After her father dies, Little Flower is forced to leave her family and be a maidservant to a wealthy family. The stories of Little Flower and the woman she serves are interwoven and tell the story of life and class for women in 1800's China. The beginning and end were strong but the middle of the book meandered and did not always hold my interest.

The Lotus Shoes is a heart-wrenching story, set in 1800s China, that sheds light on the way women were seen as possessions and objects in a culture that values tradition over humanity. Little Flower is sold as a young child to the wealthy Fong family, and must serve as a muizai to the family’s daughter, Linjing. Little Flower and Linjing navigate a complicated relationship of Lady and slave, hopeful for a friendship that can’t exist within the bonds of Little Flower’s enslavement. Yet the two of them are intertwined and rivalry and bitterness lead to deep hurts and the hope for healing in their complicated relationship.

This book is gripping historical fiction that really brings about an emotional response from the reader. As I read the story, I found myself choosing sides between the female characters in the book, and loving some and hating others. But there is a quote in the book that sheds so much truth on the behavior of the women in the story, that says, the heirarchy favored men and no matter what position the women held, they were pitted against one another to fight for scraps of power and security. This is such a powerful theme in the book and makes the reader take a hard look at labeling the different female characters in the story as “good” or “bad”.

Yang keeps you hanging by a thread of hope, that Little Flowers’s next situation will be the one where she prevails, but then doubles down on the suffering she must face and how she finds the resilience to overcome those hardships. Linjing is definitely a complex character, and even as she proves herself to be prideful, selfish, and bitter, over and over again, I still held out hope for her throughout the story. Yang makes both of the girls come to life, and I continually found myself wishing for a happy ending for both of them.

The Lotus Shoes is a profound story that not only looks at how women were treated during this time in Chinese culture, but how all people were ruled by tradition and not being able to choose their own happiness. Breaking from tradition resulted in the person being disinherited and could bring ruin to the rest of their family. The Lotus Shoes forces us to look at the pressure put on each person during this time, no matter their sex or station in life.

If you love historical fiction, with a character driven story and complex characters, then I would highly recommend The Lotus Shoes.

My thanks for the ARC goes to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, Park Row. I'm voluntarily leaving a review, and all opinions are my own.

Genre: Asian Literature, Women's Fiction, Historical Fiction, Chinese Historical Fiction
Spice Level: There is a sex scene
Violence: There are some shocking scenes

THE LOTUS SHOES is a wide-sweeping tale of two women born into different stations. I enjoyed this story and was equally horrified at the twists and turns. It firmly falls in the women's fiction category.

Themes include betrayal, jealousy, class division, morality, love, family, fidelity, and more.

I found I never felt empathy for the privileged girl. There is a nod to her character development, but I personally found it hard to believe after all of her previous actions. (I hope that is vague enough not to spoil anything.)

For me, one of the overriding themes is the injustice caused by class divisions. It is part of every decision, betrayal, and jealousy. It even casts its shadow over love.

I think if you love women's fiction, you're going to love every moment of this book. It's also great for people interested in social justice.

Happy reading!

When Little Flower is sold as a slave to a daughter of a prominent family, she is hopeful that her bound feet will one day free her with marriage. Her mistress, Linjing, is instantly jealous of Little Flower and their relationship changes both their lives.

This may be one of my top five of the year! What an incredible story. I can’t believe all the drama and epicness that was packed into less than 400 pages without feeling rushed or crammed. It’s also hard to believe this is a debut. I highly recommend this one, as it should take its place among other classic popular Chinese historical fiction, such as Memoirs of Geisha and Lady Tan’s. Please don’t read the synopsis - too many spoilers!

“She was a pedigree horse wearing blinkers, only able to see the safe, privileged path she trod. How could she understand that a slave’s life was a tightrope?”

The Lotus Shoes comes out 1/7/25.

