Dear Author » Asian heroine

REVIEW: Fury of the Phoenix by Cindy Pon

Jia — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 09:00:10 +0000

Dear Ms. Pon,

I read your debut, Silver Phoenix, when it was first released and enjoyed it. Like Jane, I’m a big fan of multicultural stories and it was wonderful to see a YA fantasy featuring a setting based on ancient China. So I’ve been looking forward to your follow-up for a quite a while. I wish I could say the wait was worth it.

Silver Phoenix ended on a bit of a cliffhanger regarding the romantic subplot. It was a very bittersweet ending that left me wishing and hoping that Ai Ling’s story was not over. Ai Ling accomplished her goal, but she didn’t get the guy. How sad is that?

Fury of the Phoenix picks up where Silver Phoenix ended, with Ai Ling tracking down her love, Chen Yong, because she’s been having terrible dreams warning of danger to him. Most people would assume these dreams mean nothing or are just a nocturnal manifestation of her subconscious. But Ai Ling knows a thing or two about the supernatural and fantastical, so she trusts her instincts.

Chen Yong has decided to seek out his birth father, a foreigner not of the kingdom of Xia. The journey involves a long sea voyage to his father’s homeland. Ai Ling decides to join him, even if it means sneaking aboard the ship.

But the journey doesn’t proceed smoothly. For one, Chen Yong is not thrilled to see her. For another, Ai Ling is plagued by guilt over events that took place in Silver Phoenix. And worst of all, her nightmares and visions give her insight into her nemesis, Zhong Ye, whom she thought she’d defeated.

I think my less-than-enthused reaction to this novel is due to a combination of factors. I’ve been anticipating Fury for a while now and despite my best efforts, sometimes a long wait time results in raised expectations. I try not to do this because raised expectations have burned me numerous times in the past but it’s difficult to do that when we’re talking about Asian-influenced fantasy. I love Asian-influence fantasy so I’m constantly hoping the next story will be the one that breaks out.

But more than that, I think the kind of story Fury of Phoenix tells is not the one I was expecting, nor the kind of narrative I wanted. I’d hoped for more fantastical adventures along the lines of what we saw in the previous novel. There’s a sea voyage and a new country to explore. And while we were treated to menacing pirates and some family intrigue concerning Chen Yong’s father, these scenes were overshadowed by the secondary narrative.

And this is my main problem about Fury of the Phoenix. The novel is split into two storylines: one about Ai Ling’s present and one about Zhong Ye’s past. Zhong Ye, for those readers new to these books, is the villain of Silver Phoenix. His inclusion is the root of my dissatisfaction. I thought we were done with Zhong Ye. I thought we would move onto other adventures, other opponents, other goals. Instead, we were given a retread.

Part of it is that I personally don’t care to see villains redeemed, especially when they were portrayed in a particularly heinous way. I have no interest in such narratives. I also have no desire to read stories about how love can destroy us by leading us astray because it can make us do horrible things. That is not a story I care for in any way.

On top of all that, we also discover everything we thought we knew about Silver Phoenix and the circumstances leading up to her death was wrong. Maybe if there had been some hints of this in the previous book or maybe if recasting the story served some purpose, I’d like this aspect more. Instead I was left questioning what the point of it all.

But it wasn’t just Zhong Ye’s half of the book that gave me problems. It was also Ai Ling’s interactions with Chen Yong. Maybe I’m just looking back with rose-colored glasses, but I remember really liking the romantic subplot and their relationship. Here, their interactions left me cold and at times were wooden and 2D. Their relationship just did not develop in a way that was organic or believable to me.

On the other hand, I still enjoyed the setting. Even though much of Ai Ling’s storyline took place on a boat and in a foreign country, we still got to see much of the Asian setting through Zhong Ye’s eyes. I personally don’t recommend reading this book on an empty stomach because like its predecessor, the food descriptions made me hungry.

I did finish the book so despite my complaints, it wasn’t a DNF. That said, I suspect how readers receive this book will depend on their feelings towards Zhong He’s narrative. It makes up a significant portion of the book, so it can’t easily be ignored. And at times, I thought it overshadowed Ai Ling’s storyline which is a shame because Ai Ling is the character I wanted to read about — her journey, her story, her growth and evolution as a person. Instead, I got the tale of a man’s fall and how it impacted a poor girl in the present. As for the cover, I have nothing to say about it that hasn’t been said already. C

My regards,
Jia

GAY WRITES REVIEW: Homecoming by Nell Stark

Guest Reviewer — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 20:00:52 +0000

This review is part of our Gay Writes celebration. Don’t forget to comment on the original post for a chance to win one of those prizes as well as commenting on this post for a chance to win a copy of this book.

