical novels – and I have absolutely adored them. I consider myself a Gatsby fan, so of course The Chosen and the Beautiful caught my eye last year. (And how can it not, with that stunning cover?). It’s actually on my Christmas wishlist… but I digress.

Siren Queen and The Chosen and the Beautiful have a few significant commonalities. One is the historical time period, with Siren Queen taking place about 5-10 years after when The Chosen and the Beautiful was set. (The books are not obviously set in the same universe, but I feel like they could be.*) The fantasy element is more prominent in Siren Queen, but in both, it’s intricately woven into the plot, subtle at most points yet crucial to the story. The final major similarity between the two novels is that they star ‘unlikable’ protagonists – forced to act a certain way because of the (racist, sexist) expectations of the world around them.

I encountered a hiccup early on, when I started reading and then got stuck around 25%. I didn’t pick the book up for two months. But when I finally returned to it, I finished it in three days. I became totally absorbed by lines like “Love threw a darkness out of her, but to me it was only a warm sweetness, desert honey poured down my throat.” (loc 1486)

What the jacket copy doesn’t reveal but quickly becomes evident is that this is a fairy story. The kind of fairy story where fae terrorize and bargain with humans and hold the true power in Hollywood. I didn’t quite fully understand what was going on; I felt a step or two behind at times (but not as behind as when I’m reading a Helen Oyeyemi novel, lol). Let me reread it once or twice more and then I’m sure I’ll have it.

The captivating writing style kept me on my toes, enamoured with the world that Vo created. The story’s quite dark and moody. I’m inclined, for the first time ever in my book blogging life, to describe the writing as ‘intoxicating’.

*Ohoh! I’ve just read an interview where Vo states “Siren Queen stands alone, but if you read carefully, it does have a few tiny things that link it to my first novel, The Chosen And The Beautiful.” 👀

The Bottom Line 💭 A rich and dark historical tale infused with fae and fantasy, I recommend Siren Queen for any fan of historical fantasy who doesn’t mind their tales a little obscure.

The premise promises a story more interesting than what was delivered: magical realism in golden age cinema with a heroine who will do anything to be a star! But the main character is a basic bitch with little depth. I never understood why she wanted what she wanted. The story pacing is soooooo slow. Nothing happens for pages and pages and all the time reading them doesn't pay off.

The little moments where blood magic is mentioned are interesting, but they show up in obvious ways and don't result in any repercussions expected with blood dealings.

Story: 1 star
Character Development: 1 star
Writing: 3 stars

Old Hollywood is a great love of mine, and Siren Queen’s blend of that “golden age” glamour with magical lore worked in a way I never would have expected. Luli serves as an ideal character to introduce the reader to this world, in the know enough to be aware of the magic at work, but not enough to avoid all of its dangers. This shadowy pre-Code world is a perfect backdrop for Luli’s rise to stardom and exploration of friendship and sexuality under the scrutiny of the studio system. Siren Queen managed to catch and amplify everything that intrigues me about old Hollywood, and Nghi Vo’s captivating prose swept me through this book.

This book was basically written for me: 30s hollywood, blood magic and a Chinese American main character? Perfection. Vo does an absolutely wonderful job. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for granting me access to an e-arc.

Nghi Vo's writing is always very lyrical and a wonder to read. It's no different in this book. However, that's basically the only thing that caught me in this book. I read this book not entirely sure what is going on, and unable to figure out what the magic system in this story was and how it worked. I just could not get into it.

Thank you to Tordotcom and NetGalley for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I read Nghi Vo's Singing Hills novellas recently and absolutely loved them so I was really excited to read Siren Queen, and unsurprisingly it was also incredible. Unlike the Singing Hills Cycle which has a whimsical feel, Siren Queen is gritty, dark, and sinister, but still packed full of magic. There's no discussion of the rules of the magic in this pre-Code Hollywood setting, and it takes so many forms. It's subtle but also fully on show; it's in everything, from the smallest transaction to the biggest displays of stardom. It's so entrenched in the world and everyday life that to get an explanation for how it works would have been strange and out of place, especially because the magic is an element that enriches the setting and the story, rather than being the focus of it.

Luli was a really interesting protagonist to follow. She's very morally grey and has enormous ambition. I love that we're finally getting more and more BIPOC characters who are unashamedly in it for themselves without caring what the white people around them think about it.

This was an incredibly enthralling read about fame and immortality, and the price that the pursuit of them exacts.

I have come back to this book again and again trying to finish it but I just can't seem to get invested in the plot when the world building seems to change every chapter or so. There's a lot of magic involved which I'm not crazy about, but even that is never fully explained. Then there's a lot of non-humans somehow in the middle all of the sudden, it's just too much to keep track of. It started out really interesting but it was just too crazy.

