I liked the book it covers themes that I am interested like Old Hollywood, magical realism, lgbtq and a coming of age story.

Thank you to Tor Publishing and to Netgalley for this free ARC.

This book was very well written. Nghi Vo has an exquisite, lyrical writing style full of metaphor and symbolism. I wish I could comprehend metaphor and symbolism better when it isn’t obvious, but unfortunately this went a little over my head and I was not able to grasp what the author was trying to convey through these techniques. THAT BEING SAID, my review reflects only my own reading experience. This book is not meant for me (a straight white person without immigrant background). I would highly recommend this to LGBT+ people and people of color, especially people of Asian descent.

I really wanted to love this but I just didn’t. The magic/fantasy of it was interesting but never explained and it took me out of the story each time. I loved the symbolism Vo used wrt the fantasy elements, but I wish it was expanded on. That, plus the fact I couldn’t get a good grasp on the main character, made me struggle with this novel. Vo’s writing is exquisite and it’s what kept me coming back, so I am def looking forward to reading her others (specially the fantasy based ones, as I’ll probably like those more than Chosen & Beautiful if it’s similar to this?)

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor for a copy in exchange for an honest review

Many thanks to Tordotcom for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

⭐️4.5 🌶3
CONTENT WARNINGS: domestic abuse, adult-minor relationship, violence and gore, racism, homophobia, discussions of sexual assault, discussions of pregnancy and abortion, addiction, fire and fire injury

Full disclosure: I needed 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?

Luli Wei knows how dangerous the movie world is But she has a hunger deep in her to become a famous actress. In a world full of magic, madness and wicked trades Luli has to learn what can be traded and what is worth holding onto.
This is a beautiful and haunting story full of the magic I've come to expect from Nghi Vo. The way magic is woven into the world so seamlessly gives me chills. The more I read from Vo the more I am confident I will read just about anything she releases.

I haven't read much of Old Hollywood, but I'm glad that I started with this book. Siren Queen follows an unnamed protagonist who, in her bid to become the next shining star of the pictures, is baptized anew with a stolen name and a remade past. With these in her arsenal, she navigates the fires, blood rituals, and whispered deals of a Hollywood that makes one pay for the fantasy one soul at a time.

Elements I loved:
- The narrative of names: who is named what, who gets to name whom
- The deliciously slow unfolding of this character-centric work
- Callbacks to Old Hollywood cautionary tales
- Subtle weaving of different fey lore
- Good representation of Asian American diaspora

This book has an excellent beginning, a good middle, and an ending that will obliterate you.

Siren Queen is a dark and critical approach to the backstage behind the glamourous appearance of Hollywood, a world where the weak are eaten and trades in blood magic are not uncommon after all. The story follows Luli Wei, a second-gen Chinese American who found herself in the macabre world of Los Angeles' elites.

My first book from Nghi Vo is The Chosen and the Beautiful, which I found very disappointing, so I tried to keep my expectations low for this one, and to my surprise, I was blown away by this book. A mix of The Chosen and the Beautiful and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Siren Queen pushes me into a lush and mesmerizing world of magic, fame, and monsters. Vo's writing is gorgeous, constructing an enthralling scenery of the deceiving movie industry and its actors. Each detail is carefully crafted with mastery, and it all builds up Vo's admiring approach to this ambitious story.
Luli Wei was a story of her own. In this coming-of-age narrative, a young girl fantasizing about stardom and big screens was suddenly thrust into a deceptive world of manipulation where the price to pay is high. I particularly love Nghi Vo set up each relationship with Luli and how each of them affected her life in quite different ways. Someone has talked about how there was always light in moments of darkness in this book, and I find that particularly true. No matter how dire the situation is, we as readers are given hope. Hope that Luli, despite everything she has been through, will find her true vocation and happiness. As a character, she incarnates the voice of queer Asian Americans in a cruel world that reduces them to exotic mannequins to play with. Playing the role of the villain shows how she is willing to achieve her goals as such a flawed but also determined woman. Moreover, the female voices in this book reflect their strength in regard to the men who seek to tear them down.

Overall, Siren Queen is a brutally magnificent piece of art that will definitely stay in my mind for a long time (especially that epilogue holy hell). Despite not being a full 5 stars (because some parts did drag a little bit), this book has its merit in this genre alongside other critically acclaimed works, as the portrayal of queer Asian American strength is incredibly admiring.

Many thanks to Macmillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley for providing me with this digital ARC in exchange of my honest thoughts.