Dear Ms. Stark,

I ordered your book because I liked the cover and I was looking for a good “coming out” story. Homecoming is a sweet, modern romance between two likeable young women, but I almost gave up on it before I got to the good parts.

Sarah is a premed student with a bright future. When her parents discover that she’s a lesbian, they freak out and disown her. Sarah’s girlfriend, who wants to stay in the closet, dumps her over the phone. Although it sounds heartbreaking, a lack of cohesiveness at the beginning prevented me from becoming engaged in the story. The first few chapters read like a string of flashbacks and a series of prologues put together. We’re introduced to a couple of characters (probably from a previous book) that have no real significance in this story.

Sarah feels all alone in the world and is forced to transfer from Yale to a less expensive university. Things perk up when she meets her new roommate. Rory is a hot geek who loves video games and film studies. She’s also straight-maybe.

Rory and Sarah hit it off, and the story is smoothly written from here on. Sarah is described as boyish but beautiful, with short hair and an androgynous look. All of the femmes on campus are in love at first sight. Sarah doesn’t notice the attention because she’s totally unaware of her appeal. I’m a sucker for this classic romance trope and you made it work through character development. Sarah has a wry, self-deprecating sense of humor. She’s also passionate, unpretentious, and idealistic. Now that she’s out, and cut off from her family, she’s learning how to stand on her own.

The prettiest lesbian in the university, Chelsea, quickly sinks her claws into Sarah. They start dating but Sarah holds off on sex, claiming she’s not over her ex. The truth is that she’s falling for Rory.

Rory is another great character, quirky and outgoing. She’s always liked guys but she finds Sarah very attractive. As roommates, they spend a lot of time studying and hanging out. Rory sees Sarah kissing Chelsea one night and imagines taking her place. When Sarah rents the movie Bound, which features some hot girl-on-girl action, they watch it together and Rory gets hopelessly turned on. The air between them sizzles with sexual tension.

Both Rory and Sarah become involved in a campaign to legalize gay marriage, and this political aside failed to hold my interest. It’s not that I’m against those rights-’on the contrary. I just felt as though the issue took up too much space and came off as a bit didactic. I also wish the “coming out” portion had been more personal, more emotional. The end of Sarah’s relationship with her parents isn’t explored in detail. I didn’t get the sense that they’d ever been close or that either side would attempt to reconcile.

[[Visit blog to check out this spoiler]]

Later, Sarah apologizes to Rory and they have hot lesbian sex. I mean, really hot. This scene is touching and erotic and all the more satisfying because of the slow buildup. At that point, I was screaming for someone, anyone, to get laid already.

Overall, Homecoming is a smart, sexy romance. The characters talk like real college students, not like your mom trying to sound hip. Rory is Korean, and I appreciated the inclusion of an Asian heroine. I also liked the way their relationship developed over time, and through genuine affection. Your voice reminded me of Sean Kennedy, a popular m/m author. Perhaps fans of his would enjoy you. C+

Best regards,
Jill

Amazon Buy Link We have a PRINT copy of this book to giveaway. Comment by 3pm EST Tuesday to win! (One win per person for the day of our Gay Writes giveaways, but feel free to comment on all posts to increase your chances of winning!)

Reviewx2: Iron Duke by Meljean Brook

Shuzluva — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 17:00:40 +0000

Because this book is so awesome, it needs more than one review.

Dear Ms. Brook,

I’ve greatly enjoyed many of your books, yet for some reason I’ve never felt compelled to review one until now. While that may be perceived as rude, it turns out that other reviewers at DA (or other blogs) have gotten to the review faster than me, making me feel that adding my voice to the chorus would be redundant. However, with The Iron Duke, I feel compelled to add my two cents, redundancy notwithstanding. Here There Be Monsters was simply an appetizer to an intricate, frightening and dark Steampunk world that I want to revisit over and over. However, it is the depth and complexity of the characters that breath life into The Iron Duke and make it so enjoyable.

