My Fair Concubine

I loved every bit of this book (well, except maybe the title, but more on that later). I'm only 3 books into my foray into reading historical romance, but already I'm wanting to run over to Amazon and buy the rest of Lin's backlist. She does a fantastic job of immersing the reader in Tang Dynasty China and incorporating the cultural norms into the love story and how the hero and heroine interact and relate to each other. And the love scenes were darn near perfect, without relying on the sometime snicker-worthy "throbbing member" and other such wording. The overall writing was enthralling, the details integrated so well and colorful. My only complaint is the title, in that it really has nothing at all to do with anything that happens in show more the actual story, so I have to assume it was the publisher's idea. However, the title didn't do anything to hamper my enjoyment of the book. I'm looking forward to reading more of Jeannie Lin's work in the future, and it's this kind of excellent cultural immersion that I want to strive for in my own work. show less

The April 2023 #TBRChallenge is "Unusual Historical." This is 1000% my catnip, and I was looking forward to returning to the challenge after a very challenging March. I basically took one look at my Harlequin Historicals shelf and grabbed this book. I've wanted to read it for a long time, and I've slowly been collecting this author's work, based on the premises and promise of fellow reviewers. I was not disappointed.

The novel opens with Fei Long storming a provincial teahouse and finding his younger sister, Pearl, in a compromising situation with her long-time love Han. Fei Long is furious because Pearl has been selected as a heqin (alliance) bride, but she protested bitterly against it and ran away with her lover instead. It is a show more matter of honor and principle, but Fei Long relents in the end and allows the two to escape. He's left in a conundrum, however: the Khitan kingdom is still expecting to receive a Tang princess as part of their political alliance agreement, and Fei Long only has one sister. Where is is going to find a replacement, and fast?

He goes downstairs to the teahouse and broods over a cup of tea. He makes a remark to the server which results in her throwing the tea at him, a mortal offense given his class status. The girl is horrified at her reaction, and seeks him out the next day, telling him that she has been thrown out of the tea house for her insubordination and has nowhere to go, begging his forgiveness for her rash act. Fei Long gets another good look at her, and a crazy plan forms in his mind: he can potentially take this tea girl and put her in his sister's place as the heqin bride. He'd have two months to teach her courtly manners and ways, poise and dress, as well as how to read and write. He could take her back to his home in the capital city, Changan, and put his servants to work on her - and maybe, just maybe, he'd be able to pull it off.

The girl, Yan Ling, readily agrees to the scheme when he proposes it. She has no family, and now no job or place to live - so what does she have to lose?

The two travel back to Fei Long's mansion in the capital, and he installs her in his sister's quarters and begins her princess lessons. He quickly finds himself at a loss, however; his parents are deceased, and his father's last concubine has gone off to join a convent. His household servants can help, but what he needs is someone who can teach Yan Ling to be a Lady of Quality. He turns to an old friend, Li Bai Shen, a renowned theatre actor who is well known and well loved for taking the female roles in the plays. If anyone can teach an illiterate girl from the provinces how to pass for a high-born princess, it is the self-proclaimed master of deception.

Yan Ling is caught up in the whirlwind of her lessons - with Bai Shen; with Dao, Pearl's loyal servant; and with Fei Long himself, who teaches her how to write. She quickly grows to love her newfound home in the bustling capital city, and is determined to follow through with the scheme to step into Pearl's role as the heqin bride, who is being sent basically to the hinterlands. She owes as much to the man she once covered with tea, but who ultimately saved her and gave her a chance.

There is more going on under the surface of this My Fair Lady-esque story, however: dark political machinations swirl about, and Fei Long's father leaves behind huge debts to a notorious moneylender. Fei Long is the new leader of his household, and it falls to him to keep everything moving smoothly, and to keep pride of place for his family's honor. As Yan Ling transforms from mousy servant girl to courtier, it becomes harder and harder for him to be around her, knowing all that burdens him - and all he dreams of.

