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sara11_reads's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting steampunk fantasy set in China. The beginning dragged a bit for me. I think because there's a lot of backstory and history to set up and Soling is fairly passive at this stage. She keeps getting kidnapped and taken places without any choice. It picks up around 50% and I was more interested in the plot and characters.
sherwoodreads's review
A couple of decades back, I attended a martial arts tourney for tai chi students, at which one of the judges was a woman visiting from China, her tiny daughter in tow. This was before tai chi became popular, and at least in my area (I had a thirty mile drive to the studio) it was mostly men who studied it. So after the tourney, because we were two of the few women present, I fell into conversation with the female judge. Her English was good and she seemed to be glad to describe how she'd come to the sport after she asked how I had. Her story was interesting--she had been a ballet dancer during the Cultural Revolution (she was my age, forties at the time) and then when she was deemed too old for the stage, she turned to martial arts, which she had also studied.
Among the things she told me was that women had had their own written language in the old days before Mao, and they had also had their own martial arts form, specifically used at the imperial palace to guard empresses and their families. Then she said she hoped to see more women like me studying tai chi, because she wanted to be hired to teach here, so she could live in the States. I was surprised--I asked if women didn't have a lot more freedom now. She laughed at my ignorance, but not unkindly, seeing how scrupulous the Chinese government had been about news-control for decades.
But here's the amazing thing. She said, "Women only have freedom on the surface." And as she spoke, her entire body changed, drawing in, head lowered, hands pressed together submissively. It was graceful, powerful extremely expressive body language depicting the obedient humble female, then she threw her head back and looked me in the eyes and said, "I do not want my daughter growing up like I did."
Okay, shift to the novel I'm supposed to be reviewing. I love reading English translations of Chinese novels, memoirs, etc. I especially am on the lookout for Chinese fantasy, but there is so little, and many of the ones I've found have been written by Western authors who basically put Westerners into more or less Eastern clothes and spin stories with Western attitudes, with the Chinese aspects a veneer.
So when I started reading this steampunk fantasy about a Chinese girl of 1843 who has been studying acupuncture under the local doctor, and has to try to scrape together a living for her family after the emperor had her father executed, I was sucked in because even with the steam elements, this heroine rang so true.
Soling's inward struggles--with the imperial attitudes she has been raised with, and with her feelings for the man she was once betrothed to--read as fascinating as the story about war, rebellion, industrial change, and the impact of the opium trade. The characters are complex, as is Soling's situation, and the details of daily life vividly depicted. The story accelerates to an involving climax, and a satisfying end that opens the door for more.
I'm eager for the second volume!
Among the things she told me was that women had had their own written language in the old days before Mao, and they had also had their own martial arts form, specifically used at the imperial palace to guard empresses and their families. Then she said she hoped to see more women like me studying tai chi, because she wanted to be hired to teach here, so she could live in the States. I was surprised--I asked if women didn't have a lot more freedom now. She laughed at my ignorance, but not unkindly, seeing how scrupulous the Chinese government had been about news-control for decades.
But here's the amazing thing. She said, "Women only have freedom on the surface." And as she spoke, her entire body changed, drawing in, head lowered, hands pressed together submissively. It was graceful, powerful extremely expressive body language depicting the obedient humble female, then she threw her head back and looked me in the eyes and said, "I do not want my daughter growing up like I did."
Okay, shift to the novel I'm supposed to be reviewing. I love reading English translations of Chinese novels, memoirs, etc. I especially am on the lookout for Chinese fantasy, but there is so little, and many of the ones I've found have been written by Western authors who basically put Westerners into more or less Eastern clothes and spin stories with Western attitudes, with the Chinese aspects a veneer.
So when I started reading this steampunk fantasy about a Chinese girl of 1843 who has been studying acupuncture under the local doctor, and has to try to scrape together a living for her family after the emperor had her father executed, I was sucked in because even with the steam elements, this heroine rang so true.
