Reviews with content warning for Racism - The Phoenix Crown

In a departure from her historical fiction novels centered around war, Kate Quinn uses the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 as the backdrop for her latest novel. Along with her coauthor, Janie Chang, they look at the city's contradictions, from the prejudice against Chinatown to the opulence of the Grand Opera House. Their dual perspective was fantastic showing obvious depth in their research. Yes, the plotline is somewhat predictable, but I felt the stories of the individual women and their growth during this time was enthralling.

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theredheadbaker's review against another edition

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informative mysterious medium-paced

3.75

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lucyatoz's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

The Phoenix Crown by Kate Quinn and Janie Chang is a book of historical fiction based around the time of the earthquake of San Francisco, which occurred on 18 April 1906. Four women, Alice, a world class botanist, Gemma, a Opera soprano who is part of the chorus of a tour company performing in the city, Nellie, a brilliant artist, and Suling, a talented seamstress, living with her third Uncle in Chinatown.

We read about how their lives come together and are then pulled apart again with the story centred around the Octagon House of Henry Thornton, millionaire philanthropist of the arts, who appreciates unique plants and the finer things in life, including having a Phoenix Crown, the prize in his collection.

I appreciated how Kate and Janie collaborated together on this book and really liked how they brought the story to a close in their authors' note.

I owned a copy of this book and listened to it on Audible. I read this for the April 2024 Readalong for the 52 Book Club Reading Challenge 2024.

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readingonfordearlife's review against another edition

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emotional informative tense medium-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

4.25

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linda48's review

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adventurous emotional informative tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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sarahbsews's review

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mysterious medium-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? No

4.75

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lanayagraham's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative medium-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? No

4.0

An interesting historical fiction based on real-life events and a few historical figures. Also, fun after visiting San Fran just a few months ago and learning about Chinatown and the 1906 earthquake and fires. Even though this was a bit fantastical for realistic historical fiction, I really enjoyed the characters and relationships. Both opposite and same-sex romantic relationships.

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danimain's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional informative inspiring tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

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