Siren Queen is a 2022 hit, a novel worth an hour of your time. It is a touch slow at the beginning but picks up pace and stays steady throughout Luli's time as a performer. Luli is a wonderful protagonist who commands this story. She is a star. She is the drama. She is a monster - right?

This novel has elements of historical fiction but honestly, this is more of a horror-fantasy-magical realism read and it is the elements from those genre's that make this worth your time. With an unforgiving take on magic, Siren Queen will pull you in as you explore the dark side of fame and all the monsters that hide within.

If you are looking for horror-magic, powerful characters, bending of reality, and unique visuals, this is the plot for you. All you need to know is the plot is good and worth a read.

This is a world where magic exists; magic that manipulates life-spans, bodies, time, anything that you can imagine - magic can do. The caveat is, magic is greedy and who doesn't love a silent player in a novel.

The world building will take a moment to digest but once you get the gist of the magic and its role, the story flows with ease. The magical elements could have been a touch stronger in the beginning to help clarify some things later on but like I mention in my spoiler-filled thoughts, I think this novel benefits from moments of obscurity and that includes the obscure moments of magic.

Luli Wei is a solid protagonist you will enjoy reading. She is fierce, diabolical, powerful, and silent. The story is about Luli and the monsters she surrounds herself with leading you to wonder, is she capable of becoming a monster or was she always one inside?

The supporting characters are wonderful and creepy. They all portray different aspects of fame within the film industry and those with any position of power, have a type of magic surrounding them. The magic though, it is wonderfully alarming and the imagery associated, awesome. The characters and visuals are a strong component of this novel creating a good and well-rounded read.

The ending and beginning where the toughest for me to comprehend and that may be your experience too. This is due to what I feel was vague writing, but it could have been intentionally vague. The whole novel is personal interpretation and is truly a delightful, horrible, and magical read that's biggest downfall are the temporary moments of confusion which sadly, includes the ending. In all, Siren Queen is worth your time - it's different and something I think you will enjoy.

Siren Queen is the grotesque underbelly of fame with mystical elements in play. It was tough to get into at first as all the world building was immediate and I had a tough time distinguishing between Luli's imagination and reality. Towards the third chapter or so, I was engrossed. Siren Queen is an imperfect novel, I mean look at the mixed reviews, but to me that is what made it wonderful. I feel we were never meant to fully comprehend Luli's story. I appreciated how the magical and extremely cruel world played by its own rules and that we, maybe just me, couldn't find logic to them.

Luli was a strong female protagonist and flawed in many ways, my favourite combination! She was the star of her own story through and through. She never succeeded on the coattails of others nor was coerced into something she didn't want to do; she lived her wonderful and lonely and difficult life the way she wanted to and best could during this time period. A common theme I appreciated was closeted members of the LGBTQIA+ community supporting each other. The support couldn't be vocal but her friendship with Harry started because of that connection, Esmmie had her back during filming despite their complicated feelings because of this connection, Tara was there - sorry, she was in my opinion but a blip in Luli's life unlike the other characters, and Jane was slipped into the story slowly as the final woman whom to me, Luli was writing this story for.

My favourite part though were the fires. They mesmerised me. The images I conjured were ominous and I'd love to see this novel as a movie as although I adore my imagination I think I would appreciate seeing it come to life. I found this whole novel to be unique and I know it has left a different impression on each reader. Siren Queen was the underbelly and reality of fame and I loved the gruesome, gritty, and beautifulness of it all.