What an interesting twist on Old Hollywood! The feral nature of fairy tales paired nicely with the cutthroat culture of the film business. Definitely one I'll be recommending for a long time!

having watched a lot of old hollywood films recently this one was right up my street in terms of being set in that era but also being a bit different, with racial as well as fantasy elements at the heart of the story of the actors in hollywood. i got a bit muddled following the various characters throughout the middle but it was a strong start and i read more of this universe if possible

During the era in Hollywood when talking films were newly created, a Chinese American girl from Los Angeles is determined to become a star. She lives in a world where movie stars actually become stars in the night sky. The men who run the film studios and act like monsters are actually monsters. There are other kinds of “monsters”, too, like anyone who looks, thinks, or loves differently. She doesn’t want to play bit parts and do accents, and she won’t be allowed to drive off into the sunset as a romantic lead, so what is left for her? Maybe she can make her mark as a monster, instead.

I was completely captivated by this book. Because of the magical realism elements, it is difficult to tell at first what is real and what is figurative. I actually loved that bit of whimsical world building, slowly piecing together what kind of magic and monsters her world contains.

I also really loved the main character. She is ambitious, and not particularly likable, but I really felt for her, her struggles and vulnerabilities.

This book also has a beautiful and natural portrayal of lesbian love, in my opinion. It touches on what it would have been like to be a Chinese American actress and a lesbian during that time in history. Not extensively, because I think the main character herself is not fully aware, but enough to make you think about the historical context. In researching this history, I found out about Anna May Wong, the first Chinese American actress in Hollywood, who may have been inspiration for the Su Tong Lin character.

I found this book so beautifully dark and whimsical. It's definitely strange, but if you enjoy magical realism and old Hollywood, I recommend giving this book a try!


Thank you to NetGalley and Tordotcom books for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Nigh Vo is back with her second novel, Siren Queen. This story is old Hollywood meets magical realism in a tale of love, lust, and deals with the “devil.”

Those who have read The Chosen and the Beautiful will find Vo’s signature sultry writing style carried on into Siren Queen. Personally, I am obsessed with Vo’s writing style. It completely draws me into the story. Vo knows how to write a familiar world while dropping in subtle magical elements.

Since Siren Queen is just under 300 pages, I recommend jumping into it knowing very little. If you enjoy feminist stories, sapphic romance, a dash of magic, and old Hollywood, then this one should definitely be on your list!

What would you do to become immortal? For Luli Wei, the daughter and granddaughter of Chinese immigrants in California, the answer is: Anything. In the bright and sunny days of 1930, silent movies are out and talkies are in. From the first moment she sees her first movie, Romeo and Juliet, at a small nickelodeon in Hungarian Hill, Luli’s life is changed. The looks of adoration and devotion, the dramatic unfolding of Shakespeare’s tragedy, the death of love itself give birth to a burning passion and a need. A hunger. An aching want that will take Luli from her parents’ laundry to the backlots of a small studio and her first role. It was a bit part. An urchin with a single line, but that line changed everything.

Siren Queen is the fictional memoir of Luli Wei, who is altogether unpleasant. She is arrogant, vain, and narcissistic. She is cold and distant, slow to admit a liking or a fondness. That’s not to say Luli lacks empathy, but her sympathy for other people is a small thing, shared only with a small handful of close friends. She is ruthless, clinical, calculating, and utterly self absorbed. She hides her fear, horror, and despair behind a shield so cold you’d think it was a mile thick rather than the fragile, brittle thing it is. And when she loves, Luli is like the sun, wanting to share her light with everyone. And she is proud.

When signing herself away to Oberlin Wolfe, the monstrous king who rules over Wolfe Studios, Luli has three rules: No maids, no funny talking, and no fainting flowers. She knows what she wants, which is to be a star. And she will take no role that will diminish her light. Unfortunately, it also limits what the studio can do — or is willing to do — with her. Three years is all the time she has in her contract, and when that time is up, she will either fade away or ascend with the immortals.

I have never read any of Nghi Vo’s work before this book. Her writing is lush and rich, fluid with description and mood. From Oberlin Wolfe’s office where Luli bargains for and wins her future, to the dusty, hot, and crowded sound stages, there is no part of this world ignored or overlooked. Vo brings to light the fires at night where stars hold court and the Wild Hunt stalks the darkness, the cramped dormitories where Luli and Greta (her first and truest friend) live in between lessons and work, and the grand house in the Palisades where she and Emmaline Sauvignon (her first love) share their nights.

Merging magic of Old Hollywood with a fae court, complete with fae bargains and fae lords and ladies, is such a perfect idea and one so perfectly brought to life. From the silver wolves that guard the gates to the keeping of — and losing of — names, it all just works so well. And while this story has all the hallmarks of an adventure, with Luli finding her footing in a magical court, the focus is more on Luli herself. Her strength, her drive, her determination to get what she wants without sacrificing herself … all while being a lesbian woman in Hollywood where the studio that owns her could destroy her with a single word. Even with the threat of Oberlin overhead, Luli will love who she wishes and feel no shame.

