Jeannie Lin
Autore di Butterfly Swords
Sull'Autore
Serie
Opere di Jeannie Lin
Etichette
Informazioni generali
- Nome legale
- Nguyen-Rettig, Chi
- Altri nomi
- Lee, Liliana
- Sesso
- female
- Nazionalità
- USA
- Luogo di residenza
- St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Los Angeles Area, California, USA - Attività lavorative
- teacher
technical consultant - Agente
- Gail Fortune (Talbot Fortune Agency Inc.)
- Breve biografia
- Jeannie Lin grew up fascinated with stories of Western epic fantasy as well as Eastern martial arts adventures. When her best friend introduced her to romance novels in middle school, the stage was set. Jeannie started writing her first romance while working as a high school teacher in South Central Los Angeles. After four years of trying to break into publishing with an Asian-set historical, her 2009 Gold Heart Award-winning manuscript, Butterfly Swords, sold to Harlequin Mill & Boon. With two releases and four more upcoming titles, she's keeping her fingers crossed that this hard-sell genre will one day be hard to resist.
As a technical consultant, backpacker, and vacation junkie, she's traveled all over the United States as well as Europe, South Korea, Japan, China and Vietnam. She's now happily settled in St. Louis with her wonderfully supportive husband and she continues to journey to exotic locations in her stories. [from Pieces of Paper (2011)]
Utenti
Recensioni
The third installment in the Pingkang Li series features another gripping mystery while allowing readers to become reacquainted with all of their favorite characters from past books. In spite of these familiar tie-ins, The Hidden Moon doesn't quite measure up to its predecessors. It's still a lot of fun, but it mostly caters to long-time fans of the author. New readers might have a little difficulty getting into it.
In the earlier books, the mystery was still gripping, but the romance took center stage between the leads. This could partially be because The Lotus Palace and The Jade Temptress were both published by an imprint of Harlequin. In comparison, Wei-Wei and Gao's relationship was much more understated with a lot more pining, and, in some cases, less nuance. From the beginning, Gao is smitten with Wei-Wei. Unlike most historical romance novels, there's no brooding, nor is he pushing her away only to get jealous when she starts flirting with other men. It's refreshing to read about a dynamic devoid of these games. For her part, Wei-Wei is also drawn to Gao right away, but her character is a lot more layered. She often comes off as reckless, but it's part of her charm as an titled, wealthy, young woman who is used to getting what she wants. It created a layer of self-awareness we're not used to seeing in romance heroines. Personally, I liked it.
The mystery itself is quite interesting, even if it does lag in some places. The characters explore the Forbidden City and the affluent area of Chang'an as they try to uncover the truth. These are places Lin hasn't really explored in her novels. Unfortunately, these settings are still pretty vague even after finishing the book. There's not a sense of having stepped into a new world, which readers experience every time they enter a pleasure house or the Bai family mansion. Those are the only settings that are fleshed out in the whole book, sadly, and the Bai mansion only because we spend so much time there. Readers eventually piece everything together.
In general, if you're invested in the Pingkang Li mysteries, you'll enjoy this book. Just be aware that it's not as rich as the previous two: the supporting cast isn't as memorable as in previous books, comprising mostly of cameos, and only Huang gets extended character development. This is frustrating, as Lin's female characters tend to be formidable: Deng Furen and Bai Furen, in particular. There are also a few typos: not a lot, but enough to draw attention to them. Since this book was self-published, unlike its predecessors, it seems like Lin didn't have the same resources she usually does. That said, this still has plenty of merit and is worth checking out, as long as you're aware it's not perfect.
… (altro)
In the earlier books, the mystery was still gripping, but the romance took center stage between the leads. This could partially be because The Lotus Palace and The Jade Temptress were both published by an imprint of Harlequin. In comparison, Wei-Wei and Gao's relationship was much more understated with a lot more pining, and, in some cases, less nuance. From the beginning, Gao is smitten with Wei-Wei. Unlike most historical romance novels, there's no brooding, nor is he pushing her away only to get jealous when she starts flirting with other men. It's refreshing to read about a dynamic devoid of these games. For her part, Wei-Wei is also drawn to Gao right away, but her character is a lot more layered. She often comes off as reckless, but it's part of her charm as an titled, wealthy, young woman who is used to getting what she wants. It created a layer of self-awareness we're not used to seeing in romance heroines. Personally, I liked it.
The mystery itself is quite interesting, even if it does lag in some places. The characters explore the Forbidden City and the affluent area of Chang'an as they try to uncover the truth. These are places Lin hasn't really explored in her novels. Unfortunately, these settings are still pretty vague even after finishing the book. There's not a sense of having stepped into a new world, which readers experience every time they enter a pleasure house or the Bai family mansion. Those are the only settings that are fleshed out in the whole book, sadly, and the Bai mansion only because we spend so much time there. Readers eventually piece everything together.
In general, if you're invested in the Pingkang Li mysteries, you'll enjoy this book. Just be aware that it's not as rich as the previous two: the supporting cast isn't as memorable as in previous books, comprising mostly of cameos, and only Huang gets extended character development. This is frustrating, as Lin's female characters tend to be formidable: Deng Furen and Bai Furen, in particular. There are also a few typos: not a lot, but enough to draw attention to them. Since this book was self-published, unlike its predecessors, it seems like Lin didn't have the same resources she usually does. That said, this still has plenty of merit and is worth checking out, as long as you're aware it's not perfect.
