I love history. But I don’t enjoy history textbooks. Give me a story that weaves in the facts of the event and I’ll be consumed.

Leaning about the great fire of San Francisco had me riveted. Learning bits and pieces of Chinese culture was fascinating. And learning that there were places in the early 1900’s that were accepting of lesbian couples was eye-opening.

This is a story about friendship and love, mystery and history. I was enthralled immediately. I loved uncovering who was genuine and who was deceitful. All while appreciating how difficult it would have been to be a woman in that place and time.

I have been a Kate Quinn fan since I read the Alice Network. She and Janie wrote together seamlessly. Thank you for presenting this story in an entertaining and mysterious way.

The Phoenix Crown by Kate Quinn and Janie Chang is an exquisite piece of historical fiction based on and around the San Francisco earthquake and a man called Henry Thornton who was trying to buy his way into society through his patronage of the arts. His newest acquisition being Gemma Garland who has arrived in San Francisco ahead of her cast mates with the Metropolitan Opera from New York City. She is here to see her friend, an artist, Nellie, who was known by many other names as well. She was nowhere to be found but she quickly finds her life entwined with several other women: Suling Feng and Alice Eastwood, all of whom, come to find out, were somehow involved with Henry Thornton, who was a collector of fine things.

This is an amazing story filled with complex, well-written characters who come together and then separate for a time as life takes them in different directions. They live through the earthquake together and then life takes them in different directions, always being aware their nemesis was out there, waiting. It was thoroughly plotted and had perfect pacing, revealing interesting items as they came along. I couldn’t step away from it as the tension became stronger and stronger, until the earthquake hit and personal things began to hit the fan. The entire book was fed by love, fear, and greed! The human condition. What a wonderful book thanks to Quinn and Chang!

I was invited to read The Phoenix Crown by William Morrow. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #WilliamMorrow #KateQuinn #JanieChang #ThePhoenixCrown

The Phoenix Crown by Janie Chang and Kate Quinn begins with a countdown to the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, which plays a major role in the storyline. I enjoyed the dual POV of Suling and Gemma, one an embroidery artist from Chinatown and one an opera singer. Their paths cross, and they become friends, united against a mutual, powerful enemy. Along with two other friends, an artist and a botanist, will they have the strength and courage they need to defeat him?

The Phoenix Crown was a wonderful and exciting read. I recommend it to fans of historical fiction, San Francisco, opera, botany, and strong women.

Kate Quinn and Janie Crown did their homework; the historical details seemed accurate and on point. The last third of the book was really engaging, however, I was disappointed that the first two thirds (and especially the first half) was a bit slow. The story was really about a male "patron" of the arts who was not a nice person and four women came together to bring him to justice. The reader got lost in the San Francisco earthquake and some other events which provided some background and details to move the plot along but it took quite some time to know why these women wanted to band together. Also, as an aside, I think that the relationship between two women in the novel would have been more of a big deal in American society at the time, especially between two women of different cultural backgrounds (American and Chinese), so not everything rang true.
The characterization of the women was good though I think that having four women spread things out a bit thinly.
Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for a free copy of this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

San Francisco, right before the big quake. There's racism, big money, sexism, and the strong will to pave your own way. Told from the points of view of incredible women, The Phoenix Crown is a story of amazing resilience and strength in an age when women didn't have much power at all.

I received an advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

This really enjoyable historical novel is set mostly in San Francisco in 1906, just before and after the famous earthquake, told from two perspectives. Gemma is an opera singer newly arrived from NYC who finds herself with a rich patron, while Suling is a young Chinese-American woman with a talent for embroidery trying to escape the arranged marriage her uncle has set up for her. Their paths end up intertwining in ways both small and large, as well as with Alice, a botanist who befriends them both.

This was a different setting and a unique story, with interesting characters, a great sense of place, strong female friendships, a little romance, and a little more mystery and intrigue. I’ve loved the four Kate Quinn books I’ve read before, but this was my first Janie Chang so I look forward to checking out more of her books.

