I was interested in reading this book as I love historical fiction and was looking forward to learning about Australia. Unfortunately, I really struggled to get thru the book and didn't end up finishing it. I couldn't get past the writing style, and had trouble following the characters. If you have a strong interest in the topic, you may be fine with it, but it lost me along the way.

I was looking forward to this book, as I am very close to my sisters and thought the premise of one sister seeking justice for her murdered sister would be a compelling read. The book started strongly, and really kept my interest, but about half-way thru, it started slowing down and lost me. Some of the characters just didn't seem believable, I didn't totally finish the book, but skimmed the end to see Who Done It, and was disappointed in the ending. I did find the subject matter to be interesting, just sort of lost steam along the way.

I struggled about halfway thru the book. While it seemed like it should interest me, I never could get into the flow of the story. If you are interested in Botany, I am sure this would be of interest to you. Jeanne Baret's life is remarkable, but the book didn't catch my interest enough to complete it.

Glory is a grieving widow, Juniper is a wounded teen, Joseph has his own hurts. These three sad characters come together in a sweet story. I thought at times that the story dragged and the ending was predictable, but if you're looking for a light read with characters that you care about, you will enjoy this book.

I adored this book. Flavia is such a wonderful character, I fell in love with her and her story instantly. It's not a deep literary book, but good fun with a great little heroine. I got sucked into this story instantly and couldn't wait to get back to it. I have recommended to many friends and they have all liked it too. Can't wait to read the next installment that comes out this month!!

I am a huge Pearl Buck fan so was very excited to receive this book. I did enjoy the book, but wasn't blown away by it. The writing wasn't a good as I was hoping for, but I did learn things about Pearl, and China that I found interesting. I have done quite a bit of reading on China in this period, but for someone who hasn't, I believe they would find this book to be very informative. I especially enjoyed that Pearl's missionary family was presented in a positive light. It seems missionaries/Christians are often represented negatively in books. Seeing the impact Pearl's father's mission had on the community he served was enlightening. I would recommend it for book clubs as I think it would generate some good discussions about Chinese culture.