This may be #3 in a series but it stands alone quite beautifully. It is a beautifully told story, set in 824 China during the Tang dynasty. The rigid class structure plays a large role in proceedings, and informs all of the characters in believably authentic ways. Fei Long is very much of the Sesshoumaru mold, bound by honor and pride and his father's name. He should not be having the thoughts and feelings he's having about Yan Ling, and finds himself between a rock and a hard place. How can he love her? And yet, how can he let her go?

The romantic tension is delicious and sensual. These characters feel all of their emotions, and yet try to restrain them around others. I just loved the push-pull tug between them. They are very much characters of their time as well, and the side plots that play out around them are excellent set pieces that move the plot along. The supporting cast is equally wonderful! I saw the 'out' to the ultimate tangle way before either character did, and I was hoping that I would be right because any other solution would just be absurd. (I was!)

The UST resolves in a set of beautiful love scenes near the end, just the way I like them (in a similar fashion to my own fandom opus fic), so A++ for that, too.

As anticipated, I just adored this writer's style and I'm really happy I have more of her work on Mount TBR! show less

Another fun and fascinating book by Jeannie Lin! This novel takes the familiar concept of My Fair Lady and puts a Tang Dynasty twist on it, which is something I am very unfamiliar with but appreciated nonetheless. It's a very compelling, if somewhat restrained, story with a great supporting cast. There might not be any flying swordsmen in this, but it still transports you and keeps you on the edge of your seat.

An important thing to note: this is not your typical romance novel. In a romance novel set in Victorian England or the Regency period, there are a lot more stolen kisses, and the sexual tension is more obvious. This novel will seem tame in comparison. Some might say even too restrained and detached. While I think Lin could've show more preserved the Eastern ideals of duty, honor, and familial responsibility while increasing the sexual tension more than she did, I didn't mind the restraint. The stakes felt very real, so I was compelled to keep reading even when the romance stalled.

The lack of sexual tension (except in the last 80 or so pages) is the reason I docked this a whole star. Otherwise, there's a lot to love. Her descriptions are beautiful without being over the top. The cast was interesting and fun, and the pacing was decent. Overall, I recommend this novel if you're looking for a little something different or if you don't like lurid romances. show less

I enjoyed this one so much that I was rarely willing to stop reading long enough to take notes. That makes writing this review a little difficult, but I'll try my best.

Unlike the other books by Lin that I've read, this one was light on action scenes. Fei Long had to be rescued at one point, and later he got to show off his archery prowess, but that was, I think, pretty much it. The bulk of the book was about Yan Ling learning how to act like a noble lady, Fei Long fretting over his family's debts, and the two of them falling for each other but being unable to say anything about their feelings.

Fei Long and Yan Ling were great characters. Yan Ling had spent most of her life keeping her head down and trying in vain to please the teahouse show more owner and his wife. She wasn't completely beaten down, however. When she thought Fei Long was trying to buy sex from her early on in the book, she was deeply offended, so much so that, without thinking, she doused him with tea. I wondered whether she'd be mulish about learning all the many things she needed to know in order to act like a princess, but she actually took her job very seriously, even going so far as to arrange study sessions beyond the ones Fei Long had already planned for her. I loved her determination and dedication – this was no annoyingly childish heroine.

Fei Long was very proper, ruled by honor and the responsibility he felt towards his servants and those who had helped his family. Even as he began to fall for Yan Ling, he knew he couldn't act on his feelings, because sending Yan Ling off to marry a Khitan tribal leader was most advantageous for everyone as a whole. Yan Ling would be treated as a princess for the rest of her life, Fei Long's family wouldn't lose face, and all the servants who depended on Fei Long could continue to work in his household. His unhappiness seemed like a small thing to him, by comparison.

Because Fei Long and Yan Ling were both such responsible people and couldn't hardly even envision doing anything other than what they'd agreed to do, they spent a good bit of time in love with each other but unable to vocalize their feelings. I loved this. I loved reading about the two of them sneaking looks at each other, trying to read each other's emotions, noticing little things about each other.

