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The Jade Lily
The Jade Lily | Kirsty Manning
21 posts | 22 read | 28 to read
Praise for The Midsummer Garden 'This is a rich, sensual, and evocative novel, fragrant with the smell of crushed herbs and flowers, and haunted by the high cost that women must sometimes pay to find both love and their vocation.' Kate Forsyth '...compelling, passionate and admirable.' Australian Women's Weekly In 2016, fleeing London with a broken heart, Alexandra returns to Australia to be with her grandparents, Romy and Wilhelm, when her grandfather is dying. With only weeks left together, her grandparents begin to reveal the family mysteries they have kept secret for more than half a century. In 1939, two young girls meet in Shanghai, the 'Paris of the East': beautiful local Li and Viennese refugee Romy form a fierce friendship. But the deepening shadows of World War Two fall over the women as Li and Romy slip between the city's glamorous French Concession and the desperate Shanghai Ghetto. Eventually, they are forced separate ways as Romy doubts Li's loyalties. After Wilhelm dies, Alexandra flies to Shanghai, determined to trace her grandparents' past. As she peels back the layers of their hidden lives, she begins to question everything she knows about her family - and herself. A gorgeously told tale of female friendship, the price of love, and the power of hardship and courage to shape us all.
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WriterAtHeart
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Bailedbailed

I wanted to like this book, but the writing is just bad.

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Jolynne
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Pickpick

I do like historical fiction. This, as in most WWII novels deals with hardships, resilience, heartbreak, love, and friendship. Shanghai was a different setting.

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Nitpickyabouttrains
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Pickpick

A Jewish refugee in Shanghai during wwii. An interesting look at a part of the war that is not usually focused on. Plus the normal historical fiction sort of drama.

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umbrellagirl
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🧳 🕰 Time travel
🐟Pisces
🏃🏻‍♀️👍🏻📚Running a 5K, then some volunteering. Hopefully some reading in there too. Need to start my #lmpbc #groupN selection for this month.
💙💙💙
#friyayintro

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umbrellagirl
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Accompanied by crickets

AmyG Ooo I have this on my tbr pile. Enjoy reading it. 5y
umbrellagirl @AmyG I‘m just starting out but it‘s good so far. 5y
KarouBlue I loooooved this book so much! It was all the food references! Just waiting to feed me! (edited) 5y
umbrellagirl @MellieAntoinette Yes! It‘s making me excited for my visit to China in November. 5y
49 likes1 stack add4 comments
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DebinHawaii
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#JuneStats #JuneWrapUp
It's been ages since I did a monthly recap of my reading but June was a good month even with a very busy work schedule.

I signed up for the library summer reading program so I logged my hours on Beanstack & read 44 hours, 14 minutes in June & finished 10 books! 🎉8 print/2 audio, one so-so & the rest 4⭐️picks of mostly lighter fiction for summer.

I also read 44% of East of Eden for the #EoE #buddyread with @Cinfhen 🤓🤗

DebinHawaii The tagged book and the one tagged below were my favorites for the month & Emma Ever After was my least favorite. (edited) 5y
Crazeedi I have tagged book on hold! 5y
StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego Looks like a great month! 💖📖💖 5y
71 likes3 comments
review
DebinHawaii
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Pickpick

I read a lot of WWII books but I'd not read one set in Shanghai. Told from the perspective of a Romy, a young Jewish girl/woman fleeing with her parents from Vienna. (Shanghai accepted over 20,000 refugees during the war.) Present-day Shanghai comes into play when Romy's granddaughter Alexandra takes a job there & looks for information about her adopted mother's family. Full of heartbreak & strength, I had a difficult time putting it down...

DebinHawaii ...The Tea-Soaked Eggs were a favorite of Romy's. I followed the recipe in the book with spices like star anise & cardamom & I used smoky Lapsang Souchong tea. Link to full review & recipe: http://kahakaikitchen.blogspot.com/2019/06/the-book-tour-stops-here-review-of-so... 5y
tournevis I learned that recipe years ago and made it a few times. I can't consume tea anymore, but I loved the taste of those eggs then! 5y
Soubhiville Oooo, I want to try that recipe! Sounds yummy! 5y
KarouBlue Looooved this book!!! 5y
84 likes6 stack adds4 comments
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DebinHawaii
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My Saturday night's popcorn, Lifetime movie: Pride & Prejudice: Atlanta & some chapters of this WWII historical novel set in Shanghai during the war and in 2016 when a young woman tries to discover her family's hidden history. I'm only about 80 pages in, but so far I am finding it interesting & engrossing.
🎬🍿📚

Cinfhen Looks like a perfect evening 5y
AmyG I have this book...my mother-in-law lived in Shamgjai when her family escaped Germany- so I am glad to hear this is good (so far). 5y
84 likes2 comments
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BookCottageBlog
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Pickpick

Wish I could give this better than just a “pick“ emoji. I want to be able to choose a “go run right out and get this book“ emoji! This book made my heart break. The story is gorgeous, and painful, and it felt so real. It's about friendship and love, and fighting for all that you love - and living through things that can either make you or break you. I could not put it down, and it definitely got me out of my book slump!

15 likes1 stack add
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SilversReviews
The Jade Lily | Kirsty Manning
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You won‘t want to miss reading THE SONG OF THE JADE LILY.

