Thank you BookishFirst, author C.B. Lee, and her publishing company for providing a copy of A Clash of Steel - A Treasure Island Remix for me to read and review. I really enjoyed reading the book and would recommend it to anyone who likes stories with strong female characters, gay protagonists, adventure, romance, and family themes.
The story's protagonist is Xiang, a single child raised in a rural village who strives to gain her mother's attention and acknowledgment. Her mother is a very successful businesswoman and Xiang wants to run her mother's teahouse business one day. The story starts when Xiang finally gets to leave the quiet village she has spent her whole life in and visit her mother's business in the large city of Canton. There, she runs into a sailor called Anh and after spending a full day exploring the city together with her, Xiang starts to catch feelings for Anh. One thing leads to another (read the book to find out!), Xiang and Anh go on an adventure together.
I love how the relationship between Xiang and Anh starts, grows, and concludes in this story. Xiang starts off shy and awkward about her feelings, not sure if they are going to grow, if anything will become of it, and whether or not she should follow her feelings. But her heart continues to lead her towards Anh, and all her decisions are ultimately based off of her feelings, which I am glad is reciprocated by Anh. There are multiple plot twists in this story and I was very relieved that Anh's feelings for Xiang were also true and didn't end up being a plot twist. Xiang has pondered about whether or not Anh is manipulating her because of her feelings, and this inner turmoil and doubt made the relationship more realistic. I also love how there were recurring conversations about whether or not someone can survive on just love, and Anh adamantly believes that love is not the solution, and then things turn out differently :)
I also really like the family theme in this book, how a family is not just with people that share the same blood as you, but people that you choose. Sometimes, blood doesn't mean anything at all, and friends could act more like family than your actual blood relatives. I have a group of very close friends that I consider family and this book reflected that, which is really cool to read about. If any part of my review got you curious about what I was trying to allude to (I try not to write any spoilers!) then hurry and read the book!
The story's protagonist is Xiang, a single child raised in a rural village who strives to gain her mother's attention and acknowledgment. Her mother is a very successful businesswoman and Xiang wants to run her mother's teahouse business one day. The story starts when Xiang finally gets to leave the quiet village she has spent her whole life in and visit her mother's business in the large city of Canton. There, she runs into a sailor called Anh and after spending a full day exploring the city together with her, Xiang starts to catch feelings for Anh. One thing leads to another (read the book to find out!), Xiang and Anh go on an adventure together.
I love how the relationship between Xiang and Anh starts, grows, and concludes in this story. Xiang starts off shy and awkward about her feelings, not sure if they are going to grow, if anything will become of it, and whether or not she should follow her feelings. But her heart continues to lead her towards Anh, and all her decisions are ultimately based off of her feelings, which I am glad is reciprocated by Anh. There are multiple plot twists in this story and I was very relieved that Anh's feelings for Xiang were also true and didn't end up being a plot twist. Xiang has pondered about whether or not Anh is manipulating her because of her feelings, and this inner turmoil and doubt made the relationship more realistic. I also love how there were recurring conversations about whether or not someone can survive on just love, and Anh adamantly believes that love is not the solution, and then things turn out differently :)
I also really like the family theme in this book, how a family is not just with people that share the same blood as you, but people that you choose. Sometimes, blood doesn't mean anything at all, and friends could act more like family than your actual blood relatives. I have a group of very close friends that I consider family and this book reflected that, which is really cool to read about. If any part of my review got you curious about what I was trying to allude to (I try not to write any spoilers!) then hurry and read the book!