Review: "The Concubine" by Jade Lee

The Concubine (Blaze Historicals #2) by Jade Lee

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


For starters, here's "my" yummilicious Bo Tao:



I can't believe I'm going to say this, but this book would have been better if it was PG-rated. Serioulsy! I didn't know if I should have laughed or cried at the purple prose that filled the pages: dragon organ, root, jade stalk, jade stem, woman's petals, ... I know some readers enjoy that writing style, but it does nothing for me. Here's my "favorite" line: "She could feel his dragon organ push into her belly while her woman's petals grew moist." Really?!? Was that supposed to make me feel hot and bothered? Sorry, Ms. Lee, but that made me laugh. No sex talk and no lovemaking scenes would have made this book a winner.

Taking that aside, the story itself was very good and interesting. The premise reminded me of Zhang Yimou's "Raise the Red Lantern", one of my favorite movies, with the difference that The Concubine is focused on the proceedings of choosing the new Emperor's wife and concubines and the movie is focused on the solitary lives of the concubines after they marry the Emperor. Bo Tao and Ji Yue were great characters, trapped in a millenial culture that made their love forbidden and almost impossible. In real life, there would be no HEA for them, but this is Romancelandia... Need I say more? ;)

This was a great story with engaging characters. Too bad sex had to be included, "ruining" my overall enjoyment.



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