Jane Yang’s The Lotus Shoes, a novel of late 19th century South China, tells the heart-breaking but ultimately satisfying story of two girls growing into womanhood. Five months after Little Flower’s father’s death, the six-year-old’s mother announces they are going on a trip to Canton City, one-day from their village. Initially excited, along the way Little Flower learns she has been sold as a Muizai, a slave belonging to her new owner, the wealthy Lady Fong, whose bidding she must do without ever returning home. Unable to provide for both her son and her daughter, Little Flower’s mother assures her daughter that this is a good position with no hard labor, just serving the Fong family’s young daughter Linjing. Little Flower, she adds, must be patient and obedient and take care of her “golden lilies”—her traditional bound feet--for they are the attribute that will help her marry well someday.

The point of view alternates between Little Flower and Linjing, protagonist and antagonist, creating a rivalry that moves the plot along. Lady Fong tells Linjing that she hopes she and Little Flower will grow up to have a relationship like Lady Fong and her maid Cerise have had since first coming together at age six, but Linjing is not convinced. After Lady Fong praises the new servant girl’s fine embroidery skill, Linjing slams down her own embroidery hoop and is chided for setting a poor example for Little Flower. Jealous of her mother’s attention to a lowly servant, Linjing does everything she can to make Little Flower’s life miserable even after Little Flower finds a way to help Linjing cope with her colorblindness in order to improve her embroidery skills.

When Linjing’s father arranges his young daughter’s years’-long betrothal to Valiant Li, the son of a Westernized Chinese diplomatic family, he tells her she will be a young woman to help with the Westernization of China. However, shortly before the marriage, a secret comes out that ends the betrothal, results in Lady Fong’s suicide, and lands both girls in South China’s Celibate Sisterhood, a group of women avoiding forced marriages and vowing celibacy resulting in the Sisterhood’s acceptance by Chinese society. As novices in the Celibate Sisterhood, the girls become silk reelers, whose livelihood comes from extracting silk fibers from cocoons. With the Sisterhood also come suffering and potential danger, for any violation of the celibacy pledge is punishable by drowning.

Inspired by the author’s grandmother’s stories, The Lotus Shoes is a captivating debut novel of family, tradition versus modernization, loss, social class rivalries, jealousy, sisterhood, and hope.

My thanks to NetGalley and Park Row Books/Harlequin Trade Publishing for an advance reader egalley of this recommended historical novel.

The Lotus Shoes was a tale that gripped me right from the first chapter. It was easy to get behind Little Flower as the protagonist and to suffer with her as she went through so many hardships. Linjing was a character less likeable but with whom it was still possible to sympathise at times. Both women were well presented in their respective chapters, as was the sense of time and place expressed in beautiful, descriptive prose without info dumping. I was caught up in the tale from start to finish, and the ending itself was satisfying after all the drama that came before it. The Lotus Shoes was an excellent piece of historical fiction that I would recommend to fans of the genre. I am giving it 4.5 stars.

Much of the historical fiction I've read set in 19th century China focuses on setting and plot, often with a large cast of characters. The Lotus Shoes is almost exclusively character driven. The voices of two characters alternate throughout the book. Lingjing and Little Flower are from different worlds, affluence and poverty. The two girls fates are intertwined when Little Flower's mother is forced to sell her daughter to the Fong family as a slave for Lingjing. The sale is conditional, Little Flower is to be released when she finds a suitable marriage. The hope for a better future sustains her she develops remarkable embroidery skills and she is both empathetic and intelligent. The story follows the girls into adulthood with many twists and turns. Although not exactly a Cinderella story although I thought of that tale several times. The history of foot binding is interesting and add a complexity to the story. Overall a good read.

In 1800s China, the lives of Little Flower and Linjing Fong become intertwined when they are children. After the death of her father, six-year-old Little Flower is sold to the wealthy Fong family and becomes Linjing's muizai (servant). Linjing is betrothed to the son of a family who can advance her father's ambitions. The prominent family she is set to marry into is more Westernized than most Chinese families, leading Linjing's father to forbid her from having her feet bound, a practice considered a status symbol and a mark of feminine beauty. Having "golden lilies" was a sign of a respectable woman. Despite being a slave, Little Flower is highly skilled and compassionate, while Linjing's selfishness and jealousy create a rivalry between the two girls which carries into womanhood.

