Hello everyone, and welcome to my stop for the blog tour of A Clash Of Steel by C.B. Lee. Thank you to Coloured Pages book tours for hosting this tour! Click on the tour banner below to check out the schedule for the tour and read posts by other bloggers as well!
Title: A Clash of Steel
Author: C.B Lee
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Publication Date: September 7th, 2021
Genres: Young Adult, Historical Fiction
Synopsis:
Two intrepid girls hunt for a legendary treasure on the deadly high seas in this YA remix of the classic adventure novel Treasure Island.
1826. The sun is setting on the golden age of piracy, and the legendary Dragon Fleet, the scourge of the South China Sea, is no more. Its ruthless leader, a woman known only as the Head of the Dragon, is now only a story, like the ones Xiang has grown up with all her life. She desperately wants to prove her worth, especially to her mother, a shrewd businesswoman who never seems to have enough time for Xiang. Her father is also only a story, dead at sea before Xiang was born. Her single memento of him is a pendant she always wears, a simple but plain piece of gold jewelry.
But the pendant’s true nature is revealed when a mysterious girl named Anh steals it, only to return it to Xiang in exchange for her help in decoding the tiny map scroll hidden inside. The revelation that Xiang’s father sailed with the Dragon Fleet and tucked away this secret changes everything. Rumor has it that the legendary Head of the Dragon had one last treasure—the plunder of a thousand ports—that for decades has only been a myth, a fool’s journey.
Xiang is convinced this map could lead to the fabled treasure. Captivated with the thrill of adventure, she joins Anh and her motley crew off in pursuit of the island. But the girls soon find that the sea—and especially those who sail it—are far more dangerous than the legends led them to believe.
Book Links: Goodreads || Amazon || Book Depository || Barnes And Noble || IndieBound || Indigo
Thank you to Coloured Pages Book Tours and Netgalley for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange of a sincere review. This does not change my opinions in any way.
A Clash Of Steel was one of my most anticipated releases this year, soo I was literally squealing when I got selected for the tour and received an arc! Let’s get started with the review, shall we?
A retelling of an old favourite – Treasure Island, this story follows Xiang, a young girl living in a sleepy village in China, who is trying to find her true calling.
The setting alone was a treat to the history nerd in me. I reveled in reading about the pirate legend that was Ching Shih and her enormous fleet, and my adoration of her was exactly why I felt she shouldn’t have been villainized at the end, but we’ll come to that later.
Next, we had a totally cool, diverse cast of characters from all over China as well as neighboring countries and I liked how each of them, without going into too much detail, were described in just the right amount.
The concept grabs all of the points here. Like treasure hunting? Long voyages? Pirates?? Oh so cool! I think this was my first pirate book in a loooong time and I really need to find more of these.
Another thing I absolutely loved about this book was it’s brilliant portrayal of strong women characters. The formidable captain of the Dragon Fleet was a woman, our two main characters were sapphic teens, both their mothers were also independent working women – one a captain of a ship and the other a respected businesswoman. So yeah, a plus point here.
The one thing I didn’t like about this book was the pacing. It felt off at several points throughout the story – certain matters that were not very important were blown out of proportion and others were too quickly over. Some parts were unnecessarily long and that reduced my enjoyment of the story.
Overall, I’d recommend this book to all those who would be interested in a sapphic pirate story combined with historical Chinese legends. (though I don’t see how anyone could not be interested, so I pretty much recommend it to all of you).
Rating: ★★★★ (4 out of 5 stars)
CB Lee is a Lambda Literary Award nominated writer of young adult science fiction and fantasy. Her works include the Sidekick Squad series (Duet Books), Ben 10 (Boom!), and All Out Now (HarperTeen). CB loves to write about queer teens, magic, superheroes, and the power of friendship.
Lee’s work has been featured in Teen Vogue, Wired Magazine, and Hypable. Lee’s first novel in the Sidekick Squad series, Not Your Sidekick was a 2017 Lambda Literary Awards Finalist in YA/Children’s Fiction and a 2017 Bisexual Book Awards Finalist in Speculative Fiction. Seven Tears at High Tide was the recipient of a Rainbow Award for Best Bisexual Fantasy Romance and also a finalist for the 2016 Bisexual Book Awards in the YA and Speculative Fiction categories.
Author Links: Website || Twitter || Instagram || Goodreads || Facebook || Tumblr
Do you have A Clash Of Steel on your TBR? Which is your favourite pirate book? Chat with me in the comments!
And on a final note, my blog reached 200 followers a while back and I am hosting a Q & A session in honour of that! Visit this post and leave me questions in the comments section! Oh, and don’t forget to fill this feedback form too – https://forms.gle/CYkBpZXUm4hsuJQm8!!
~ Rachel
A Bookworm's Paradise 