talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Gun violence, Death, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Abandonment, Child abuse, and Kidnapping
Minor: Lesbophobia, Drug use, War, Misogyny, Sexism, Homophobia, Sexual harassment, Animal death, and Alcohol
imaginingly's review
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
a beautiful book touching on lgbtqia+ acceptance and found family
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Grief, Alcohol, Gun violence, Death of parent, and Blood
plumpaperbacks's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
A thrilling tale of pirates, found family and first love that I can't recommend enough. I tend to enjoy most historical fantasy novels purely because I love the genre, but my favorites are always the ones that tell history's lesser-known stories. With this book, C.B. Lee did exactly that, and it was fantastic.
And oh my god, these two baby lesbians are absolutely adorable. They are now my daughters, I have taken them under my lesbian wing and will protect them at all costs.
Representation:
Representation:
- sapphic Chinese protagonist
- sapphic Vietnamese love interest
- full Asian cast (includes Chinese, Vietnamese, Nepalese, Korean, Thai & Arabic rep)
- sapphic main couple
- achillean side couple
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: Homophobia
Contains three instances of parent death—one prior to the story but mentioned throughout, two on-page. Also contains discussions of homophobia in a historical context.beholderess's review
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent and Death
Minor: Homophobia
abigail_reads06's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Abandonment, and Murder
Moderate: Emotional abuse
antonique_reads's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Death
Moderate: Drug use
booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Xiang feels ignored by her mother, treated as a thing to be kept safe rather than a person who can want things and pursue them competently. She's been surrounded by people paid to teach her and keep her safe, part of a village where she's free to roam to hills and read, but is kept away from anything more adventurous. Her prized possession is a pendant from her presumed-dead father. When her mother agrees to let her try to learn one aspect of the business, it appears as though her mother might finally take her seriously. Instead her mother keeps trying to arrange a marriage for Xiang, a prospect which feels stifling. She meets Anh, a sailor, and feels close to her almost immediately, but takes longer to realize just how different their perspectives are, due to their vastly different life experiences. When she runs away and joins Anh's crew she finds a place where she is valued for what she does and for how she fits into a larger whole.
The worldbuilding leans into a heady mix of clothing, food, and legends of the Dragon Queen's exploits from decades ago. Once she's on the ship, Xiang works to learn as much as she can and revels in the feeling of getting stronger from daily work. There's an emphasis on found family, and in untangling the difference between where you come from and where you feel at home.
I enjoyed this both on its own and as a retelling of Treasure Island. You don't need to be familiar with the original, as this takes the bones of that other story and clads them in something wonderful and new. The ending is tense and dramatic, I like how it wraps things up.
The worldbuilding leans into a heady mix of clothing, food, and legends of the Dragon Queen's exploits from decades ago. Once she's on the ship, Xiang works to learn as much as she can and revels in the feeling of getting stronger from daily work. There's an emphasis on found family, and in untangling the difference between where you come from and where you feel at home.
I enjoyed this both on its own and as a retelling of Treasure Island. You don't need to be familiar with the original, as this takes the bones of that other story and clads them in something wonderful and new. The ending is tense and dramatic, I like how it wraps things up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Gun violence, and Death
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual content, Lesbophobia, Drug use, and Child abuse
shaipanda's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
This was really well done!! I’ve never read Treasure Island so idk how much of the main plot elements stayed the same and how much was changed but I really enjoyed the story and the relationships between the charactersss
I did feel like it was a bit rushed at times and it was a lot of story to fit into one book but overall I really liked it :)
Edit: had to dock it a bit from 4.75 to 4.25 cause I remember very little lol but I did really enjoy it and I remember liking the characters a lot
I did feel like it was a bit rushed at times and it was a lot of story to fit into one book but overall I really liked it :)
Edit: had to dock it a bit from 4.75 to 4.25 cause I remember very little lol but I did really enjoy it and I remember liking the characters a lot
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, Death, Murder, and Abandonment
Moderate: Blood and Homophobia
fayesreads_'s review
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I love this so much!!!!! A sapphic Chinese retelling of Treasure Island & it absolutely hits!!! I usually struggle with historical books, but this was everything & I adored it!!!
-The slow burn romance ❤️🤌
- Xiang realizing & accepting her sexuality & the acceptance of the found family of pirates around her 🥲
- the mommy issues were wildly relatable
- the historical context was so interesting & I loved the authors note, language notes, historical notes, & recommended reading all listed in the back!! The author put so much effort into this book & it shows!
-The slow burn romance ❤️🤌
- Xiang realizing & accepting her sexuality & the acceptance of the found family of pirates around her 🥲
- the mommy issues were wildly relatable
- the historical context was so interesting & I loved the authors note, language notes, historical notes, & recommended reading all listed in the back!! The author put so much effort into this book & it shows!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Sexism, Violence, Alcohol, Abandonment, Murder, Blood, Death, and Misogyny
mandkips's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Homophobia, and Blood
Minor: Sexism, Misogyny, and Sexual assault