Dear Author: Romance Book Reviews, Author Interviews, and Commentary

Dear Ms. Terrell,

I’m not much of one for Conspiracy Theories. When people begin babbling on about the grassy knoll, Rosicrucians, Freemasons, Paul McCartney’s death or whether or not NASA astronauts actually landed on the moon, I generally tune them out or (even better) edge away and don’t look back as I flee the scene. I’ve never read the Da Vinci Code and never plan to. So, imagine my surprise when I got going with this book and realized I was right in the middle of one. A multinational one. One that has lasted for centuries and, based on what you wrote in your author’s note, is actually based on a true mystery of history. And I kept on reading. I was amazed.

It took me a while to get into the narrative. With the three storylines and host of characters involved in the story, I kept feeling that - right when I was starting to lose myself in any one chapter - it would end and I would be jerked out of flow. Yet, I’m not sure how else you could present things.

My favorite sections involved Ma Zhi. His struggles to prove …

Dear Readers,

I’ll admit that it was the gorgeous cover of this book that enticed me to buy it. The back cover blurb promised me a “fast-paced, witty, and lighthearted tale of adventure, romance, and the pursuit of impossible dreams” plus some action set in the Orient in 1814 so despite my dislike of historical novels which feature sword wielding maidens, I headed to the counter with it. There were a couple of things I didn’t realize at the time namely 1) that Revell Books is a Christian themed publisher and 2) that Jane Orcutt wrote Christian themed books. Now, I’m not going to bash these books as being mean to fellow readers is not something I like to do, but this isn’t a genre I usually pick though I did enjoy one previous book published by Bethany House. When I closed this book, I felt I had been preached too just a teensy tiny bit but as with the Cathy Marie Hake book, since the setting was a historical, I could go with it. I also felt saddened to learn that Mrs. Orcutt died a few months ago at an early age …

Dear Ms See,

I thought about getting this in ebook form then pondered about it in the bookstore before finally breaking down and buying it. I enjoyed the story and your research but I never could get past the feeling that I was reading a book in order to do a book report.

This isn’t a romance novel. It’s more a historical novel about the lifelong friendship of two women born in a remote province in China in 1820. Lily and Snow Flower are matched as laotongs or “old sames” at the age of seven, shortly before their foot binding begins. Laotongs weren’t just friends, they were best friends for life in a relationship that is closer than that between husband and wife or parents and children. The two women progress through life together, sharing their joys, sorrows and every day lives until a series of misunderstandings and misinterpretations almost destroys their relationship.

Told in first person by Lily, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan shows the hard life of even privileged women in 19th century China. They are born into families who basically see …