Pearl of China

I was so excited to be a first reads winner of this book. The cover of the book is gorgeous and I was hoping for a gorgeous story to go along with it.

The first 50 pages really had me interested. However, once I read through the chapter of letters written to Pearl, it was almost like the book came to a screeching halt. That chapter made no sense and seemed to be included to rush the story along. There was one sentence about Willow getting kidnapped, then never mentioned again.

I thought the author failed to create the intimacy of really getting to know someone like a best friend does. It seems to me that Pearl was just on the periphery of the story.