Welcome to Litsy!

Couldn‘t put it down! Kate Quinn is the master of fast-paced historical fiction with badass women, and this co-authored book with Janie Chang is no exception!!

Loved this collaboration by these two historical fiction writers. An opera singer, an artist, a botanist and a talented embroider become friends in San Francisco right before the 1906 earthquake. They fight against a cunning mean man that fools everyone. I like that good men were also portrayed. Good history of the first Chinatown that was in San Fran. 🫨🫨🫨🫨

Kate Quinn is an auto buy for me. But I had never heard of Jamie Chang before, so I was a little worried. They flowed really well together though. Great character development and wonderful story building. Not as good as Kate Quinn alone. But still 4 ⭐️.

🩷 Theo, Pauline & The Pagode from The Porcelain Moon make a cameo in The Phoenix Crown!!! 🩷

The backdrop is the 1906 earthquake and flames of San Francisco. Two women, wronged by the same villain, follow him, Henry Thornton, to France. Wanting to retrieve a valuable relic (and restore personal justice) they show up at a Paris costume ball to do just that.
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Wow! This book was slow going in the beginning chapters but really picked up once the earthquake hit.

I had high expectations for this one because I have loved all of Kate Quinn‘s feminist historical fiction. The setting around the San Francisco earthquake was so intriguing to me, but unfortunately this one fell flat in execution. The romantic subplots didn‘t work for me at all, so it was hard to feel invested in the way they tied into the broader plot. On audio, I felt like the book went on ~2 hours too long. Listened using my Spotify account!

I‘m not really drawn to Quinn but really like Chang, so I wanted to give this a try and am glad I did. It follows soprano Gemma as she arrives in San Francisco in 1906 about 2 weeks before the earthquake strikes and meets Suling, with whom she shares a mutual friend. Overall, I liked the story and characters and thought the authors worked well together, but found a couple of the time jumps abrupt and briefly confusing.

Sometimes it‘s not a good idea to read a story similar to one you read that resonated with you. Last year I read Outrun the Moon by Stacey Lee with the Sunday Buddy Read gang and I really liked it and I thought about it A LOT while reading this - I probably need the SBR group to help me process the whys re: this just falling flat for me🤷🏻‍♀️ maybe it‘s scope was too broad. I had to remind myself to read it

Friday night and the first time in forever when I feel well enough for a glass of wine. What a fun life I lead!!! 😆🤦🏻‍♀️

Tightly plotted and immersive. I loved how Gemma and Suling's worlds united to make them become friends and take down a shady tycoon. Add in George, Reggie, and Alice, and I simply wanted to be the newest member of the gang! #historicalfiction

Slow to start but the last 2/3 flew by. Only wish there was a bit more build up at the costume party towards the end. Love that many of the characters were based on or inspired by powerful and unique women in history.

I love historical fiction that tells womens' stories. And though I do read a lot of stories about wars, I love it when I find one that centers around other events. I learned a lot about San Francisco earthquake and fires and enjoyed all four of the womens' stories. The two authors co-wrote a very enjoyable book that was seamless to read.

What a treat to attend an authors talk today ❤️❤️❤️ being semi retired has its perks on all the levels

Themes: 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, Chinese immigrants in early 20th century America, Friendships

I had zero knowledge of the historic 1906 earthquake that devastated San Francisco before reading this book. After finishing it, I can say I learned A LOT! Wow! I confidently recommend this to any historical fiction fans, Quinn & Chang do a fabulous job writing together. And the ‘Authors Note‘ at the end? Do not skip it! 5/5 stars for this read👍

I was intrigued by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire setting, and I liked the background stories of each of the women. This is a pick with a but - where I'm the problem… This historical setting is necessary for the story of these fictional characters. I guess I wanted was more the opposite where characters are created to tell the fascinating history of the 1900 SF aughts. Does that make sense - more H, less F?

This was an interesting one because early on, I felt like I could really tell when Quinn was writing and when Chang was writing but either I got so sucked into the story that I couldn't tell anymore or the meshing of their styles improved. Either way, I loved getting a more thriller-like story from Chang and a more character-driven story from Quinn. I hope they collaborate again!!

Surprising.

Oh shit.

Well, I guess this is what happens when you have 35 books on hold. And only one is renewable!!!

For me Kate Quinn and Kristin Hannah and Kate Morton are auto buy for me. I just like their style of writing.

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