Sirens & Muses is a complex look into the art world, its politics, and its relationships. Beginning at a prestigious art school, the book follows a host of characters each with their own art, temperament, and personal issues. Angress's writing throughout is both clear and artistic and keeps readers engaged in the story as it rises and falls. Some aspects seemed slightly stereotypical of the artist's novel structure, but I appreciated most of the main characters and the queer representation throughout.

What a debut - I loved this book! Kind of a campus novel, but mostly about the effects of power and privilege in the art world - the power of rivalry, the power of commercialism, the power struggle between the artist and their art. Having received a BFA and MFA, both from elite art colleges, I felt like I was reading about people that I’ve actually known. And the authors descriptions of the art - simply beautiful. I absolutely devoured this book.

Sirens & Muses is the Secret History but with art majors and sapphics. The book follows four flawed characters as they transition from academia to the real world, being artists in NYC. The writing style is beautiful. The descriptions of the art work paint a picture in my head. The only thing I did not enjoy was the crypto talk, but it really goes with his character.
Thank you netgalley and Angress for the arc!!

I'm a firm believer that most books don't have to have over 300 pages—once again, I was proved correct. Sirens & Muses isn't a bad book per se, but it does have the same quality of an old post-it, by which I mean it will stick to you for a few moments, but it also will, inevitably, fall off. While Angress introduced a few conversations I found interesting—Preston's character in particular, while insufferable, was the most complex and worthwhile in my opinion—her debut wasn't as engrossing as it promised to be. Robert's storyline(s) especially bothered me, Louisa made no impression, and Karina I liked but eventually found myself disliking once I realized just how basic of a character she was, with her white-pretty-girl-prodigy archetype that I tend to dislike. Also, the synopsis feels a bit like a lie, promising this interwoven narrative, when really it was just Preston Karina and Louisa stuck in a dull love triangle and Robert floating around aimlessly for most of the novel.

Ms. Angress focuses on 4 characters in an elite art school setting. While I very much enjoyed the art discussions, I wasn't all that enamored with the characters.

Set in 2011, this wondrous novel explores the lives of four artists. You will meet Louisa; the very thoughtful and shy Louisiana transplant, Karina;, the prodigy artist who is wealthy beyond imagination, Preston; the richest anti-capitalist you have ever met and professor Robert Berger ; a controversial (by chance) artist who is trying to find his way to relevance again.

All four are ensconced at Wrynn College of Art, a small little bubble of artistic heaven that insulates them from the economic slump and cultural movements such as Occupy Wall Street. The students and professor explore their sexuality, their artistic abilities and their anxiety for their futures. In all honesty, not much happens overall! But the writing is beautiful and you are certain to remember your own college days as theses student live their best college lives. I truly enjoyed it. If you are a frustrated artist, remember college fondly, would like to look back a decade then #Sirens&Muses if for you! #netgalley #netgalleyreads #RandomHouse #Ballantine

Set half on the campus of an elite art school and half in NYC during the recession and Occupy Wall Street movement, Sirens and Muses tells the story of 4 artists navigating the complexities of the art world. Louisa is a scholarship student trying to find her place within this foreign world of privilege. She unexpectedly finds herself attracted to her roommate, Karina, who was born to art-collector parents and struggles with mental health. Karina is drawn to Louisa but is also attracted to Preston, the charismatic and anti-capitalist senior who’s eager to stir trouble with visiting Professor Berger—political painter trying to stay relevant in a changing art climate.

The novel explores the interweaving relationships between the characters and the role that power, desire, rivalry, politics, commercialism, and art itself plays in their lives. Angress paints a vivid image of her settings (campus, NYC, the swamps of south Louisiana), her characters, and the art they create. Reading this novel felt like witnessing the unveiling of a subculture I never realized existed but find myself enraptured by. Non-artist readers will find themselves viewing visual art differently after Angress teaches them how. Her writing is mesmerizing and intelligent, and her characters are compelling even when they aren’t likable.

This is a remarkable debut that readers will remember for a long time. I can’t wait to see where Angress takes us next.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for the E-book ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The prose was great, and the four central characters connection to each other, their rivalry, was well-written. Although, I think those that would really appreciate this are the readers who are immersed in the art world; I am not one of them. The absence of plot slowed me down. I need to let this sit and collect my thoughts a bit so full review to come!

Sirens & Muses is a coming into oneself story that focuses on four individuals, their connections, and how they all grow, both through their art and as people. The writing is lovely and descriptive. Sirens & Muses would be a great read for someone who knows/is interested in the art world, as the author’s note in the back mentioned that although the characters are fictional, much of the art was based on real works.

The focus, for me, was Louisa and Karina’s story. I wasn’t as interested in Robert’s story and definitely not into Preston’s. It was interesting to see all their different connections to one another and to supporting characters in the story to see how they all intertwined and it came together.

