Comments on: REVIEW: The Concubine by Jade Lee

By: If You Like…Multicultural Books | Dear Author: Romance Novel Reviews, Industry News, and Commentary

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:01:54 +0000

[...] Lee, The Concubine, historical set in China featuring two Chinese protagonists. [...]

By: Jia

Jia — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 13:38:17 +0000

Jane and I heard that little bit of news a week or so before RWA. We were both utterly crushed.

By: Sayoko

Sayoko — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 12:52:15 +0000

I had bought the book after reading this review, and I loved it! I wished it was not a short Harlequin Blaze, but a full-fledged single title. Anyway, it was still a remarkable romance.

I was hoping that the sales were good, but according to this blog:
http://gossamerobsessions.blogspot.com/2009/07/animejunes-big-ass-rwa-post-final-booty.html
the sales tanked because of the Asian setting!

This goes to show that while online you might find lots of readers wishing for different settings, the average readers only want the *same* historicals set in the British islands…
What little hope I had for more variety in future romances, got crushed by this little news. YAY.

By: rebyj

rebyj — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 09:22:50 +0000

I read this tonight. I found it to live up to the B grade , I’d have loved to have more descriptions of their surroundings but I understand how page limits affect category romance.

By: Amy

Amy — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 02:14:19 +0000

@Jia — could be :)

By: Jia

Jia — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 20:17:03 +0000

@Amy: Is that a hint, Amy? :D

By: Amy

Amy — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 19:37:39 +0000

I snapped this up once it came in at the office on Friday — been looking forward to it for months! And you guys might also want to pop by Audible.com on Feb 1st, too… just sayin’ ;)

By: Lynne Connolly

Lynne Connolly — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 17:45:08 +0000

I love the sound of this book! Another for the electronic TBR!
There are a lot of calls these days for inter-racial and ethnic stories, and I find them fascinating. I don’t know enough about traditional Chinese ways to try to write an ethnic Chinese heroine, but I was brought up with a multi-racial Indian/British background (mostly Hindu, but some Sikhs), so I’d love to do more of those. And read them, too. With the huge success of the film “Slumdog Millionaire,” I’d say the time is right to see more of these stories. I find it a truly exciting prospect.

By: Diana

Diana — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 06:02:13 +0000

What, a romance featuring not only an Asian heroine but also an Asian hero?! I so have to check that out. Thanks for the heads up.

By: Jane

Jane — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 05:34:39 +0000

@Amy I'm thrilled that some of our recommendations are working out for you. I can confirm that Harlequin is very good to us in getting us access to books that we are interested in. I've also found Harlequin to be one of the most receptive companies when it comes to listening to the readership. There's alot of eyerolling things that Harlequin does but as far as a customer relations sort of company, I find them to be really great to work with.

By: Amy

Amy — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 05:25:37 +0000

I, too, grew up watching way too many sad Chinese historical soap operas featuring this era, so it’ll be hard for me to imagine a satisfying romance story with the Forbidden City, Emperor, etc. as the backdrop in the confines of a HQN Blaze novel. But it is so rare to see an Asian male and female depicted as the main characters in a romance novel that I feel I must go buy this book and give it a read. Thank you for the review, as I probably would have missed this one since I don’t normally go out of my way to shop for category romances. Honestly, I had not read category romances for years and only started buying them again in recent months because of the reviews here at DA. So HQN should give you ladies many many thanks for the increase in sales.

By: Wandering Chopsticks

Wandering Chopsticks — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 05:15:32 +0000

The story sounds great, but even if it didn’t, I’d buy it just to support a romance with an Asian heroine and Asian hero. Maybe then publishers will introduce more romances with Asian characters. I can only hope anyway.

By: Lorelie

Lorelie — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 00:50:55 +0000

I actually picked this one up today. I first zeroed in on the yummy guy, *then* realized the woman was Asian too. And my next thought was (I swear I’m not trying to kiss any butt here) I wonder if DA’s spotted this one. Yeah, I’m sure they have. :D

By: Jia

Jia — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 00:46:58 +0000

@Jinni Black: I've read the Tao of Sex but didn't like it very much either. Probably because it was a contemporary and shorter version of her Tigress books which, as I've said earlier in these comments, didn't really care for. (It's set in the same "universe," except in modern times.)

By: Jinni Black

Jinni Black — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 00:44:38 +0000

I’ll have to try this one. I Read the Tao of Sex because of the Asian hero, but wasn’t wowed by the sex/story. I too eat up any diversity. I’m not a fan of historicals so if these are successful, I hope they spin off into their own line.

I do have Bound to Please on the TBR pile from Nationals . . . I’ll have to give that one a try as well.

By: sula

sula — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 00:26:16 +0000

ooh, this looks very interesting. I’m going to keep my eyes open next time I’m at Borders.

By: Jules Jones

Jules Jones — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 00:01:27 +0000

Thank you for that review, it’s now on my Amazon wish list as a reminder for when it’s available here.

By: Jia

Jia — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 23:35:59 +0000

@Sherry Thomas: I believe it was mid-1800s? So yes, that's what I was referring to when I mentioned the HEA was a deus ex machina so it wasn't 100% satisfactory (I tend to have a kneejerk reaction to deus ex machina endings; other readers might not be so picky, lol) or believable even though I honestly can't think of another way it could have been achieved. The book does hint at some of the machinations that go on in the Forbidden City and in the emperor's harem but it doesn't really delve into them, probably due to the length restrictions of a category. Part of me would like to read a novel that explores that sort of intrigue more thoroughly, though. @Keishon: If it's any consolation, I liked this one far more than her Tigress books, which I found tiresome after a while. I haven't read the dragon one, though, so I can't compare this one with that one. @Sayoko: I don't think you're the only one. :)

By: JulieLeto

JulieLeto — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 23:27:47 +0000

Betina Krahn has one coming up and so does Pat Potter. But yes, they are watching sales very closely and the historicals will only continue if the sales are strong.

In regard to the accurate cover, I think it helps that the senior editor of the line is married to an Asian man and is very conscious of ethnicity. I love that my Latina heroine and Latino hero on my February Blaze look exactly how I described them!

By: Keishon

Keishon — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 23:27:01 +0000

Will buy this even though my track record with this author is not good.