bookishlymonique's Reviews (118)

Just my initial thoughts after finishing at 4am:

This story had me locked in from the beginning! I loved the cast of characters and the setting. The world fill rich and defined but not too much is revealed at once. A good balance of exposition and moving the story forward. 

 There was enough tension (plot and between characters) to keep me turning pages, but so many sweet moments between characters that really balanced out the story. 

Enjoyed the significance of names and naming and the way culture is explored group to group. 

Can we have a moment for the gorgeous cover as well?!? I mean… it really is emotional and evocative especially upon finishing the book! 

Artfully written. A beautifully, tragic story with wonderful symbolism and imagery. 

 

Four Treasures of the Sky covers a part of American history that has been significantly limited in public education and general history. Similar to Black History and Indigenous history and the history of many marginalized groups in the US. I barely learned about the Chinese Exclusion Act and this book was able to highlight how it affected the everyday Chinese people who it was inflicted upon. 

 

The use of magical realism created tension and hope. Although the story focuses on the main character, Daiyu, the story becomes even richer as each side character is introduced. These characters help build a more realistic picture of Chinese life in America during the mid-to-late 1800s as well as illuminate multiple aspects of the MC’s culture and experience. 

Favorite Quotes

“I am beginning to realize that everyone has two faces to them: the face they show to the world and the one on the inside, that keeps all its secrets. I still do not know who my faces are, or which one is which.” 

“English, it seems, is a matter of timing and chaos.” 

“The inkstone asks for destruction before creation—you must first destroy yourself, grind yourself into a paste, before becoming a work of art.” 

“I am the constellation of all the names within me, of every name I have ever inhabited. And this is the truth I see for the first time: I have only been able to survive because of my name.” 

“I never thought about it before, but every cloud I have ever seen must have been on its way to somewhere. Those who witness clouds only ever see a moment of their journey. In this way, I could call myself a cloud.” 

The perfect blend of fantasy and romance! Just what I needed!

Lore was a character I could definitely root for! The cast of characters was pretty well balanced and wasn’t too much to keep up with. 

Overall the plot moved pretty quickly, so for fantasy this was a nice change. There was some world building but not a lot of exposition and description as you’d normally expect in a fantasy. Major plot points jumped to the next fairly quickly but the pacing was great for the length of the story. (Under 350 pages!) I would have loved more details, but again it was a great pace for the length and the shorter length made for a refreshing change in pace. 

I’m hopeful for the next book and can’t wait to see the side characters fleshed out a bit more as we get to know them better.  

I really enjoyed this follow-up to The Girl with Stars in Her Eyes. Girls with Bad Reputations picks up not long after we first are introduced to The Lilys and the start of their rock career. This novel focuses on FMC Kayla (the drummer) and how she is handling (or avoiding?) embracing and melding her past and present. I liked the how she found value  in the family she was born into as well as her chosen family.

We also get the perspective of our MMC Ty who is trying to ignore his past and not feel like a burden to his grandfather because of it. Their relationship was so special and I loved seeing it play out on the page.

The author did a great job building up the romantic tension between the two MCs. Kayla and Ty's relationship escalated pretty quickly, but it wasn't unbelievably fast. Both of them seemed pretty cautious about a romantic relationship so although their HEA was welcomed and expected, it was a bit of a sharp increase in their feelings fairly quickly in my opinion.

I also loved how we got a deeper look at the interpersonal relationships of the band and their circles. I wish there was a bit more time building/addressing the tension between FMC Kayla and her mother. I thought there could have been more fleshed out conversations to add more emotional charge to the story. I would have appreciated more flashbacks sprinkled throughout the story to enhance different points in the plot versus one, more intense and concentrated conflict.

Overall, would recommend if you like:
- music industry romances (especially if you like rock, punk, alt etc)
- sensitive and brooding and confident in their sexuality MMCs
- standing 10 toes down for your band mates (eff around and find out much?)
- found family and inter-generational family relationships
- the occasional reference to baking/cooking shows
- navigating imposter syndrome and finding your way in the world after injustice 

Brief, initial post-listen thoughts: An awesome follow up to Blood Debts. Blood Justice was gripping and exciting. The audio production was great! For me the entire book felt like a launching pad and a cliff hanger for whatever comes next in the best way!! It would be fun to annotate a physical copy.