The cover and the title pull you in immediately, and the story line is heartbreaking, heartwarming, mesmerizing, and educational.

FULL REVIEW HERE:

https://tinyurl.com/y43sm6ax

@WilliamMorrowBooks

Crazeedi Looks really good! 5y
SilversReviews @Crazeedi If you enjoy historical fiction, you will LOVE the book. Thanks for commenting. 5y
k.reads.5 Great review! I love cultural historical fiction and haven't read about wartime Shanghai before. 5y
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SilversReviews @pl.2886 Thanks about my review. 😊 I hadn‘t read about wartime Shanghai either. Love historical fiction and always learn something new. ENJOY if you read the book...it was excellent all around. 5y
tammysue Terrific review! It sounds really good, stacking! 5y
SilversReviews @whatshesreadingnow Thank you about my review. ♥️ It was very good...ENJOY!! 5y
52 likes2 stack adds6 comments
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ReadingisMyPassion
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Pickpick

Pure perfection! Read my full review at https://www.facebook.com/groups/ReadingisMyPassion

8 likes1 stack add
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KatieDid927
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Mehso-so

This book reminded me why I can be picky about historical fiction. The story of Jewish refugees in Shanghai during WWII was new to me, but ultimately I would have preferred a non-fiction book. This story felt exploitative. The plot twists were manipulative and disappointing, the violence was excessive bordering on pornographic even given the time period and it‘s 100 pages too long with too much description that didn‘t move the story forward. #ARC

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SilversReviews
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If this book isn‘t in your list of books to read this spring, it needs to be.

THE SONG OF THE JADE LILY is a beautiful, intriguing, historical fiction read with its focus on Shanghai during WWII and Alexandra and Romy‘s family that has a secret kept for many years.

@HarperCollins

AmyG I can‘t wait to read this. My mother-in-law lived in Shanghai. Her family left Germany and that was the only country they could get into. 5y
SilversReviews @AmyG You will love this book then, and yes...that is what it says in the book. Shanghai was the only country that didn‘t require a visa and that they could get into. ENJOY, ENJOY, ENJOY!! 😊 Thanks for commenting. 5y
64 likes3 stack adds2 comments
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KatieDid927
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1) A tie between Disney World and New Orleans, although I don‘t visit either in the summer because it‘s way too hot! 🥵
2) Ice cream and popsicles🍦
3) The 3 Bs: beach, baseball and bbq 🏖⚾️🌭
4) Iced tea and ice cold beer 🍺
5) My customized Poolside Bags straw tote with embroidered Vonnegut quote, “So it goes”
6) The beach, or anywhere with AC 😅

#SummerSantaSurvey @hermyknee

Sharpeipup Any particular flavor or brand of ice cream/popsicle? 5y
KatieDid927 @Sharpeipup I‘m partial to Ben & Jerry‘s and Edy‘s Outshine popsicles but I‘m not too picky! In New York the summer is all about Mister Softee, I also like Big Gay Ice Cream and Milkbar in the city. 5y
Sharpeipup That question came up in a recent job interview, can you believe it? After visiting Ben & Jerry‘s headquarters and tasting ice cream fresh off the line, I don‘t want it any other way...(sigh) 5y
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Sharpeipup On my next trip to NYC, I hope to visit Big Gay, Milkbar, and Ample Hills. 5y
KatieDid927 @Sharpeipup Yesss do it. I actually haven‘t had Ample Hills here, but I have had it at Disney World. Very silly. They did open a new one in my neighborhood though so that will change! 5y
Fridameetslucy @Sharpeipup big gay is fun but so is softswerve. If you are in East village at big gay the actor Alan Cummings has a fun drag bar on 6th st. 5y
Fridameetslucy Nola - my happy place too! 5y
21 likes7 comments
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LeafingThroughLife
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Got some pretty bookmail while I was gone. This is historical fiction set in Shanghai during World War II which sounds like a interesting twist on fiction set during that era. Thanks @WilliamMorrowBooks !

18 likes2 stack adds
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Joreads
The Jade Lily | Kirsty Manning
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Pickpick

This book is both a joy to read and difficult to read. It‘s been a long time since a book has moved me to tears but this book did.

rather_be_reading welcome back to litsy 📚☕📚 @LitsyWelcomeWagon 5y
Joreads Thanks so much 5y
1 like2 comments
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Psychobabble
The Jade Lily | Kirsty Manning
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So I entered for an ARC giveaway last month and I got 3 books in the mail!!! I haven't bought any physical books in the last 12 months.. coz 1. No money and 2. Lack of space
And I've never gotten/read ARC's before... 👀👀👀👀 📚 📚 📚
I've tagged one of the books. . The other two I received are: Little Gods by Jenny Ackland and Lovesome by Sally Altman
#excited #australianauthors #allenandunwin

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broughtyoubooks
The Jade Lily | Kirsty Manning
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Pickpick

(First time reading a proof.) As a work of historical fiction this would have been perfect for me, and i loved it regardless but it's not something I'd usually read. The parallel stories are still brilliant, as both grandmother and granddaughter learn life lessons in their respective times. The effects of war are also apparent, both during the midst of wartime and in later generations.

5 likes1 stack add