Reviews

Flower Net by Lisa See

roshk99's review against another edition

2.0

The best part of the book is the description of the Chinese culture. It offers the insider's perspective on the Chinese life, especially the Chinese government. The plot was nothing exceptional and the main characters could get annoying at times. The writing style was not clear enough and didn't make the reader want to read every single word.

carolita1128's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

avalydia's review

2.0

The romance between the two main characters was laughably bad, and the stiffness of the writing/dialogue in their interactions reminded me of Robert Ludlum's [b:The Bourne Identity|515608|The Bourne Identity (Jason Bourne, #1)|Robert Ludlum|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1267489812s/515608.jpg|859111] (not a flattering comparison, I can assure you). The rest of the story was interesting enough, but since I'm assuming the romance between Hulan and David will feature prominently in the next two books, I'm not inclined to finish the trilogy. Especially after passages like this:

They stood facing each other. He put his hand on her cheek, then slowly let it glide along her neck, over her collarbone, down to her breast. They took their time unbuttoning each other's clothes. His mouth lingered on Hulan's nipples. She moaned in response to the caress. Soon her lips sought the tender nook under his left ear, then went to the hollow place at the base of his neck before continuing their downward journey. Tonight David and Hulan would make their passion last.

Dear lord. This is why authors should hire fanfic writers for their sex scenes.

sapphirelain's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Pretty good. It’s interesting to see when how much China has changed in the past 25 years since this book was written in 1997. Good enough to want to read the second

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gore, and Murder

lynnski723's review against another edition

3.0

I listened to this during my daily commute so will not be rating it - I get too distracted. I did enjoy it, although it was completely different than any of the other books I have read by Lisa See.

skconaghan's review against another edition

adventurous challenging informative mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

This is such a 90s thriller novel giving cross-cultural vibes with settings in both China and America. The plot is full of red; red herrings; red politics; and red princes and princesses.

A fast pace with thrills, murder, mystery, mayhem, and secreted romances that race to the explosive climax and finish on a raised eyebrow.

This story works in its setting and era. Read it that way to get the full experience.

Love See’s work, but this is outside the genre she usually excels in—and it was still super.

Note for the audio: I am so glad that we’ve weaned musical accompaniments out of audiobooks since we moved to digital. I mean, sure that worked fantastic when it was on a cassette in my car or Walkman, but it’s a bit comical at 3x speed… 🤪

laurahorn's review against another edition

3.0

Not horrible and parts read really quickly, but it was too long. I have nothing against long books, but this one didn't need to be as long as it was.

bethreadsandnaps's review against another edition

2.0

Having enjoyed See's recent books with their compelling characters and Chinese history intertwined with good storytelling (most notably Snow Flower and the Secret Fan; I liked Shanghai Girls and China Dolls but mix them up), I wanted to check out See's backlist.

Unfortunately, this one is a stinker if you compare it to her recent work. But it's an unfair comparison. She has a good 15-20 years of more experience now, and she's found her niche.

I listened to this one, and the audiobook tried too hard with the mood music. Some of the Chinese names were hard to distinguish, particularly the minor characters. Not fond of the narrator. It seemed kind of like a Chinese episode of Moonlighting. The book tried to do too many things, in my opinion: political intrigue, murder mystery, romance and didn't end up doing any of them well.

I'll still read any new Lisa See book but won't pursue her backlist.

octygon's review

2.0

Thank goodness that’s over. I could not have cared less about these characters. Their romance was not believable, nor was it interesting. The plot was all over the place. I guessed the villain from early on. It was just … messy. Ugh. The only reason it gets 2 stars instead of 1 is because I have actually read worse. And I learned some interesting things about modern China—well, the China of 1997, at any rate.

ETA: The title is meaningless to the story, by the way. I don’t know why that bothers me, but it does.

lisaarnsdorf's review against another edition

4.0

Wow! This book kept me up at night! It also inspired me to do some research into Mao and Cultural Revolution. I think that's a biggest compliment I can give a book - that it made me want to learn more about the topic. The characters were great, the story was great, the murder toll just kept ticking. My only complaint is that the ending got unnecessarily complicated. Can't wait to read more of this series!