Siren Queen

[hebethen]

Set in a magical alternate history where "film star" is more than a bit of metaphorical language, Nghi Vo's Siren Queen is a ghostly, bittersweet tale about the razor edge of recognizing an unjust bargain and negotiating with the odds against you. I found it a meditative read full of vivid imagery -- bloodier in attitude than the Singing Hills novellas, appropriately, given the ruthlessness of the social scene -- and enjoyed the delicate ways in which Vo drew those social dynamics into the realm of magic, simultaneously dreamy and matter-of-fact.

It's a bit stranger and wilder and more nuanced than the blurb makes it sound, I think, but when are blurbs good at that sort of thing?

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 protagonist is lesbian and has several f/f romances and sex scenes; however, I would say that the romance subplots are not the focus, but rather one important facet of her story and her selfhood. (Also, I enjoyed the LIs -- particularly Tara, and I wish we'd gotten to see more of Jane -- but I actually wound up shipping her with her huldra roommate Greta a lot, something which the book itself slyly alludes to. Unattainability, that accursed ship-magnet!)

If anyone here has read Siren Queen I'd love to hear your thoughts!

'A small but significant part of LGBTQ+ history in the UK'

[oursin]

Posted with some commentary over at my own journal: Inside a Secret Lesbian Sex Toy Smuggling Ring: In the 80s, Thrilling Bits was clandestinely selling dildos, vibrators and banned queer erotica – right under the nose of customs.