When a young Chinese American girl discovers the movies, she becomes enthralled with every aspect. In pre-Code Hollywood, she knows that the chances of her becoming a celebrity are limited, but after finding herself in a walk-on role for a film, she is hooked. Desperate to become a star, she soon learns that the studios are filled with monsters; real ones. With a world of unlucky starlets giving up years of their lives or actual body parts, the newly created Luli Wei learns that the price of fame is often bargains made with ancient magic. She has limits. Luli won’t play maids, won’t speak funny, and won’t be a fainter in film. What that leaves her to become in the most popular monster in film, working alongside real monsters.
Nghi Vo’s Siren Queen is one of those books that I picked up on audio and listened through until the very end. Narrated by Natalie Naudus, the book is perfectly paced and utterly enthralling. Between Vo’s delicious prose and Naudus’ emotional performance, Siren Queen is an excellent audiobook and I can’t recommend it highly enough. For fans of the strange, old Hollywood, and open to a Sapphic love story, Siren Queen is a must.
Siren Queen is now available from MacMillan Publishing.
