Tuesday, September 11

Book Review: My Fair Concubine

Author: Jeannie Lin
Title: My Fair Concubine (Tang Dynasty #3)
Genre: Historical Romance
Pages: 280
First Published: May 22nd, 2012
Where I Got It: Borrowed from library


"The Nobleman Who Turned a Tea Girl Into a Princess...


Yan Ling tries hard to be servile—it's what's expected of a girl of her class. Being intelligent and strong-minded, she finds it a constant battle. 

Proud Fei Long is unimpressed by her spirit—until he realizes she's the answer to his problems. He has to deliver the emperor a "princess." In two months can he train a tea girl to pass as a noblewoman? 


Yet it's hard to teach good etiquette when all Fei Long wants to do is break it, by taking this tea girl for his own..."



This is the third book in the Tang series by Jeannie Lin. However, I feel like this could stand pretty well as a stand-alone. ^.^


Ahhhhh a 'My Fair Lady' remake of sorts. Just the plot alone made me drooling to read it. Well, the man on the cover also had something to do with it hehehe. *drools* But yes, the cover is simply lovely! My favorite cover out of all three books. 


Yan Ling is just a tea girl who is trying to hold her tongue and do her job, when Fei Long makes one grand entrance at the place she works. He has two months to find and train a replacement for his sister as a "princess" and be sent to marry a foreign chieftain. For some reason he picks the scrawny tea girl.


It was a fun and cute read just like the other two books in the Tang series.   I really loved watching these two dance around each other and try to honor the plan. It did take a while for these two to finally admit feelings for each other. When the first kiss was given I nearly jumped for joy! However, I find that the length of time seems realistic for not only these two proud characters, but for the culture and time period. 


Jeannie Lin did a wonderful job bringing Tang Dynasty China to life. She paid very close details to the etiquette and culture. Not only was Yan Ling learning the proper ways of being a noblewoman, but I felt like I learned a lot. If I ever got lost in time travel and ended up in Ancient China, I feel like I would stand more of a chance. *ponders* I wonder if I would meet a man like Fei Long. Mmmm......


Anyways.....everything seemed nicely answered at the end. There was only one thing left unanswered, but I believe there is another book coming out (or is out) that will further will it. I can not say much, because it would spoil the entire book. 


All-in-all, I really liked this book. It wasn't as good as Dragon and the Pearl, which is the second book, but I did enjoy it. It seemed a wee but slow at points, but I had a hard time putting this down.  I loved the characters, the plot, and how Jeannie Lin painted Ancient China. Not only was I entertained, but I feel like I learned a lot about this time period and culture. I would recommend this to those who love Historical Romance and for those that need a trip to a different location. I grant this 4 stars. 


Favorite Character(s): Fei Long (*drools*), Yan Ling (a strong woman), and Dao.

Not-so Favorite Character(s): Zao (wanted to kick him), Pearl (mmmmm though her appearance was limited, but annoyed me), and Lady Min (don't know why, but she annoyed me too)
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<3CaroleRae

3 comments:

Ruth said...

Always like finding new historical fiction, and I haven't read much Chinese history. Thanks for sharing.

Carole Rae said...

Its a fun one to read about. Thanks for stopping by!

Blodeuedd said...

I so need to read more since I really enjoyed this one too :)