Soling's inward struggles--with the imperial attitudes she has been raised with, and with her feelings for the man she was once betrothed to--read as fascinating as the story about war, rebellion, industrial change, and the impact of the opium trade. The characters are complex, as is Soling's situation, and the details of daily life vividly depicted. The story accelerates to an involving climax, and a satisfying end that opens the door for more.
I'm eager for the second volume!
lacyparrish's review against another edition
4.0
Enjoyable first entry into a new adult, steampunk historical fantasy with the first fun glimmers of a romance. The technical details don't overtake the emotional story of Soling's search for redemption after her father's failure and execution by the emperor. I enjoyed meeting characters from her/her father's past in new lights and figuring out who can/should be trusted. There is a defined conclusion but the overall plot is left at a cliffhanger.
Full Rating (out of 10 possible): 7.571 (based on a modified CAWPILE system)
Romance level (out of 5 possible): 1 (for full closed-door, chaste intimacy scenes)
Full Rating (out of 10 possible): 7.571 (based on a modified CAWPILE system)
Romance level (out of 5 possible): 1 (for full closed-door, chaste intimacy scenes)
eve_ward's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 Stars
This wasn't good, nor was it bad, it just was. I had no particular feelings about this, the characters felt flat, it felt like there was no direction to the story, and it wasn't written in a way that kept me engaged. This was lacking something but I'm unsure what. I understood the premise and what it was going for, it just didn't deliver as far as I'm concerned. I shan't be carrying on with this series.
This wasn't good, nor was it bad, it just was. I had no particular feelings about this, the characters felt flat, it felt like there was no direction to the story, and it wasn't written in a way that kept me engaged. This was lacking something but I'm unsure what. I understood the premise and what it was going for, it just didn't deliver as far as I'm concerned. I shan't be carrying on with this series.
headingnorth's review
3.0
I am so conflicted. As a romance, it was disappointing in many ways and the main character was kind of flat. But I really had fun reading it as an exciting adventure in an unusual setting. My full review is here.
h4ppycupcake's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
amk13's review
Writing style just isn’t hitting right now, will try again another time.
jackiehorne's review
3.0
ARC courtesy of NetGalley
2.5 Set in mid 19th century China, with some mechanical elements that suggest a steampunk world, although the society doesn't seem impacted much by the technology. Or is it that I just don't know enough about 19th century China to see the differences between it and this purportedly steampunk world?
Jin Soling and her family were once members of aristocratic Manchurian society, but after her engineer-father is executed (taking the blame for China's defeat at the hands of the more technologically-advanced English in the first Opium War, even though he was the one who warned the emperor that their technology was lacking), they are exiled to the Han countryside. Soling supports her opium-addicted mother and her younger brother by apprenticing with a doctor. But her meager earnings are not enough to keep them afloat, and she must travel to the nearest town to sell one of the last things she's kept of her father's, an intricate metal Japanese puzzle box. No one will buy it from her, and what's worse, it attracts the attention of the authorities, who jail Soling. Turns out the authorities & the Crown Prince have been looking for her, hoping to use her as bait to reel in one of the men who once worked with her father, a man whose technological knowledge may help them stem the tide against the invading English. Unlike his father, the Crown Prince is open to exploring the possibilities of technology, and wants to gather the scattered engineers.
Soling meets briefly with another former coworker of her father's, Chen Chang-wei, a man to whom she was once betrothed, who has recovered from disgrace and now works for the Crown Prince. Then she's used for bait to capture the other engineer, Yang Hanzhu, but the plan backfires, and Soling finds herself a prisoner on Yang's boat. I was a bit confused here; was Yang Hanzhu supposed to be another potential love interest? And plot-wise, what purpose did this interlude aboard his boat serve?
