Both books: 4 stars
In Beijing in 1873, young Ying Ying discovers that her father is one of the white foreign devils, and while her mother is the pampered courtesan of an important court official, she’ll be lucky to ever make a suitable match. Her Amah starts training her in secret martial arts, so she’ll have a way to defend and support herself once she grows older.
Over in England, young Leighton Atwood discovers that his parents have secrets, that it wouldn’t do for his sinister uncle Sir Curtis to unearth. His mother’s monthly visits to a “sick relative” may hold the explanation as to why Leighton’s younger brother Marland looks nothing like him, and his father seems a lot more affectionate towards his young photographer friend Herb Gordon than he does towards Leighton’s mother. Leighton doesn’t know that society disapproves of his father’s relationship with his young friend. He listens eagerly as Herb tells of his travels and adventures, about Chinese myths and treasures.
When Sir Curtis comes for a surprise visit while Leighton’s mother is away, Leighton’s life takes a dramatic turn for the worse. Sir Curtis threatens to commit his younger brother to an asylum for his depravities, and because of this, Leighton’s idyllic childhood is shattered with a single gunshot. Herb is forced to leave Starling Manor, and Leighton manipulates his mother and younger brother to flee the country to protect them from Sir Curtis’ plots. He alone is left to suffer the intricate cruelty, dreaming of the distant lands Herb is visiting and the day when he too can escape.
Ying Ying and her Amah are taken into the household of her mother’s protector, Da-Ren, when her mother dies. It is there that Ying Ying befriends another foreign devil, from faraway England, who works as a language tutor for Da-Ren’s sons. She tells him about her suspected parentage, learns that her English adventurer father named her Catherine Blade, and begins to learn English.
Full review (it’s really rather long).