The Horde (which are clearly from some part of Asia, and I’m guessing is a more terrifying version of the Golden Horde) had ruled England for over 200 years by controlling the citizens through radio frequencies that activated nanoagents, or microscopic bugs, in their bodies. Unbeknownst to the English citizens, they were ingesting the bugs with their sugar which had been bought on the cheap from the Horde. To understand what ‘control’ means in simple terms, if the Horde decided it wanted the entire country to stop on a dime, it would send out a radio signal and ones body would freeze in place. If it was time to make more babies, the Horde would send out a signal and ones body would be compelled to fuck the next closest body (known as a Frenzy). The Horde suppressed everyones emotions and held control over everyones actions, making the English citizens bodies in to somthing like a simple machine. Worse, the citizens were aware of all of their actions and unable to control them.

Nine years prior to the start of the book, pirate captain Rhys Trahearn single-handedly overthrew Horde rule, making him a national hero and earning him the title of the Duke of Anglesey, better known as the Iron Duke. Trahearn built a merchant-marine empire with the influence of his name, and has a tendency to take possession of everything he desires, earning him more than one enemy along the way. When a dead body is literally dropped on his doorstep and Detective Inspector Mina Wentworth arrives to investigate, Trahearn realizes he doesn’t have everything he’s ever wanted.

Mina is the daughter of an impoverished but titled family, and has worked her way through prejudice and sexism to achieve her rank in the police department. Mina was conceived during a Frenzy that the Horde initiated during a state function. Mina’s parents, along with all the peers of the realm were in attendance at the function, and Mina’s Horde heritage is apparent to anyone that looks at her. It would have been simple to have Mina constantly self-sacrificing and hoping for acceptance within her own family, but Ms. Brook has taken the more complex and interesting route: the Wentworth’s all love each other, and protect and defend each other with every fiber of their being. The rich interaction makes Mina’s reluctance to surrender to her desire for Trahern that much more believable.

When Trahern uses his influence to take charge of the investigation, Mina refuses to allow him to railroad her. Once they discover that Trahern’s former airship (which is now a vessel in the British Navy) has been hijacked and the crew is being held for ransom, Mina will not allow the case to drop; her brother is among the crew being held. But it is more than simple piracy, there is a conspiracy that could allow the Horde back into England and Europe, and Mina and Trahern are in a race to stop it.

Mina and Rhys’ emotionally tangled and incredibly hot relationship is the absolute backbone of the book. While there were a few moments that Rhys seemed a bit wooden to me (and frankly, he remains a bit of an enigma which while frustrating, is still appealing. I am now on my second reading because of it), the absolute heat and excitement between them, even in the quiet moments, is totally compelling. And if you must know, the sexin’ is absurdly good.

The secondary characters in the book are as delightfully deep as the hero and heroine, and add to the rich narrative without having flashing “sequel” signs above their heads. Lady Yasmine Corsair, who made an appearance in Here There Be Monsters, is a mystery I’m quite desperate to learn more about. Trahern’s second in command, Scarsdale, is a bright spot of comic relief even as he is miserable. I cannot believe I have to wait any amount of time for the next in the series. A

~Shuzluva

Bookchat Reminder + Kobo Reader Giveaway

Jane — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 15:29:52 +0000

Don’t forget that on Saturday from 6 pm to 8 pm CST, Dear Author will be hosting a bookchat for Butterfly Swords.

Kobo Books will give away one Kobo Reader to a random customer who buys Butterfly Swords during the month of October. So from October 1 through October 31, if you buy Butterfly Swords from KOBO BOOKS, you will be entered to win a Kobo Reader.

The author Jeannie Lin will be joining us but we’ll definitely have time to gab after she leaves if you feel uncomfortable with the author presence. So again, mark your calendars for Saturday from 6 pm to 8 pm CST for a bookchat and don’t forget to buy Butterfly Swords from Kobo to be entered to win a Kobo reader.

REVIEW: The Iron Duke by Meljean Brook

Janine — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 20:00:37 +0000

Dear Ms. Brook,

The Iron Duke is a steampunk romance and it is very different in setting and genre from most of the romances I've read. It’s not really paranormal, but rather science fiction set in a partly-historical setting. A kind of "what if" world. What if nanotechnology had been invented by the Asian nation the characters refer to as the Horde, and used to enslave Britain’s citizens?

