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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
'I needed to prove that Xian Li-lin is her father’s daughter, her husband’s wife, and no one’s victim.'
As a fan of Asian media, I really enjoyed this story. It reads like a high-octane kung-fu movie but with plenty of heart and fierce woman power. Now, did it sometimes feel TOO action-packed and did Li-lin remind me of Aelin with her constant pep-talks to herself?? Yeah, kinda. But that didn't detract much of my enjoyment of this read nor the talent behind it. This author definitely did his research and the passion behind the time and effort taken to make this not-just-another-Americanized-kung-fu-tale really shines through. So while this really wasn't something I fell completely in love with, it was a really great read and tons of epic fight scenes and well-researched lore that made this something quite unique.
As a fan of Asian media, I really enjoyed this story. It reads like a high-octane kung-fu movie but with plenty of heart and fierce woman power. Now, did it sometimes feel TOO action-packed and did Li-lin remind me of Aelin with her constant pep-talks to herself?? Yeah, kinda. But that didn't detract much of my enjoyment of this read nor the talent behind it. This author definitely did his research and the passion behind the time and effort taken to make this not-just-another-Americanized-kung-fu-tale really shines through. So while this really wasn't something I fell completely in love with, it was a really great read and tons of epic fight scenes and well-researched lore that made this something quite unique.
The Girl surprised me. It's not perfect writing, but I loved the rhythm and folklore (possibly invented on the spot! but it sounds so old.) and humor of this novel. I look forward to reading the next one & I hope there will be more.
A fun and fast bit of fantasy filled with demons, spell casters, monsters, and cultural changes.
Excellent story with unusual story basis.
Some things didn't make sense to me, but I'd still rate the story as excellent.
Some things didn't make sense to me, but I'd still rate the story as excellent.
Reminds me of the old Shaw Brothers' films, as intended by the author, along with a riff on Japanese bogies as well. The eyeball bathing in the teacup is also in [b:Kitaro|15793710|Kitaro|Shigeru Mizuki|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344318675s/15793710.jpg|21515684], people who liked this book, will probably like that as well.
I've had my eyes on this for quite a while now, so I was very excited to see that Book Riot's 2017 Read Harder Challenge gave me another reason to read it. And, I'm so glad I did! I think that The Girl With Ghost Eyes is going to go down as one of my favorite reads of 2017, in fact. I found myself completely hooked and engrossed by Li-Lin's San Francisco. If you're a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Supernatural, Spirited Away, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, I have a feeling that you will love this as well. This historical fantasy novel has something for everyone from the immigrant narrative of a young Chinese widow in San Francisco and tong wars, which, of course, are inspired by the real world to Daoist magic, demons, ghosts, spiritual journeys, exorcisms, and kung fu fight scenes - if that's not enough to draw you in right there. Plus, Li-Lin, our leading lady, is just plain awesome and she is easily a new favorite. Don't just take my word for how awesome it is, just do yourself a favor and pick up a copy. I need more Li-Lin in my life, or more historical fantasy somewhat similar to this!
Clearly meticulously researched, and full of interesting details, with reasonably nuanced secondary characters. A Heroine who is a kung-fu master and powerful but not annoyingly perfect. A carefully paced plot. So given all that, I *should* love this book. But I didn't. The major issues was that the writing needed a much stronger hand at editing. Passages were repetitious, digressions were awkwardly placed in the story flow, and it was hard to really picture what anything looked like based on the descriptions. When I read the third mention that she never learned to grapple while in the middle of the same fight on the same page... ugh. The second issue was, unfortunately, the heroine. I just couldn't like her. That's not a requirement for me but she actively kept screwing up and making shortsighted choices and acting like a doormat in the course of her life that I just got impatient with her. I wish the book had been more about Mr. Janqui and Bok Choy (who, despite the name, was very interesting). The third issue was that while I appreciate trying to keep some historical cultural issues, her father was an emotionally abusive asshole and having the book not call him out on it (and in fact give a sort of weaksauce explanation) was frustrating. Especially as it didn't seem like a particularly compelling reason (you think, if anything, it would have turned out the opposite way). I just hope that with the way things ended, the heroine will learn to actually have some self-respect rather than relying on the approval of men and tearing down/disdaining other women like a petty arrogant twat.
This had a bunch of ingredients I like, but they never really came together for me? I think it's a me thing rather than a book thing, and I don't feel I can leave a proper review for this. The books does have a lot of fascinating themes, Li-lin is an interesting character, and the world is quite vividly drawn, but it still fell flat for me.
Started out kind of slow, prone to exposition and telling over showing, but ultimately a really interesting and enjoyable read