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kaylokay_'s review
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Outing, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Fatphobia, Racism, Body shaming, Deportation, and Sexism
Moderate: Bullying, Infertility, and War
thebookwhale's review
I don't know about this one.
I did have really high expectations for it because I found the topic really intriguing. I mean, come on.
A book about identity not only sexuality - wise but also ancestry and cultural backgrounds.
Also, it was all over Instagram and TikTok (not that that means anything, these recommendations are mostly a hit or miss type of situation) and I was in search of a queer history kind of book, so I gave it a shot.
I really liked how Malina Lo worked out Lily's sexuality. It was introduced in a really humble way that still made it feel real. For example the scene where the Chinese models are on that stage and the crowd is choosing who wins (I don't quite remember). There, Lily is more drawn to the beauty and appearance of the women in a natural and admiring way rather than judging and rating them based on how they manage to sell themselves
The reason why I DNFed this book is because the pacing is so incredibly slow. I simply could not do it anymore when I would turn the page and nothing of real importance happened. Now, usually I like slow paced books as they are really great to just dive into and it often feels more natural than a fast paced romance, but I think the difference here was that I just didn't care.
I didn't care at all what would happen to Lily, her family, what was going on with the communism group, with Kathleen and Shirley, it just didn't bother me. I don't know why that was, but I couldn't feel any sympathy or relatability towards any of the characters.
I'm really sad that this didn't work out for me, but sometimes that's just the case.
However, I will probably pick this up again when I have nothing else to read because I really wanted this to work for me and after reading all the glowing reviews I think I maybe just wasn't ready when I first read it.
I did have really high expectations for it because I found the topic really intriguing. I mean, come on.
A book about identity not only sexuality - wise but also ancestry and cultural backgrounds.
Also, it was all over Instagram and TikTok (not that that means anything, these recommendations are mostly a hit or miss type of situation) and I was in search of a queer history kind of book, so I gave it a shot.
I really liked how Malina Lo worked out Lily's sexuality. It was introduced in a really humble way that still made it feel real.
The reason why I DNFed this book is because the pacing is so incredibly slow. I simply could not do it anymore when I would turn the page and nothing of real importance happened. Now, usually I like slow paced books as they are really great to just dive into and it often feels more natural than a fast paced romance, but I think the difference here was that I just didn't care.
I didn't care at all what would happen to Lily, her family, what was going on with the communism group, with Kathleen and Shirley, it just didn't bother me. I don't know why that was, but I couldn't feel any sympathy or relatability towards any of the characters.
I'm really sad that this didn't work out for me, but sometimes that's just the case.
However, I will probably pick this up again when I have nothing else to read because I really wanted this to work for me and after reading all the glowing reviews I think I maybe just wasn't ready when I first read it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Deportation and Lesbophobia
Minor: Fatphobia
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