The Manor of Dreams Author Christina Li
Audiobook Review
4.5 out of 5 stars!
Narrator:
Catherine Ho
The two major life events that make-or-break families are weddings and funerals. The late, Chinese Actress, Vivian Yin's daughters are no exception to this conundrum. The two daughters are about to be forced to live under their childhood roof with someone from their past they were hoping to not see again. But for some reason the house is going to the gardener's daughter and not the two actual heirs?!
Left confused with no answers as to why, Vivian's daughters will get to the bottom of this! They have a week to figure out what happened to their mother and why she would deny them such a massive inheritance. As the families remain in the house things begin happening. Sightings of odd phenomena, erratic behaviors, and more. Could the house be turning against them? That's ridiculous! Right?!
I was drawn to this book because I wanted to branch out more with my reads and authors. The premise hooked me and I loved how the narrator sounded. I was not disappointed by everything that was woven into this read!
We start with a singular timeline being the present to help establish our cast of women in the house to a dual timeline. Introducing the famed Vivian Yin and taking us through her history before her death. I enjoyed moving from one time to the other as more pieces of the puzzle were given. Christina even included historical events and how Chinese Actresses were treated and viewed. I'm no history buff at all so I was intrigued by the things Vivian had to endure before she finally won an Oscar! Even after she won her life was not easy and as glamorous as the press made it out to be.
No matter the timeline there was always this presence creeping in. Subtle until you could do nothing but fall. Psychological twists and tolls on both the characters and the reader as the author slowly pulled the rug out from under you. Watching as the two families in both timelines unraveled as more secrets came to light and wondering how this will all end. The tension and strain of relationships and seeing how they'd react to one another in the final sequence of events. Not all of the twists I got! Some I called before the narrator voiced them aloud.
This read has darkness within. There's language, violence, bloodshed, and death. Mistreatment and racist behavior toward Chinese women (Vivian wasn't "Chinese" enough for some directors. . .) and men (historical cruelty). Spousal abandonment, shame, manipulation, made to feel guilty for situations that there shouldn't have been, panic attacks, visions of horrible sights, and more. There's domestic abuse both mental and physical. Question of how far you'd go to protect what's yours and is silence truly a good resolution for things.
We get romance with this read both MF and FF. There's some spice on the page, but it soon fades to black. I enjoyed the different types of romance and buildups within this read. Really loved the one forming between two young girls in the past and the moves they made to keep it secret but ultimately very sweet.
For me, the first time I listened to the read it was a little hard to keep up with who was speaking/whose POV we were in. I wished there was a little more of a blatant break between characters. Both daughters had names starting with "N" and they used the same Mandarin words to address their mothers, so it was a little hard to decipher. The timelines were a little easier because it stated which year we were in.
The finale of this read was great! We do get an HEA and conclusion to the story, but there are some loose ends left up to your imagination. I'm invested in listening to more from this author!
Enjoy the read however you may consume it and don't forget to give the author some stars! And remember maybe there are some words you shouldn't take to the grave to protect someone. . .
Thank you, Libby, for having this audiobook available!
The Manor of Dreams | Barnes & Noble®
The Manor of Dreams — Christina Li
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