The people they were, and their reasons for not being together, kind of ruined the moment they finally had sex, however. There I was, thinking “But wait! What about Fei Long's servants and Minister Cao? Are they just going to give up on all of them?” It was Yan Ling who brought Fei Long's obligations up, and only after it was too late. The resolution to that problem, as well as the resolution to Fei Long's family's debts, all seemed just a little too easy.

All in all, despite the too-easy ending, I loved this book. I think it's my favorite of Lin's so far. Part of me hopes she'll write something starring Bai Shen, Fei Long's actor friend. His ego was enormous, and I wasn't happy with what he did in one scene involving Yan Ling, but he was usually a lot of fun.

Additional Comments:

While reading this, I had a lot of flashbacks to the Chinese calligraphy class I took in college. Fei Long was teaching Yan Ling how to write, and I was all, “Yeah, you definitely have to move your brush quickly. The paper absorbs the ink like a sponge." ::crying in remembered horror:: And I will never forget the one and only time the instructor said something positive about my homework. It was when we were practicing Li Style. His words were something to the effect of, “This is a little bit better.” That was high praise, coming from him.

(Original review, with read-alikes and watch-alikes, posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) show less

Loved loved loved this book!

Set in Tang Dynasty, China, this version of My Fair Lady is pure comfort reading. Yan Ling is a tea house serving girl, hard-working with a fiery streak. Fei Long is the perfect composed, elegant gentleman, always in control. When they meet, they seem like the answer to each other's problem Fei Long needs a woman to prepare as a bride for a neighboring nation after he allows his sister to run away with her true love, and Yan Ling needs to escape to an environment that suits her intelligent, romantic, lively spirit., but somewhere along the way, feelings happen.

I loved the contrast of the subtle, outward interactions with the tumultuous inner battles. Although light on history, there was enough to flavour the show more story nicely. I was hooked from the beginning straight through to the end. I had not read Jeannie Lin before, and My Fair Concubine was so enjoyable, I must read more or her work.

ATW 2018 China show less

I liked this one for the simply reason that it was so different from the historical romance that I have read before. I loved going back to China 800 AD and experiencing something totally new. The clothes, the manners everything needed to transport me there.

The story is a take on my fair lady as Fei Long needs a"princess" and fast. So he takes on Yan Ling and tries to teach her etiquette and everything else needed. She is to be a peace bride and sent away to distant lands. The whole princess part is not really true as the Emperor has found ways to cheat sending his own daughters and instead he can make a high ranking nobleman's daughter a princess. Still Yan Ling has a long way to go, or at least cheat her way through as what would her show more family know in the end.

Yan Ling saw a way to a new life and who can blame her. She is also strong and speaks her mind. Even if she tries her best not to. While our hero Fei Ling is quiet, strong, proud and wants to the best for his family so they will not be ruined.

And of course they fall in love, but slowly, and it takes time as they are from two different worlds. They are careful about their true emotions as they should be. It's a delicate dance as they both have their duty to fulfill and that is not to love each other.

I really must read more by her after this. I wish all historical romances could be this different, new and wonderful. I fear I have been stuck in regency land way too long, or playing with Highlanders.

Conclusion:
A wonderful story in a rich setting. show less

Reads like a romance set in the world of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and the like, entertaining version of a world that probably never was but is entertaining and feels fairly authentic (not being a scholar of that area in that time I can't absolutely vouch for the accuracy but it doesn't feel full of modern anachronisms). This is a story of a brother who, out of love, lets his sister stay with the man she loves rather than force her to marry, however this leaves him with a problem, if someone doesn't go who appears to be his sister he will lose face. The Tea Girl at the inn he stays in appears to be very much like his sister and in a Pygmalion/My Fair Lady moment he decides to transform her into a lady and save face. He doesn't show more expect that love would complicate things, nor does she.

I liked it and did figure out the twist from fairly early on, and liked how it all worked. A nice story with characters I enjoyed spending time with. Like some other reviews I've seen I don't understand the title, it has no real association with the story. show less