This book is beautifully written. It’s one of those books where I knew, from the first page, that I would love it. (And I did.) This book has everything I wanted it to have: A strong character, intricate world building, consequences for actions — both good and bad — and it is a love story. More than the women Luli loves, both as friends and lovers, and the man who saved her career, this is the story of Luli Wei’s true love for herself. As a woman, as a lesbian, as a sister, a lover, a daughter, and a friend. And it is beyond beautiful.

Discovered at a very young age, Luli Wei--a Chinese American from Hungarian Hill--would seem destined to play roles as maids. However, she refuses. Although she submits to many of the requirements Hollywood thrusts upon her, she fights against all she can--even choosing to play a monster.

Not only is she stereotyped by her ethnicity, she is forced to remain closeted, watching many of her friends submit to sham marriages for the sake of publicity.

SIREN QUEEN has a dream-like quality (with its bonfires) and sometimes it's difficult to determine what is really happening and what Luli is imagining. But it's a unique, memorable novel of mid-twentieth century Hollywood. #SirenQueen #NetGalley

This was dark and wild and magical - the story of an ambitious young Chinese-American actress in early 1930s Hollywood, falling in love with the other starlets and clawing her way to fame on her own terms. Nghi Vo’s Hollywood is a place of monsters and worshippers, of desperate bargains and wild bonfires, and I loved reading about it. The story is told as one large flashback, with plenty of foreshadowing and interjections from the older protagonist, and I found myself savouring the text, only reading a little at a time and letting it sit with me. Having enjoyed the author’s previous book “The Chosen and the Beautiful,” I knew to expect beautiful prose and a kind of dark magical realism that shimmers on the edges of the page, never fully explained and often so quick that your eyes will slide right over it if you’re not careful. All of this was strengthened in this book, her second full-length novel, and it was breathtaking.

I was surprised at how quickly the plot wrapped up - the novel is more character-driven than anything else, but it did seem like an abrupt ending with a tidy epilogue tying up some loose ends. I didn’t feel quite ready to leave the wildness of the studio lots, but I will follow Nghi Vo wherever she takes me next.

Thanks to Macmillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I requested this book after reading some of the rave reviews posted here and they were not wrong. This is the first book by Nghi Vo that I have read and I will be searching out more. This was such a moving book. Riveting and engaging. I was drawn in instantly.

The premise that the movie industry is actually run by magic and monsters is absolutely inspired. It fits so well into the realities we know of the cutthroat aspects of the industry. Setting this in the Golden Age of film also made it even more poignant. The idea that cameras can steal your soul, that immortality depends on your name being known, that stars literally become stars--those ideas are so unique and creative.

Siren Queen is the story of Luli Wei, a child of an immigrant family who dreams of being part of the magic of film. It is Luli's story, but the people she meets along the way are drawn so well that I couldn't help being fond of them. And what characters. Memorable in so many ways, complex, nuanced, flawed, and brilliant. The characters develop and reveal themselves in an organic fashion. From her sister, to Emmeline, to Harry, Jane–they linger in my thoughts days after finishing the book.

There is an underlying darkness, an intensity, a feeling of underlying dread that accompanies what we learn of this industry, and the people who inhabit it.

The world building is nuanced and the parallels to reality painfully familiar. I wanted to know more about the magic and monsters but that was because I was curious. The story itself gives us just enough to set the scene but doesn't bog the reader down with details when the real focus of the story is on the characters.

The book explores the themes of race, of sexism, of otherness, of belonging, of connection and it explores them in detail and in a compelling way. The LGBTQ subplot is woven into the story so well, with the characters making connections and forging relationships, and the book does not shy away from the homophobia in that society and culture.

The atmosphere is rich and diverse, the writing lush and compelling.

I loved how Luli is such an appealing character because she is so complex–flawed and driven, ambitious and determined, aching for connection and very cognizant as the book goes on of her own shortcomings.
This book is dark. It's complex. It's fascinating and horrifying and hurts in ways you don't expect. But it's also a kind book. A book about finding your place, making connections, going after what you want, making amends. The relationships really drive it.

Highly recommended. 4.5 stars

my thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The cover of this book was so striking that I just had to read it, and was so glad I was given the opportunity. Mark Cousins likened cinema to a dream, we go into the dark, and then the dream begins. And this book was beautiful and dreamlike. I can say i really enjoyed it.

This was a very good book, quite a bit different from what I would normally read, but I still enjoyed it and would recommend it. Luli Wei is a Chinese American in 1930ish era Los Angeles, working for her family in their Laundromat and living above it with her parents and sister. She loves going to the theatre to watch movies and dreams of herself on screen. While out delivering laundry she happens upon a set where a scene from a movie is being filmed, she's spotted by the director and included in the scene, later she watches the movie and is amazed to see herself on screen like she dreamed. That small start eventually leads her to a major movie studio and after some convincing of the studio owner, a contract. She has to live on the studio lot in a dorm with another young girl (from Sweden who had a tail growing from her spine which the studio had removed!). Luli initially appears as a bit player, then is offered the lead role in a 'monster' film (she's the monster), she quickly becomes a star and is written about in celebrity magazines and is recognized when she's out and about. This would not be an issue for most, but Luli is gay and having an intimate relationship with one of the big stars for the studio, they have to be very secretive about their time together. There is a bit of mysticism throughout the story, which I found added to it. The story comes to a very good ending and I would look forward to another by this author. Thank you to #Netgalley and #Tordotcom for the ARC.