The story takes place nine years after a revolution in which the nanoagent-infected English (who are known colloquially as "buggers" – and this is no insult to them) have overthrown the Horde, but the buggers are still traumatized by two centuries of enslavement. They are also enhanced by the nanotechnology. The setting feels like late 19th century or perhaps early 20th century.

Wilhelmina "Mina" Wentworth is half-Asian, the product of a rape, so even though her mother is a countess, Mina is on the receiving end of a lot of bigotry and hatred. As the story opens, Mina, a police "inspector detective," (the bugger nobility is poor and many have to work for a living), is attending a ball in honor of the Iron Duke, an ex-pirate who destroyed the radio tower that controlled the nanoagents.

The Iron Duke, who scorns high society, isn't present, but Mina realizes she will soon meet him anyway when Constable Newberry, Mina's assistant arrives at to escort her to the Iron Duke's estate, where a dead body has been found.

Rhys Trahaearn, nicknamed "the Iron Duke," is an ex-pirate who was awarded a dukedom for the role he played in the revolution. The body found on the grounds of his estate turns out to be someone who fell from high above, and the dead man's face has been destroyed beyond recognition. Mina suspects that the man was dropped from an airship.

It soon becomes apparent to Mina that the duke's new steward called the police without consulting his employer, and that at first Rhys doesn't want Mina or any other detective investigating, because if the murder is connected to him or any of his people, he intends to bring the killer to his own brand of justice. Mina is just as determined not to allow Rhys to overstep the law.

Equally apparent, and unwelcome, is Rhys's attraction to Mina and Mina's own response to him. Mina distrusts Rhys and does not particularly like him, and knows his attentions would only bring even more hatred and bigotry toward her and her loved ones, so when he announces his intention to have her in his bed, she plans to resist with all her will.

But as the investigation proceeds and Rhys accompanies Mina through various dangers, Mina reluctantly begins to respect and like Rhys. And when they unearth a threat that endangers all of England, Mina finds herself wanting something she believes she can never have — not with Rhys and not with any other man. Will she be able to continue resisting, or will she lose her heart to the Iron Duke?

The main characters in The Iron Duke are lovable and endearing. Mina shows considerable determination and courage in pursuing justice despite facing many obstacles, some of which come from the other buggers' reaction to her race. It is not unusual for some to try to assault her for being of Asian descent alone, much less for most to look at her with hatred in their eyes, but she carries herself with dignity and does not allow anything to prevent her from doing her job.

Rhys is equally courageous and determined. Like Mina, he has a painful past, and has overcome a lot. His strength of will, as well as his eventual caring for Mina and his great admiration for her, made him very appealing. I especially loved him for not giving up on Mina, even though she rejected him countless times because of her fears.

The Iron Duke is a riveting book — so riveting that it was only after I finished reading that I realized I was missing some pieces of character development that I'd have liked to have seen.

Rhys's reaction to Mina is very different from the way he feels about other women, but I never got a strong sense of why that was. There is a lot to admire in Mina, and I loved her, but being told that Rhys "admired the hell out of her" wasn't quite enough for me — I wanted to see that admiration forming, through his eyes, in the early parts of the book. So much of the beginning of the story was devoted to Mina's POV, and to how she comes to begin to like Rhys, that I felt I didn't get enough of the other side of the equation in that section.

Later in the book, Mina has a trauma to overcome, and much attention is given to that. But Rhys also has serious trauma in his past, and yet, it doesn't seem to affect his interactions with Mina that deeply or even to cross his mind more than a couple of times when Mina is coping with the horror in her past. I would have liked to have heard more about how what he suffered affected him in the past, and even to have seen it affect him more in the present – not because I wanted to see him suffer, but in order to find him more believable.

We spend more time in Mina's head than in Rhys's, but there is also a piece of her past that I would have liked to know more about. Mina has a loving family, but it is made clear that her mother did not always look at her daughter, the product of a rape, with love. I wanted to know how that changed, and whether Mina had any early memories from before her mother had loved her. How did Mina feel when she first learned of her mother's actions right after Mina's birth? All that rich terrain was never mined in the book.

