Reviews

Siren Queen by Nghi Vo

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catbag's review against another edition

4.0

“What else are we doing here but looking for our little bit of forever?”

Siren Queen is a novel woven through with magic and ambition. Both the prose and narrative are layered with it, and it created a constant sense of atmosphere and otherwordliness in every scene. It tells the story of Luli Wei’s life, told from a version of her in the present. I think it’s important to know going into it that Siren Queen is more about the journey than the destination. It’s not so much what happened at the end, but what happened along the way and how meaning can be found in every chapter of Luli’s story.

“We’re all in this together… You, me, all the ones who came before us and will come after.”

Vo writes of the different types of immortality, humanity, and desire. There are different versions of each, yet alongside these differing ambitions and ideas was a community, especially between women and queer people. Vo crafted a cruel, evil world, but she also showed that there would always be those who were willing to help each other. It grounded the magic and the hurt with humanity, which I adored.

“I liked being cold as the Atlantic, somehow monstrous and untouchable.”

I also loved reading from the perspective of Luli Wei. She was unapologetically ambitious yet not overly cruel, fearful but not cowardly. Throughout the novel, she was described many times as cold, and she used that monstrous part of herself to achieve her goals. In the pursuit of them, she didn’t ever want to be anyone else, either; her goal was success, in her own way, on her own terms. She was willing to make enemies where she needed to, but she still cared deeply for those closest to her.

Overall, this was a quick, atmospheric read with a strong protagonist in a complex world and I really enjoyed it!

bootetas's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

holdawayjen's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective

3.5

kendal14's review against another edition

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4.0

Beautifully written, but too long. I think this story was more suited for a novella or short story, as the middle really dragged. The beginning and ending were super strong though!