You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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
I loved this duology SO much. I’d definitely recommend reading The Hidden Blade first.
This is an friends-to-enemies-to-lovers second chance romance with elements of magical realism due to the martial arts written in the style of the wuxia genre.
This book is fairly violent so definitely check content warnings.
I love nearly everything Sherry Thomas writes, but this is my favorite yet.
Notes: takes place in north-western, China and London, England. Catherine/Ying-Ying is Chinese and Leighton is English.
This is an friends-to-enemies-to-lovers second chance romance with elements of magical realism due to the martial arts written in the style of the wuxia genre.
This book is fairly violent so definitely check content warnings.
I love nearly everything Sherry Thomas writes, but this is my favorite yet.
Notes: takes place in north-western, China and London, England. Catherine/Ying-Ying is Chinese and Leighton is English.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence
All possible stars for this amazing novel!! Seriously, where else are you going to read about star-crossed (but FATED) lovers who meet again after an 8-year separation? This book is written as a series of flashbacks. This is a really tough literary device to get right (we usually end up loving either the flashback story or the present, but not both at the same time), but Thomas's command of the structure is impeccable. Both the flashbacks and the present-set portions shed light on each other in the best possible way. There is a lot of suspense but it never feels forced.
The love story is poignant and the payoff is big once you get there. There are no explicitly erotic scenes, but the sexual tension and longing is palpable.
Oh, and did we mention that Catherine is a martial arts master? We recommend going into this book with no expectations, because it meets no genre standards we can think of (other than the HEA). Reading My Beautiful Enemy is a supremely satisfying experience!
And as our final word, we recommend reading the prequel AFTER this one (in publication order, not chronological order). This book absolutely stands on its own.
17-Word Summaries:
Laine: Spy goes to her father's homeland for a treasure map; encounters the lover she thought she killed.
Meg: Star-crossed lovers reunite in this genre-bending gem of a novel. My Beautiful Enemy = The Most Beautiful Angst.
www.linktr.ee/plottrysts
The love story is poignant and the payoff is big once you get there. There are no explicitly erotic scenes, but the sexual tension and longing is palpable.
Oh, and did we mention that Catherine is a martial arts master? We recommend going into this book with no expectations, because it meets no genre standards we can think of (other than the HEA). Reading My Beautiful Enemy is a supremely satisfying experience!
And as our final word, we recommend reading the prequel AFTER this one (in publication order, not chronological order). This book absolutely stands on its own.
17-Word Summaries:
Laine: Spy goes to her father's homeland for a treasure map; encounters the lover she thought she killed.
Meg: Star-crossed lovers reunite in this genre-bending gem of a novel. My Beautiful Enemy = The Most Beautiful Angst.
www.linktr.ee/plottrysts
Totally love this book and have re-read it several times. Love the setting (China a century and a half ago and Victorian England), love the characters. So of the plot is a little unbelievable, hence the 4 stars, rather than 5. But still a great story.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Angst-filled, wuxia inspired, Victorian Era romance. Largely closed door, but achingly romantic.
It's *not* for everyone, and it will likely make you cry. But so beautiful.
It's *not* for everyone, and it will likely make you cry. But so beautiful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Such a bizarre cover for such an action-packed book.
Ying-ying is a Chinese-English woman, born and raised in 19th century China and now coming to England for the first time. Within the first chapter she battles an intruder on a boat, in a lightning storm, and defeats him through a combination of magical martial arts prowess and throwing a door at him. It's a great start to the book and the pace keeps up as Ying-ying is stalked through London by a mysterious man known as The Centipede. Oh, and she also runs into the love of her life, the man she thought was dead but who is very much alive and very much still in love with her.
The romance between Ying-ying and Leighton began 8 years prior in China and it's beautifully built in a series of flashbacks that add even more angst and yearning to the present day. While their relationship is fully front-and-centre, it never interrupts the action and the whole book had a kind of Mulanesq vibe that I didn't know I was craving.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Sexism, Violence, Pregnancy
Moderate: Murder, Colonisation
Minor: Racism
Don't expect to sleep until you finish!
Once again Ms. Thomas has produced a beautiful treasure of a romance that will sweep you along, make you cheer, at times make you cry and above all absorb you in an adventure that expands time,distance, and every emotional aspect of loves highs and lows. Simply an amazing story from one of the best authors I've read.
Once again Ms. Thomas has produced a beautiful treasure of a romance that will sweep you along, make you cheer, at times make you cry and above all absorb you in an adventure that expands time,distance, and every emotional aspect of loves highs and lows. Simply an amazing story from one of the best authors I've read.
This was really good and really cute! It was super entertaining to flip back and forth between the past and present, and the fact that a historical romance was not solely focused on England was a godsend and made for such a fun read