From China to Hawaii

Diamond Head by Cecily Wong
Published: April 14, 2015 by Harper
While I really wound up loving this book, because of the way it was written it took me a while to get into it. Each chapter is divided in half, with the first section the days surrounding Bohai Leong's funeral, and the second half as a flashback where the story is told by a one of Boahi's female family members (his mother, wife, aunt, and daughter). Except those flashbacks aren't in chronological order either, so it definitely took me a while to figure out what was going on and who everyone was.

But once I did, I couldn't get enough of this book. Actually, before I even finished I was ready to start rereading that way I could pick up a bit more from the start. In a way I wasn't a huge fan of the way this book was presented, but then as I finished the last pages, it all made sense. So much of this book is about secrets, and the way you read it, it's as if you're slowly being let in on all the hidden family stories.

I was expecting the book to transport me to Hawaii a bit more. And while it's definitely featured, China is what really came alive. This still makes sense, since parts of the book are in China and the characters are Chinese as well. While I was actually a huge fan of the China we got to see, it just wasn't what I thought I was in for.

I went into this book really excited by it. Interestingly enough, while I really loved reading it, it wasn't quite what I expected it to be. I'm actually really looking forward to rereading it, but even more so, I can't wait to see what Cecily Wong writes next.

4.5/5

Disclosure: I was provided this book through TLC Book Tours. All opinions expressed are my own.