… (altro)
This novel is a masterpiece in meshing different genres to create a cohesive story that celebrates all of its elements and holds nothing back. The historical setting is immersive and perfectly balanced. It never takes over the narrative nor does is it a vague after-thought. It's purposeful and authentic. The romance is poignant, nuanced, and rich. The mystery is gripping and perfectly paced. You never feel like one element is over-powering the other. Truly, Lin should teach a masterclass because this book is one of a kind.
Just like the Pingkang li, not everything is as it seems. Bai Huang is pretending to play the fool while he gets close to Yue-ying, a maidservant with a half-moon birthmark on her face who works at one of the establishments that houses courtesans. She is devoted to the courtesan Mingyu, who is hiding something in the wake of a fellow courtesan's murder. As Huang and Yue-ying team up to solve the mystery, they also grapple with their feelings for each other, as well as the obstacles that arise for people of their social status. It's a very realistic portrayal of an unbalanced relationship that avoids making Huang out to be a dashing rescuer and Yue-ying a passive victim of his love. She very much has her own agency, and her integrity is astounding. Lin's skilled writing makes her more than a match for Huang, so when their story finally ends in a fairy tale, it feels genuinely romantic.
The supporting cast! How could you forget them! Everyone is playing a part, and everyone is so complex. You're constantly guessing who's going to do what next. It's the perfect mystery and the perfect character study, and it's truly a feminist masterpiece, as they women avoid cliches and assert their independence at every turn. You must read this! You will be so glad you did.… (altro)
Just like the Pingkang li, not everything is as it seems. Bai Huang is pretending to play the fool while he gets close to Yue-ying, a maidservant with a half-moon birthmark on her face who works at one of the establishments that houses courtesans. She is devoted to the courtesan Mingyu, who is hiding something in the wake of a fellow courtesan's murder. As Huang and Yue-ying team up to solve the mystery, they also grapple with their feelings for each other, as well as the obstacles that arise for people of their social status. It's a very realistic portrayal of an unbalanced relationship that avoids making Huang out to be a dashing rescuer and Yue-ying a passive victim of his love. She very much has her own agency, and her integrity is astounding. Lin's skilled writing makes her more than a match for Huang, so when their story finally ends in a fairy tale, it feels genuinely romantic.
The supporting cast! How could you forget them! Everyone is playing a part, and everyone is so complex. You're constantly guessing who's going to do what next. It's the perfect mystery and the perfect character study, and it's truly a feminist masterpiece, as they women avoid cliches and assert their independence at every turn. You must read this! You will be so glad you did.… (altro)
This was my first Harlequin romance novel, and I was not disappointed! This review comes from a re-read. I actually first picked this up a couple of years ago, when I was trying to get into the genre. I didn't know where to start. So many novels looked the same. They were set in Victorian or Regency England between a hulking and brooding alpha hero and a feisty and ill-behaved heroine while this thing called "the ton" (which Jane Austen never mentioned) clucked their tongues at them behind their fans. Jeannie Lin offers a breath of fresh air into the genre by taking her readers on a magical journey to Tang Dynasty China.
The book opens with a VERY naive heroine in Ai Li. At first, her extreme innocence and complete trust in literally EVERYONE is grating, but I eventually got over it. As the novel progressed, it became clear that her naivety stemmed less from stupidity and more from a very strict, black-and-white view of the world, which is repeatedly challenged. She's the heart of this novel, for sure, and reading about her journey was like watching a Zhang Yimou film. I can imagine this would be very cinematic, if it ever played out on the big screen.
The hero Ryam is the polar opposite of Ai Li (whom he called 'Ailey' for the entire novel and was extremely irritating). He doesn't have as strict a world-view beyond the fact that he's convinced he's a piece of shit. He honestly isn't, but his reasons for self-loathing felt too contrived and really cheapend Ai Li's love for him, much as her family feared. I didn't really buy his epiphany that he loved her, and he never really admitted it to himself either. He just kept coming up with excuses as to why he couldn't have her. He was so convincing in this that I eventually wondered why he was still around, but he came through in the end in a very dramatic fashion.
If you want something different but familiar, I highly recommend this book, as well as Jeannie Lin as a whole. In Butterfly Swords, you'll find a lot of familiar tropes, but the new setting breathes new life into them and will remind you of why you love to read romance novels.… (altro)
The book opens with a VERY naive heroine in Ai Li. At first, her extreme innocence and complete trust in literally EVERYONE is grating, but I eventually got over it. As the novel progressed, it became clear that her naivety stemmed less from stupidity and more from a very strict, black-and-white view of the world, which is repeatedly challenged. She's the heart of this novel, for sure, and reading about her journey was like watching a Zhang Yimou film. I can imagine this would be very cinematic, if it ever played out on the big screen.
The hero Ryam is the polar opposite of Ai Li (whom he called 'Ailey' for the entire novel and was extremely irritating). He doesn't have as strict a world-view beyond the fact that he's convinced he's a piece of shit. He honestly isn't, but his reasons for self-loathing felt too contrived and really cheapend Ai Li's love for him, much as her family feared. I didn't really buy his epiphany that he loved her, and he never really admitted it to himself either. He just kept coming up with excuses as to why he couldn't have her. He was so convincing in this that I eventually wondered why he was still around, but he came through in the end in a very dramatic fashion.
If you want something different but familiar, I highly recommend this book, as well as Jeannie Lin as a whole. In Butterfly Swords, you'll find a lot of familiar tropes, but the new setting breathes new life into them and will remind you of why you love to read romance novels.… (altro)
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Statistiche
- Opere
- 39
- Utenti
- 1,387
- Popolarità
- #18,534
- Voto
- 3.6
- Recensioni
- 102
- ISBN
- 107
- Lingue
- 2
- Preferito da
- 3
- Citazioni
- 15
… (altro)