Book 69 - I Might Have Said Yes

Title: Dragon Springs Road

Author: Janie Chang

Genre: historical fantastical-ish fiction

I picked up this book because I loved Chang's previous novel, Three Souls. Sadly, I don't think this story is as well done as Three Souls, but I definitely still enjoyed it.

Chang does an good job of telling a story based on Chinese history with that extra layer of folklore/fantasy. I wish that there had been some extra...something. The lengthy descriptions of locations and people are well-written and engaging, but they just don't cross that line into riveting. Similarly, the fantastical bits are solid, but they aren't as captivating, as thrilling or as dangerous, as I think they could be. To be fair, it's difficult to write a story where the protagonist is being influenced by a spirit who tends to erase the tougher questions, mostly without that character even knowing. Maybe that's the reason behind the something that's lacking. I would have liked Fox, the spirit, to be more nefarious, more tricksy - and then witness the conflict come out around our protag, Jialing, and Fox's relationship, as well as the very real-world consequences for Jialing in her social position as zazhong, or Eurasian.

Rating: ⛸ ⛸ ⛸/5