TBR Challenge: Jeannie Lin - Butterfly Swords

During China's infamous Tang Dynasty, a time awash with luxury yet littered with deadly intrigues and fallen royalty, betrayed Princess Ai Li flees before her wedding.
Miles from home, with only her delicate butterfly swords for defense, she enlists the reluctant protection of a blue-eyed warrior.
Battle-scarred, embittered Ryam has always held his own life at cheap value. Ai Li's innocent trust in him and honorable, stubborn nature make him desperate to protect herwhich means not seducing the first woman he has ever truly wanted.

Comment: September is the month dedicated to the Historical theme as part of the already usual TBR Challenge. I picked this book not only because it has been in the pile for some time but because I liked the previous books I've read by the author so I had confidence this would be appealing as well.

In this book we meet Ai Li, a young woman running from an undesired marriage to a man she suspects is a traitor to the emperor who happens to be her father. 

Ai Li decides to escape by staging her abduction and when things go slightly wrong with her plan, there is Ryam, a foreigner warrior, and he helps her hide and run. They bargain Ryam will help her get to the imperial city but she will then be on her own. The problem is that they start falling in love with each other and Ryam might not be quite welcome int he city...

This book is set in China, something still a novelty for what I usually read about and that made the book interesting for that alone. I think one of the elements I liked the most was the mentioning of Chinese traditions and details which can be very different from a western society, something even more obvious in historical settings. I think that this wasn't as explored as I would have liked, even more considering the difference in status of the main characters.

The plot was believable enough, I suppose, but I admit I struggled to pay attention due to two reasons: first, I'm not overly fond of on-the-road tropes and the romances don't always feel realistic when portrayed like that and second, the relationship between Ai Li and Ryam didn't feel as it was meant to be. As always, this is a matter of personal impressions, I'm sure many others read it differently but putting these two details together made the book feel slightly weaker for me.

Romances on the road always seem like an adventure and I guess they are but in this case Ai Li and Ryam just seem too different to make it a stronger relationship. I understand both their goals when traveling, even if Ryam thinks he won't be welcomed but while they share this and that, I never had the idea they wouldn't be happy with anyone but one another. This is what often I imagine when reading a romance, as if that couple is a good complement but in this case I wasn't convinced. Maybe it was the way this was written, maybe it was the notion there were expectations related to Ai Li and while in a western setting the difference in class feels like a simple detail to be overcome, her it felt like too much, since they come from different backgrounds and countries.

Their interactions weren't convincing for me either. The evolution of their relationship didn't feel natural, just a means to make them closer. I can't tell if a longer book would have allowed for a stronger romance but I just didn't feel the pacing was adequate.

The different situations in the book didn't make me overly fond of the story and I did force myself to read and focus instead of looking at other things. I would say I wasn't lost in this world. I thought each new situation Ryam and Ai Li faced before they got to their destination mattered much, it was just a means to make them act or react.

Then we got to the end and everything took a very unbelievable turn for me. I just didn't buy the way things were solved and the HEA felt like a detail to include rather than a natural conclusion.

All in all, a great attempt in terms of setting, I did like the ideas but the writing wasn't always addictive and some details were sub par. I suppose it's a matter of time and technique, since her later work reads better to me. This is the first full length story in the Tang Dynasty series and the next title does seem more interesting but...I'm having doubts now. Maybe I'll get it one day later.

Grade: 6/10

Alphabet Soup Challenge: Jeannie Lin - The Jade Temptress

Welcome to the infamous Pingkang Li--home of the celebrated Lotus Palace courtesans, and a place of beauty and treachery...
Charming and seductive, Mingyu is the most sought-after hostess in the pleasure quarter. She has all men wrapped around her finger--except Constable Wu Kaifeng, the one man she can't resist, the only man to have placed her in chains.
Wu Kaifeng's outwardly intimidating demeanor hides a reluctant, fierce attraction to beautiful Mingyu. But the passionate temptation she presents threatens to destroy them both when a powerful official is murdered and they find themselves on a deadly trail. Amid the chaos, a forbidden affair could change Mingyu's fate forever, for following her heart is bound to have consequences.... 

