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The Phoenix Crown
The Phoenix Crown: A Novel | Kate Quinn, Janie Chang
22 posts | 21 read | 13 to read
From bestselling authors Janie Chang and Kate Quinn, a thrilling and unforgettable narrative about the intertwined lives of two wronged women, spanning from the chaos of the San Francisco earthquake to the glittering palaces of Versailles. 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.
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BennettBookworm
The Phoenix Crown: A Novel | Kate Quinn, Janie Chang
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Pickpick

Couldn‘t put it down! Kate Quinn is the master of fast-paced historical fiction with badass women, and this co-authored book with Janie Chang is no exception!!

44 likes1 stack add
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Kboltz
The Phoenix Crown: A Novel | Kate Quinn, Janie Chang
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Pickpick

Loved this collaboration by these two historical fiction writers. An opera singer, an artist, a botanist and a talented embroider become friends in San Francisco right before the 1906 earthquake. They fight against a cunning mean man that fools everyone. I like that good men were also portrayed. Good history of the first Chinatown that was in San Fran. 🫨🫨🫨🫨

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JacqMac
The Phoenix Crown: A Novel | Kate Quinn, Janie Chang
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Pickpick

Kate Quinn is an auto buy for me. But I had never heard of Jamie Chang before, so I was a little worried. They flowed really well together though. Great character development and wonderful story building. Not as good as Kate Quinn alone. But still 4 ⭐️.

45 likes1 stack add
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tpixie
The Phoenix Crown: A Novel | Kate Quinn, Janie Chang
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🩷 Theo, Pauline & The Pagode from The Porcelain Moon make a cameo in The Phoenix Crown!!! 🩷

dabbe 🖤🐾🖤 5mo
tpixie @dabbe oh yes! #DogsOfLitsy Miss Bandette 🖤 🐾 🖤 5mo
Daisey I look forward to seeing your review for this one! 5mo
tpixie @Daisey 🩷 5mo
47 likes1 stack add5 comments
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Eggs
The Phoenix Crown: A Novel | Kate Quinn, Janie Chang
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The backdrop is the 1906 earthquake and flames of San Francisco. Two women, wronged by the same villain, follow him, Henry Thornton, to France. Wanting to retrieve a valuable relic (and restore personal justice) they show up at a Paris costume ball to do just that.
#LitsyLove
#FreebieFriday
#ReadAway2024
#AwesomeApril Readathon
#LitsyLoveBingo May

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Read4life @julieclair @TieDyeDude @Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES

DieAReader 🥳🥳🥳 5mo
Eggs @DieAReader 🥰🤩🤗 5mo
julieclair This looks really good! Stacked! 5mo
Eggs @julieclair 🤗🖤🥳 5mo
46 likes2 stack adds4 comments
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DestinyMorna
The Phoenix Crown: A Novel | Kate Quinn, Janie Chang
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Wow! This book was slow going in the beginning chapters but really picked up once the earthquake hit.

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Kimberlone
The Phoenix Crown: A Novel | Kate Quinn, Janie Chang
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Mehso-so

I had high expectations for this one because I have loved all of Kate Quinn‘s feminist historical fiction. The setting around the San Francisco earthquake was so intriguing to me, but unfortunately this one fell flat in execution. The romantic subplots didn‘t work for me at all, so it was hard to feel invested in the way they tied into the broader plot. On audio, I felt like the book went on ~2 hours too long. Listened using my Spotify account!

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Hooked_on_books
The Phoenix Crown: A Novel | Kate Quinn, Janie Chang
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Pickpick

I‘m not really drawn to Quinn but really like Chang, so I wanted to give this a try and am glad I did. It follows soprano Gemma as she arrives in San Francisco in 1906 about 2 weeks before the earthquake strikes and meets Suling, with whom she shares a mutual friend. Overall, I liked the story and characters and thought the authors worked well together, but found a couple of the time jumps abrupt and briefly confusing.

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mcctrish
The Phoenix Crown: A Novel | Kate Quinn, Janie Chang
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Sometimes it‘s not a good idea to read a story similar to one you read that resonated with you. Last year I read Outrun the Moon by Stacey Lee with the Sunday Buddy Read gang and I really liked it and I thought about it A LOT while reading this - I probably need the SBR group to help me process the whys re: this just falling flat for me🤷🏻‍♀️ maybe it‘s scope was too broad. I had to remind myself to read it

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mcctrish
The Phoenix Crown: A Novel | Kate Quinn, Janie Chang
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Friday night and the first time in forever when I feel well enough for a glass of wine. What a fun life I lead!!! 😆🤦🏻‍♀️

kspenmoll Savor it! 🍷glad you are feeling better.💜 7mo
Tamra Sounds good to me! 😁 7mo
dabbe Wine and chips and a book? #lifeisgood! Glad you‘re feeling better! 💚💙💚 7mo
41 likes3 comments
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kissmehardy
The Phoenix Crown: A Novel | Kate Quinn, Janie Chang
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Pickpick

