Siren Queen

What if the Hollywood stars made bargains and sold pieces of themselves to the studios that hired them, literally, for a chance at stardom? Well, that is what this story is about. The ones who run the studios are more like otherworldly fae, with a little bit of demon, so I guess they are of the Unseelie court. I mean, there is even a Wild Hunt that goes around. The bargains are fairly gruesome at times but that was pretty interesting in that people are willing to sacrifice that part of themselves, (e.g. dancing, loss of feet, beauty: part of their face, etc) or fade from memory and the movies. I liked that part of the story the best, though I also enjoyed when Luli got her big first part in the movies, not as a weak woman, but as a monster, a siren and how she worked hard to reach stardom. This book was chock full of magic but it wasn't all that mystical, more everyday like, not much to be remarked on unless you made a big bargain with the studios or something. That was cool and I liked this book.

Title: Siren Queen Author: Nghi Vo 288 pages Published: May 10th of 2022 Let's start off by I love the name of the book and the blue color palette on the cover. Blue makes it very pretty and anything that says "Siren" catches my intrest. Even though it's not about that I'm glad I read it. This book is about Luli Wei a beautiful talented wanting to be a star in pre-code Hollywood. In it she knows how the movie business can be very dangerous but she doesn't seem to be bothered by this. She also prefers to play a monster rather than a maid. She learns the worst monsters of all are not on screen but rather in reality around her in Hollywood. She also learns success always comes with a very steep price to pay and it's never lovely. This book caught my attention from the beginning and is well written. It has an interesting story plot and is one book I'd definitely reccomend. Also, reality is just sad.

Siren Queen is a dark and haunting fantastical reimagining of the golden age of Hollywood. In this alternate Hollywood, the film studios are run by monsters; they are places of blood contracts, cameras that eat souls, and things that aren't quite human. Immortality is possible, but a price must be paid. The skillful intertwining of the magical elements with the real world, accentuate the horror and sense of danger pervasive throughout the book. Luli Wei, born to Chinese immigrants, becomes obsessed with the silver screen from a young age. She is willing to sacrifice to become a star, but on her own terms. She refuses roles that reinforce racist stereotypes, defends her friends, and explores her queerness, all at risk to herself. Vo's writing is lyrical and beautiful, her characters complex. She explores themes such as exploitation, power, racism, xenophobia, homophobia and misogyny. The author creates an exquisite irony in writing about a Hollywood controlled by monsters (because isn’t it in reality?). Siren Queen was compulsively readable and utterly spellbinding. I was enraptured by this book. #BookishFirst