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The Secrets of Jin-shei (Jin-Shei #1)

by Alma Alexander (Goodreads Author)

3.84 of 5 stars 3.84 · rating details · 741 ratings · 111 reviews

Enter an ancient world of courtly elegance and intrigue, where sages are also sorcerers, and the daughter of a lowly seamstress can become a companion to an empress. In this magical land there is a secret language -- a language that women have passed down from mother to daughter for countless generations -- a language that signals a bond like no other . . . the bond of jin...more

Hardcover, 503 pages

Published April 27th 2004 by HarperOne (first published January 1st 2004)

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Sep 11, 2007 Jim rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a wonderful novel about ten girls growing up in an alternate China. They are from different stations in life, from lowly orphan to Imperial heir, but each one is connected through the bond of Jin-Shei, an oath of sisterhood more binding than anything. Even an order from the emperor can be refused, but a request made in the name of Jin-Shei can not. Over the course of their lives, these ten girls and their Jin-Shei bonds will reshape the empire.

At its heart, The Secrets of Jin-Shei is abo...more

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Jul 05, 2007 Barbara rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: everybody

Shelves: absolutefavs

Blood has nothing to do with family as this story of "secret sisters" is unveiled.

The writing of this book is magical and it does take you back in time to China. This story is of non-blood sisters who will protect and follow each other to the ends of the earth.

Its amazing as you read this story, of how you can relate different "sisters" to your own group of friends. Reading this book, I was attaching the characters with friends in my own circle I draw streagth from.

You will not be disappointed w...more

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Apr 20, 2010 Sarah rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: general-fiction

I liked this book, but also didn’t. There were A LOT of characters…something like 10 main characters is a wee bit too many. Certainly a few could be cut. The remaining 7 or so characters were great and I enjoyed their growth and relationships between each other. What I didn’t like was the hocus-pocus ghost crap. It wasn’t necessary! It was a great story of friendship and being bound to tradition and a culture. I could have also done without the last chapter. I read the book, I don’t need a refre...more

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Jul 15, 2012 Philippa rated it 3 of 5 stars

Review published in the New Zealand Herald, 20 March 2004

The Secrets of Jin-Shei
by Alma Alexander
(HarperCollins, $31.99)

Reviewed by Philippa Jamieson

Ostensibly an historical novel, set in medieval China, The Secrets of Jin-Shei also has elements of fantasy and magic – think Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
Seven young women become inextricably bound together through the jin-shei sisterhood, pledging an allegiance to one another that can override family loyalties, professional oaths or personal va...more Review published in the New Zealand Herald, 20 March 2004

The Secrets of Jin-Shei
by Alma Alexander
(HarperCollins, $31.99)

Reviewed by Philippa Jamieson

Ostensibly an historical novel, set in medieval China, The Secrets of Jin-Shei also has elements of fantasy and magic – think Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
Seven young women become inextricably bound together through the jin-shei sisterhood, pledging an allegiance to one another that can override family loyalties, professional oaths or personal values. This sisterhood has its basis in historical reality, as does the secret women's script they use, based on the Chinese nushu script used only by women.
This improbable group of teenage girls from varying backgrounds becomes a powerful force in the imaginary land of Syai. Their mothers include a seamstress, a washerwoman, and a concubine of the Emperor, but the girls in the jin-shei circle are smart and ambitious, and grow up to be a sage, an alchemist, a warrior, a poet, a healer, an Empress, practicing a kind of feminism that may not authentic to the period, but makes for a feisty set of characters.
Some characters jump off the page, others, although strongly rendered, remain rather two-dimensional – the Empress for example, always glittering with jewels and an unquenchable thirst for power, and Lihui, a dastardly evil sorcerer through and through. And unfortunately the author didn't convince me that all the sisters actually like each other enough to carry out the jin-shei vow to its extremes, as they do increasingly as the story progresses.
Alma Alexander is the pen-name of Alma A Hromic, a Yugoslavian-born writer who spent several years in New Zealand, but now lives in the USA. She has written memoir, short fiction, and fantasy. In The Secrets of Jin-Shei, she's at her best when writing riveting action scenes, or evoking the period with rich language and imaginative descriptions. Less explanation of the characters' thoughts and motivations, and more interpretation left to the reader would have helped to keep my attention.
The novel takes time to unfold as the author sets the scene and gradually introduces the characters, their lives inexorably becoming intertwined. Seeing so many characters from an omniscient point of view was sometimes dizzying.
Themes stack up in a smorgasbord: divided loyalties and betrayal; birthright, identity and heritage; and of course plain old good versus evil. The plot reels from event to event; some storylines build up organically, others arise seemingly out of the blue. The nearly 500 page novel would have been tightened by more editing.
Readers who enjoy historical novels and can suspend belief a little will savour this complex saga.
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May 03, 2012 Bill Swears rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

