Nice story!

Definitely interesting. It started slow and I felt really bad for the character. Usually not a fan of audio books, but this one was really good. The main character Emiko is definitely an interesting woman and for someone who hasn't read anything about the country or the war times around that time before, it was definitely interesting and got me to research some of what had happened back then.

I received this digital audio book from the Early Reviewer program. Uncertain Luck, set in Japan during the Viet Nam war, tells the story of a young Japanese woman who meets an American GI by chance and falls in love. Concurrent with the story of their love match runs the story of her mother's death by natural causes and her father's disappearance when he traveled to Tokyo to protest the war. The writing of the book is uninspiring and the story line completely predictable. Some of book is lazily written, giving details where none are needed (as if to fill out a quota of words?) and stating contradictory information. For example, the writer says her father could not understand what was being said in English and then one line later says her father was able to follow along.
The author reads the story and his voice is not pleasing to hear. His attempts to speak in the voice of a character are poorly done. By the time I was half way through the book, I began thinking about the authors I enjoy and how I wished I was spending my time with them instead. ( )

I requested this book from Net Galley because I thoroughly enjoyed a previous book, A Hundred Veils,. by the author Rea Keech. Unfortunately I cannot say the same for this novel. I hate to say this but it may be because the author himself narrated it and it just didn't work for me. He may be able to write a good story but he is not a good narrator of stories. What I did appreciate about the novel was the historical accuracy of the turbulent times during the Vietnam War and the characters, Emiko and Juan and their romance. They persevered through troubling times to stay together and build a life together in Japan. It's not a bad novel, it's just not that great. ( )

This book, while not a page-turner in the typical sense, subtly pulls you in, and before you know it you're halfway through and just coming up for air. I felt such a range of emotions while reading this, and I loved Emiko from the start. Her strength and independence were absolutely endearing. I did like Juan once we met him, and the bond that builds between him and Emiko feels so natural. A wonderful book that I plan on putting on my re-read shelf! ( )