Comment: After having read the first book in this author's Pingkang Li duology back in November, I was immediately interested in reading this one only to see if the follow up was as intense as the first one.

This title was also something I think would look well in the Alphabet Soup page, so here it goes the letter J for the challenge.

This is the story of Mingyu, she's the older sister of the protagonist from the first book. Mingyu is a well respected and sought courtesan but she's still trapped with madame Sun, her foster mother and boss.She has a huge debt to pay and she knows she won't be free. 

Wu Kaifeng is a constable and his behavior isn't the most well liked because he's serious and reserved. They met in the previous book and the animosity was obvious but Wu Kaifeng is professional so when Mingyu goes to meet her patron and finds him dead, the first person she thinks of is Kaifeng. From then on a mysterious story develops and where are Mingyu's wishes in all this?

If there is one thing we could say about this author's style - note that only based on two books so far - is that she has a serious writing and even in the most loving scenes there's a certain contention I assume comes from her own personality and background and not only due to the story's themes alone. I can't say I remember many Harlequin authors doing this and I guess this is the so called freshness many readers claim this author possesses.

This story is a mix of mystery and romance. The mystery is complex but very simply described and developed. I think this was quite smart because the focus of the romance is too irresistible to think about mysteries at times. Still, the mystery comes from a serious issue and deals with serious things and feelings and I couldn't help but feeling sad for some character's and their challenges. Of course, in the end the resolution was done quite well and it finished all the business we'd hoped for on that level.

Now, as for the romance, I have to say I was surprised by how it ended. The main couple has had a certain animosity due to things in the previous book but there is an attraction between them. Still, I feel glad the author managed restriction in presenting the cultural details of that community and society and not making them reckless or crazy. All their dealings, even th more intimate moments all happened after careful moments and due to serious thoughts and feelings. One could say practical too, but I think we can easily see the hints of emotion behind that so it isn't as cold as we first might think.

Mingyu is a fascinating character and I felt for her troubles. She knows she doesn't have much space maneuvers left but she tries and she acts according to her feelings and it was wonderful to see her act human. She is a great character, she knows her place, her value and the fact she isn't as free as others think. Her role is fascinating like I said. The end for her was both amazing and thoughtful. I think she was brave and fearful closer to the end but there are moments that really made me smile. 

Wu Kaifeng seems rather unfeeling but we have good explanations for why his behavior is like that. His relationship with Mingyu isn't simple but in the end I liked how he was the hero she never thought she would get. 

The end wasn't an unbelievable fairytale but a take on hopes and dreams and I convinced myself they would make it forever and sometimes that is all that matters.

All in all, a good enough romance, sure it could have been more passionate or detailed in terms of romance, but I think the author achieved a good balance between seriousness and cuteness in a society that didn't lived for an easy life.

Serious writing, style and story all well packed. I liked it.

Grade: 7/10

TBR Challenge: Jeannie Lin - The Lotus Palace

It is a time of celebration in the Pingkang Li, where imperial scholars and bureaucrats mingle with beautiful courtesans. At the center is the Lotus Palace, home of the most exquisite courtesans in China...
Maidservant Yue-ying is not one of those beauties. Street-smart and practical, she's content to live in the shadow of her infamous mistress—until she meets the aristocratic playboy Bai Huang.
Bai Huang lives in a privileged world Yue-ying can barely imagine, yet alone share, but as they are thrown together in an attempt to solve a deadly mystery, they both start to dream of a different life. Yet Bai Huang's position means that all she could ever be to him is his concubine—will she sacrifice her pride to follow her heart?

Comment: This month the TBR Challenge theme is historical romance. I do confess to have countless of titles that fit the bill. But as I schedule books for each month, I looked at the titles for November and several could be chosen but I decided to go with this one because it's different from what we usually see in historicals. Personally I've never read about set in China, a romance that is. I've seen movies but books not really, so I thought this would be a good choice.

