I think I gave the first one, The Russian Concubine, the same rating because they seemed on equal footing to me. Lydia's plight to save her father Jens Friis from the Russian labor camps is probably the most intriguing aspect of the book. This would be why I wanted to read it because if you've read the first book you were surprised to find out about her father's survival. The first book left you wanting to know about the father.Furnivall is good and sucking you into a story but at times it almost seems as if she forget thing and tosses them in later or never addresses them again. One such instance for me was Antonia's arms. The woman obviously scours her arms til they bleed but when Alexei discovers this I just assumed they would deal with it or address it and yet the story moved on and it seems forgotten. I guess it wasn't important but as Alexei appears to care for her it seemed important.Chang An Lo is the least interesting character for me. I like the love he and Lydia seem to have for one another but he interests me very little and I can't say I'm terribly intrigued by the possibility of a third book.Alexei seems to be an interesting character and he is well developed. I could very much see reading more about him.The Cossack was a fun character as were a lot of the side characters that Furnivall introduced in this book. Jens Friis among them.Lydia is an interesting character but it is her interest in Chang An Lo's life that is the least interesting for me. I do enjoy when she is out and about with all her plots but at times I found parts with her less that interesting.I also have to say that I felt this book let down the reader immensely but hope that if I do read another in this series that it will be better. I think I prefer the Red Scarf series. As most sequels are, not as good as the first book, but only because the introduction to the author already happened, her level of excellence in writing is expected. As far as sequels go, its one of the better ones, I would have rated it 3.5 stars, because the first book was a four, and I rate as threes those books which I do not normally recommend to friends. I enjoy the way Furnivall writes, weaving the magic, blending the cultures, all in natural ways that don't seem forced. She makes the most outlandish events come to life realistically. The beginning and ending were really good, the main part dragged on a bit. She has truly unique characters, so it was a pleasure to follow them some more. I loved the part where Alexei says "I have to report this incompetence immediately!," I was a bit taken with him, glad things worked out for his love life towards the end.
What do You think about The Girl From Junchow (2009)?
It was nice and thick for a 12 hour flight form Tokyo to NYC, not necessarily a good read, however.
—Zvrki
I liked her first book The Russian Concubine better but still worth reading
—reb
long, slow but ok set in Russia in 1929
—BarAbraham
