This historical fiction retelling certainly delivered! Usually historical fiction isn't my favorite genre, but I definitely enjoyed this one!
I love that this book has Asian (both Chinese and Vietnamese) representation and sapphic representation. I truly hope that readers that identify with those aspects of the characters find joy in reading this story.
The plot was enjoyable overall, and did a good job of weaving in historical elements. The pirates and the "Dragon Fleet" were both interesting to learn about. I thought the pacing could have been sped up a bit; it was slow in parts, particularly in the first third of the book. It was somewhat slow in the second third of the book as well, but I could look past that (since I enjoyed learning more about all of the characters making up the story's Found Family).
Both Xiang and Anh were wonderful characters to follow. I liked how they were different yet complemented each other nicely.
Thank you BookishFirst and Macmillan for giving me the chance to read this!
I love that this book has Asian (both Chinese and Vietnamese) representation and sapphic representation. I truly hope that readers that identify with those aspects of the characters find joy in reading this story.
The plot was enjoyable overall, and did a good job of weaving in historical elements. The pirates and the "Dragon Fleet" were both interesting to learn about. I thought the pacing could have been sped up a bit; it was slow in parts, particularly in the first third of the book. It was somewhat slow in the second third of the book as well, but I could look past that (since I enjoyed learning more about all of the characters making up the story's Found Family).
Both Xiang and Anh were wonderful characters to follow. I liked how they were different yet complemented each other nicely.
Thank you BookishFirst and Macmillan for giving me the chance to read this!