ringofkeyz's Reviews (147)

at the end of the day, my nonna was just a girl trying to find a way out of malito despite all of the odds stacked against her.

first half was a slog to get through

(or should I say "sog")

but second half picked up the pace by an umpteenth degree. 

I struggled to find an accurate rating for this book because it felt like two conflicting genres. As a general YA book, I would probably rate it 4.25-4.5 stars.

There was a sweetness and earnestness to both the story and the prose that drew me in and held my attention. Nguyen did an amazing job at making me care about Vivi and Lan: their journeys, their happiness, and their struggles. I also think that one of the author's strengths lies in her writing of Vivi and Lan as character foils. This contrast between the characters is where the underlying love letter to Việt Nam shines brightly. Where Vivi is struggling to find her roots and uncover family history, Lan is grappling with family responsibility and a desperation to see the world outside of Sài Gòn. As both girls help the other with their goal, the girls both fall deeper in love with the city and a fuller, more robust Sài Gòn is painted for the reader.

However, this book was marketed as a romance novel. As a romance novel, I would have rated it somewhere between 3.0-3.5 stars, particularly due to the third act. The developing of Vivi and Lan's relationship was heartfelt and exactly what you'd hope to read in a YA romance: from the insistent denial of feelings and the teasing of friends to the embarrassed blushing and the hesitant first kiss. Meanwhile, their relationship in the third act - and the events in the third act in general - were too fast-paced and easily resolved in comparison to the rest of the story.

Lan declares herself as Vivi's girlfriend, yet there is no understanding of how the two would make it work after Vivi's semester abroad. Lan is about to travel throughout South East Asia and Vivi is returning to California. Even if there was no conclusive decision made, making the main characters have a discussion about it at least would be more true to life.

Additionally, part of Vivi's journey was trying to find her mother's family, while lying to her mom about being in Việt Nam in the first place. Her desire to learn more about her mom's past and frustration at her mom continuously refusing to share those memories is what propels her story in the first place. And yet,

when her mom flies to Sài Gòn and finally returns home to visit the sister and mom she left all those decades ago

, it was resolved so quickly that it felt like the conflict never should have been that serious (even though we know it should be). For the amount of love and care Ngyuen clearly put into this novel and the portrayal of Vietnamese culture, strength, and resiliency, the hastiness of the third act felt off-putting. 

Regardless, this book is still one I would recommend - especially if you prefer romance as a sub-plot. Though, fair warning, you'll finish the book wanting some bánh mì or bún bò huế. 

This book once again reaffirmed my knowledge that if you want an adorably sweet lesbian romance book to read (that isn't a coming out story!), turn to Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick.

The Burning God was definitely the best book of the trilogy. Everything the first two books set up finally paid off. I especially liked the honesty of the near-ending. If everything in the Empire had been fixed as soon as

Rin and her army overtook Arlong

then it wouldn't have felt true. War decimates, regardless of who wins. Issues plaguing a nation don't disappear simply because the fighting ceases; the new power has to put in effort to fix that - famine, disease outbreaks, housing, etc - and often that leads to civil unrest. I felt as though the book captured that extremely well. 

Equally as well done was the depiction of desperation during war time. Rin's descent into instability over the course of this book, whether through the power of the Phoenix or her own paranoia, was almost infectious. I couldn't help but continue reading, wanting to see if she would overcome her demons or succumb to them. And wondering, if she succumbed, would she bring Kitay down with her?

My main criticism of this trilogy (and the reason this book isn't 5 stars) is because of the temporal displacement the dialogue creates. This is a book that is HISTORICAL fiction. While the war draws inspiration from the Second Sino-Japanese War (thus the WW2 era), the setting is based on the Song Dynasty, which ended in the late 1200s. However, the dialogue always felt modern. I could walk outside and hear people talking in the same manner as Rin, Nezha, Kitay, and everyone else in the novel. That disconnect is my one major nitpick about this trilogy, and this book in particular because I loved pretty much everything else.

Shoutout Martina for recommending this trilogy to me. I'm in your debt.