The setting is vivid and well-constructed. I'm not entirely convinced that technology could have developed as it does in this book, but I think the juxtaposition of advanced, science fictional developments like nanoagents with 19th century technologies like gaslight are part of the fun of the steampunk setting, and I loved all the thought that went into the construction of the world. It felt developed to a greater degree than most fictional worlds in the romance genre and I liked that there was so much detail to it. It truly seemed like a whole world, and not as if we were only seeing a corner of the world.

I wasn’t always comfortable with one aspect of this world – that the Asian “Horde” are the bad guys, or at least, the bad guys in the backstory (the present day story has a mysterious group of men of Eurpoean origins as its villains). This is somewhat balanced out though, with the half-Asian heroine who frequently faces down racism.

The worldbuilding is also complex and therefore occasionally puzzling but continuing to read cleared up that confusion. It almost certainly helped that I'd first read "Here There Be Monsters," a novella set on this same world which precedes this novel and appears in the Burning Up anthology.

In addition, every once in a while I'd come across some contradictory detail that momentarily confused me about the characters' past. For example, there's this bit in Rhys' POV about Mina's father: "He glanced up and regarded Rhys with an inscrutable, penetrating gaze. No question where his daughter had inherited it." These two sentences confused me because it's made clear in other places in the book that Mina's father is not her biological father, but I had spent the beginning pages trying to determine whether or not that was the case, so when I reached this line, my earlier confusion briefly returned.

Despite all the aforementioned issues, I'm giving this book a high grade because I had a wonderful time reading it. I was totally sucked in, so much so that I skipped dinner and read until late at night to finish it. I kept telling myself I'd put it down and go to sleep, but it felt impossible to do so.

The mystery surrounding the dead body and the adventures it led Rhys and Mina to undertake entertained me almost as much as the romance, which was sexy and heartwarming. What's more, the book felt truly different from other romances, even the other steampunkish romances I've read in the past. For its freshness, its riveting plot and its lovable characters, I give The Iron Duke a B+/A-.

Sincerely,

Janine Ballard

Thoughts on Jeannie Lin’s Butterfly Swords

Jane — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 10:00:17 +0000

I visited Korea in the early 2000s. One day we were in the district of the Ewha’s Women’s University. Near the university is a shopping area situated on a long downward slope. My husband Ned and I were at the top of the hill and all you could see was a sea of shiny black hair. My breath caught in my throat. Here, everyone looked like me. We all had black hair and the olive skin tones.

Growing up in the midwest, amongst a sea of Norse and German descendants, I looked like the one orange amongst a bushel of apples. To minimize my differences, I tried to attire myself with the accoutrements of the apples, putting on the red skin over my orange peel but my deceit lasted only until I saw my reflection.

Ned turned to me, “Don’t take off your hat. I’ll never find you.” But I paid no heed. I walked a little ahead of Ned and took off my hat and lost myself in the sea of people who all looked just like me. All of my life I was keenly aware of my otherness and here, for just a moment, there was this immediate sense of belonging.

But for all my similarities, I was still Other here. I was big boned compared to the dainty Asian girls that swirled around me, pale and delicate like the wings of a translucent butterfly. “So tall,” clucked the mother of my host family as I towered awkwardly over her under five foot frame. I could have snapped most of those girls in two. And for all my physical similarities – the eye color and shape, the hair, the skin, I was Other.

When I read a book about the Far East, its culture is just as foreign to me as the culture of the British and Regency England or the high society of the New York Five Hundred. To some extent, I’ve always been Other, for as long as I have read books but it has never bothered me when reading because once lost in the book, my Otherness disappears. For a moment, for the span of the novel, I am part of the author’s world, traveling along with her as she carries me to ancient times or fantasy lands or even just across the countryside.

I admit that when I see a book with a cover like Jeannie Lin’s Butterfly Swords, there is an instant affinity because no matter how white my insides are, I will always be generically Asian to everyone who looks at me. And I want and enjoy the affirmation that my ancestors have stories and tales worth publication. That is meaningful. I won’t deny this.

Yet for all affinity that the cover brings for me, Butterfly Swords, isn’t a banana, all yellow on the outside and white on the inside, but there is a core of universality in her story that any romance reader will instantly recognize. A girl bound to honor the wishes of her family, struggling to bring justice for the death of her brother, and wondering how she can fit her own love into the tapestry of the family legacy. A man who has lost his identity, or maybe never had it, who finds a purpose when he falls in love.

