Reviews

Red Thread of Fate by Lyn Liao Butler

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cryomango's review

4.5

Kind of weird with the sort of romance between the “cousins” but overall great

Red Thread of Fate is many things mystery, suspense, family bonds and heartbreaking! The character building was great! I couldn't help but feel with them and for them! Lyn Liao Butler is an amazing author! She can take complex stories and weave a story you will struggle to put down but also characters that stay with you long after your finish! Great story! Thank you Berkley Publishing for sharing another great story with me!

bek67's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

When I started this book I was immediately hooked and hated to put it down. But then things just fell flat. I was pulled in that Tam was on the phone with Tony when he was killed. And then the mystery of why he was with his cousin Mia who he supposedly had no contact with had me intrigued.

I liked how you'd see glimpses of Tam's contempt with Tony and then eventually you found out why. But I knew, everyone knew that Mia's baby was Tony's. So no big reveal. How that conception occurred though was rather odd that it was sorta glossed over in the book for me. Mia was journaling to explain to her daughter what happened, and although in general she apologized, but what she did to Tony IMO required a sincere apologize to both her daughter and Tony and I don't feel like we ever got that. Mia was another level of stalker IMO. And how deliciously divine that she inserts herself into their life so cleverly and innocently. And Mia is journaling to explain and as for forgiveness, I never really got the sense that Mia understand just how fucked up she was for all that she had done. This goes WAY past having a crush when you are a child.

I also liked how the relationship between Tam and her mom was portrayed. The rawness Tam felt about her mom always criticizing her felt very real to me. I liked how they eventually worked through their relationship. And mom had more to offer.

The entire plot with Mia's ex Kenny was just dumb, dumb, DUMB. It could have been more interesting if there was intent on Kenny's part actually. The whole set up that Kenny as a passenger in a truck is so shocked to see Mia and Tony that he (Kenny), throws his coffee in such a way that it hits the driver's face and because of that, the driver of the truck steps on the gas and plows Mia and Tony down? I'm laughing really! To throw your coffee in such a way that it lands on the driver's face who is sitting a few feet from you seems pretty implausible, unless it was intentional. They were in a dump truck right? That cabin has to be huge. I can see spilling your coffee, or dropping your coffee. But actually launching your coffee so that it hits the driver's face is another level and if you consider the physics it's not going to happen accidentally. So this entire plot twist was just laughable at best. Kenny was set up to be a controlling threatening colossal jerk but I'm suppose to believe he did not intentionally launch his coffee at the driver is pretty weak.

It felt a significant amount of time was spent on the adoption process and there were developmental concerns of the child being adopted. Such as, he is suppose to be 3 but is not really walking well, doesn't speak, weighs 17lbs!! But then it's just very glossed over and a month later he speaks and everything is grand?!? But in general although disturbing, the adoption process was interesting to me.

So all in all what started out as unputdownable turn into MEH for me. I can't rate it better than ok so 3 stars.

Content Warnings

kath_watts's review

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emotional reflective medium-paced

4.0

novelvisits's review

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3.0

Thanks to Berkley Books for an electronic copy of this book.

THE RED THREAD OF FATE tells the story of Tam Kwan, on the brink of adopting a son from China AND just widowed. Her husband and estranged cousin were killed in a horrible accident. If that’s not enough, she’s also named guardian of that cousin’s 5-year old daughter, Angela. Tam is left with heartbreak, regret, and a whole lot of questions.

The “red thread of fate” was a theme that wound its way through Tam’s life. Parts of her story I really enjoyed, especially Tam’s relationships with her own mother and with Angela. However, while I think the writing was very well done, I had a hard time becoming invested in Tam’s journey. It all felt like too much, too many coincidences, and too many times I needed to suspend disbelief.

canadiancat's review

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3.0

3.5/5 stars

I enjoyed this book, but I wish there was more depth to a lot of the characters.

sometimesleelynnreads's review

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

smalltownbookmom's review

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5.0

I absolutely LOVED this second book by Lyn Liao Butler!! I enjoyed her first but this one was even better and I didn't think that was possible. The book starts off with a literal bang and then sucks you in as we slowly learn what events led up to a horrible incident. Told in alternating timelines and perspectives, we primarily are given Tam's perspective. An Asian American woman who has struggled with infertility and is in the process of adopting a young boy from China. I loved Tam and the journey she goes on in the adoption process, complicated even more when she is given custody of her husband's cousin's young daughter Angela when the mother dies. Full of heart, this story will pull at all your emotions. Amazing on audio narrated by the supremely talented Natalie Naudus. Much thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for my advance review copy!!

CW: miscarriage, foreign adoption, death of loved ones

ndmngz's review

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emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.25

Overall I liked this book! The writing style was engaging and the plot was interesting enough that I never felt like I was dragging my feet through the mud to finish the book.

I will say, the primary plot conflict was incredibly predictable for me, but I’m not sure if it was even meant to be a huge plot twist for the audience. I didn’t love the ending, it felt rushed and incomplete, with a love subplot that felt lackluster and a little too insta-lovey for me. The story follows both the past and present, as well as two main characters. Though I found the time jumps and use of a journal to drive the narrative engaging, it leaves us with two main characters that both felt underdeveloped and incomplete.

The story discusses family, fate, unrequited love, the immigrant / 2nd generation experience and grief, but I feel like in trying to cover all of those themes, none of them were done to the depth that would have truly hit home.

Still a super solid read and this type of adult contemporary fiction is newer to me, so I enjoyed my time with it!