I quickly devoured this novel set in San Francisco shortly before the earthquake and fire that destroyed the city in the early 1900s. We meet four women from different walks of life who cross paths and become friends. Suling is of Chinese descent trying to make her way in Chinatown. She has a gift for embroidery which shapes her story. We have Gemma an opera singer who is just on the cusp of truly being discovered. Reggie is an artist friend who mysteriously disappears. Alice is a botanist who makes plants her life's work.

Mixed into the story is the rich benefactor who has a past. He also has a passion for collecting Chinese antiquities. Who is he? Why is he so interested Gemma?

I enjoyed learning about the different parts of San Francisco and the other places the book traveled. I thought the description of the earthquake was believable. It was a wonderful time period to explore with such interesting characters. I thought the co-authors stories transitioned very smoothly. I would love to read another by either author or both again! Note: I thought the afterword with explanations quite fascinating and thanks for including. Thank you Netgalley for the chance to review this book.

I enjoy a good historical fiction book and it seems like Kate Quinn is one of the best authors out there who consistently writes excellent stories. The Phoenix Crown, written with Janie Chang, was a fantastic novel that held my attention from start to finish. I have ADHD and cannot concentrate for long periods without taking a break and feeling antsy unless a book has really hooked me and this did!

Set in San Francisco, the story includes the devastation of the big earthquake which did massive damage to the city. I love reading about this time and there are just not enough books out there set during the earthquake.

A side character named Alice Eastwood is a botanist who works as a curator at the Californian Academy of Science, and she is a very unusual and interesting character.

Synopsis:

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.

Out on Feb 13!

✨ Review ✨ The Phoenix Crown by Kate Quinn and Janie Chang

Thanks to William Morrow and #netgalley for the gifted advanced copy/ies of this book!

--

Let's start out by saying this isn't a typical Kate Quinn book, and it's instead something more collaborative. It's definitely different. If you start by setting your expectations this way, I think it can help you love this even more!

The setting is 1906 San Francisco on the eve of the big earthquake and fires that destroyed much of the central city. The book follows Gemma, a newcomer to the city and an opera singer, trying to make her last shot at a career plagued by migraines. Suling, a local laundry worker and seamstress, is also trying for her last shot -- but for her, she's trying to escape before she's married off by her gambler of an uncle. Their paths cross, common characters emerge, and their lives become entangled together in the weeks leading up to the earthquake.

The historical research in this book is immaculate. They do an incredible job at building a world that feels historically accurate both before and after the earthquake/fires. I think this book is a little slower paced and without the typical Kate-Quinn-jaw-dropping-adventure, but I like historical fiction that reads this way too!

They also create compelling side characters that you'll love and hate and feel all sorts of things about (I won't say more here).

I also appreciated the diverse depictions of women of different classes and races in this book. I think it's still predominantly set in the white world of SF but gives us some glimpses into Chinatown and the types of discrimination they faced and ways they survived in the city.

The book definitely starts slow and I wished I had the audio to immerse myself in it, but overall, I found this enjoyable!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: historical fiction
Setting: 1906 San Francisco
Pub Date: Feb 13, 2024

Read this if you like:
⭕️ opera, botany and fancy stitching
⭕️ natural disaster drama
⭕️ female friendships in big cities

Happy Pub Day to The Phoenix Crown by Kate Quinn and Janie Chang. This historical fiction starts in San Francisco days before the famous 1906 earthquake and four women who are unexpectedly brought together. I love that these two authors worked together on this book and the details of Chinese culture and Chinatown during this time.

I love that this book is set during the San Francisco earthquake and we see the destruction and change in both our characters and the city. I liked that we had the view from Chinatown and Sulung's characters and I loved Alice the botanist. This was a good story but something just felt off for me while reading it.

Thanks to William Morrow for my copy of The Phoenix Crown.

On April 4, 1906, 32-year-old opera singer Gemma Garland arrives in San Francisco, hopeful that her new contract with the Metropolitan Opera traveling company will revitalize her dwindling career and excited to reunite with her old friend Nellie. But when she arrives in San Francisco, Nellie is gone without a trace.

