Silver Phoenix: Beyond The Kingdom of Xia by Cindy Pon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Silver Phoenix is the story of 17 year old girl, Ai Ling, and her quest to free her father. Throughout the story she meets a cast of characters that are interesting, in their own way.
First of all, the cover on this book is absolutely stunning. I put this book on my “to-read” list without even reading the description – just for the cover art. Unfortunately, while the cover art deserves 5 stars, the story doesn’t justify it.
Don’t get me wrong – it was an okay story. There were bits of action, romantic tension and magic woven throughout it. But the real strength of the book is in its descriptions. I could picture the scenery described and taste the food as it was laid out on the page. Every meal was detailed, every home described well. Unfortunately, the characters development didn’t merit the same attention to detail.
I couldn’t quite figure out Ai Ling. At times, it seemed as if she was going to be this strong heroine, but then it seemed as if all of her courage was based on a single pendant around her neck. I was disappointed in the character and think there could have been much more.
The same goes for the other characters introduced in the book. It seemed as if the author just skimmed over each character without giving them an actual voice. Even the main characters in the book were difficult to really figure out.
Overall, it was an okay read. It was interesting enough for me to want to finish it, but I wasn’t grabbing it every chance I could get.
