It should be a 3,5 star.
Even if it mixes two of my favorite genres, mystery&fantasy, I found it entertaining but not one those book that makes you wow.
It felt like a novella that was stretched and somehow this made the book fell flat.
I want to read the next instalment, this one was not exactly amongst my favorite.
Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC, all opinions are mine

An amazing book, fascinating and complex.
I was a bit confused at the beginning by the high number of characters and the unusual style of writing, I didn't read the first installment in this series, but after a bit I was hooked and couldn't put this book down.
Even if it's marketed as the Chinese Lord of the Ring it's definitely something else, not sharing anything with Tolkien work.
A lot of fantasy book set in Far East are being published but this the real thing, a real Chinese work and it's like discovering a wonderful world and you don't know if that world comes out the mind of the writer or is the historical depiction of an era. In the end you don't mind as you're engrossed in reading.
I look forward to reading further installment in this series.
Recommended!
Many thanks to Quercus Books and Netgalley for this ARC

A cute and sweet story, well written and full of lovely illustrations.
It's well written and it made smile.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Even if this book is well researched and well written it seemed more a biography than a historical novel and it fell flat.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

I love Jenny Colgan but I don't think her first books are up to the current ones.
It's entertaining and fun to read but something seems missing.
A good read, recommended if you want to read some of the previous Colgan books.
Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

It's the first book I read in this series and won't surely be the last.
It was gripping and entertaining, with an exciting plot and a great cast of characters.
I loved it and can't wait to read another instalment.
Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

I'm in two minds about this book: on one side I liked the concept and the descriptions of the cruise.
On the other side I found hard to connect to the characters and like them.
The characters seems sometimes a bit flat and even if I liked how they relate to each other I wasn't involved.
I think that it's a good read even with all the mentioned issues and I recommend it.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

An harsh and fascinating story that I loved.
The author is a good storyteller and I liked the style of writing and the character development.
This is one of those books that makes you reflect as it talks about very serious topics like slavery and freedom.
It was an excellent read and it's highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

I requested this ARC as some of the featured writers are amongst my favourite.
In my experience a collection of short stories is always a mix of story you will love and other that will fall flat.
The evaluation of each story is up to the reader as it depends on the taste.
On a general level I can say this was an interesting and engrossing read and I added some author to my TBR.
A good read, recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

It was an entertaining and engrossing story, perfect for cheering up in this bleak times.
I loved Alex and his grand as much as I loved the well crafted plot.
There's a lot of character development and the cast of characters is interesting.
It was an excellent read, highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.