Sisters of the Soul: The Secrets of Jin-shei

Alma Hromick-Deckert has written at least fifteen books, substantial short fiction, lived and worked on four continents, and been a witness to worldwide change along the way. According to one of her web-sites, she was born in 1963 on the shores of the Danube in a country that no longer exists, received several degrees in South Africa, but then found it prudent to leave that land rather than be swept aside by militant forces for cultural change, and eve...more Sisters of the Soul: The Secrets of Jin-shei

Alma Hromick-Deckert has written at least fifteen books, substantial short fiction, lived and worked on four continents, and been a witness to worldwide change along the way. According to one of her web-sites, she was born in 1963 on the shores of the Danube in a country that no longer exists, received several degrees in South Africa, but then found it prudent to leave that land rather than be swept aside by militant forces for cultural change, and eventually settled in Bellingham, Washington. The Secrets of Jin-shei, published in 2004 under the name Alma Alexander, is her first American novel, published by Harper Collins as mainstream fiction. Unsurprisingly, considering her own history, Jin-shei examines the lives of a group of nine women who never quite feel as though they belong, and who share, unevenly, a vow that will shape their entire lives.

Jin-shei is interesting and beautiful from several perspectives. Although it has a focus character, Tai, it is truly an ensemble cast. Tai's most critical actions occur at the beginning and end of the tale, while the body is given more to the activities of each of her Jin-shei sisters. The novel is presented largely in a multiple third person point of view. The writing style trends toward the American speculative fiction standard of "transparent" prose, yet has moments of truly beautiful language, and other moments of truly breathtaking beauty. It has a large cast of major characters, is set in Syai, an ancient Chinese kingdom that never existed and in which magic is real. Alexander begins Jin-shei with an epigraph - prefacing material from the Imperial poet Kato-Tai, in the year 28 of the Star Emperor. The selection frames the entire narrative and reveals that Tai outlived or lost all of her eight sisters of Jin-shei:

All women in Syai are given the gift of the secret vow, the promise that is everlasting, the bond that does not break. I shared my own life with a healer, an alchemist, a sage, a soldier, a gypsy, a rebel leader, a loving ghost, and an Empress who dreamed of immortality and nearly destroyed us all.

Each of the seven major parts of the book begins with a small epigraph quoting a fictional court poet from various Imperial reigns. The epigraphs, if put together, form one poem, which illustrates the ages of a woman, and become the framing notion for each part. The parts are named after notional stages of life within The Way. According to the text, the stages of life are: Liu, Lan, Xat, Qai, Ryu, Pau and Atu, which correspond poetically to the ages of a woman.

An amazing amount of thought and heart went into creating this book, and I loved it. I've read it several times, and even wrote a paper about it in graduate school. Now that I'm writing this shore review, I'll probably have to go back and reread it again. I'll laugh again, and almost certainly cry again. Some book just hit you that way.
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Jun 18, 2011 Wendy Lu rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: wishlist

never again am i reading a 502 page book that introduces eight (EIGHT) main characters (all complex and flawed and cherished), introduces them well (and thus inducing falling-in-love), leads you through their whole lives and how they change and grow and fail and struggle back up again, changing their entire world as they do so, then proceeds to methodically kill them off one by one with words so effective i cried several times.

