Those Opulent Days by Jacquie Pham

December 2, 2024

Those Opulent Days by Jacquie Pham

Four school friends from wealthy families met at an exclusive French boarding school in Vietnam. Three are Vietnamese, one is French. When they were in school, they snuck out one night to visit a fortune teller who predicted that one of them would end up dead at a young age. As adults, they live aimless dissipated lives of wealth and privilege. Then the fortune teller's prediction comes true, and one is found dead - is one of the others the killer?

Full cast audio recording told from several POVs. Although it is a mystery on the surface, the story is more about the racial and class tension that existed in the 1920s in Vietnam (aka French Indochina, aka Ah Nam). I knew very little about this time and place in history, so I learned something, which is one of the reasons that I read historical fiction. Strong contrasts between the lives of employers and servants, rich and poor, French and Vietnamese. There are many trigger subjects, including drugs, alcoholism, sexual abuse, murder (a lot of murders), violence against women, addiction, and hopelessness and depression. Sensitive readers should be aware that the story is quite intense at times. Recommended for readers who want to learn about lesser known history, especially the dark side of history.

A mansion in Saigon from the 1920s

The Jinn-bot of Shantiport by Samit Basu

September 11, 2023

The Jinn-bot of Shantiport by Samit Basu

Shantiport is a major city that is slowly crumbling into decay due to flooding and political factions. Everyone who lives in Shantiport is trying to find a way to get out, except Lina, who loves the city and wants to save it. When she and her brother Bador, a monkey bot, find a magic lamp complete with jinn who will grant their wishes, they decide to punish the man who killed their father while also saving Shantiport. What could possibly go wrong? Be careful what you wish for.

A retelling of the Aladdin story from 1001 Arabian Nights, which the author tried to marry to Murderbot but not successfully. The first half of the book is some amazing world building, but the second half dragged and I started skimming. The jinn is amusing since before he will grant a wish, he goes through the user agreement and other legalese that we are all familiar with. If you are a hardcore fantasy reader, you may enjoy this but it wasn't for me. I suggest reading Martha Wells' Murderbot series instead.

Many thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Dystopian city

Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok

September 12, 2019

Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok

After her sister Sylvie goes missing, Amy questions family and friends to see if anyone knows where she is.  Although Amy has never been out of the state of New York, she travels to the Netherlands, Sylvie's last known location.  As her search continues, Amy begins to wonder if she really knows her sister at all.

I love me a domestic drama with lots of family secrets, also missing person stories, and even more, I love one told from various points of view.  This one ticked those boxes for me, but I still found the story disappointing.  I didn't like most of the characters because they weren't that well-developed or unique - the male characters were all creepy, and except for Grandma, the women characters were all shallow (Amy's first thought when she hears Sylvie is missing is who is going to pay off her student loans now).  There is drama and there are plot twists, but none of them were surprising or new.  Although it's described as a mystery, there's not a lot about it that's mysterious, and there are enough hints for the reader to catch on pretty quick about Sylvie's whereabouts.  I hope there is more plot and better characters in Kwok's next book.