The boat travels about the Pacific, with Yang apparently researching opium addiction rather than engineering. A few months later, Soling is rescued by the Crown Prince's men (and by Chang-wei's steampunk kite). The rest of the book is a road story, with the two working to make their way back to Soling's family in the midst of a rebellion. Only in this part of the book do we get any real romance; despite being understated and of the slow-burn variety (kisses only), Soling and Chang-wei's relationship does have some touching moments.
I was never really sure whose side we were supposed to be rooting for during these battles, or if the Chinese rebels were linked in any way to the invading English. All in all, far more of an adventure story than a romance, with fairly flat characters. Soling in particular seemed to exist just to get pushed around by others, with no real goal of her own throughout the book.
2.5 Set in mid 19th century China, with some mechanical elements that suggest a steampunk world, although the society doesn't seem impacted much by the technology. Or is it that I just don't know enough about 19th century China to see the differences between it and this purportedly steampunk world?
Jin Soling and her family were once members of aristocratic Manchurian society, but after her engineer-father is executed (taking the blame for China's defeat at the hands of the more technologically-advanced English in the first Opium War, even though he was the one who warned the emperor that their technology was lacking), they are exiled to the Han countryside. Soling supports her opium-addicted mother and her younger brother by apprenticing with a doctor. But her meager earnings are not enough to keep them afloat, and she must travel to the nearest town to sell one of the last things she's kept of her father's, an intricate metal Japanese puzzle box. No one will buy it from her, and what's worse, it attracts the attention of the authorities, who jail Soling. Turns out the authorities & the Crown Prince have been looking for her, hoping to use her as bait to reel in one of the men who once worked with her father, a man whose technological knowledge may help them stem the tide against the invading English. Unlike his father, the Crown Prince is open to exploring the possibilities of technology, and wants to gather the scattered engineers.
Soling meets briefly with another former coworker of her father's, Chen Chang-wei, a man to whom she was once betrothed, who has recovered from disgrace and now works for the Crown Prince. Then she's used for bait to capture the other engineer, Yang Hanzhu, but the plan backfires, and Soling finds herself a prisoner on Yang's boat. I was a bit confused here; was Yang Hanzhu supposed to be another potential love interest? And plot-wise, what purpose did this interlude aboard his boat serve?
The boat travels about the Pacific, with Yang apparently researching opium addiction rather than engineering. A few months later, Soling is rescued by the Crown Prince's men (and by Chang-wei's steampunk kite). The rest of the book is a road story, with the two working to make their way back to Soling's family in the midst of a rebellion. Only in this part of the book do we get any real romance; despite being understated and of the slow-burn variety (kisses only), Soling and Chang-wei's relationship does have some touching moments.
I was never really sure whose side we were supposed to be rooting for during these battles, or if the Chinese rebels were linked in any way to the invading English. All in all, far more of an adventure story than a romance, with fairly flat characters. Soling in particular seemed to exist just to get pushed around by others, with no real goal of her own throughout the book.
tinynavajo's review
4.0
Good steampunk
I enjoyed this new form of steampunk, set in China rather than in England. And I like that gunpowder was so prominently displayed, it making sense as it was such a big part of what was happening with China in the time period it’s set.
I enjoyed this new form of steampunk, set in China rather than in England. And I like that gunpowder was so prominently displayed, it making sense as it was such a big part of what was happening with China in the time period it’s set.
spicedragon's review against another edition
3.0
3/5
Honestly, Jeannie Lin knows how to write that's for sure! Very interesting concept, but something about the characters and the way they were written made me feel very disconnected from them idky... doubt I'll be continuing this series going forwards bc I'm not really invested in the conflict presented, also the age gap bw our main girl and her mans makes me uncomfortable lmao!!
Honestly, Jeannie Lin knows how to write that's for sure! Very interesting concept, but something about the characters and the way they were written made me feel very disconnected from them idky... doubt I'll be continuing this series going forwards bc I'm not really invested in the conflict presented, also the age gap bw our main girl and her mans makes me uncomfortable lmao!!