Hazy, mysterious, haunting

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Nghi Vo's Siren Queen tells the story of a young Chinese American actress known as Luli Wei, in pre-Code Hollywood. I loved that the magic & monsters were seamlessly written into the setting; the lack of explanations combined with Vo's writing style gave this novel such a hazy, mysterious, haunting feel. Reading this book felt like walking through a dream, but there were enough references to anchor this story in history.

I admired Luli's steely-eyed determination, her refusal to follow the mold, and her capacity for love. Her relationships with Greta, Emmaline, Harry, and Tara were all so compelling, and I loved seeing Luli's growth.

However, I can't quite help but feel like I spent the entire book waiting for something to happen. It left me a bit unsatisfied but I'm still a big fan of Vo's writing and look forward to reading more of her work.