Skip to main content

The Friday 56 (With Book Beginnings): The Girl with Ghost Eyes by M.H. Boroson + 50/50 Friday


Welcome to The Friday 56, a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice.

These are the rules:
1. Grab a book, any book.
2. Turn to page 56, or 56% on your eReader.
3. Find any sentence (or a few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you.
4. Post it.
5. Add the URL to your post in the link on Freda's most recent Friday 56 post.


I'm also taking part in Book Beginnings, a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader.  The rules are pretty simple - you share the first sentence or so and your initial thoughts, impressions, or whatever else it inspires.  Don't forget to link up your post's url with Rose City Reader.


This week I'm spotlighting one of my current reads, The Girl with Ghost Eyes (Xian Li-lin #1) by M.H. Boroson.  This novel will fulfill the fifth task of Book Riot's 2017 Read Harder Challenge which is to read a book by an immigrant or with a central immigration narrative.  It's an action-packed historical fantasy novel featuring a young Chinese immigrant in 1890s San Francisco's Chinatown who is the daughter of a famous Daoshi exorcist and ghost hunter, but she bears the shame of having yin eyes.  With these eyes, she can see the spirit world and have visions.  I'm not that far into it yet, but I have a feeling that I'm going to love it!  I've had my eyes on this for quite a while and this challenge is giving me an excuse to get started on it.


Beginning: 

I placed a paper shirt into the furnace.  The shirt was painted to resemble dark linen, broad at the shoulders, with buttons down the front.  It was a fine shirt, but not too fine, the kind of shirt a hardworking immigrant would wear to dinner.  Nothing about it would catch a devil's eye.

56:

A few moments later he came stumbling out of a cloud of steam on the ground.  "Marvelous," he said.  "Simply marvelous.  What do they call that?"

"That's steam," I told him.  "It comes out of hot water.  There are people inside that basement, and they use the water to wash laundry.  The water gives off steam, and the steam rises through that vent you found."

"Steam," said the eyeball spirit.  "I'll have to remember that.  But what is this 'hot water' you mentioned?"

"Come on, Mr. Yanqiu," I said with a smile.  "Let's go back to Father's apartment, and I'll heat you a cup of tea."




This week I'm also taking part in a brand new linkup called 50/50 Friday, which is hosted by Carrie @ The Butterfly Reader and Laura @ Blue Eye Books.  Every week they'll have a new topic featuring two sides of the same coin - this week the topic is Best/ Worst Queen or King Character (Good/ Evil).

Best (Good): 


Aragorn from The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

Worst (Evil): 


Levanna from The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

Comments

  1. I've never heard of that book before, but it looks incredibly interesting. I especially love the beginning.

    ReplyDelete
  2. A new one to me. Great title. I'd love for you and your readers to check out mine... http://tinyurl.com/LisaKsBookReviewsCCAAC

    ReplyDelete
  3. This book is new to me. I hope you enjoy it. I have a cozy this week - Purr M for Murder by T. C. LoTempio. Happy reading!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's definitely worth trying! Thanks for visiting, Kathy!

      Delete
  4. I have that book - The Girl with the Ghost Eyes, given to me by the publisher, and I forgot about it. Maybe I will pick that one up! Thanks for the reminder!
    Rebecca @ The Portsmouth Review
    Follow me on Bloglovin'

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think you're going to have to try it out! :)

      Thanks for visiting, Rebecca!

      Delete
  5. I'm fascinated by 1880s-1890s San Francisco, so I might give this one a try.
    The scabbard flying is so dramatic in that first .gif.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm always drawn in by stories set in San Francisco...and that 56 made me smile at the end.

    Thanks for sharing, and for visiting my blog.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love the setting -- time and place. This sounds like a book I'd enjoy.
    My Friday post features Blueprints.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Looks good and I hope you enjoy it.
    sherry @ fundinmental Friday Memes

    ReplyDelete
  9. I chose Levanna lol. She is an awful queen for sure!
    Thanks for linking up!

    Carrie @ The Butterfly Reader

    ReplyDelete
  10. I'm excited about this one. It would be a great movie, wouldn't it!

    My Friday 56 from The Roanoke Girls

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Based on what I've read so far, it would be awesome! :)

      Delete
  11. The Girl with the Ghost Eyes sounds really good! I haven't read many books focused on Chinese characters or immigrants so I'll definitely look into reading it sometime!

    Ah yes, Aragon :) It's been so long since I've watch LOTR and read the books; I should really do a reread/watch sometime soon. I remember loving the complexities of his character, though. And Levana! The classic evil queen :) Even after reading Fairest and understanding her background (which added SO much complexity to her character), she's still so evil to me. Great picks, Lauren!

    Laura @BlueEyeBooks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cool - I'm glad I could pique your interest! :)

      Thanks, Laura! I could definitely do with an LOTR reread and rewatch.

      Delete
  12. I really enjoyed your 56. The humor put a smile on my face. It shows how spirits can be so wise, yet innocent to the ways of human. Great quote!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I haven't heard of this book before, but it looks like an interesting read.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Never heard about this book. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for stopping by my blog.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Mr. Yanqiu sounds like an utter delight. Hope you enjoy your weekend!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, yes! :)

      Thanks, Alicia! I hope you have a great one, too!

      Delete
  16. I totally don't understand a paper shirt. And a Devil eye. Guess I'd have to read on...

    ReplyDelete
  17. Sounds so very different. I like it! Happy weekend!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Nightmare Before Christmas Book Tag

The French Connection by Robin Miller - Review

Top Ten Tuesday: Bingeworthy TV Shows