The Lotus Palace | 
pickI'm new to reading romance so I'm in Explorer Mode! I've read a lot of historical romance so far, but nothing set outside of England so I'm branching out again. The Lotus Palace takes place during the Tang Dynasty and we get a glimpse into the lives of courtesans and their patrons.
This was a slow burn which I don't normally mind but I didn't find the couple compelling. I'll still be reading the second book though because I liked the writing.
First book of #24in48. Opening survey completed. Hoping to make it to my goal of 16 hours, but this cold is kicking my butt.
pickLove her books. The characters, the setting, and the mystery woven throughout made this a compelling read.
Enjoying this one this week. Evening reading and relaxing as much as I can has been the only thing getting me through trying to prep my dissertation defense during pregnancy week 38 (tomorrow = officially 39). Gotta keep it up 'til baby arrives, 'cause defense might happen a few weeks after that if I'm "lucky." Great idea right? Guess I have to do what the advisor wants since he's the gatekeeper. Can't wait 'til grad school is OVER.
pickThis was an easy read and right up my alley. So so interesting to learn about all the folklores and Chinese cultures I learnt as a kid!
So much of historical romance is about women trying to find a place for themselves in a world that's not built for them. (Page is actually from The Liar's Dice, a sequel story to The Lotus Palace in the anthology Gambled Away.)
It's kind of driving me crazy that I can't tag the romance anthology that I'm reading, Gambled Away. I'm about to start the second in the collection. I've really enjoyed Jeannie Lin's other work, and China's Tang Dynasty is a refreshingly different setting for historical romance. If I'm remembering correctly, the heroine of this story, Wei-wei, is the sister of the hero from The Lotus Palace. Yay! I had hoped she'd get her own story.
