This is the first time I’m reviewing a book I did not finish reading. I thought I might just stay focused and continue till the last page but no, I couldn’t. Life is short and I’m not going to waste precious time reading something I do not enjoy.

Nineteen-year-old Mina says goodbye to her Korean hometown and goes to Hawaii in search of a better future. She leaves behind an abusive husband and her young daughter who she has placed in the care of a trusted friend. Mina vows to earn enough money so that she and her daughter will have a brighter future.

Young, beautiful and delicate Mina makes an impressive debut as a bargirl at the bar called The Korean Palace. She is so good and hardworking at her work that the bar owner and Mina’s mentor, Cathy, felt that she has found the right girl. Cathy only wants the best for her bargirls but Mina shows great promise. Mina also feels grateful towards Cathy and Jana, Cathy’s niece. Cathy was the one to give her business card to Mina when they met in Korea while Jana helped and guided Mina before she made her debut.

We get a lot of detailed background on almost every character that appears in the story. Yes, I loved reading about them especially Mina, Cathy, and Jana but I felt that some really minor characters didn’t need too much specific background info.

I agree with a reviewer on Amazon who described the characters as colourful. We get to read about Cathy’s history and how she became a successful businesswoman. The bit on her fallout with her used to be best friend, Suzie provided some interesting insight on the story.

Cathy’s niece, Jana also had a strong though very sad past. Jana suffered from loneliness as a child because her parents rarely spent time with her. This motivated her to turn to her pedophile uncle who only stopped abusing her when she became a teenager. Instead of finally being free from his sexual advances, Jana got more depressed. Fortunately, Aunt Cathy rescued her from falling deeper into her own dark hole and Jana was led to become the strong, confident woman that she is today. However, she’s afraid to disappoint her aunt Cathy when she falls in love with a married man.

I only read the first seven chapters. Perhaps in the future I might try reading it again but not with the same copy that I have now. Mine is the semi-edited, 8.5 x 11 version with 434 pages. I also just found out that the novel has been split into two books: Book I The Korean Palace of Honolulu – Mina and Book II The Korean Palace of Honolulu – Jana. I just read the excerpt of Book I – Mina on Amazon and noticed that there have been changes in the writing. It’s good to know that readers wouldn’t have to suffer from the grammar and punctuation errors like those in my copy. Another thing that put me off was the thickness of the book but then, it was before it was split.

Nonetheless, The Korean Palace of Honolulu is an inspiring story which encourages women to stay strong, independent and to work hard to reach for their goals in life. Readers will be entertained and they’ll learn a thing or two from the courageous women characters in the book.

***Thanks to the author, Ms Linda for sending me a review copy of the book.

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