Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Author: Lisa See
Genres: Historical Fiction
Pub. Date: Jun. 2023

This is my 4th Lisa See book and I really love her as an author. I thought this had a slow start, but picked up a lot in the second half. It had the usual hallmarks of Lisa’s work in that it was really well written and filled with historical details and meaningful female relationships.

So I did like it, but it wasn’t quite as compelling as some of her other work. I felt she should have developed the front end of the book a little bit more because it was both boring, and didn’t have enough meat about Yunxian and Meiling’s relationship. It reminded me a lot of Snow Flower, even though it’s set several hundred years earlier. I found the character arcs and plot points similar, but Lady Tan isn’t set during any particular significant historical events, which is what I thought anchored both Snow Flower and the Island Of Sea Women.

The concept of female doctors for women is really intriguing and (I thought) quite revolutionary for the time period, so I liked that aspect. But a lot of the intrigue is fabricated, which is fine, just a bit less compelling. It took too long for the story to get going with not much happening. I felt like I was reading a history novel for the first half, before we finally got some drama in the second half.

Anyways, it wasn’t my favourite, but I still love Lisa See. I think The Island of Sea Women may be my favourite book she’s written, so if you’re new to her writing, I’d maybe suggest starting with that one! But I also enjoyed both The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane and Snow Flower and the Secret Fan better than this one, so check out my reviews for those too.