I have heard so much praise that I needed to request this one. Jeannie Lin is a favourite in our community, I guess? Anyway, the synopsis gives a good idea of the story. I really enjoyed the writing style, pacing and characters, although I sometimes stumbled over historical facts that left me disengaging to google them. Oops!

Someone else posted this quote in their review and I feel like it gives you a good idea of what to expect:

"A ripple of pleasure ran through her, lazy and warm with promise. She would never need to worry about being cold or hungry again. Her back wouldn’t ache from serving customers from the first light of day to deep in the night."

As a romance novel, there was nothing spectacular about this book. As so many romance novels do, it fell flat. I di like the novel approach to a typical pygmalion story.

To truly enjoy this novel to its fullest, you have to not just like the time it’s set in, but you have to love it, or at least be intrigued by it. The setting is a character in itself. China’s Tang Dynasty is a period regarded as a high point in Chinese civilization: a golden age of cosmopolitan culture and was largely a period of progress and stability.

Ms. Lin has this wonderful way of taking you on an adventure you’ll be hard pressed to leave at the end of the telling of the tale. And that’s only the beginning! You’ll love the characterization of not just the main characters but all the people that come in and out of their adventure.

For a fun, clever and sweeping romance, this one is a must!

Melanie for b2b