The Lotus Shoes is a remarkable debut novel by author Jane Yang, inspired by family stories. This deeply touching book immerses you in a culture that was often cruel towards women deemed less valued, including foot-binding. With themes of love and loss, betrayal, and redemption, this book is both heartbreaking and hopeful. The beauty of historical fiction lies in its ability to take readers to another place and time and ideally offer new insights. This novel achieves just that. I loved it.

This book set in China in 1800 tells the story of two women. There are two protagonists...Little Flower who was sold into slavery and :Lingling whose family is wealthy. It was interesting to learn of the culture in China at that time, how important it was for women to have their feet bound (golden lilies) as a sign the importance of having little feet. For women were not important in the family, it was only male children that were of importance. The difference between Little Flower and Lingling is set right from the beginning of the book and as we read we find that Little Flower has more compassion, she is filled with hope for a better future, while Lingling is filled with jealousy and selfishness as she has lived a life of privilege. It was interesting to read about the class system of that era, the difference between the peasant and the rich. My thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Told from alternating points of view, The Lotus Shoes is the story of two women from the opposite sides of society in late 19th century China whose lives become intertwined as young girls. At the time, tightly bound feet known as "golden lilies" are considered the highest standard of beauty among the upper classes of Chinese society and necessary for a young woman to make a good marriage.

Little Flower is born to a lower class family, however, her mother started binding her feet when she was four years old in hopes that having golden lilies would provide her with greater opportunity in the future. Tragedy befalls her family, however, and at the age of 6, Little Flower is sold to the prominent Fong family to be a muizai (maidservant) for daughter Linjing who is the same age.

Despite having all of the advantages of her family's wealth and position in society, Linjing is resentful of Little Flower for her golden lilies and for her exceptional skill at embroidery which is considered the purview of high class ladies and acts out of spite to hurt Little Flower whenever she can. Linjing insists that Little Flower be included as part of her dowry to accompany her as maidservant to her future husband's house but scandal strikes the Fong family setting the two young women upon a different path.

The Lotus Shoes is beautifully written, character-driven historical fiction based on stories from the author's family. The story highlights the manner in which class, gender and social norms prevented women and anyone from lower classes from getting ahead in 19th century China with a particular emphasis on the limited options for women who lacked agency and rights in the patriarchal society. Western ideas are starting to seep into Chinese society at this point, however, the cultural practice of foot binding and marriage traditions that left women at a disadvantage were still prevalent.

Little Flower is a resilient character demonstrating courage and determination in the face of a great deal of hardship. Linjing is flawed and much harder to feel sympathy for, however, she also has very limited choices available to her despite her family's wealth and social position. A touching debut from Jane Yang!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for sending a digital ARC of this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

So the main reason I picked this book as my next read was because I received a Goodreads email that featured the wonderful author, Alka Joshi, highly recommending this book!!! So THANKFULLY, through NetGalley, I was honored to have received the ARC book!!! AND.... I am SOOO GLAD I did!!! For me it's hard to put into words all the feelings I had while reading this amazing story... of family, love (the most hardest things we do for love), upper class versus lower class, forgiveness, and so on and so on. When finishing this book, I was sad for it to end, but at the same time, it was a perfect emotion-filled ending. 🩷

Linjing's father, in hopes of securing a marriage for her with a progressive and prominent family, forbids the binding of her feet. Little Flower, whose hopeful mother bound her feet in hopes of a good marriage is instead sold as a child to serve Linjing's family. She becomes Linjing"s maid and the object of her jealousy. The story tracks the relationship of these two women for good and ill.

Set in late nineteenth-century China, on the tipping point between imperial tradition and enforced modernity in response to Western colonialism, this debut novel counterposes the lives of two young women, one of whom owns the other.

Little Flower, the muizai (personal maid) of Linjing Fong, is sold into slavery at the age of six, after her father’s early death leaves the family with no other means of support. Convinced that good behavior will reunite her with her birth family, the child tries to follow her mother’s orders to obey silently and accept whatever treatment is meted out to her. This behavior wins over Linjing’s mother, especially when it becomes clear that Little Flower has an extraordinary gift for embroidery. But the pathway into the family is blocked by Linjing’s jealousy of the favored treatment that contributes in small ways to making Little Flower’s life in slavery more tolerable.

