Welcome to Litsy!

Xian Li-lin can see ghosts - and monsters - with her ‘yin eyes.‘ Her father, a renowned Daoshi master, usually protects San Francisco‘s Chinatown. But when he‘s weakened by an old enemy, Li-lin must summon every friend and power she can garner to defeat an enormous evil. The plot is cinematic here — like a wuxia film. Not much character development, but it was a wild engrossing ride just the same. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ & 3/4 stars. #bookspin

#SoaringScores
Since @Cinfhen & @CrowCAH both already picked my favorite, The Princess Bride for #TheSwordFight I had to choose another book. This one is still in my #TBR stack but since the MC, Li-lin has a peachwood sword, I imagine there must be sword fights. 🍑⚔️
BTW—borrowed the sword image background from online & have no idea what the characters mean.🤔😉

Okay this book knocked my socks off. I'm usually not one for historical fantasy tbh. But this was just...delicious. So action-packed, so unexpected, so fun! If you love fresh urban fantasy, twisty demony goodness, and kickass (literally) female heroines, then this book set in Old San Francisco's Chinatown is going to make your day.

Also kung fu. You should have at least a little love for martial arts and Asian culture. 🗡🔥

Ready, set...Read!

Replenishment for the #Red Display! 😁

Have you read any of these?!

#LitsyLovesLibraries #MrBooksDisplays

#CoolBooks #myth #magic

Catching up on this fairy tale cool books challenge by combining the final two prompts. I have had this book downloaded on my Kindle for ages now. It is supposed to full of Chinese myths, folklore and magic and I love this cover--it's very cool. 😎

Mahalo to @Linsy for another fun photo challenge. 😍

My last two #MyThrillClub books for awhile.
I love the subscription box, but I'm trying to cut down on my book collecting.
I'm super interested in these though. :D

#girlinthetitle Here are a few books that I have with girl in the title. Unlike my usual posts, however, I have actually already read most of these. #readjanuary

Li-lin is quickly turning into one of my favorite protagonists that I've journeyed with in quite some time. She is so strong and yet soft in many ways. Her character is nuanced and racked with conflicts that transcend time and setting, honor, duty, family, and revenge. The deep dive into Chinese magic is so gripping and welcome!

Amazing. I absolutely loved this book. It grabbed me right from the beginning and kept on going. I didn't want to put it down. The imagery and religious nuances were intense and intriguing. The ghosts and spirit world were made real at the hands of the author and made me want to immerse myself in their world. The characters had depth and personality. Definitely worth my time and money. Great job.

Filled with quirky monsters, quick witted dialogue, kung fu and amazing magic. But most importantly, it's full of heart. Exploration of a mix of Chinese cultures & spiritualities, the plight of working class Chinese immigrants, and the place of women within it. It's jam packed with the diversity I've been craving to see in fantasy. Cultural, religious, feminism. It affected me on an emotional, and spiritual level. I really hope it does for others

Because sometimes our default mode as females, is to project the opposite.. And in the context of this book, this sentence resonates loudly.

Saturday Lunch! Huddled inside out of the cold chowing down on Chicken, Pumpkin & Pesto salad w/ a side of The Girl With Ghost Eyes! Really enjoying it so far.. about a culture I know little about, but it's written in a way that is totally accessible. The audio is fantastic, because the Mandarin (I believe it is! Correct me if I'm wrong!) is pronounced accurately, rather than the mess my mind would attribute to the words. Such a musical language!

Went for a wheel out to the creek w/ my powdog Iris (crazy mosquitoes!) & started listening to this! Powerful start! "The end of the 19th century in SF's Chinatown, Li-lin, the daughter of a renowned Daoshi exorcist, is a young widow burdened with yin eyes—the unique ability to see the spirit world. Her spiritual visions and the death of her husband bring shame to Li-lin and her father—and shame is not something this immigrant family can afford."

A wild ride!

I am loving this novel. I keep having to put the novel down so that I can look up more information about Chinese and Japanese mythology. But that's a good thing!

Loving this book so far! It's outside the norm of what I usually read, but after teaching world literature this fall & summer and preparing to teach world mythology this fall, the premise caught my attention! Late 19th-C San Francisco. Chinese folklore. Spirit world. Martial arts. Female heroine.

This book hooked me from page 1. I loved Li-Lin, and her monster companions. The setting was evocative and otherworldly. And while I could nit-pick a little on the flatness of the bad guy, it didn't detract at all from the overall experience!

A very cool story, and so wonderful to have an ass-kicking heroine! But, at times the voice of Li-lin feels jarringly false. Though the author does due diligence with a section of disclaimers at the end, it sometimes felt like appropriation, but I was still able to enjoy the book and its uniqueness.