Meanwhile in Chinatown, 19-year-old Feng Suling is nursing a broken heart. Her love, Reggie, abandoned her without a word of farewell, and Suling is about to be married off as the third wife of a much older man. Desperate to raise money to escape San Francisco, Suling embroiders small pieces for the city’s white gentry. She lands a job repairing a silk robe taken from a Beijing palace for wealthy businessman Henry Thornton and meets Gemma, who became Thornton’s mistress after he promised to launch her career.

The women soon discover a link between the disappearances of Nellie and Reggie and realize they’ve been caught up in a nefarious scheme. As they race to rescue themselves and their friends, the infamous earthquake rips the city apart, and Thornton disappears, along with the titular Phoenix Crown—another looted Chinese antiquity. The women know they’ll never be safe until Thornton is brought to justice.

Action-packed, this novel skillfully uses its strong female leads to examine racism, sexism, and classism. Quinn and Chang seamlessly blend their voices to explore opera, Chinatown, and the effects of the great earthquake on the city of San Francisco. The appearance of the real-life Alice Eastwood, the mildly eccentric, no-nonsense curator of botany at the California Academy of Sciences, adds an additional strong female lead with a light touch of humor. Readers won’t want to put this one down.

What a wonderful collaboration of these two amazing best selling authors. They have written an epic story together, with four awesome female characters, Gemma Garland an opera singer, Nellie Doyle an artist, Alice Eastwood a botanist, Suling Feng an embroideress. There's this ruthless railway tycoon named Henry Thornton, what a character this guy is. The build up with the countdown to the earthquake is such a page turner. The Phoenix Crown is a 5 ⭐ must read. I just loved the adventure that we all go through together throughout, till the perfect ending.

I've read five of Kate Quinn's books, The Alice Network, The Huntress, The Rose Code, The Diamond Eye, and her Signal Moon: A Short Story. I've also read two of Janie Chang books, Three Souls & The Porcelain Moon. I look forward to reading her other two books Dragon Springs Road & The Library of Legends. I have enjoyed all of these awesome books 📚🙂❤️.

Thank you Netgalley, William Morrow, and the authors Kate Quinn & Janie Chang for the advanced ebook reader copy.
All opinions are my own.

#NetGalley
#ThePhoenixCrown
#WilliamMorrow
#KateQuinn
#Janie Chang

Happy release day to “The Phoenix Crown!” I love all of Kate Quinn’s books, and this collaboration with the amazing Janie Chang is no exception. It focuses on four women and how their lives are affected by one man, as well as the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. I really enjoyed the inclusion of pre-earthquake San Francisco Chinatown and the character, Suling, an embroideress.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher William Morrow Books , and the authors for the advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Kate Quinn and Janie Chang have come together to tell a story about a small cast of women characters that are resilient and fierce. The setting is largely San Francisco and Chinatown weeks before the devastating 1906 earthquake. This back drop is a rather unique historical fiction setting that I really enjoyed. Quinn and Chang’s novel is a historical fiction with mystery. The racism of the Chinese in Chinatown is explored, and I truly enjoyed the cultural details. The characters are well developed and their voices unique and seem less from each writer. I loved the symbolism of the Phoenix for our leading ladies: rising from the ashes of their own lives to be reborn.

The lives of four women intersect as they pursue their dreams in San Francisco in the weeks leading up to the Great Earthquake of 1906.

