The Last Rose of Shanghai

I like the history but the actual story was tedious.  Insta love is not my thing and felt I'd be better served reading a non fiction about Shanghai in this time period. Plus I rather read a book about not so good looking ppl using their smarts to survive then beautiful ppl using their beauty/smarts to survive.  Ymmv but I always cringe when main characters go on about their own beauty.  

I really liked this book. I have read a lot of historical fiction books about WWII, but they're usually set on Europe, mostly France. This is the fist time I read a WWII book set on the pacific theater. I loved the impossible love story between Aiyi and Ernest, which was full of hope and regret. I was really touched by the way their brains were telling them to stay away from each other, but their hearts were constantly reaching out. Theirs is such a bittersweet story.
This was the book discussed by the book club in my local library for the month of May, 2022. It was a great experience because Weina Dai Randel was able to attend to talk about the book and answer our questions.