At the end of the book, I had lived a lifetime within the hours it t...more

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Mar 12, 2011 Sally906 rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: general-fiction

I have to say up front that I read this hard on the heels of ‘Snow Flower and the Secret Fan’ so maybe this is why the book didn’t cut it for me – It just didn’t measure up to the high expectations I had.
For me there were too many main characters to try and remember – each of the women could have had their own story told in another book. I felt that the author just spread herself too thin trying to give depth to all the characters – and in the end did each of them less justice than they deserved...more

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Apr 06, 2011 Emma rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 4-stars, china, historical-fantasy, low-magic-fantasy, standalone-fantasy, fantasy, awesome-fantasy-written-by-women, 10-best-books-read-in-2010

I was thrilled to find this book. It's historical fantasy (a favorite subgenre), it's based on Chinese history (awesome) and it focuses on friendships between women (even better). The book deals with the lives of eight diverse women from a variety of stations in imperial society, united by the secret sisterhood called "jin-shei." The main characters are likeable and it's easy to get involved in their lives (the beginning is downright magical). The plot is interesting if a bit unfocused. The book...more I was thrilled to find this book. It's historical fantasy (a favorite subgenre), it's based on Chinese history (awesome) and it focuses on friendships between women (even better). The book deals with the lives of eight diverse women from a variety of stations in imperial society, united by the secret sisterhood called "jin-shei." The main characters are likeable and it's easy to get involved in their lives (the beginning is downright magical). The plot is interesting if a bit unfocused. The book is mostly well-written, though in places it could have used a bit more editing. Fantasy elements are mostly low-key and fit well with the mysticism of the setting.

Unfortunately, Jin-Shei doesn't make it to five stars. Was it the gratuitously tragic ending, or the excess of main characters (eight in a book this size means some will get very little screen time)? More than anything, I think it was the concept of jin-shei itself. When women pledge jin-shei to one another, they become sisters, taking responsibility for each other's well-being... but not only that. If a jin-shei sister asks you for a favor in the name of jin-shei, you're not allowed to refuse. Period. Even if it literally kills you, and we see instances where it does.

Despite that, jin-shei is heavily romanticized by the author and treated casually by the characters. Alexander created such a diverse cast of characters that she seems to have trouble figuring out how they would all become best friends, so she skips that part and has them pledge jin-shei to people they barely know or even dislike (Tai and Nhia are the only pair who were close friends first). Who would offer an unbreakable oath of obedience in such circumstances (or ever, for that matter)? When things go sour, I would have liked to see some reexamination of the sisterhood, with characters wondering if it would be better to simply be friends, without the pledge. That never happens, and so while I enjoyed the story and characters, I was left with the impression that the author had dreamed up a cool concept but not fully thought it through.

I had a good time reading this book and would recommend it. However, I thought that its excellent sequel, The Embers of Heaven, was the better book. (less)

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Oct 24, 2011 Alex M. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, fantasy-and-sci-fi, young-adult, super-awesome, reread, queer

Okay, so, I love this book. I've loved it since high school when I read it for the first time. It makes me cry during every reread (mostly because I sometimes forget what happened to certain characters and then I'm reminded halfway through). There's something like eight girls being written about but I still have a really good idea of what each character is like and their relationships with each other are unique and interesting and moving.

The world-building is very cool. Set in a magical ancient...more

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Sep 05, 2010 Vanessa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, chick-lit

The story of The Secrets of Jin-shei revolves around eight women: a sage, a poet, an alchemist, a soldier, a healer, a rebel leader, a gypsy, and an empress. We first meet a very young Tai, the poet woman the story revolves around, then we proceed to meet the other seven, little by little. We're there as they make their first jin-shei friendships as girls, then follow them for another twenty years as they enter adulthood and each find their own purpose in life.

A jin-shei is a friendship girls ma...more The story of The Secrets of Jin-shei revolves around eight women: a sage, a poet, an alchemist, a soldier, a healer, a rebel leader, a gypsy, and an empress. We first meet a very young Tai, the poet woman the story revolves around, then we proceed to meet the other seven, little by little. We're there as they make their first jin-shei friendships as girls, then follow them for another twenty years as they enter adulthood and each find their own purpose in life.

A jin-shei is a friendship girls make by speaking the words to each other, creating a life-long relationship that transcends social station. It’s through jin-shei that these eight women are bonded together by completely loyal and eternal friendship. But their friendships aren’t perfect. They are all very different women, and while they try hard to help each other, some make demands that could tear their friendships apart or even risk the lives of their jin-shei sisters.

Set in Syai, a mythical ancient China, royal titles run through the female like, hence women are afforded a great deal of autonomy. The setting is well established, and the author draws the images so well that we see the change of seasons, the bustle of the city, and feel the pressure of societal expectations. But despite the societal expectations of a culture deeply set in tradition, religion, and station, all of these girls break the ‘rules’ in their own way--as often to their detriment as it is to their benefit.

