Reviews for The Girl from Junchow

The average rating for The Girl from Junchow based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2011-04-11 00:00:00 Christopher ROOP This is the sequel to The Russian Concubine and even if I didn't like Kate Furnivall I would have picked it up just to see how the story ended. Lydia Ivanova ends up going back to Russia to track down her father who is still alive and in a labor camp. Her half brother Alexei travels with her and she gets a protector in the guise of the big grizzly bear of a man from the first novel. It's a bit of a harrowing journey for Lydia for two reasons, 1) it's a pretty harrowing journey for anybody who's not used to Communist Russia to have to travel through Communist Russia and not get sent to a labor camp or shot, and 2) because she doesn't know if her lover from the first novel, Chang An Lo, is okay. Chang stuck around China to help with the People's Revolution so he's pretty unavailable for comment for the first third of the book. He resurfaces and his and Lydia's relationship is just as yummy as I remember, though some might say his ability to sweep in and save teh day every single time Lydia needs him might be just a titch contrived. Lydia is able to track down her father and she sortof plays at seducing a higher up in the Communist Party who almost screws her over (doesn't it suck when you can't totally coast on your good looks?) and that particular scene seriously pissed me off if only because we've discussed before my disdain for rape as a plot device. Although, it worked within the novel's universe and the way it resolved actually made sense. At the end of the day Lydia doesn't get a complete happy ending. She finds out things she probably didn't want to know, she betrays and gets betrayed, her relationship with Chang is tested and Chang's own belief system is challenged a time or two. Kate Furnivall doesn't disappoint, but there were a few places where the reader's going to have to suspend disbelief a little.

Review # 2 was written on 2011-08-09 00:00:00 Brandon Neubauer 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.