Tightly plotted and immersive. I loved how Gemma and Suling's worlds united to make them become friends and take down a shady tycoon. Add in George, Reggie, and Alice, and I simply wanted to be the newest member of the gang! #historicalfiction

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MaggieCarr
The Phoenix Crown: A Novel | Kate Quinn, Janie Chang
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Pickpick

Slow to start but the last 2/3 flew by. Only wish there was a bit more build up at the costume party towards the end. Love that many of the characters were based on or inspired by powerful and unique women in history.

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angieinwonderland
The Phoenix Crown: A Novel | Kate Quinn, Janie Chang
Pickpick

I love historical fiction that tells womens' stories. And though I do read a lot of stories about wars, I love it when I find one that centers around other events. I learned a lot about San Francisco earthquake and fires and enjoyed all four of the womens' stories. The two authors co-wrote a very enjoyable book that was seamless to read.

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mcctrish
The Phoenix Crown: A Novel | Kate Quinn, Janie Chang
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What a treat to attend an authors talk today ❤️❤️❤️ being semi retired has its perks on all the levels

36 likes1 stack add
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Aims42
The Phoenix Crown: A Novel | Kate Quinn, Janie Chang
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Pickpick

Themes: 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, Chinese immigrants in early 20th century America, Friendships

I had zero knowledge of the historic 1906 earthquake that devastated San Francisco before reading this book. After finishing it, I can say I learned A LOT! Wow! I confidently recommend this to any historical fiction fans, Quinn & Chang do a fabulous job writing together. And the ‘Authors Note‘ at the end? Do not skip it! 5/5 stars for this read👍

Suet624 Quinn picks just subject matter. 8mo
mcctrish I just started this, I‘m going to see the authors speak on Thursday (edited) 8mo
Aims42 @Suet624 I haven‘t read all of Quinn‘s books but the few I‘ve read have been SO GOOD! I always learn something new 🤓 8mo
Aims42 @mcctrish That is AWESOME! I‘d love to hear about it 🤩 8mo
43 likes2 stack adds4 comments
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marleed
The Phoenix Crown: A Novel | Kate Quinn, Janie Chang
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Pickpick

I was intrigued by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire setting, and I liked the background stories of each of the women. This is a pick with a but - where I'm the problem… This historical setting is necessary for the story of these fictional characters. I guess I wanted was more the opposite where characters are created to tell the fascinating history of the 1900 SF aughts. Does that make sense - more H, less F?

SpellboundReader Yes, that totally makes sense. 🙂🙂🙂 One of my big issues with some HF books - not enough H. More like a lot of F in a historical setting. 🙁 8mo
Angeles I agree, sometimes you feel the author started with an idea plot that wouldn‘t work in the present and just find a time in the past where it might work but the history portion of the book is just an afterthought, or even totally inaccurate 8mo
marleed @BeeCurious @Angeles Oh you understand! It‘s interesting. I don‘t go into anHF thinking about this nor do I always finish thinking about it. But when it happens, I catch get away from it. In this one the MCs leave SF following the earthquake, and I realized I wanted to stay there and read them in its aftermath. 8mo
72 likes3 comments
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janeycanuck
The Phoenix Crown: A Novel | Kate Quinn, Janie Chang
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Pickpick

This was an interesting one because early on, I felt like I could really tell when Quinn was writing and when Chang was writing but either I got so sucked into the story that I couldn't tell anymore or the meshing of their styles improved. Either way, I loved getting a more thriller-like story from Chang and a more character-driven story from Quinn. I hope they collaborate again!!

KristiAhlers I can't wait to start this one. 8mo
Hooked_on_books I like Chang and so plan to give this a try. Sounds promising! 8mo
44 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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Danay
The Phoenix Crown: A Novel | Kate Quinn, Janie Chang
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Surprising.

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janeycanuck
The Phoenix Crown: A Novel | Kate Quinn, Janie Chang
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Oh shit.

Well, I guess this is what happens when you have 35 books on hold. And only one is renewable!!!

slategreyskies I have The Book of Doors on hold too! It looks so good. 📚 8mo
janeycanuck I‘m really looking forward to that one! 8mo
49 likes2 comments
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melissajayne
The Phoenix Crown: A Novel | Kate Quinn, Janie Chang
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For me Kate Quinn and Kristin Hannah and Kate Morton are auto buy for me. I just like their style of writing.

#sundayfunday

BookmarkTavern Fun picks! Thanks for posting! 9mo
22 likes1 comment