A review by buttonsandbooks
The Phoenix Crown by Janie Chang, Kate Quinn

3.0

I have wanted to read this for quite a while. I love Kate Quinn and will read most anything she writes. My favorite of hers is The Diamond Eye. So it was a no brainer when I saw the audio of this on sale from Chirp. 

In San Francisco in 1906, Gemma, a blonde opera singer decides she's going to make her mark on the world no matter what it takes so she accepts the patronage of railroad magnate Henry Thornton, who vows to make her a star. At his home, she comes to meet Suling, a Chinatown embroiderer determined to escape an arranged marriage. But when the earthquake hits the city, both women's lives will be thrown into turmoil. 

I don't know if it was the fact that this was audio, but I could connect with this the way I have other Quinn novels. The premise is great and I think the story is there, but I had a hard time staying engaged with it. 

⭐⭐⭐