When I was reading Butterfly Swords, it spoke to me on a very deep level. This was a story, not technically about my people and my heritage, but it was a story that was about Others and even though I grew up very Western, my blood was forged in the East. I so appreciate that Jeannie Lin and Harlequin are bringing the history of the East to all of us. I just hope that people who might feel Other by looking at the cover, will remember that stories are all a bit of fantasy and you can lose yourself in this story as easily as one set in Regency England.

This book can be downloaded at NetGalley for those who want to write a review. You can write a review on Goodreads, Amazon, Library Thing or even here. I’ve set up a page for them.

REVIEW: Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon

Jia — Wed, 06 May 2009 10:00:42 +0000

Dear Ms. Pon,

I fall into that category of people who wish more fantasy novels set in non-Western settings were available to the general readership at large. And while I’m it, I want more than just those non-Western settings; I also want the stories of the non-white characters that live in those worlds. Diversity, multiculturalism — these are things that we’ve encouraged and discussed in the past here at DA. It doesn’t matter what the genre is — romance, fantasy, young adult — I personally want to see more of it.

I was predisposed to like your debut because not only was it set in a fantasy world inspired by ancient China, it featured an Asian heroine. Like Jane, I have a bias towards Asian heroines. And an Asian heroine in a fantasy that’s not exoticized, fetishized, or made into a prize for the strapping hero? Definitely a plus for me.

Ai Ling is the daughter of a disgraced scholar who was exiled from the Imperial court before she was born. But then one day her father is called back for reasons she doesn’t know or understand, leaving Ai Ling and her mother to fend for themselves. As months pass with no word, they grow increasingly worried and distressed. Things come to a head when a lecherous merchant proclaims his intent to take Ai Ling to be the latest in a string of wives. Even though Ai Ling has been all but declared unmarriageable thanks to a disastrous betrothal, the idea horrifies her. And it’s enough to make her embark on a journey to find her missing father and bring him home.

Almost immediately Ai Ling learns forces are conspiring against her. She knows she’s not entirely normal — she’s able to see into other people’s souls and hear their thoughts, an ability that manifested during her failed betrothal. But her inexplicable ability didn’t prepare her for an encounter with a serpentine monster that drags her into a lake and nearly drowns her in skeleton-infested waters. Thankfully, she is pulled free by a young man named Chen Yong, who is on a filial mission of his own. And Ai Ling will need his help on her quest, because it becomes apparent that the demon world doesn’t want her to succeed.

What I found most stunning about this book is the worldbuilding. Many of the monsters were familiar to me from Asian mythology but I think readers not as well-versed will find it very fresh and a nice change of pace from other books in the genre. I just found it very comforting in that sense because here was a book drawing on traditions and material more in line with my background than your average fantasy novel.

To be honest, I think Silver Phoenix will appeal most to fans of the wuxia genre. The comparison to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is an apt one in many ways. I don’t necessarily consider that movie the best example of the genre itself, but it’s probably the one most readers here will be familiar with. But the adventures Ai ling encounters on her quest to find and free her father are reminiscent of classic wuxia serials — journeying through the countryside, staying in the homes of powerful lords, climbing a mountain to find the sage who can bless a gifted dagger, meeting with gods, and freeing immortals. Silver Phoenix is very much an adventure novel and readers looking for that sort of thing will enjoy it a lot.

Ironically, this trait is also its weakest point. Because of Ai Ling’s multiple adventures on the road to the Imperial palace, the book is somewhat episodic. There is an overarching plot that serves as the backdrop for those adventures, of course, but the crux of it comes later in the book so people who want a stronger, more focused storyline might not enjoy it as much. Speaking for myself, I wished for more on-page presence of the villain. When we learn of Ai Ling’s connection to the antagonist and his reasons for holding her father prisoner, I expected more of a legitimate threat from him but I ultimately didn’t get it. In that sense, I was left dissatisfied.

As a word of warning to those who aren’t as familiar with the wuxia genre, I will say the relationship between Ai Ling and Chen Yong might not turn out the way you expect or hope. I thought the resolution to that subplot was very indicative of the types of stories I associate with the wuxia genre but it’s not the sort of ending that will work for every reader. It worked for me but there is the caveat that I have a weakness for bittersweet endings.