I love books about Hollywood. I don’t necessarily care about a lot of real life celebrities, but I love fictional ones, and I find Hollywood a fascinating opportunity when it comes to storytelling, because there are so many interesting ways to explore character dynamics within that environment. What makes the high price of fame so worth it? What would someone be willing to do to achieve stardom? And how do we reconcile questions of authenticity and the commodification of personal brands?

There’s no doubt Nghi Vo is a talented writer, but Siren Queen feels like a wasted opportunity when it comes to these questions.

On the positive side, the writing is wonderfully atmospheric, and really captures the other-worldly feel of Hollywood; it feels like watching Luli’s story unfold through hazy cigarette smoke. It’s almost impossible to tell where metaphor ends and reality begins, which mostly works well for this type of story (with a few noted exceptions): in a place that’s always aiming to create the biggest spectacles possible, Vo’s approach to storytelling fits in well.

I also like that this book acknowledges that while the annals of Hollywood are largely white, the industry is built on the backs of people of colour and other marginalised groups who made movies possible, even if they weren’t recognised for it at the time. It’s an important nod to a sometimes forgotten history.

But, for all that, I’m not sure I really enjoyed this book. And that’s because, in a larger than life setting like Hollywood, Luli feels far too bland a character to warrant her story being told among so many others. The book tells us a lot of things about her background and her experiences, but it never really explains why she wants to be a star, or why she’s prepared to put up with being treated like dirt for her shot at the big time. Fame is a means to an end for the story, which is based around Luli telling the reader how she got to where she did, but it’s never really a defining part of the story itself.

Similarly, the blurb for this book makes a big deal about Luli becoming monstrous, but that’s rarely backed up by the text. Other people lie to her and discard her when she’s not valuable to them… but the reader never sees her make any hard choices of her own, or have to truly face up to the consequences of her actions. During the worst stuff that happens in this book, Luli’s largely a passive bystander. Like I said, I love stories about people who make difficult decisions in the pursuit of fame and fortune, so I felt really let down by this part of the book.

Even the literal monsters we do see – the Hollywood executives who call the shots – feel rather toothless in Luli’s version of events compared to some of the horror stories that have come out of the #metoo movement. Part of that is the flipside of the lovely writing style – ruining people’s careers feels less confronting when you can’t quite tell if it’s metaphorical or literal – but largely, it’s as though Siren Queen feels more committed to the Hollywood aesthetic than the reality.

Authorfirstbreaths
Posted onMay 20, 2022
Edit"Review: Siren Queen by Nghi Vo"

Siren Queen is both exactly what I expected and also somehow not at all what I expected. Having read The Chosen and Beautiful, I was pretty sure I was in for a fantasy world that operated mostly on very fun, magical vibes without being bothered by explanations. If you're the sort of person who needs a detailed breakdown of the magic system every time you read a fantasy book this is not for you. If however you're willing to say things like "okay the dolls are sentient now, sure" and go along your merry way, this will be your jam.
I waited to read this until after I read Evelyn Hugo because I thought they would be thematically similar and I was very right. For anyone whose problem with EH was the writing, this might be more your thing. The writing is beautiful and captivating and hypnotic. It doesn't always make sense, but you're willing to go along with it (like a siren song. Ha.). Both this and EH are the stories of women who are outsiders both for their ethnicity and their sexuality trying to make it big in old Hollywood. EH is compelling because of the well-structured plot. Siren Queen is compelling because the plot is, at times, barely there. EH is driven by characters that feel realistic. Siren Queen is driven by lush descriptions of the magic that makes up the old studio system in this world. Both main characters have chaotic friends named Harry (that's not where the similarities end, but to say more would be a spoiler for both).
I'm giving 4 stars because I really liked it, but this book left me wanting something. I liked drifting along through the story, and old Hollywood but with binding magic is a great idea, but I could have used more solid ground to stand on. I feel like the plot didn't really heat up until 70% of the way through. This would be best read by the pool or the beach, where you can just kind of coast on the emotions and the magic.

The queen of queer fantastical stories is back with another hit! Absolutely adored this. From the lush and immersive depiction of a seedy, magical old Hollywood, to its strange and compelling characters, you are immediately pulled in. Stunningly written and perfectly paced. Couldn't recommend highly enough!