the surefire way to get me to read a book is to make it about sisters.
even better if the sisters in question are hot violent scary snake-women.
i had lthe surefire way to get me to read a book is to make it about sisters.
even better if the sisters in question are hot violent scary snake-women.
i had limited familiarity with the folk tale that inspired this retelling, but that didn't stop me from having a damn good time.
this book is over-the-top crazy, featuring hyperbolically beautiful and rich and charming women, and everything it does is wild. still, somehow, the core of it feels almost realistic: the way that your sister is the person you love the most who also deeply infuriates you, even if the infuriating thing is murder instead of stealing your clothes. complicated love stories. friendships and crushes. the singaporean nanny state.
it's an almost goofy book, and yet it holds itself back when it has to.
in other words, it's really fun.
bottom line: even if you're an immortal mythical creature your family gets on your nerves.
The hard part about old Hollywood is that it's so interesting in reality that it's hard to improve it in fiction.
Even with magic and monsters.
This doThe hard part about old Hollywood is that it's so interesting in reality that it's hard to improve it in fiction.
Even with magic and monsters.
This does a pretty damn good job, though.
The hard part about Nghi Vo books is that each one should be one of a kind because they are insane-sounding (either mythical made-up fantasy stories that make you cry and are like 13 pages long or old timey retelling type deals that are also sapphic and magic), but they exist in the same universe.
And in this case, if we're talking historical fiction meets queer retelling meets asian american race exploration meets magical realism, The Chosen and The Beautiful is better.
Where that one became more and more compelling, almost eerily, as it went on, and I fell under the enchantment of the characters, with this one I felt a bit of an enduring confusion that never let up, no matter how closely I read or long I waited.
And that was a bummer.
But mysteriousness is not too much of a bad thing, and if that's the trade for magic and Hollywood and girls and monsters, I will take it!
Bottom line: Nghi Vo forever.
------------ currently-reading updates
nghi vo is the real siren queen (could convince me to read anything)
The hard part about old Hollywood is that it's so interesting in reality that it's hard to improve it in fiction.
Even with magic and monsters.
This does a pretty damn good job, though.
The hard part about Nghi Vo books is that each one should be one of a kind because they are insane-sounding (either mythical made-up fantasy stories that make you cry and are like 13 pages long or old timey retelling type deals that are also sapphic and magic), but they exist in the same universe.
And in this case, if we're talking historical fiction meets queer retelling meets asian american race exploration meets magical realism, The Chosen and The Beautiful is better.
Where that one became more and more compelling, almost eerily, as it went on, and I fell under the enchantment of the characters, with this one I felt a bit of an enduring confusion that never let up, no matter how closely I read or long I waited.
And that was a bummer.
But mysteriousness is not too much of a bad thing, and if that's the trade for magic and Hollywood and girls and monsters, I will take it!
Bottom line: Nghi Vo forever.
------------ currently-reading updates
nghi vo is the real siren queen (could convince me to read anything)
i'm intimidated by historical books. i'm a multi pov hater. and yet...there's something about this onei'm intimidated by historical books. i'm a multi pov hater. and yet...there's something about this one...more
in truth, this was cute and fun and not much else in a way that made me miss middle grade books.
in other words if this were written for sounds dreamy!
in truth, this was cute and fun and not much else in a way that made me miss middle grade books.
in other words if this were written for upper elementary school aged children, rather than for me, i would have liked it more.
i loved the world, and it was so creative, but romance and adult problems just didn't fit. they should've cut all of that, added in some light banter and maybe some forgotten homework, thrown in a couple side quests, and called me a happy camper.
as is, i didn't connect to the characters, and this felt kind of boring and forgettable.
bottom line: sorry for saying "i would have liked this book more if it was a different book."...more
finally found a fantasy book so good it's tricked me into thinking i like fantasyfinally found a fantasy book so good it's tricked me into thinking i like fantasy...more
this is a beautifully written book about how after a bunch of angels destroy a demon's city, the demon curses one of the angels and then they fall in this is a beautifully written book about how after a bunch of angels destroy a demon's city, the demon curses one of the angels and then they fall in love.
i love nghi vo, but i've always disliked these sort of star-crossed ill-fated romances because they feel instalovey to me. if the stakes are this high there isn't going to be like banter to be charmed by, and in fact this was mostly biting and sky fighting and throwing bits of rotten corpses at each other.
until this became a love letter to a fictional city.
i still didn't love our characters (who felt more like figures than people) or their relationship (you can keep being frenemies creating a culture together as far as i'm concerned), but i love the strange short fantastical books nghi vo keeps coming up with.
bottom line: whatever nghi vo is writing, i'm reading.
if i had a nickel for every time one of my most anticipated releases was about dark academia enemies to lovers college students entering hell, i'd havif i had a nickel for every time one of my most anticipated releases was about dark academia enemies to lovers college students entering hell, i'd have two nickels. which isn't a lot but it's kind of weird it happened twice...more
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