Overall, I enjoyed Silver Phoenix for Ai Ling’s adventures through the various landscapes of its China-inspired world but I hoped for a stronger underlying plotline to drive the story along. Towards the end, I felt the emotional power of the narrative fell flat, particularly on the idea of why it was Ai Ling, and Ai Ling alone, who had to face the antagonist. The reasoning for doing so had a lot of dramatic potential but it failed to leave an impact on me. After all, hanging yourself on your wedding night with your bridal veil and then lingering in the underworld for a couple hundred years, biding your time and gathering your power before allowing yourself to be reincarnated as a girl with the power to read people’s hearts and souls? That’s a powerful fodder for an equally powerful narrative. I wish more time and depth had been given to it.

I loved that at its heart, Silver Phoenix is a story about families. Ai Ling embarks on this quest because of her love for her father. She meets Chen Yong because he’s on a quest to find his birth parents. However, I will say that the prologue is a bit out of place as it pertains more towards Chen Yong’s story than Ai Ling’s — and I consider Silver Phoenix to be solely Ai Ling’s story — and merely provided a tenuous connection between their respective family histories. On the other hand, it does give me hope that Ai Ling and Chen Yong’s story is not finished, which may go a long way to making the ending easier to swallow. B-

My regards,
Jia

This book can be purchased in mass market from an independent bookstore or ebook format from the Sony Store and other etailers.

REVIEW: The Concubine by Jade Lee

Jia — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 21:00:17 +0000

Dear Ms. Lee,

Like Jane, I’m biased towards books featuring Asian heroines. So imagine how excited I was to discover a book that not only featured an Asian heroine but an Asian hero too! And in historical China! Even better, the cover depicted them as both distinctly Asian. That last bit sounds like a strange thing to be excited about but speaking from experience, book covers don’t really have a good history of staying true to a character’s ethnicity. Just look at the cover of that Harlequin Presents with the Asian heroine that Jane reviewed last month.

Chen Ji Yue is the only daughter of a poor noble. With little money to their name and two brothers who need to take the Imperial examinations, her family sends her to the Forbidden City. The previous emperor has recently died and his son has newly ascended the throne. And his first duty as emperor is to produce an heir. To this end, he sends notice to all the eligible young women that he is seeking an empress. And that’s not all: he also seeks four favored concubines and enough women to fill the two tiers of harems below that. So even though any of these roles would fulfill her goals, Ji Yue’s goal is to be chosen as empress because she’s been raised her entire life to be a political wife.

Sun Bo Tao is the emperor’s cousin and childhood best friend. With no real position, money, or title to his name, he’s forced to live on the emperor’s whims. And judging by what we see in the story, the emperor is a capricious man. Some readers might find that off-putting but I enjoyed seeing someone raised to be emperor actually act like an emperor. He thinks he’s a god so he acts like he is one, even if this means being cruel to his dearest friends. When Bo Tao suggests that his best friend focus on the impending visit of a group of Dutch envoys instead of searching for an empress, the emperor punishes him by placing in charge of the Festival of Fertility — the very search for the new empress he was advocating against.

This is an immensely likeable book. Even with the Asian leads and setting, the story itself is a great read. Ji Yue isn’t the most beautiful of women so she was taught to use her brain, and the ways in which she maneuvers through the candidate search show just how clever she really is. She also has an insight into current events (the Dutch envoys, the civil unrest in China) that show how canny she is about politics and ruling, proving just how good an empress she would be — if the emperor were interested in a woman who was more than a womb, which, unfortunately for her, he is not.

Bo Tao is the classic example of someone who can’t escape his past and the mistakes of his youth. As the emperor’s childhood friend, they used to run wild in the Forbidden City and he is infamous for being an unrepentant seducer. At least that’s what everyone says. As we see from his perspective, however, Bo Tao is older, wiser, and more responsible than the emperor. He may have a bad reputation but there’s no sign he’s acted that way in a long time. If anything else, he’s doing all he can to win the adviser position the emperor’s been promising him since forever.