The main antagonist is Lihui, the Ninth Sage, who is secretly a full-fledged sorcerer. He kidnaps cripples and beggars off the street for his experiments, and to occasionally kill them, stealing their souls in order to lengthen his life. He entangles himself among the eight-member clique, marrying one of them, almost killing another, and using a third in a rebel war to threaten a fourth. I do get the sense that he is pure evil and creepy and all that, but because the book focuses on the women’s point of views, I don’t learn much more about him, which is a loss because he could have been a more interesting character.

The pace is slow and steady for the first three-quarters of the book, then the last quarter picks up as the main characters’ lives fall apart by way of death threats, kidnappings, impossible demands, intense confrontations, and other tragedies. Sometimes the last quarter felt more like various events strung together as Alexander had to double-back on the timeline to cover another character’s overlapping events, which made the pace a little jarring at the end compared to the rest of the story. Occasionally Alexander glosses over the details, making some events and personality characteristics feel forced in her need to move the story along. Fortunately the quicker pace provides movement through the remainder of an already-long story toward a final, satisfying resolution.

Other than the pace at the end of the book, the only other real writing flaw involves point of view. Alexander switches mid-scene between characters, and while she doesn’t do it consistently throughout, when she does it’s disorienting.

This is a real chick book, the equivalent of Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood or Steel Magnolias. It explores the depth of friendship and the lengths women will go to protect and honor each other, while also telling the tragedy of those who abuse friendship for their own purposes. Basically it means that most of you men will die of boredom before you reach the second chapter--although it is a good study in strong female characterization and is worth reading for that alone.
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Jun 02, 2012 Ariana rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: east-asia

Have you ever been in the library, just wandering the long, never-ending fiction aisles, and suddenly you quite impulsively decide to stop, close your eyes, spin around and pick a book at random? Most likely the book turns out to be a dud, but this time, I guess fate must have interceded because I got The Secrets of Jin-Shei, which was absolutely stunning.

Quite eerily, it's about everything I'm interested in: glittering Imperial courts, an ancient, forgotten, alternate China, alchemy, astral pr...more Have you ever been in the library, just wandering the long, never-ending fiction aisles, and suddenly you quite impulsively decide to stop, close your eyes, spin around and pick a book at random? Most likely the book turns out to be a dud, but this time, I guess fate must have interceded because I got The Secrets of Jin-Shei, which was absolutely stunning.

Quite eerily, it's about everything I'm interested in: glittering Imperial courts, an ancient, forgotten, alternate China, alchemy, astral projection, a secret society, the list of intriguing elements present in this book is endless. It seems to have come to me at exactly the right time too.

The one thing that almost made me put the book down was that there are no less than 8 main characters, chapters alternating between their 3rd person limited POVs. Do NOT be dissuaded. While seemingly impossible to pull off, the author *somehow* manages to weave it all together so that the reader is never confused, never annoyed, never struggling to remember names or differentiate between characters, and never abruptly pulled from one jin-shei sister to another. Everything flows beautifully from one POV to another, in such a way that I can't imagine the story being told in any other way.

The girls themselves were great characters. For once, I did not find myself hating any of them! Each were remarkably fleshed out and had very distinctive, multi-layered personalities. If I had to choose favorites, they would be either Khailin, the alchemist, or Xaforn, the warrior. My least favorite was probably the gypsy girl, Tammary, but I even grew fond of her by the end.

The PLOT was simply AMAZING. Everything serves a purpose, everything is tied together. The fantasy aspect doesn't come into play until a good portion into the story, but once it does, my oh my.

Why haven't I heard about this book? And why haven't more people read it? I cannot even begin to fathom. The book is so much packed into a perfect story: It's at once an epic fantasy, a historical novel, a coming of age story, and a story about the bonds of friendship and sisterhood, but it never feels like the author has bit off more than she can chew, if you get what I'm saying. This is a true "hidden gem" in every sense of the word.

Oh, and even though this book was beautifully written and the plot was one of the best I've read in ages, I probably will not read the sequel, which apparently takes place 300 years in the future in Communist China. Part of the reason why I liked this book so much was because I have a profound interest in anything ancient China or Japan, so to set it in a modern world, aka my least favorite setting, is basically taking away the main appeal. :S
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Apr 01, 2013 Lissibith rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: female-friendships, novel

I think this might be the very best book that I've ever had to preface a review of with - I can't recommend this book unreservedly. It has some great aspects to it, but also some deeply disappointing writing choices that sap a lot of the tension out of the story.

