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The Lotus Palace Jeannie Lin 9780373777730 Books

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The Lotus Palace Jeannie Lin 9780373777730 Books

The Lotus Palace takes place in China during an era of rigid classism, but is a fun and interesting read. It tells of the places men would visit to see their favorite courtesans entertain with music and more. The story mostly revolves around the unfortunate Yue-ying who is a handmaiden to one of the most popular courtesan at the Lotus Palace. Handsome aristocrat Bai Huang has an eye for her, but she is not sure if it is genuine, or if she is just being used.

Bai Huang and Yue-ying wind up working together to try to find a murderer on the loose. They have to outwit many corrupt men in power to get to the truth.

I really enjoyed this novel and have ordered more books from this author. I love the settings and characters Jeannie Lin creates.


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The Lotus Palace Jeannie Lin 9780373777730 Books Reviews

Let me tell you what I regret about Jeannie Lin’s THE LOTUS PALACE. I regret every day that I didn’t read this book. Now, understand that I wanted to read it. I wanted to read it so much that I somehow own three copies–one in paperback, one for the Nook and one for the .

Now I think I didn’t buy enough of them.

So what took me so long? Part of it was the fact that I’ve let myself get into that writer-funk where you think you don’t have time to read. A recent convention where I heard Sylvia Day speak convinced me that was foolish. Writers don’t just write. They need to read. It’s the fuel and the tool that opens up our minds to new techniques and approaches.

And THE LOTUS PALACE does all that not just with its artistry, but by smashing romance genre expectations and drawing the reader into an extraordinary historical fiction world. This is a love story between a man and a woman, make no mistake. But the loving brushstrokes with which the author paints the bright world of courtesans and scholars in Tang Dynasty China speaks to a different kind of passion.

THE LOTUS PALACE pulls the reader into a murder mystery in a forgotten time that is both alluring and painful. I loved every detail. The lamps, the flowers, the tea, the pots of cosmetics, the silk sashes, the dragon boats. The way this world came alive was as sweet and surprising as a mouthful of pop rocks.

And that’s to say nothing of the pleasure of learning all the cultural details that are woven effortlessly into the fabric of the plot. The heroine, Yue-ying, is a woman with a marked face who wants to save her sister from being convicted of a crime she didn’t commit. She is helped in this endeavor by a supposedly hapless scholar who is smitten with her.

You probably think you have heard this story before. Or that you know how it will unfold. You don’t. Yue-ying isn’t a fiesty romance heroine with a wit that makes men forget about her marked face. Neither is she a sad mopey cinderella in the ashes, in need of rescue by a hero who sees her true beauty.

She is actually a rather quiet person of majestic dignity, housed in the body of a lowly serving girl. Reading about this former prostitute as she holds onto an innate belief in her own worth–in spite of her own cynicism about the world and her place in it–is captivating. In truth, even love itself, freely offered by a patient and earnest man of position, is a challenge to her sense of worth.

These are people who work hard for their happy ending.

I know Jeannie Lin–have worked with her and read her books before–so I know that she’s talented. I knew I would enjoy the book when I read it. What I didn’t know is that it would be a new level of awesome from her. Be smarter than I was. Read this book right away.
Jeannie Lin's works always reminded me of the Chinese wuxia films, only with happier endings. They share the same themes of danger, forbidden love, class differences, soulful men, and strong heroines. Except, you know, with Jeannie Lin's books, you're 99.9% sure that your new favorite hero and heroine aren't going to die at the end of the story - and that is a big sell, trust me.

Recently, I read SILK, SWORDS, AND SURRENDER, which is a collection of her short stories. It was pretty good, but the quality of the stories was uneven, and I felt like the shortness of length contributed to that. I'd also read the second book in her Pingkang Li series, JADE TEMPTRESS, and while I wasn't really a fan, I did really enjoy the lavish settings and elegant writing. When THE LOTUS PALACE went on sale for $1.99, it seemed like a no-brainer surely this time, I thought, the book would hit the mark.

Yue-ying was sold into servitude by her own greedy parents, and rescued from a brothel to work as a servant for the elegant concubine, Mingyu. Mingyu is one of four renowned beauties in the pleasure quarter, and men fawn over her just to catch her eye for a few moments. Nobody notices Yue-ying, who, with her port-wine birthmark that covers half of her face, tends to put people - especially those expecting beauty - at unease. With Mingyu she can fade into the background and that's exactly how Yue-ying and Mingyu prefer it.

Until Lord Bai comes along.

Bai Huang is the son of a nobleman and a struggling scholar. He gambles and flirts outrageously, but it's Yue-ying he kisses in a darkened corridor, and Yue-ying he pursues, even while courting Mingyu for convention's sake. Yue-ying finds herself reluctantly attracted to him as well, but intimacy is difficult for her because of her terrible childhood/adolescence, and she has resolved that, after wresting back the freedom her parents were so quick to put a price on, she will belong to no one.

On top of this Forbidden Romance Sundae® is a Glistening Murder-Cherry™. One of those aforementioned beauties, Huilan, is found murdered. And later, by the river, a man is found murdered - and an expensive hair ornament is found at the scene of the crime. Yue-ying suspects that Mingyu might be involved; but if she's innocent, it might be worse - she might be the next victim.

I really enjoyed how this book navigated the difficulties of dating outside of one's social class. This is often something that is glossed over in historical romances, even though it would have been incredibly scandalous at the time. Jeannie Lin tries to portray the conflicts and the difficulties that would arise from such a scenario - to the point where I was unsure how a 100% satisfactory ending would fit; to be blunt, it didn't. That ending was tacked on as purely fan service. Deus-ex-oh-good-we-can-wed-now.

I also felt that this book was much too long, and the angst between Bai Huang and Yue-ying quickly became tedious. About 100 pages could have been shaved off this book and I think it would have been all the better for it. That said, it was wonderful to read something new, historical romance-wise. I love regency romances as much as anyone, but they're definitely oversaturating the historical romance market - them, and brawny Anglo-Saxon warriors in medieval smutfests (P.S. can we have a book festival called Smutfest? Or maybe Smutcon?). I really want to read Ms. Lin's Tang Dynasty series, as the summaries of those books seem more in line with what I would enjoy (drama, drama, and also more drama). I think, however, that I am done with this one.

2.5 to 3 out of 5 stars
The Lotus Palace takes place in China during an era of rigid classism, but is a fun and interesting read. It tells of the places men would visit to see their favorite courtesans entertain with music and more. The story mostly revolves around the unfortunate Yue-ying who is a handmaiden to one of the most popular courtesan at the Lotus Palace. Handsome aristocrat Bai Huang has an eye for her, but she is not sure if it is genuine, or if she is just being used.

Bai Huang and Yue-ying wind up working together to try to find a murderer on the loose. They have to outwit many corrupt men in power to get to the truth.

I really enjoyed this novel and have ordered more books from this author. I love the settings and characters Jeannie Lin creates.