The Lotus Palace is the story of Yue-ying, a maidservant to one of the most beautiful courtesans in China. She knows her place and what her life will always be like but she is content to help Mingyu, the person she owes it all to.

But as a guest of the Lotus Palace, Bai Huang keeps tracking her down. And he isn't just looking for sex as she first thought, despite his possible choice of several other women much prettier and accomplished than her. What Bai Huang wants is her help to find a mysterious person who is guilty of several crimes, including murder. Someone who frequents the Lotus Palace...

While looking for clues and maneuvering social etiquette, Yue-ying will have to weight in her own feelings and her expectations about her life so she can find happiness....or not.

I was really surprised by this book. Nothing like I ever read in the genre, but I saw its praising in some blogs and review sites and decided to try it. I got this book back in May, but now was the time I picked to start it.

I've seen movies set in Asia and some have moved me amazingly. «Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon» was an amazing movie and it portrayed romance and tragedy and all the impossibilities we might have found in an Asian society heavily based on honor and duty and rules. I loved the movie even though I cried a lot, but I found this Lotus Palace to be a book very similar in subject and ideas, but with obviously if different story and situations.

The book shows us characters very different in society's eyes. Yue-ying is poor, a maidservant and a former prostitute. She was rescued by her current mistress and she is faithful to her and is content to live this way for she hated being a prostitute. She didn't have much choice though, and not only because a birthmark on her cheek stopped her from being a more respected courtesan. Yue-ying just never got a chance since she was a young child. She is every cynical abut the world, about how things happen but of course there's nothing she can do and often during the book we see her say exactly that when faced with any situation. There are many secrets about her existence but what made me notice her the most was how little she allowed herself to dream. I think this is one of the biggest differences I saw in this book when compared to an historical set on other places, like England. Despite the difficulties there's always the idea dreams can happen somehow, but Yue-ying lived in a place where that wasn't even possible because society is so peculiar.

Bai Huang was a good counterpart because he seemed more flexible but he had a responsibility too and both his sides, the funnier and the serious ones fit together properly.

The cultural differences to what I was used to slowed me down a bit. The characters are very faithful to that idea that passion and exuberance are to be hidden or non existent, something we might see in other novels, and here I had a bit of a hard time picturing the main characters happiness even when they talked about good things. It just seemed doomed all the time. I think there's a clear negative vibe throughout the book. Some things are so unfair and illogical to be true, but I know the author must have been very faithful to how society was during that time.

The romance showed this as well. It seemed things couldn't only go one way and no matter what the characters did, doom was the only path. They could be happy but there would be a price to pay and that could be both their honor, their dedication to each other and although acceptable by law I can understand how and why that wouldn't do. A HEA happens and I'm glad but it was gotten by miracle almost. Not totally innovative but after such heavy trouble before it almost seemed the HEA was a consolation prize and not a necessity. Just my feel about it.

The mystery solution was done well, the intensity of what was happening,, the reasons why some characters took action had a special an powerful meaning and were understood quite well. I think the author did a great job in setting the action, the atmosphere to better understand all the details a society like that and why the murderer go away with it for a while. The guilty had their deserving end too.

The study one can o on these characters is quite interesting. The author made them all alive somehow and gave them souls and minds to fit the plot and a complexity we can't help but see. Each one acts a certain way and almost walks all the emotions of a human being. I can't explain it well, but I felt their actions and the weight of their lives in their actions and words. I think this isn't easy to do and the author managed it well.

All in all, a brilliant character development, an intriguing plot but for me the most interesting thing, almost the bittersweet one, was the characterization of everyone in this book. I get it but it still made me down a bit sometimes, over the helplessness of things and despite the great work, the negativity of some things just made me feel sad and thus a not perfect grade.

Still, this is a recommended read for sure.

Grade: 7/10