In April 1906, opera singer Gemma Garland arrives in San Francisco to start a new job with the traveling company of the famed Metropolitan Opera. She has left behind a life in ruins in New York, and is looking forward to staying with her longtime friend, artist Nellie, who she hopes will bolster her flagging confidence. But when she arrives at the address that Nellie had given her, Gemma is stunned to find out that Nellie has packed up and moved away without leaving a forwarding address. Needing a place to stay, she arranges to rent the room where Nellie had lived. She meets one of the residents, Alice Eastwood, a botanist and curator at the California Academy of Sciences who is passionate about her career and the pursuit of unusual plants. Suling Feng, a young American-born Chinese woman who helps make deliveries from her family’s laundry business (dressed as a boy) to the boardinghouse where Gemma and Alice are living, also finds herself in their orbit as she struggles to free herself from a soon-to-happen marriage she doesn’t want that is being arranged by her uncle. When Gemma’s voice attracts the attention of the very wealthy industrialist Henry Thornton, who is willing to use his money and contacts to help Gemma break out of the chorus and into major roles, she agrees. This sets in motion a series of events that will impact all three women, against the backdrop of priceless Chinese objets d’art, the rollicking city of San Francisco, and ultimately the major earthquake that reduces much of that city to rubble.
The Phoenix Crown paints a chaotic and intriguing backdrop in the San Francisco of 1906, a city determined to raise its stature through cultural events, as well as with the exotic albeit maligned Chinatown and its opium dens, brothels and gambling establishments overshadowing the ordinary Chinese who live and work there despite the continual prejudice shown them by the city at large. The four characters of Gemma, Nellie, Alice and Suling, “four women as different as four women could be”, are well developed and it is easy to root for their success. With side characters ranging from Suling’s “Auntie” Madam Ning, owner of the very exclusive Palace of Endless Joy brothel and famed tenor Enrico Caruso, there is plenty of color and backstory to enjoy. There is also the mystery of what happened to several people who have gone missing….Nellie, Suling’s love Reggie, and even a Pinkerton detective. The women will risk everything to find out what it going on, and surviving a major earthquake isn’t the only challenge they will need to overcome. Readers of historical fiction by authors like Marie Benedict, Paula McLain and Martha Hall Kelly (as well as those who have read the previous novels of Kate Quinn and Janie Chang) will certainly enjoy The Phoenix Crown, Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow Paperbacks for allowing me access to a copy of this entertaining and informative novel.

The Phoenix Crown by Kate Quinn and Janie Chang focuses on the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and I was fascinated to learn yet another part of non-war history through this historical fiction!

Not once would I have suspected this book was written by a duo of authors, aside from two names being on the cover. Their research and depth of historical love created a book that flowed seamlessly between themselves and the two vastly different main characters: Gemma and Suling. It was interesting learning different aspects of the opera and stage life through Gemma, and equally as intriguing to learn about Suling's upbringing in Chinatown.

Yes, this is a historical fiction, but there's a touch of romance and a heck of a lot of action, all while never overshadowing the emotional side of the story at all. The positive and negative aspects of being a woman during this time frame was beautifully showcased.

I was absolutely spellbound and entranced by this book; completely enraptured by what was going on from the start to the finish. Its pacing never left me longing for immediate resolve, as nothing was drawn out unnecessarily. The editing was impeccable with irrelevant information taken out, making the narrative flow that much smoother.

Don't miss reading the Authors' Note! It's incredible how this story came to be. Yet again, my interest in San Fransisco's culture is piqued!

Thank you NetGalley, Uplit Reads, William Morrow and William Morrow Paperbacks for the complimentary copies to read and review.

It's April 1906 and opera singer Gemma Garland has just arrived in San Francisco ahead of a series of performances in the Met's touring production of Carmen (in the chorus, but hey, it's still the Met!). When she gets into town, however, she learns that her friend, artist Nellie, with whom she was going to stay, has disappeared. Soon, however, Gemma has found herself a wealthy patron and is set to be the toast of the town. Meanwhile, orphaned Suling is doing everything she can to avoid her gambling-addicted uncle from selling her off in marriage. What neither Gemma nor Suling can predict, however, is the deadly earthquake that will destroy the city in the middle of all of their plans.

In the afterword to this book, the authors note that the more they learned about the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the more things they wanted to include in the book, and how hard it was to take things out. After trying to summarize it above, I'm realizing that they could have cut out several other elements to make it a bit less convoluted. The characters and overall plot were interesting (I'd definitely read a book about real-life botanist Alice Eastwood, fiction or nonfiction!), though I don't think the earthquake itself added much to the story as a whole — and considering the importance of setting in historical fiction, that's not a great thing. It was an interesting book, but it won't be topping my list of favorite historical fictions.

Compelling, atmospheric, and mysterious!

