A brand new author to me - I do like finding a new author. An enjoyable read and would be interested in reading more by this author.

Daughters of the Silk Road was for me an absolutely wonderful story of historical fiction. The descriptions were so vivid I could actually imagine myself being there all those years ago. A story that will stay with me.

The concept of Daughters of the Silk Road is originally what made me request it for review.  The idea of following a vase as it passes from generation to generation starting in the 1440s and ending with its current owner in 2015/2016 had me very intrigued.  Plus, I don't get the opportunity to read many books set (or partially set) in the 15th through 17th centuries, so I was all about it.

The vase's journey begins in 1441 off the coast of Venice.  A man by the name of Niccoló is returning to his homeland of Venice with his family after many years of traveling & exploring.  The vase was a gift to Niccoló from a high ranking Chinese military leader, Admiral Zheng He.  The vase was painted by the Emperor of China.  Niccoló's daughter, Maria, comes to the forefront of the story & we follow her as she settles into her new life in Venice.

Unfortunately, the execution of this story didn’t work for me.  Daughters of the Silk Road alternates between Miranda's story happening in London 2015/2016 and the linear timeline of the owner(s) of the vase from 1441 through 1650.  Now, I've read a few multi-generational family sagas that worked really well for me, Homegoing for example.  Multi generational books that span centuries are very difficult to pull off.  My biggest issue with the multi generational aspect was that as time goes on & the vase is passed down, we get less & less character development & plot with each subsequent descendant.  When the vase is first introduced with Niccoló & Maria, we get a fair amount story here.  By the time we reach 1650, we barely get a page worth about the descendants that come into ownership of the vase.   It felt very unbalanced as the story went on.  Then, vase's journey abruptly stops in 1650 and there is a gaping hole between 1650 and until Miranda comes into possession of it.  We never really learn much about the mysterious Aunt Celia whom Miranda inherits the vase from, nor how she came into possession of it herself.

Miranda's story line occurring in the present timeline of 2015/2016 is a bit cliche.  Miranda is a divorced single mom down on her luck and struggling to make ends meet.  Miranda meets an man that is totally shady, yet of course she becomes involved with him.  You know how it goes, you spend the entire book yelling at the character that the person they are dating is the scum of the earth.   The man of course takes advantage of her & screws her over.  Not surprisingly, Miranda is better off at the end without him & all of her money problems are solved as if by magic.

It is very clear that the author did extensive research, which I really appreciate.   One of my biggest pet peeves in historical fiction is when the story doesn't feel like it is taking place in the era it is supposed to be set in.  While I appreciate that the author gave us historical context, I almost feel like there was too much of a focus on the historical context, and not enough plot & character development as the story progresses.  There was a lot of info dumping going on.

Unfortunately, this book just was not my cup of tea. There were too many plot holes, unexplored plot points, and cliche elements throughout the book. 

***Content/trigger warning: rape & cheating***

*2.5 Stars*

*Big thanks to Bookouture for providing me with a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Interesting and entertaining book. Like when books bring history from different eras together for an intriguing read. Liked the characters and story flow. Good read.