I admit harem stories aren’t my favorite so I’m not sure how this holds up to that trope, but I do like stories in which the protagonist goes after one person, only to discover another person (usually the best friend or sibling) is more suited for them. And for me, the story delivered on that. Ji Yue used all her strengths to try and win the emperor’s affection: her intelligence, her political savvy, her cleverness. But in a search for the perfect woman to bear the imperial heir, those traits aren’t at the top of the list. Or anywhere near the middle, for that matter. Bo Tao views the Festival as nothing more than an inconvenient annoyance and has no desire to spend his time with desperate virgins panting after his best friend. But as he spends more time with Ji Yue, he discovers that some women — and this woman in particular — deserve better than the life they’d get in the Forbidden City and that in fact she’d be wasted as the emperor’s wife. The way they deny their attraction to one another while trying to keep it a secret from everyone else was delightful.

Some readers might find the ending to be a deus ex machina but in all honesty, I can’t see Ji Yue and Bo Tao getting their HEA in any other way without completely violating the limitations placed upon the story by the historical setting. For other readers, however, I think this is a story that makes excellent use of familiar romance tropes — the poor heroine who needs to earn money for her family, the reformed bad boy hero who falls in love with the woman promised to his best friend — and breathes new life into them by using them in a culture and time period not often found in the genre. B

My regards,
Jia

This book can be purchased in mass market from Amazon or ebook format from Harlequin. It is a February release and you can only get the early releaseas at eHarlequin.com. Smart or what?

Harlequin Lightning Reviews: January 2009 Edition

Jane — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 18:00:35 +0000

Tycoon’s Pregnant Mistress by Maya Banks.

I laughed a little when I finished this book because it had virtually all the common HP/SD tropes smushed into one small category. We have the secret baby, amnesia, asshole boyfriend with trust issues, evil other woman, and an abduction for added spice (plus the requisite travel to an exotic locale).

There is something kind of fun about a secret baby mistress abduction amnesia story but the melodrama level was a bit too high for me. Essentially the heroine is the mistress of a wealthy developer and she is unjustly accused of selling secrets to his competitor. She’s virtually tossed out of his home and then kidnapped. But once the kidnappers realize that there is no use for her, she is released unharmed. This stretched my credibility even for an HP. As a result of her trauma, she gets amnesia and her lover comes to take care of her and as a result learns that she could not have possibly sold secrets to his competitor. Of course, why he couldn’t have figured out that before, I’m not sure. C

This book can be purchased in mass market from Amazon or ebook format from the Sony Store and other etailers.

Antonides’ Forbidden Wife by Anne McAllister

Two words: Asian Heroine. I’m giving this book a B just for that. This might be my new grading scale. Every book with an Asian heroine starts at a B grade from the beginning. Actually, I think I would have given this book a B even without my personal race bias.

PJ Antonides marries Ally (half Japanese) as a favor over 10 years ago and neither bothered to get a divorce. PJ kind of liked the excuse of being married. It was an easy way to fob off his family and other women even though no one was really sure whether to believe him. Ally decides she is going to marry this nice doctor and trots off to see the PJ to get her divorce, only PJ isn’t so sure that he wants this divorce. He tells Ally that he isn’t going to sign the papers unless she pretends to be his wife for an upcoming family reunion. This is a story of mini misunderstandings, unrequited feelings, misaligned stars, and PJ’s charming Greek family.

Note to Harlequin: just because the model has straight hair doesn’t make her Asian.

This book can be purchased in mass market from Amazon or ebook format from the Sony Store and other etailers.

Her Ruthless Italian Boss by Christine Hollis

I read this book with a look of wtfery on my face. I could feel it. My face was contorted for at least the first 20 pages, as I tried to figure out what the hell was going on with the characters. Beth met Luca Francesco a few years ago when Luca was in the army. They were in love but Beth didn’t want to marry a soldier. Or maybe she didn’t want to marry someone poor. Or maybe she wanted to marry Luca but he turned her down. Luca is now one of the richest men in Europe, Beth has no money, and his heart was broken so much that he wants revenge or he doesn’t want revenge, he wants to court her, or something. Seriously, I had no idea what was going on in this story. The motivations of the character were more slippery than a wet fish. Beth was a doormat throughout much of what I read, first lamenting her monetary loss but then deriding any efforts to see to her comfort. Luca hates Beth for leaving him and vows something but also treats her like spun glass.

Ultimately I gave up because, well, it just didn’t make sense. DNF

This book can be purchased in mass market from Amazon or ebook format from the Sony Store and other etailers.