The Phoenix Crown is a captivating, insightful tale set during 1906 that takes you into the life of Gemma Garland, an operatic soprano who, after having a lacklustre career in New York, heads to San Francisco to meet up with her friend, Nell and give her career the boost it needs, but things don’t work out exactly as she hoped, and as the earthquake and subsequent fires destroy the foundations of the city, it quickly becomes apparent that the railroad magnate and Chinese antiquities collector, Henry Thornton is not quite the catch he first appeared, and it will take forming a close friendship with a young embroider and a middle-aged renowned botanist to finally bring his nefarious actions to light.

The prose is eloquent and expressive. The characters are naive, vulnerable, and resilient. And the plot is an engaging tale of life, loss, deception, surprises, heartbreak, betrayal, danger, friendship, inequality, survival, a touch of romance, and the great San Francisco earthquake.

Overall, The Phoenix Crown is an intriguing, absorbing, enigmatic tale by this dynamic writing duo that immerses you in another time and place and does a wonderful job of highlighting the lengths that people will often go for power, success, acceptance, retribution, and survival.

The Phoenix Crown by Kate Quinn and Janie Chang

Rating: 4/5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It’s days before the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and the city and its residents are hustling.

Gemma is an opera singer who just relocated from NYC and is about to join the traveling Metropolitan Opera in San Francisco. She arrives a week early to spend time with her old friend Nellie, who has promised to show her around the city.

Nellie is nowhere to be found, and Gemma meets Alice Eastwood, the head botanist at the California Academy of Sciences, also a tenant in the building Nellie was supposed to be living.

Suling was born and raised in San Francisco’s Chinatown and after the tragic loss of her parents is being forced into an arranged marriage.

The three women all cross paths at high society parties thrown by business tycoon, Henry Thornton, where they all have their own reason of being there.

Once they can see past the money, elegance and charm that surrounds Thornton’s world, the women realize he might be a real danger.

And could he have something to do with Nellie being missing?

Now comes the chaos of a 7.2 earthquake and the city burning for 3 days all while the women come together to find their friend and avoid the possibly dangerous millionaire.

Each woman had her own sets of goals and ambitions, but as they all intersected they took the time to help each other however they could.

The suspense kept my attention and the story will be one the stays in my mind for awhile.

Thanks to #netgalley, the publisher and the authors for this e-arc.

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐡𝐨𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐱 𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬: 𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝐅𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝟏𝟑, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you #partner @williammorrowbooks @katequinn @janiechang for providing me with a #gifted copy of The Phoenix Crown! #ThePhoenixCrown #KateQuinn #JanieChang

Wow! I loved everything about The Phoenix Crown! This is a historical fiction book with some mystery elements and I just could not read it fast enough. Kate Quinn is one of my favorite historical fiction authors, and after reading this one, I’m going to grab a Janie Chang book because I know I will love everything she writes. I love when authors team up to write together, and this author duo knocked this one out of the park!

Gemma is an opera singer who is set on restarting her career in San Francisco. Suling is an embroideress in Chinatown, desperately trying to escape an arranged marriage and a terrible Uncle. They cross paths through their connection to Henry Thornton, a wealthy businessman, and owner of Chinese antiques, including the Phoenix Crown. Henry has wealth and connections to help both women advance their careers, but he also has a secret past that the women are close to uncovering. When the devastating earthquake of 1906 hits the city, Henry disappears, leaving a mystery behind. Years later, the Phoenix Crown resurfaces, sending Gemma and Suling on a hunt for answers and justice.

I must admit, one of my favorite characters was Alice, a botanist who played such an important role in this storyline and in history. This book was so well researched and I loved reading the author’s note at the end of the book and learning more about the various characters and what was fact or fiction.

I cannot recommend this book enough! It was truly spectacular and I feel like the mystery element made this book so dynamic. If you are a fan of historical fiction, you are going to love this one!

Posted on Goodreads on February 12, 2024: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/144922955?ref=nav_profile_l
**Posted on Instagram - Full Review- on or around February 13, 2024: http://www.instagram.com/nobookmark_noproblem
**Posted on Amazon on February 13, 2024
**-will post on designated date