I am perhaps in the minority when I say that I was far less interested in the actual act of seduction than the couple's other interactions not a fault of Jeannie Lin's writing of said scenes, but rather a personal preference. I love the way she so vividly captures the very essence of the historical period through the smallest of details the dishes that the servants laid out for the feast, the layout of the Yao family house, River's inability to cook (because she obviously would not have been expected to do so when they had servants) and thus producing soggy rice, and so on. On the historical front, Jeannie Lin delivers as usual. Unlike the usual arranged marriage in fiction, this is an arranged marriage that both sides had welcomed and dreamed about, creating a great sense of romance as their years of longing and daydreams about each other were finally fulfilled through their meeting. A story where the heroine was forced to 'sacrifice' herself to the hero is perhaps not new, but what I liked about this was that the setup was prevented from being cringe-inducing for the reader by the addition of the arranged marriage angle. love also features here it is quintessentially Chinese and presented in such a way that I think a modern audience would have no problems understanding it and sympathizing with the heroine's plight. However, what is most important is that Jeannie Lin had provided enough information for readers to understand why Wei Chen had pursued Ru Shan and thus led him to his first meeting with River. I unwisely figured that reading either first would work and thus was left with a number of gaps - I haven't the faintest idea what River's brother, Ru Shan, was supposed to have done!

This short story is obviously a companion piece to the novel The Dragon and the Pearl in hindsight, it would probably have been better if the novel was read prior to this novella, since the novel contains the main storyline while this was really an off-shoot.

Gunpowder Alchemy (Gunpowder Chronicles #1)įor updates, sign up for her newsletter at: įind out more about Jeannie Lin online at Her books have received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly and Library Journal with The Dragon and the Pearl listed among Library Journal's Best Romances of 2011. After four years of trying to break into publishing with an Asian-set historical, her 2009 Golden Heart Award–winning manuscript, Butterfly Swords, sold to Harlequin Mills & Boon. Jeannie started writing her first romance while working as a high school science teacher in South Central Los Angeles. When her best friend introduced her to romance novels in middle school, the stage was set. USA TODAY Bestselling author Jeannie Lin grew up fascinated with stories of Western epic fantasy and Eastern martial arts adventures.

The Taming of Mei Lin by Jeannie Lin