On the surface, Linjing’s life is a complete contrast to Little Flower’s. The privileged eldest child of her father’s chief wife, Linjing has been spared the agonies of foot binding because of her betrothal to the heir of a progressive Chinese family. She has received an education, including exposure to Western literature and teaching in English. Her “natural” feet make possible an active life. She loves to ride her horse and to explore the countryside, to the extent that is permitted to young woman. Even her one defect—color blindness, which makes embroidery difficult—is offset to some degree with help from Little Flower. Yet Linjing’s jealousy and quick temper prevent her from enjoying or even recognizing the many advantages available to her because of her birth.

Lotus shoes are the tiny slippers worn by women with bound feet, and foot binding—who endures it and who doesn’t, how different characters react to it, what it means in Chinese culture versus the reaction of Westerners—constitutes one major theme of the novel. Slavery—its impact on both those who own and those who serve—is the other. The author doesn’t pull her punches, and the cruelty inherent in this extremely hierarchical society is on full display. But the (very) gradual blossoming of a friendship between Little Flower and Linjing as their circumstances change makes their story both engrossing and memorable.

I will be interviewing this author for the New Books Network (link below) in April 2025.

This book was such a compelling page turner, told from two points of view. First we have Little Flower, a young girl sold into slavery by her widowed mother. Then there is Linjing, she ends up owing Little Flower, a spoiled daughter of the First Wife.
This is the early 1800's life in China, and men of wealth seemed to have a number of wives, and the goal to have sons! While it seems like a male society, the oldest First Wife rules over the household!
We follow these girls, the same age when we meet them, 6, through there lives, and are with them with struggles, and life changing events.
I really enjoyed this book, and highly recommend it! There is a big theme of forgiveness here!
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Harlequin Trade Publishing, and was not required to give a positive review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC of The Lotus Shoes.

2.5 rounded to 3. I had high hopes for this book because the premise sounded so promising, but I just couldn’t get into it. Part of the struggle was the Kindle formatting—words were randomly spaced (usually after the letter "f"), and page numbers popped up in the middle of paragraphs instead of at the top or bottom of the page. It made reading feel disjointed, and that didn’t help me get lost in the story.

Beyond that, the characters just didn’t click for me. They felt stiff and robotic, and instead of rooting for them, I mostly felt frustrated or annoyed. A big issue was the heavy use of internal monologue. While that can work in some stories, here it felt overly self-aware and unrealistic—especially with the younger characters. I couldn’t buy into the idea of 6, 8, or 10-year-olds having in-depth, step-by-step internal debates about their every move.

I considered DNFing, but I pushed through, hoping the story would pay off. Unfortunately, even though the idea behind the book was interesting, the execution just didn’t land for me.

If you liked Memoirs of a Geshia, then you'll love this book. The Lotus Shoes is just incredible from start to finish. It's heart wrenching, emotional, and beautiful. To put into words how perfect this book is, is impossible. You just have to read it for yourself and go through the journey of 2 young women in 1800s China.

Set in 19th Century China, this fabulous debut will bend and scrape every emotion from your heart. For a good marriage, women must be sure their "Golden Lillies." WOmen must bind their feet with lotus shoes to achieve a state of beauty. Without this you will not marry, nor have a future.

What an astounding and heartbreaking read about two girls who become women, one a slave and one her mistress in 1800's China. This character driven story had me mesmerized from the first page. I was drawn into their lives and the story would not let me go. What travails these women encountered and how they survived made for a very intriguing story. Very highly recommended.

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions in this review are entirely my own.

I loved this book!!. This book is similar to Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See. The book discusses the trials of foot binding and navigating proper society in the early 19th century. A young girl's fate is chosen by the size of her golden lilies. I will be purchasing this book for our library and book club.
Thanks to NetGally for the ARC

The Lotus Shoes
Not only did this historical fiction novel keep me engaged from beginning to end, I also learned so much about China in the 1800s. I felt so deeply for the women in this novel. My heart broke reading the torture these brave women endured. I won’t forget Little Flower for a very long time.