Genre: Historical Fiction
Length: 384 pages
Audiobook Length: 11 hours and 30 minutes
First Published: 2024
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Rachael’s Review
In 1906 San Francisco, Gemma arrives in San Francisco to sing in the opera chorus. When she meets Henry Thornton, a rich tycoon willing to be her patron, her dreams of becoming an opera star seem within reach. Meanwhile, Suling lives in San Francisco’s Chinatown, desperate to escape an impending arranged marriage. When she picks up embroidery work for Thornton, she finds she has a connection with Gemma. After an earthquake tears the town apart, Henry disappears and the girls eventually track him to Paris to finally find justice.
I love it when historical fiction transports you to an interesting time in history and The Phoenix Crown‘s best attribute was its setting: The Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. I especially enjoyed seeing Chinatown through Suling’s eye and feeling the rampant racial discrimination against Chinese. Although the story was charming and the alternating chapters between Gemma and Suling worked well, the story wasn’t particularly deep or emotional. Unfortunately, the post-earthquake revenge plot that ended the book fell flat and ruined the pacing of the novel.
Publisher’s Description
San Francisco, 1906. In a city bustling with newly minted millionaires and scheming upstarts, two very different women hope to change their fortunes: Gemma, a golden-haired, silver-voiced soprano whose career desperately needs rekindling, and Suling, a petite and resolute Chinatown embroideress who is determined to escape an arranged marriage. Their paths cross when they are drawn into the orbit of Henry Thornton, a charming railroad magnate whose extraordinary collection of Chinese antiques includes the fabled Phoenix Crown, a legendary relic of Beijing’s fallen Summer Palace.
His patronage offers Gemma and Suling the chance of a lifetime, but their lives are thrown into turmoil when a devastating earthquake rips San Francisco apart and Thornton disappears, leaving behind a mystery reaching further than anyone could have imagined . . . until the Phoenix Crown reappears five years later at a sumptuous Paris costume ball, drawing Gemma and Suling together in one last desperate quest for justice.
About Kate Quinn
Kate Quinn is a bestselling author of historical fiction. Her works include the Empress of Rome Saga, The Alice Network, The Huntress, The Diamond Eye, and The Rose Code. She is also the co-author of The Phoenix Crown, with Janie Chang. Visit the author’s website →
About Janie Chang
Janie Chang is an author whose works include Three Souls, Dragon Springs Road, The Porcelain Moon, and The Library of Legends. She is also the co-author of The Phoenix Crown, with Kate Quinn. Born in Taiwan, Chang has lived in many countries around the world. Currently, she lives in Vancouver, Canada. Visit the author’s website →
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