I loved this book!! Sirens & Muses by Antonia Angress is an utterly captivating novel! It’s about four artists, 3 students and 1 teacher, and how their lives unfold while attending art school and beyond. I loved the fine art world setting! It was a great coming of age novel with bisexual representation. The New York setting was fantastic. At first I thought the length would be detracting but the story flowed magnificently. I was engaged the whole time to find out what would happen to these characters. They were all very well rounded. I’ve had this one on my tbr for a while and I’m so glad I read it now!

This was absolutely stunning!

I loved the queer rep and the obsession and art! I read it months ago and still cannot stop thinking about it.

I love stories that have inter lapping characters who all come together in an explosive ending and Siren and Muses delivered!

As someone who was very into the contemporary art scene in NYC in the early 2010s, this book was delectable! It also starts as a fantastic campus novel, with rich characters, unexpected plot twists, and fantastic writing. I can see why it was such a hit last year. A rare case where I would have loved the book to be longer.

Messy characters, the art scene in school and NYC, a bit of Occupy-era history... it's an honest and modern novel, great for anyone looking to while away some beachside hours.

I loved this book so much!!!!!!!! This is not my usual genre but I fell in love with these wonderful characters and was rooting for their happiness.

The writing of this novel rings simliar to the writing styles of Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney and Ann Napoltino. The story is told in alternating points of view and examines identity, art and the pull of social norms despite our own desires to push back.

The writing is absolutely stunning. There is so much character development that, despite the story being told in segments, alternating points of view, and the plot feeling slow at times, my interest was held through the whole novel. There are lies, romance, self exploration. And, an intense sapphic romance that really highlights the power of lust and love.

An under hyped and lesser known debut from 2022, this is a book I would recommend to readers who like slow burns, character driven novels.

liked this! an interesting read but the concept was more inticing than the content itself in my opinion. however would pick up more books by this author.

- thanks to netgalley & the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this!! So beautifully written and the characters and their backstories are so unique and interesting. I Robert’s and Preston’s chapters as much but it was still all around a great read.

i really loved this. i'm a sucker for books about art and artists so maybe i was just inclined to like it, but i loved the main characters and the growth they showed over the course of the book. i will definitely be looking for whatever angress writes next!

I was so profoundly moved by the message and plotline in this article and am seriously so thankful to Random House/Ballantine Books, NetGalley, and Antonia Angress for granting me access to this magnificent read before it was set to publish to the public. I always appreciate well-done literary fiction, and I definitely count Sirens & Muses as a well-done publication.

We follow 4 storylines that intertwine over the course of a college year and post college - Karina, Louisa, Preston, and Robert Berger are all involved in the New York art world scene. Robert has had his run as a prized artist before falling from grace. Preston is willing to cause chaos with his pieces and likes being spoken about in the media. Karina is the offspring of well known art collectors and is a prodigy, so her work easily outshines others and warrants praise. Louisa, is out of her league in the big city when compared to the others since she is from the countryside in the South. After a scandal at college that causes Robert to be fired, Preston accepts a contract with an art gallery alongside Karina, and Louisa spends her day copying art for a well known artist to afford her rent instead of creating her own pieces. With this, the story depicts how class and money can propel you in life, keep you stagnant, or how some people will do anything to try to get ahead. All in all, I thought the pacing of the story was on and off, especially when they escaped the life academia provided them. I think if the novel delved into the uncertainty of the art world more, it would have provided a fast pace and engaging read.

this book should’ve been right up my alley but i don’t know, it just fell a bit flat. the storylines about the other two male characters i never really cared for, and the ending disappointed me..

I wasn't sure what to expect when I requested this book to review, but it certainly blew my preconceived notions out of the water. Having been a college student in 2011 and having the presence of the Occupy movement on my campus, as well having been a student of the Fine Arts, I really identified and remembered a lot of what was described in the narrative of the book. It's such a sentimental and nostalgic moment in time for me that I couldn't resist requesting this one. I also always gravitate towards any book with an academic setting and this one did not disappoint.

That being said, I found the plot a little lackluster and had a difficult time finding anything redeeming about the characters. I wanted the plot to be more dynamic, and perhaps that's the point - that life is typically mundane - but I didn't feel like anything truly meaningful happened. It was well-paced so I did find myself flipping the pages quickly, searching for the big moment I was expecting, and nothing ever happened. Overall, I did enjoy this book, but was just hoping for something more;

Oh my god. Beautiful.
This book... it sucked me in. I became so obsessed with these characters. The beautiful quotes. The art world, which I knew nothing about. It was an all-consuming, satisfying delight. Would recommend to anyone who loves beautiful words and interpersonal drama and new thoughts.
Thank you NetGalley & publisher for the free review eARC!

I fully picked this one up because of the title and cover. It ultimately wasn't the right book for my mood, but would do well in a system with a strong readership

Love love love loveeeee. A perfect lit fit coming of age story with my favorite cover of the year. Thank you Random House and Ballantine for the ARC for my honest review.

After all these months without picking up a book, THIS, is what I needed.

4 different povs where we follow these artists and their path to figuring out their roles in life and the power art has over them.
I was very worried about how much art related things we would get since I know nothing about it, but that didn't matter at all, i actually appreciated every comment and detail the author made about painting. At first it was hard to keep up with Richard, a teacher that's known for his "political art" and Preston, a guy that struggles to fit his art with his political ideas, mainly because I was just enamored with Karina and Louise, two artists that start being roomates in art school. But, actually, the author did a really good job to keeps us (sapphics) interested in their storyline with these recurrent and effective "small plots" and character developments.

Overall, this felt familiar some way, I loved knowing I had time to read this book and I enjoyed every hour of it. Even if this is a slow paced 368 pages literary fiction (something not that common) it didn't felt that long, and like I said, the reading experience felt kind of comforting.

enjoyed this book. The first thing I liked about it was the title, Sirens and Muses. It says so much. The story is about four art students and their relationships. Some I would say are Muses calling the artist to follow their passion. Then others are Sirens drawing calling the artist away from their passion through lust. Another thing I really liked is how the author uses art history within the novel. My favorite character is Louisa, an artist from the bayous of LA, and my least favorite is the poor little rich girl Karina. However, they are both talented artists. Check it out for an entertaining read!

Overall "Sirens & Muses" was a decent book. For much of the story, two of the main characters -- Robert and Preston -- are pretty unlikeable. All four major characters are also very passive-aggressive in their interaction styles. However, I really enjoyed the redemptive arc for Robert and the reflections on how his art career got started and how it veered off the intended path. I also liked the personal growth and increased confidence that Louisa displayed, as well as the interactions between Karina and Louisa, especially once they re-unite in New York. The story is set in 2011 and incorporates the Occupy Wall Street movement and the characters reactions to it and the issues it raises. That made for interesting reading, as a decade has passed since it happened, and therefore the reader knows how "reality" compares to the characters expectations/hopes.

I received a copy of the e-book via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

Antonia Angress' writing was a marvel to behold. Every sentence captivated me and pulled me further into the story that was unfolding. I had been excited to delve into Sirens & Muses since the first time I saw the stunning cover. The novel was beautiful, thrilling, and devastating all at once. As soon as I got into the thick of things, I couldn't put this book down—it's the type of novel that makes you hungry for more the more you read.

As someone who's been a fan of academic narratives for the better part of a decade, I loved being able to get lost in the world that Angress created. A delight to read and a sorrow to finish because I didn't want to part ways with the characters or the tale being told.