Starting with the good - the characters are pretty amazing. The entire main cast is made up of women who start as youngsters, some literally children and others a little older, maybe teens. Each is unique both in herself and in how she r...more I think this might be the very best book that I've ever had to preface a review of with - I can't recommend this book unreservedly. It has some great aspects to it, but also some deeply disappointing writing choices that sap a lot of the tension out of the story.

Starting with the good - the characters are pretty amazing. The entire main cast is made up of women who start as youngsters, some literally children and others a little older, maybe teens. Each is unique both in herself and in how she relates to the others in her circle. Each generally reacts as expected, but often in totally different ways. Their interactions are what carries this entire book, not just from a basic plot point but from an interest point.

Also, the choice to base the book on the sisterhood that grew up around a real life written language that only women knew is inspired, and it was a beautiful way to weave a web between the characters.

The language is really wonderful, evocative and intimate and just lovely. She has a gift for close, personal scenes and conversations between friends.

But there are times the list of main characters seemed needlessly padded. By the time I got to the end, there were several characters whose inclusion I looked at and asked "Why was she there?" And I couldn't find a satisfactory answer. Also, some of the characters got FAR more development than others, leaving those few feeling a bit like caricatures, or one-notes.

Also, the author made a curious choice in several points not to show really important scenes, instead just having the character that did it come to someone's house, drink tea and *explain* what should have been an intense, high-action scene. If it happened just once, I'd have assumed it was a stylistic choice related to that particular scene, but by the time it happened a third or fourth time it felt just like a part of her writing.

It weakened the story massively, threw a brake on the pace for me and made this one of the hardest books to get through I've had in a long time. Can you imagine watching a version of Hamlet, where instead of the ghost scene, or the death of Polonius, they were all related in the manner of Ophelia's death? "And then I saw the ghost of my father, and he told me about my uncles treachery and set me on a path to kill my Uncle!" "That's rough, man." (view spoiler)

I also found the plot to be really loose. Sometimes that can work, but here, because (view spoiler)

There's a lot to like here, and if your stomach for the sort of writing problems I mentioned above is stronger than mine, you may well enjoy the heck out of this book. A lot of people have, and like I said at the start, there are some real quality aspects to this story.(less)

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Oct 23, 2011 Joanna N rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Al comenzar la lectura estuve a punto de dejarlo por la forma en que está escrito.

El principio es una maraña confusa en la que las protagonistas se describen de forma muy vaga. Va añadiendo datos salteados a su descripciones confundiendolas y haciendo imposible, por ejemplo, conocer sus edades a pesar de que habla de ellas. En general toda la prte de presentación de los personajes y como establecen sus relaciones es un lío.

Decidí apesar de todo darle una oportunidad y lo cierto es que hacia la...more

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Jun 07, 2009 Brooke rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really like books about sisterhoods and have always loved books with Asian influences. This book was a good storyline, but I think I kept feeling like it was supposed to be historical fiction and it was really more fantasy set in a land similar but not really China. The story got a little slow with so much explaining and detail interwoven with the plot. I also felt the deep hold the Jin-shei vows had over the girls was incongruous with the way the vows seemed to be made on the fly and before t...more

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Jan 19, 2012 Mark rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

This is a story that the publisher’s blurb has as being set in “medieval China” but actually it’s set in an alternate world that happens to be very oriental. The story is woven around the friendship of eight women, a friendship that crosses class boundaries and blood ties. And while the back may have no mention of magic on it anywhere, the tale is full of it, but with a much more Eastern flavour. Astrologers, alchemists and temple Sages pepper the tale as it traces the years of the Jin-shei sist...more

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Jun 08, 2009 Anna rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult

Alexander has done it again! This time rather then mixing magic with modern day she mixed it with an alternate China.

The order of the Jin-Shei is a powerful thing. A writing and culture past from women to women. If anything the bonds of the Jin-Shei is even more powerful then the emperor himself. Because you see the emperor can be refused and denied, the Jin-Shei can not. Taking on the bonds of the Jin-Shei means giving your whole life to the Jin-Shei sister. It means giving everything you have...more Alexander has done it again! This time rather then mixing magic with modern day she mixed it with an alternate China.