This wasn’t my normal cup of tea, but it had aspects that I found interesting and it was well-written. A bit of a slow start, though, so a 3.5/5 for me.

Four artists are drawn into a web of rivalry and desire at an elite art school and on the streets of New York in this magnificent debut for fans of Writers & Lovers and The Goldfinch. This books is perfect for people who like literary reads with cerebral dialogue and prose that feels high brow.

I received an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review

I liked this book, but it couldn’t decide whether it wanted to be about Capital A Art or Society. Not saying it couldn’t have been about both, it just didn’t seem like a very clear narrative path. 3.5 rounded up

Sirens and Muses is a book that feels like a bubble at the bottom of a fizzy drink that never quite gets to the top and pops. The story feels as though it is welling up to explode at some grand point, yet it never does. I am a fan of books where the plot takes a back seat and serves as a character study, but Sirens and Muses just misses the mark. Perhaps this is the fault of the description, but touting Preston’s “prank” as a big part of the novel seems like the literary equivalent of catfishing. No spoilers, but this part of the novel is not that explosive and seems to end just as quickly as it begins. The story is more about the complexities of the art world and the privilege that surrounds it. I can see fans of My Year of Rest and Relaxation really gravitating towards Angress’s writing. The characters are all facing political and economic turmoil, but that takes the back seat since they fail to see it as a real issue. The characters are apathetic at best towards the crash and Occupy movement using it to their advantage. These are not good people, but that is what makes them so fascinating. All in all, this book is not amazing, but it’s also not bad, a good effort for a debut. Can’t wait to see what Angress does next.

The story of four art students at an elite school have simmering rivalries and sexual rivalries. Well written but a bit meandering not sure what it leads up to.

☆ — 2.5 stars.

rtc to come.

edit, jan. 27: ty to netgalley for a free arc in exchange for an honest review!

this book had so much potential but simply didn't deliver.

the main issue with this book was the absence of plot to the point where there were several things happening to make it seem busy but in all honestly, this was just a musing on creatives and how they interact with each other. the language of the novel is beautiful and the writing is poignant and stirring at times, but the characters had a tendency to come off as 3d and a bit insufferable.

the atmosphere is written to be properly pretentious but almost to a fault. it made me as a reader disengage and feel detached from the experience of reading this book. i really wish it was better and that we had expanded more on some of the important social aspects discussed throughout the whole of the book rather than just trying to unpack them in the literal last 15 percent of the novel.

i hope other people enjoy this but it just wasn't for me.

Sirens and Muses was such a lovely read. From the characters to the setting to the paintings described. It was like reading art. The way the author describes the paintings mentioned throughout the book makes you able to picture it all perfectly. I know what the bird woman paintings look like exactly and I've never even seen them. She's that good at writing.

Then there is the actual story. The book follows the ups and downs of three art school students and one professor. They are all connected perfectly in different ways. It was hard to read through the tears on the last few pages but the book closed in such a great way. I felt the closure I needed for all 4 of the characters.
This is such an achievement of a debut novel. I cannot wait to read more from Antonia Angress. She's an author I'll follow for life.

It was also a wonderful portrayal of bi-sexuality with Louisa and Karina and I really appreciated and loved that.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

A beautiful debut novel that immediately had me engaged.

Amazing and beautifully written, this novel is a thoughtful page turner for anyone who loves The Secret History and Writers and Lovers. I couldn’t stop reading it and will eagerly look for more fiction from Antonia Angress.

SIRENS AND MUSES is an absolutely spectacular debut for Antonia Angress. I will read every word she writes from now on. The novel follows three students and a professor at a prestigious art school. The roommates, Karina and Louisa are dorm roommates. Karina comes from great wealth and Louisa is a scholarship student. As they get to know each other, the situation becomes complicated, especially when Karin starts dating bad boy Preston Utley. Utley likes challenging the art world and he is especially disdainful of his professor, Robert Belger. Belger enjoyed early fame as a political artist but his fame has waned and he feels uninspired and disheartened. The interaction between the characters seems genuine and I really grew to care about them. But the writing really makes this novel special. Just Angress's descriptions of Louisa's work got my own creative juices flowing - and I am NOT an artist. In the past couple of years I read two other novels about artists and I really enjoyed them both, but neither was quite as satisfying as SIRENS AND MUSES. It is such a beautiful read and the story stuck with me long after I finished it.

Thank you, Ballantine Books, for allowing me to read Sirens & Muses early!

I went into Sirens & Muses rather impulsively as I only briefly saw the synopsis and totally forgot everything about what the book was about the following moment. My recklessness paid off big time though as this extraordinary queer debut captivated me with its prose and satisfied me with its essence. I loved every single second of this masterful depiction of the numerous facets of privilege and the intrigue of Ney York's art scene. What particularly dazzled me though, was the brilliant portrayal of bisexuality in the text.