3.75 stars.
This is, at its heart, a story about sapphic love, what defines familial bonds, and finding your way in the world.
The romance and characterization was definitely my favorite part of the novel. Our two main characters were so well developed and their relationship was absolutely stunning. The protagonist, Xiang, lives a sheltered life and over the course of the novel we see her learn how to define herself and break free from the expectations of other. She is a very raw and vulnerable character and her growth is so rewarding. She also adores poetry, and her love of poetry ends up being an important part of the story (a fact that my poetry-loving self greatly appreciated). Anh is a very different sort of character. All hard-edges and practically, the contrast between her and Xiang is interesting to see.
Anh and Xiang's relationship is a slowish burn, but the tension is their from the beginning. I practically screamed with joy when they finally kissed. I've read a few queer books recently that felt like queer books written by and for straight people and this was such a welcome change from that. This is a beautiful queer book, very obviously written by a queer person for queer people. Xiang's longing for Anh and her slow acceptance of her identity as a queer woman was so well written and felt so familiar to me. I can't get over how gorgeously, emphatically queer this story is.
This book did feel initially slow, and took me a while to get into, but once Anh shows up things do start to speed up. There were some more slow parts in the middle but that ending made it mostly worth it. Not to mention the plot twist... The last 50 or so pages were such a roller-coaster. Unfortunately I didn't care hugely about the plot until the very end, but Xiang and Anh and their relationship were enthralling enough to keep me reading
The pirate found-family dynamic was very fun, though I do wish we could've gotten to know everyone aboard the crew a little better. I think the novel does a very good job exploring the difference between blood family and chosen family, and what it means to choose your family for yourself. After reading this I definitely wanna hop aboard Captain Hoa's ship and join Xiang, Anh, and the rest of the crew.
This book has fueled my new-found obsession with sapphic pirates and I might have to go rewatch Pirates of the Carribean just for Keira Knightley and pretend Elizabeth Swann is a lesbian.
This is, at its heart, a story about sapphic love, what defines familial bonds, and finding your way in the world.
The romance and characterization was definitely my favorite part of the novel. Our two main characters were so well developed and their relationship was absolutely stunning. The protagonist, Xiang, lives a sheltered life and over the course of the novel we see her learn how to define herself and break free from the expectations of other. She is a very raw and vulnerable character and her growth is so rewarding. She also adores poetry, and her love of poetry ends up being an important part of the story (a fact that my poetry-loving self greatly appreciated). Anh is a very different sort of character. All hard-edges and practically, the contrast between her and Xiang is interesting to see.
Anh and Xiang's relationship is a slowish burn, but the tension is their from the beginning. I practically screamed with joy when they finally kissed. I've read a few queer books recently that felt like queer books written by and for straight people and this was such a welcome change from that. This is a beautiful queer book, very obviously written by a queer person for queer people. Xiang's longing for Anh and her slow acceptance of her identity as a queer woman was so well written and felt so familiar to me. I can't get over how gorgeously, emphatically queer this story is.
This book did feel initially slow, and took me a while to get into, but once Anh shows up things do start to speed up. There were some more slow parts in the middle but that ending made it mostly worth it. Not to mention the plot twist... The last 50 or so pages were such a roller-coaster. Unfortunately I didn't care hugely about the plot until the very end, but Xiang and Anh and their relationship were enthralling enough to keep me reading
The pirate found-family dynamic was very fun, though I do wish we could've gotten to know everyone aboard the crew a little better. I think the novel does a very good job exploring the difference between blood family and chosen family, and what it means to choose your family for yourself. After reading this I definitely wanna hop aboard Captain Hoa's ship and join Xiang, Anh, and the rest of the crew.
This book has fueled my new-found obsession with sapphic pirates and I might have to go rewatch Pirates of the Carribean just for Keira Knightley and pretend Elizabeth Swann is a lesbian.