The order of the Jin-Shei is a powerful thing. A writing and culture past from women to women. If anything the bonds of the Jin-Shei is even more powerful then the emperor himself. Because you see the emperor can be refused and denied, the Jin-Shei can not. Taking on the bonds of the Jin-Shei means giving your whole life to the Jin-Shei sister. It means giving everything you have in order to serve them and love them and protect them. Just like they'll do with you.

This is not just the a story of magic or an asian culture. This is a story of something even more powerful. This is a story of sister-hood. This is a story of 8 magical girls trying to find there niche in this world and trying to protect their family the best way they know how. This is a story of, a poet, a warrior, a rebel leader, a healer, a gypsy, a chancellor, a alchemist, and princess that will destroy them all.

Tai, whose promise to a dying girl is what starts all this. She is the balance on which the delicate sisterhood is put upon. Xaforn, a warrior who has known nothing other then the ability to protect and to kill. Qiaan, the daughter of the Commander of the Guard, who insecurities of her birth might doom them all. Yuet, who will do anything to keep her promise to Tai. But little does anybody know that Yuet has knowledge that will turn syai upside down. Tammary, a gypsy girl who does not belong in her own people, and is the greatest obstacle between the empress and her throne.Nhia, a cripple who is wise beyond her years who will do great things, if only people can see beyond her disabilities. Khalin, a aristocrat who curiosity will be the death of her, and of her people. And finally Liudan, the empress who is destined to doom them all.

You might think that such a large cast of characters would get confusing. But it doesn't. Alexander has found a way to trap you inside the sisterhood. As you read the book, as the girls take the Jin-Shei vows, you feel as if you are taking it too. Before you know it you are a Jin-Shei sister who watch over them. You laugh with them, you rejoice with them, you cry with them, you love them. When you read this book you'll come to love all of the girls that you know them inside out. It is an amazing that that Alexander has done. She has found a way to make you feel like you are a part of something bigger then yourself. That you are part of the Jin-Shei bond. So pick up a book, and fall in love with the girls of the Jin-Shei sisterhood.(less)

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Jun 04, 2011 Lianne Burwell rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

When I bought this book, I thought it was a historical novel set in China. I quickly realized, after starting to read it, that it is actually a fantasy novel set in a pseudo-historical China world, much the way that Lian Hearn's novels are set in a fantasy world that is sort of Japan.

But I was not at all disappointed. A princess picks the daughter of a seamstress to be her Jin-Shei (a sworn sister), then disaster strikes. The circle of sisters expands over time, but politics and magic interfere,...more

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Apr 30, 2010 Purlewe rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, fantasy

Things that are right up my alley: fictional China, female heroines, alchemy, a secret sister bond called jin-shei. These are things that can really make me like a book.

Yes, it had lots of characters. Yes, it took some time to get it all straight like a soap opera in your head. But the idea is timeless and useful in reminding us that there are many paths to being who we are and gaining the things we desire. Each woman in this story came from different backgrounds and represented a different arc...more

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Jun 28, 2012 Joy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm not sure where I heard the recommendation to read this book, but I enjoyed it greatly and I'm glad that I did. The story is set in a medieval imperial age Chinese-like setting, with all of the court protocol and intrigue that entails. The women of this society have their own written language, since they are forbidden from learning the written language of men, and many of them form strong sister-bonds with other women known as their jin-shei. The story follows such a circle of women, who are...more

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Feb 17, 2012 Tonya rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: get-them-read-so-i-can-get-more

It was the recommendation on the front that intrigued me when i purchased this book. "This evocative novel is sure to be popular with fans of Amy Tan, Gail Tsukiyama, and eve Marion Zimmer Bradley." I bought it because I was very skeptical that writer could be herald as a combination of these three authors. I stand corrected.

A book filled with love, tragedy, suspense, and a little magic; I devoured every page. As I read I was reminded of all the jin-she I have in my life. All women from differen...more

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Apr 06, 2011 AJ LeBlanc rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: cbr-iii

I hated this book so much. I hated it with the power that only comes from being disappointed and wanting to not hate it. It had potential. It had moments where I thought “Yes! You can do it! You can do it! You… aww fuck.”

Basic story line:

Mythical Chinese kingdom.

Eight Chinese girls.