In an alternate Hollywood where stars literally rise up to become immortals via magic, blood and sacrifice, Luli Wei stole her sister's given name to have a chance at being one of the silver screen's stars. But as a Chinese-American from the Hungarian Hills, she was not willing to take the role of maid, having a funny accent, or a fainting flower. Instead, she schemed and sacrificed her way into stardom as the siren that lures men to their doom, i.e. she would rather be the monster and win lasting glory in that role. An interesting read and look at Hollywood!

"Siren Queen" is a novel that I enjoyed thoroughly for a lot of different reasons. The world building, the setting of old Hollywood, and the dismantling of stereotypes within the film industry. This isn't just a novel set in the 30s, but it's mainly a creative and fantastic way to approach an era that didn't concede breathing space to anyone who was not white, or straight.
The main character is sure of herself, and is especially sure that she will not be playing the maid in anyone's fantasy, but she'd rather be the monster in their nightmares.
"Siren Queen" is definitely the fantasy standalone that everyone should read.

Did not finish book. Stopped at 21%.
Not interested in Hollywood, the seat of the United States soft power propaganda. I was interested in the addition of fantasy beings to the film set but there wasn't enough of that in the first fifth of the story I read to sustain my interest. However, there appears to be a real life counterpart to Luli Wei - Anna May Wong, Hollywood’s first Chinese American film star, soon to be commemorated on American currency! (https://www.kqed.org/news/11925613/she-fought-racism-in-early-hollywood-now-shell-be-the-first-asian-american-on-us-currency) Perhaps Nghi Vo took inspiration from her struggle to break into white Hollywood. I am still anticipating the next novella of Nghi Vo's Singing Hills Cycle. My thanks to Tor and Netgalley for providing an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at 39%

Unfortunately I had a hard time reading this book. There’s just not a lot of things happening, the plot moves forward really slowly. There were too many name droppings of this actress, of that studio owners, and of certain movies which truly gives Luli a vibe of established people. And while I appreciate the metaphors of monster and magic with hollywood, the lack of action made this really boring. I want stories about people, about events, and there’s just neither in this book.

Nghi Vo is one of my favorite authors and this book just proves how brilliant she is.

When I first read the description, Siren Queen reminded me of Evelyn Hugo a lot because it's set in the golden age of Hollywood but as I started reading it I realized how completely different they are (I liked Siren Queen more).

Magic, fame, monsters, dark bargains, beautiful writing, queerness, this book has it all.

Through the story, we follow a young Chinese American girl, Luli Wei, who is desperate to break into Hollywood and become famous. Luli is aware of how dangerous the movie is and how limited the roles for Chinese American girls are but she doesn't care. She's doing everything she can to rise and become a star. She lies, she cheats, she fights, she manipulates and she's certainly one of my favorite characters ever. You need to read this book. You need to meet Luli. Trust me.

Thought-provoking and addictive, Siren Queen is a book you have to read, ASAP.

Nghi Vo is one of my favorite authors due to her excellent writing style and impressive imagination. I was hesitant going into Siren Queen because I don't love reading about "famous" characters, it's just never my kind of story. Luckily, Siren Queen was excellent. 

The story follows a young Chinese American girl who works her way up in Hollywood to become a well known actress. The story follows this journey and details the struggles she faces as she works for a studio that works to present her a certain way and what she must sacrifice to succeed. 

Siren Queen is a hard book to describe. If you've read Nghi Vo before, you know that she brings fantastical elements to her works, but these elements are never really explained, they just are. Siren Queen is very fantastical and it makes the book extremely unique. 

I would highly suggest this to anyone who likes their books a little strange and different. I think you would also like it if reading about classical Hollywood from a queer, Chinese American perspective intrigues you!

What I find most intriguing about this story is how magic is seamlessly weaved into the world building in a way where the reader comes to believe that such tricks and trials are just a part of life. I enjoyed the writing and seeing the protagonist progress through this glorious age of films, but was slightly lost as to what happened at the end and why.

Thank you so much to net galley for sending me a copy of this book. It was a really strange yet refreshing book. But it’s definitely not for everyone but luckily I loved it!

This is a beautifully written look at Old Hollywood from an Asian LGBT perspective. I love how seamlessly the magic fits into Vo's Hollywood. Give this to fans of Evelyn Hugo.

“No maids, no funny talking, no fainting flowers.”

Enter one of my highly anticipated fantasy reads for 2022. Siren Queen is a historical fantasy novel about the golden age of Hollywood, and what it's like for a Chinese American girl to make her way to being a star.

I loved Luli as a character for her strength and sense of identity - she knows exactly who she is and who she wants to be. Each character had a very distinct sense of self, which helped because there were quite a few.

And for a book with such a sense of self, it makes sense that identity was one of the main themes - so many of these stars took new names to appeal to audiences, but what are the consequences of becoming someone else to please others?

Overall, I did enjoy this story, even if the magic system seemed a little chaotic. It was a manifestation of power and privilege but still felt very random and under-explained. I would have loved some exposition on how and why each person had the powers they did.

Recommended for: If you liked Evelyn Hugo but wanted it to be darker and more diverse, be sure to pick this up this summer.