The Siren Queen | ARC Review

Thank you to Macmillan-Tor/Forge and Netgalley for the review copy in exchange for an honest review. This does not change my opinion in anyway.

 Book: Siren Queen by Nghi Vo
Release Date: May 10th 2022
Tags: Adult | Movie Scene | Background Fantasy | Growing Up | Historical Fantasy | Hollywood | Queer
Bisexuality | F/F Relationship

“No maids, no funny talking, no fainting flowers.” Luli Wei is beautiful, talented, and desperate to be a star. Coming of age in pre-Code Hollywood, she knows how dangerous the movie business is and how limited the roles are for a Chinese American girl from Hungarian Hill—but she doesn’t care. She’d rather play a monster than a maid.

But in Luli’s world, the worst monsters in Hollywood are not the ones on screen. The studios want to own everything from her face to her name to the women she loves, and they run on a system of bargains made in blood and ancient magic, powered by the endless sacrifice of unlucky starlets like her. For those who do survive to earn their fame, success comes with a steep price. Luli is willing to do whatever it takes—even if that means becoming the monster herself.

Siren Queen takes place in the 1930’s Hollywood. I have to say that Hollywood and how that works has never been anything I found interesting. But I hoped that Nghi Vo could pull me over. She couldn’t.

That had nothing to do with her beautiful writing. The writing itself and the way it tackles difficult issues like the pregnancy and the way these girls are treated were done so very well. That is why this book is stil rated 3 stars. But the actual story and character could barely hold my attention. It was a good thing it was so short or I might not have finished it.

I’m just going to look forward to other Nghi Vo books.