when i first picked up this book i liked the whole multigenerational family saga that was going on. i loved the povs from Ann, her mother and her grandmother - that was nice to see. sadly it was presented poorly. the story was all over the place, there weren't really any "historical" parts in the book (and i even checked if it was historical fiction), i really needed more of that "past life" part. 

another thing i didn't quite like was how unforgiving everyone in this book was! like there was no communication and working through things to better yourself. i understand that in most asian cultures it's like that but i highly doubt that it's thaaaat bad. i mean... even Ann who was raised in America should have some sense of being more forgiving (i mean that as a cultural difference) and she was probably worse than her mother. 

towards the end, the book started to feel more like a YA rather than something serious that i should take in. so much so that i wasn't enjoying it anymore (that's due to the flaws of the characters and my last point of them being practically mean to their relatives, friends and people they don't even know). 

the writing was alright, i guess. some phrases affected me, as i have family issues too, and that was nice to hear. still, it felt very cliche and i couldn't get rid of that feeling that this was a plain YA. 

since i both read the e-book and listened to the audiobook i want to add that i do not know who the woman who voiced Ann is but she is the sole reason i would give this book an even lower rating (I'm so sorry). i do not mean to be rude but her whole reading was basically whispering and it kind of annoyed the heck out of me. i couldn't even get my volume up a notch because all the "sh" sounds were bugging my ears. 

oh, i also have no idea who the fire of the house started or how the book ended overall, also i do not remember what happened to that man on the beach who was flirting with Ann's mother. this is on me, my attention span got the best out of me and i lost it all.

the cover is stunning regardless.

p.s. this book very much reminds me of Seven Days In June where the synopsis sounded great but the way both of them were portrayed was not the best. got me hyped for nothing i feel bad for being let down like that. sorry.