Once upon a time.

The girls enter the pact of Jin-Shei. This is a sisterhood oath. It is explained to be sacred and binding, but also supporting because it’s done in love, trust and respect. At least that’s how the fir...more

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Sep 04, 2010 Cayleigh rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2010

At first this book was slightly confusing as it is about 12 girls in an ancient China like environment. Jin-shei is a bond between women that makes them more than sisters and friends, a very deep bond that is not to be taken lightly. In the beginning I kept trying to figure out all the bonds, who was Jin-shei to whom and that was what kept me confused. As soon as I decided not to worry about that part of things I started to enjoy the story a lot more. I was a little disappointed with the climax...more

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Jan 12, 2010 Diane rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The book tells the story of the sisterhood of several women in a mythical Asian country, apparently patterned on China. It tiptoes a little into the supernatural, which seems a little at odds with the rest of the story, which is grounded in reality. The characters are interesting, but not as well developed as I would have liked. I was also a bit disappointed in the ending (of which I will not say more, so as not to spoil the book if you do read it).

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Dec 03, 2012 Boreets rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Overall, I enjoyed and finished this book. However, I found that the sudden introduction of a supernatural theme over half way through the plot out of place and ill-fitting to the tone of the first half of the book.
I liked the variety of focus that having so many main central characters provided but their plots were sometimes frustrating when their intertwining destinies relied on random explanations or unseen diary entries.

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Sep 11, 2010 Beth rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: boring

I gave this book a good try, but several nights and more than a few chapters in, I just didn't care enough to keep reading. I was also slightly annoyed that, as several other reviewers have noted, the supposedly very serious vow of Jin-shei sisterhood seemed to be made on a whim and functioned as a sort of deus ex machina in each character's story rather than being a culmination of a natural series of events.

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Mar 17, 2013 Luna rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Questo non � un libro, � un gioiello. Per le donne che credono nell'amicizia, e per gli uomini, per capire l'anima delle donne e ci� che le lega tra loro........ intriso di magia dell'anima, di semplicit�, di istinto, di una forza soprannaturale a cui non puoi che arrenderti. Sicuramente da leggere, con il sorriso sulle labbra, e l'agendina delle amiche sul comodino da chiamare poi !!!!!

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Dec 24, 2012 Joana Martins rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

É, afinal, a biografia de 8 amigas da China Medieval, ligadas por um laço inquebrável, em que não é possível vacilar, em que deve ser feito o impossível para agradar às irmãs jin-shei-bao. O que podiam ser vidas simples acabam pois em calamidade, não sem antes nos perdemos no negro que não contamos ao princípio.
A vida delas não é nem sequer delas. É desse laço jin-shei que elas guardam como se fosse uma obrigatoriedade de lealdade. Mas ajudam-se, são amigas, fazem tudo umas pelas outras; e não...more

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May 16, 2010 Nurliana83 rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The only thing that got me was the author claiming that this story was set in ancient China. For me, the setting was more of an alternate universe of what the author believes is China - an Orientalization and mysticization of what the west would like to believe is ancient Asia.
It's more like an anime world and that should have been the claim to the story.
Still, I enjoyed the book.

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Dec 04, 2012 E_bookpushers rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical, own-it

Alexander has a way of ripping my heart out with her writing. I can't read her often because I get so invested in her characters and they experience such hardship. Unlike a romance that I know will have a HEA these characters usually don't have a HEA. Some of them live, some of them die and they are all permanently changed from their experiences. The chain that brought this entire book together was that of a friendship/sisterhood so unbreakable that it changed history in more ways then one for t...more

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Jul 13, 2011 Jerjonji rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: woman-s-lit

If you are going to read only one book about Chinese women's secret writing, read Lisa See's Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. It's historically accurate and leaves you lost in another culture and time. After you finish that, if you're still interested in women's secret writing, the fantasy sisterhood story of this book is a good sequel.

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About Alma Alexander

ALMA ALEXANDER is a Pacific Northwest novelist who writes for both adults ("The Hidden Queen", "Changer of Days", "The Secrets of Jin Shei", etc.) and YA audiences (the Worldweavers trilogy, "Gift of the Unmage", "Spellspam" and "Cybermage").

Her work has been translated into 14 languages worldwide, including Hebrew,Turkish, and Catalan.

She is currently at work on a new series of alternate histor...more

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